Exciting. Spotted a house sparrow with nesting material in its beak in the garden Noted on our BTO Garden BirdWatch sheet 😊

A great opportunity to get involved with MammalWeb and the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme in collaboration with People's Trust for Endangered Species and Hedgehog Society

Today's Monday Mammal is the pygmy shrew! Widespread throughout mainland Britain and Ireland, and found on the Isle of Man and Outer Hebrides, where common shrews are absent. Pygmy shrews utilise tunnels in vegetation and seem to be more common on moorland than common shrews.

Anting, the act of using insects to clean, is performed by a wide range of bird species. These Great Tits can be seen rubbing the ants into their feathers, but other species will instead sit atop an ant nest and let them run through the feathers!

First day since 30 January without Siskins around the garden, they may have moved on with the S wind. Usually have a pair stay to breed so we shall see. Its quiet without their chattering in the trees! BTO Garden BirdWatch #birdwatching #birds

Pollinating insects play a vital role in the environment but species have declined since 1980. Data collected for UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme help to detect changes in pollinator populations 🪰🐝🪲 Data from nature, for nature 💚 #DataNature ceh.ac.uk/data-nature?ut…

UEA students Ellie, Geo and Liam are creating a series of videos on their experience with Garden BirdWatch. If you want to learn more about the survey and urban birds please give it a watch! youtu.be/k22PC2kkU2w?si…

This certainly ranks as one of the most unusual garden sightings this year! These migratory birds are normally found in fields and grassland. Is it using garden food to refuel after travelling across continents?

UEA students Ellie, Geo and Liam have created the next video in their series on taking part in GBW. Please give it a watch! You might even learn something new! youtube.com/watch?v=k22PC2…

A lot of our spring dragonfly and damselflies are now on the wing. Have you had one in your garden yet?

We’re hiring! 😀 Do you love garden birds, citizen science and sharing this with others? We’re looking for a Supporter Development Officer for our BTO Garden BirdWatch survey. 🐦🦋 Discover more and apply ➡️ bit.ly/3WSpdR4 📝 Closing Date: Monday 3 June

1/ We need your help! 📢 Blackbirds are being threatened by the Usutu virus, so we’ve launched a new survey to understand the likely risk factors & how to mitigate them. Sign up to take part ➡️ bto.org/blackbirds-gar… & discover more.⬇️ #CitizenScience

Great to see BTO blackbirds in gardens survey (part of Vector-Borne RADAR led by Hugh Hanmer and Rob Robinson) featured on ITV News . If you have a garden and want to help us understand how Usutu virus might be impacting blackbirds please sign up here bto.org/blackbirds-gar…

Do you feed the birds in your garden? We are looking for sites with signs of disease in order to determine the routes of transmission in birds. Can you help? Please report here. gardenwildlifehealth.org More info in our blog tinyurl.com/3v6mu8yv

Blackbirds raise two or three broods each year, usually with four eggs laid for each attempt. They begin nest building from early March & can have young in the nest in mid-July! Get involved with our Nesting Neighbours scheme ➡️ bto.org/nest-monitoring

We need your help! Blackbirds are being threatened by the Usutu virus, so we’ve launched a new survey to understand the likely risk factors & how to mitigate them. Sign up to take part ➡️ bto.org/blackbirds-gar… theguardian.com/environment/ar…