Eddie Bathgate
@limeypomme.bsky.social
Landowner, genius & pickpocket. Bird watching, cricket and geography. Saving Suffolk’s Swifts. Woodbridge
An interesting Australian article about feral cats in an island. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Revered and reviled, cats in the crosshairs on Christmas Island
On a speck of land in the Indian Ocean, one of the world's most ambitious wars is being waged against feral cats. But not everyone is celebrating.
www.abc.net.au
November 13, 2025 at 7:34 PM
An interesting Australian article about feral cats in an island. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
An interesting Canadian article about migrating birds crashing into windows
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
In just one day, volunteers found hundreds of birds that crashed into GTA buildings | CBC News
More than 300 birds that had crashed into windows across the Greater Toronto Area were found last Wednesday by a volunteer-based organization that finds and keeps records on bird safety. Most did not ...
www.cbc.ca
October 12, 2025 at 6:59 PM
An interesting Canadian article about migrating birds crashing into windows
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
An interesting Red Goshawk article here www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Going extinct ‘right under our noses’: the quiet plight of Australia’s rarest bird of prey
Restricted now to the tropical north, the mysterious red goshawk is fast disappearing as a result of climate change and habitat loss
www.theguardian.com
October 6, 2025 at 6:56 PM
An interesting Red Goshawk article here www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Still 3 pairs of Swifts in nest boxes here. One in a camera box with 2 young, they relaid after an intruder caused a fight. The other 2 pairs are new, in nest boxes not used previously. I can hear multiple young chirping in each from eggs laid early July. 6 pairs bred in total, 3 pairs in 2024
August 10, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Still 3 pairs of Swifts in nest boxes here. One in a camera box with 2 young, they relaid after an intruder caused a fight. The other 2 pairs are new, in nest boxes not used previously. I can hear multiple young chirping in each from eggs laid early July. 6 pairs bred in total, 3 pairs in 2024
All was going so well with my Swifts, this box is newly used and now paired up. We’ve had a clueless Swift circling this evening, trying to work out how to land, crashing into the brickwork many times. It has now ended up in with the pair and is getting a beating from both.
May 14, 2025 at 8:30 PM
All was going so well with my Swifts, this box is newly used and now paired up. We’ve had a clueless Swift circling this evening, trying to work out how to land, crashing into the brickwork many times. It has now ended up in with the pair and is getting a beating from both.
As of 2pm this afternoon this Swift nest box now has a pair getting to know each other. This nest box hasn’t hosted Swifts before, did have a wasp nest inside though last year. The neighbouring nest box was used and that pair have yet to arrrive, I’m hoping they still will and they aren’t these ones
May 9, 2025 at 3:59 PM
As of 2pm this afternoon this Swift nest box now has a pair getting to know each other. This nest box hasn’t hosted Swifts before, did have a wasp nest inside though last year. The neighbouring nest box was used and that pair have yet to arrrive, I’m hoping they still will and they aren’t these ones
This is my second Swift nest box to be colonised, now a pair in there re-establishing their bonds. 6 Swifts screaming around the house this evening without calls being played, which is very good for this early in the Swift season here @suffolkbirdgroup.bsky.social @sosswifts.bsky.social
May 8, 2025 at 8:26 PM
This is my second Swift nest box to be colonised, now a pair in there re-establishing their bonds. 6 Swifts screaming around the house this evening without calls being played, which is very good for this early in the Swift season here @suffolkbirdgroup.bsky.social @sosswifts.bsky.social
2nd Swift into a box last night, a box not used by Swifts before. Last year the box hosted a wasp nest and had to be cleared out in the winter. I wouldn’t have known either Swift was there without cameras, sneaky blighters. @suffolkbirdgroup.bsky.social @suffolkwildlife.bsky.social
May 8, 2025 at 5:48 AM
2nd Swift into a box last night, a box not used by Swifts before. Last year the box hosted a wasp nest and had to be cleared out in the winter. I wouldn’t have known either Swift was there without cameras, sneaky blighters. @suffolkbirdgroup.bsky.social @suffolkwildlife.bsky.social
My first Swift has returned back here to a nest box used last year, it was my second of my boxes to be taken up. Now playing The Cramps, ‘Let’s Get Fluffed Up’ very loudly in celebration. @sosswifts.bsky.social
May 6, 2025 at 8:09 PM
My first Swift has returned back here to a nest box used last year, it was my second of my boxes to be taken up. Now playing The Cramps, ‘Let’s Get Fluffed Up’ very loudly in celebration. @sosswifts.bsky.social
Reposted by Eddie Bathgate
Save Our Suffolk Swifts have a full project update talk next Thursday 24th April in Hintlesham Community Centre IP8 3PS at 7:30pm. 231 Suffolk boxes were used in 2022 & 263 in 2023. How many in 2024? @suffolkwildlife.bsky.social @suffolkbirdgroup.bsky.social Suffolk Swift lovers are most welcome.
April 15, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Save Our Suffolk Swifts have a full project update talk next Thursday 24th April in Hintlesham Community Centre IP8 3PS at 7:30pm. 231 Suffolk boxes were used in 2022 & 263 in 2023. How many in 2024? @suffolkwildlife.bsky.social @suffolkbirdgroup.bsky.social Suffolk Swift lovers are most welcome.
Reposted by Eddie Bathgate
Thrilled to see an article on our project in this weekends EADT! @suffolkbirdgroup.bsky.social #suffolkbirding
February 23, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Thrilled to see an article on our project in this weekends EADT! @suffolkbirdgroup.bsky.social #suffolkbirding
Reposted by Eddie Bathgate
We also still have a small number of free nest cups for Dedham Vale NL - please get in touch asap if you have a nearby House martin colony and you are interested in free nest cups !
February 20, 2025 at 9:58 PM
We also still have a small number of free nest cups for Dedham Vale NL - please get in touch asap if you have a nearby House martin colony and you are interested in free nest cups !
Whimbrels, Sanderling, Bar-tailed Godwits, Ruff and Red-breasted Mergansers the best of a rising tide off Sandbanks this afternoon. Turnstones and Oystercatchers boosted the numbers and entertained in miserable weather. #PooleHarbour
February 8, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Whimbrels, Sanderling, Bar-tailed Godwits, Ruff and Red-breasted Mergansers the best of a rising tide off Sandbanks this afternoon. Turnstones and Oystercatchers boosted the numbers and entertained in miserable weather. #PooleHarbour
An interesting Australian Night Parrot article here #WorldBirding www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02...
Hopes second-ever discovery of night parrot egg will aid conservation
Researchers hope the discovery of a night parrot egg in WA, second only to one found in Queensland, means the once-thought-extinct bird's population is beginning to recover.
www.abc.net.au
February 1, 2025 at 3:49 PM
An interesting Australian Night Parrot article here #WorldBirding www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02...
An interesting Australian article here; conserving Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos #Conservation www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01...
Help needed to save the last cockatoos restricted to this region
The deadly Wangary bushfire 20 years ago appears to have been the final nail in the coffin for yellow-tailed black cockatoos in South Australia's Eyre Peninsula. Ecologists are calling for urgent acti...
www.abc.net.au
January 28, 2025 at 8:17 PM
An interesting Australian article here; conserving Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos #Conservation www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01...
An interesting US article here apnews.com/article/sand...
Alabama refuge is a paradise for birders and thousands of migrating sandhill cranes
Flooded cornfields near the Tennessee River in northern Alabama are a paradise for birders who flock to see tens of thousands of migrating sandhill cranes every winter.
apnews.com
January 21, 2025 at 8:46 PM
An interesting US article here apnews.com/article/sand...
An interesting Canadian article here on conserving beach nesting Piping Plovers; human activity and dogs off leads on the main issues there. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Plovers in a dangerous time: Endangered bird may be making a comeback on N.B. shores | CBC News
Kouchibouguac National Park welcomed six pairs of piping plovers in 2024, which resulted in 16 fledglings — the highest annual production in seven years.
www.cbc.ca
January 19, 2025 at 8:11 PM
An interesting Canadian article here on conserving beach nesting Piping Plovers; human activity and dogs off leads on the main issues there. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
An interesting Australian article here #Conservation www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01...
Billionaire couple focus their fortune on conservation — and profit
In the middle of Tasmania sits a 5,000-hectare property once used for sheep grazing. But when the sheep farmers left, an unlikely buyer moved in.
www.abc.net.au
January 18, 2025 at 9:24 PM
An interesting Australian article here #Conservation www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01...
Super icy stroll today up the Deben, once the freezing fog lifted. Colour ringed Avocets, Kingfisher, Bar-tailed Godwit and Spotted Redshank the best amongst a nice selection of waders and wildfowl. #SuffolkBirding #UKBirding @suffolkbirdgroup.bsky.social
January 11, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Super icy stroll today up the Deben, once the freezing fog lifted. Colour ringed Avocets, Kingfisher, Bar-tailed Godwit and Spotted Redshank the best amongst a nice selection of waders and wildfowl. #SuffolkBirding #UKBirding @suffolkbirdgroup.bsky.social
An interesting Australian owl article here #Migration www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01...
'Green-green dilemma' flagged after scientists surprised by owl's migration route
A team of scientists has tracked the flight path of Tasmanian boobook owls across Bass Strait, revealing they fly directly through areas earmarked for major offshore wind farms.
www.abc.net.au
January 10, 2025 at 9:21 PM
An interesting Australian owl article here #Migration www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01...
Reposted by Eddie Bathgate
Bird deaths at McCormick during fall migration:
2022 - 771
2023 - 1,280
2024 - 18
All it takes is stickers.
2022 - 771
2023 - 1,280
2024 - 18
All it takes is stickers.
For more than 40 years, migrating birds have been crashing into McCormick Place Lakeside Center.
But this fall, when bird collision monitors performed their usual daily searches of the building’s grounds, they found something remarkable: just 18 dead birds.
But this fall, when bird collision monitors performed their usual daily searches of the building’s grounds, they found something remarkable: just 18 dead birds.
Bird deaths plummet at McCormick Place Lakeside Center after safety film installed
Crash fatalities down more than 90% this fall with 18 deaths compared to 1,280 deaths in the fall of 2023, Field Museum expert says.
www.chicagotribune.com
January 9, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Bird deaths at McCormick during fall migration:
2022 - 771
2023 - 1,280
2024 - 18
All it takes is stickers.
2022 - 771
2023 - 1,280
2024 - 18
All it takes is stickers.
An interesting Australian article here, accidental Little Tern conservation www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01...
Dredging creates 'perfect' island hatchery for endangered birds
More than 30,000 cubic metres of dredged sand deposited on a tiny island south of Newcastle in NSW has delighted an endangered little tern population. More than 50 have begun to lay and hatch their eg...
www.abc.net.au
January 7, 2025 at 5:14 PM
An interesting Australian article here, accidental Little Tern conservation www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01...
An interesting Australian Flying Fox article here. Happy New Year. www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12...
Flying foxes puzzle ecologists by abandoning roosting spots
Flying foxes are absent from many of their usual summer camping spots in New South Wales this year but are congregating in unexpected places in large numbers, sometimes as unwanted guests.
www.abc.net.au
December 31, 2024 at 11:43 PM
An interesting Australian Flying Fox article here. Happy New Year. www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12...
An Australian article here on the disturbance of a Fairy Tern colony there www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12...
Threatened bird species' nesting site devastated in WA's South West
Conservationists say a threatened fairy tern population at a nesting site in WA's South West has been "almost wiped out" halfway through breeding season.
www.abc.net.au
December 24, 2024 at 7:09 PM
An Australian article here on the disturbance of a Fairy Tern colony there www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12...
Reposted by Eddie Bathgate
There are some excellent field trips coming up in 2025, all put together by @wildlifegig.bsky.social. The trips are good for those new to birding and for the more experienced. For information on membership of Suffolk Bird Group go to www.suffolkbirdgroup.org SuffolkBirds
December 16, 2024 at 9:18 PM
There are some excellent field trips coming up in 2025, all put together by @wildlifegig.bsky.social. The trips are good for those new to birding and for the more experienced. For information on membership of Suffolk Bird Group go to www.suffolkbirdgroup.org SuffolkBirds