Birdwatch
Stephen Moss's monthly column looking at what's happening in the world of birds
Birdwatch at the cricket: wagtails, falcons and gulls – but no ducks
A summer’s day out at Somerset cricket ground provides the perfect backdrop for some birdwatching
Birdwatch: pochards are one of Britain’s rarest breeders
The ducks are common in winter, but during the nesting season only 700 pairs breed each year
Birdwatch: the invincible swift, effortless master of the air
Also known as ‘devil birds’ for their haunting scream, they are just starting to arrive from sub-Saharan Africa
Birdwatch: the subtle beauty of the male chaffinch
I first encountered species as a boy, when it was the commonest bird in Britain – now they are very scarce in my Somerset garden
Birdwatch: rare black-faced spoonbill turns up in Hong Kong wetland
Soon it will head back north to the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea where it can breed undisturbed
Birdwatch: On the trail of the shy albatross in Australia
On an oceanic quest in the southern hemisphere, our writer encounters the only albatross species endemic to Australia
Birdwatch: why the jackdaw is Britain’s most endearing crow
Common and often overlooked, their curious calls and airshows at dusk are countryside staples
Birdwatch: seeing a red kite still makes my heart leap
After a successful reintroduction scheme, what was once one of Britain’s rarest birds is now a more common sight
Birdwatch: the tiny bird with a beak longer than its body
The Ecuadorian sword-billed hummingbird looks like a medieval lancer preparing for a joust
Birdwatch: the paradoxical world of the tawny owl
Britain’s commonest owl species can sometimes be heard but rarely seen as winter approaches
Birdwatch: my close encounter with a little tern
Through my binoculars I spotted one – it was only the third such individual I had seen in Somerset
Birdwatch: wood warbler’s summer visits to Britain in steep decline
If current downward trend continues, migratory species may soon disappear as a British breeding bird
Birdwatch: Why eiders are not just a ‘duvet duck’
Despite finding fame in the name of the eiderdown, there is more to appreciate about this heavyweight
Birdwatch: Blackbird is second-rate performer in dawn chorus
I’m not impressed by its brief, rather hesitant phrases – the song thrush is the star of the show
Birdwatch: the Erling Haaland of warblers turns up the volume to 11
The great reed warbler, seen and heard at Ham Wall, makes its commoner cousin seem puny by comparison
Birdwatch: a close encounter I had waited almost six decades for
After a tiny movement in dense Panamanian foliage, finally, there it was: a violet-capped hummingbird
Birdwatch: why the ‘king among gulls’ is a true heavyweight
Though gulls can be hard to tell apart, the great black-backed gull is rarely mistaken for anything else
Birdwatch: listening to the lapwing’s ‘peewit’ ring out over Somerset Levels
The lapwing’s English and scientific names both refer to its distinctive flight: how its wings flash as they pass overhead
Birdwatch: the whistling of wigeons is a winter highlight
Half a million of these striking birds arrive in Britain in autumn to take advantage of the mild climate
Birdwatch: a majestic great northern diver meets a sad end
Not long after the first is seen on my coastal patch, what could be the same bird weakens and dies inland
About 177 results for Birdwatch 
