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The article offers news briefs related to British birds. Topics mentioned include the Birdfair 2015 which will be held from August 21-23, 2015 and the launch of the digital edition of the journal "British Birds (BB)," the breeding number of the Roseate Tern birds that are nesting on Coquet Island in England, and the record of the booming males of Eurasian Bittern birds in 2015.

This section offers news briefs. Conservationists Wildfoul and Wetlands Trust (WWT), Birds Russia, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) will be returning to Chukotka in Russia for its initiative in saving the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus. The Madagascar Pochard Aythya innotata has successfully bred in captivity in a facility in Antsohihy, Madagascar. The planned culling of 200 Canada Geese Branta canadensis on Windermere in Cumbria has been stopped.

The article reports that based on the latest figures from the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), four breeding waders were particularly low during the spring of 2011. Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus, Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus, Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago and Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata breed on wet grassland and upland habitats, relying on earthworms and invertebrates for food, with previous declines attributed to habitat loss, land drainage, and increases in predation pressure.

The article reports on the feeding concentration that occurs close to the shore at Borth and Ynyslas, Ceredigion in late July and early August wherein huge numbers of Manx Shearwaters Puffinus puffinus and Northern Gannets Morus bassanus appear to feed on shoaling fish. The main area of activity is concentrated from Sarn Cynfelyn, just south of Borth, to the Dyfi River estuary, usually not extending over five kilometers out to sea.

The article announces that 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of an unusual bird survey carried out by then " British Birds" James Ferguson-Lees and fellow naturalists Dennis Elliott and Bruce Campbell. It notes that the event coincides with the 50th anniversary of the publication of Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" in Great Britain. It also cites the aim of Ferguson-Lees and company to determine how many nesting species they could find at the Southill Park Estate in Bedfordshire, England.

The article applauds the decision of Great Britain's Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to stop the planned captivity and nest destruction of the bird specie Common Buzzard. Before the cancellation, Defra supported the persecution of the Buzzards in Northumberland estates to give way to a large population of Common Pheasants for shooting. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds denounces the plan stating that it was completely unjustified.

The article celebrates the first Great Britain breeding of the southern heron Great White Egret. It cites recent nesting successes in Great Britain including the Purple Heron, the Cattle Egret, and the Little Bittern. It states that the extensive nature reserves in the Avalon Marshes in Somerset has been a major provider of habitat for rare breeding birds. It hopes that the pair of Glossy Ibises observed in Somerset would breed and become a first as well in Great Britain.

The article discusses the journey of five male Common Cuckoos, Cuculus canorus, tagged by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) in Norfolk, England in spring 2011 to investigate where they go in winter. All the five Cuckoos were tracked via satellite to wintering grounds in the forests of the Congo basin. Two of the birds, Lyster and Chris, have been tracked all the way to Africa and back. It also talks about the other three birds, Clement and Martin who might have died, and Kasper.

The article features the writing career of British bird enthusiast Phil Hollom, who reaches the age of 100 on June 9, 2012. It notes his involvement with "British Birds" journal as part of the editorial board for 20 years. It cites many of his books including "The Popular Handbook of British Birds," published in 1954, "A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe," with co-authors Guy Mountfort and Roger Tory Peterson, and the handbook "Birds of the Western Paleartic," among others.

The article presents an update on the oil spill in New Zealand as of February 1, 2012. Two months after the disaster, over 400 birds, mostly penguins Eudyptula minor and dotterels Charadrius obscurus, were released back into the wild after staying at an Oiled Wildlife Response Centre. The spill killed about 2,000 birds, nearly 10% of the population in the Bay of Plenty. Members and staff of Forest & Bird, along with conservationists were involved in the clean-up and recovery.

The article reports on the lifting of a ban against pilots who will guide a flock of Whooping Cranes Grus americana for their winter migration from Canada to Texas by the Federal Aviation and Administration (FAA). The guided flight was delayed after FAA investigated whether it violates its regulations. It only issued one-time exemption to the pilots who will fly microlight aircraft. At issue is the payment received by the pilots from the conservation group Operation Migration.

The article presents an update on the rat eradication operation of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) on Henderson Island in the Pitcairn Overseas Territory of Great Britain as of January 2012. The RSPB states that operation has begun and that a monitoring expedition is to be deployed in 2013. The remoteness of the location as well as accessibility difficulties are cited as challenges to the operation. Helicopters are being used to drop and spread rodenticide on the island.

The article focuses on the Birdcrime 2010 report of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) which shows the continuity of the raptor poisoning in Great Britain. It says that the organization is calling the British Government to prohibit the possession of deadly poisons in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to protect birds of prey. It mentions several chemicals used in poisoning wildlife including carbofuran, alphachloralose and bendiocarb.

The article discusses reasons birders should make tweet messages. Social networking site Twitter facilitates the quick dissemination of information snippets, or tweets, and is increasingly utilized as a campaign tool that can mobile thousands of followers in minutes. Birders are urged to use Twitter to publicize birds, birding and bird conservation. Two notable bloggers on birds and wider conservation issues are Mark Avery @MarkAvery and Charlie Moores @charliemoores.

The article announces that Graham Catley has won the periodical's 2012 Bird Photograph of the Year in Great Britain.

The article offers information on the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Winter Thrushes Survey in Great Britain which will start on September 12, 2012.

The article reports on the declining population of Common Eider Somateria mollissima in Shetland, Scotland. The Shetland Oil Terminal Environmental Advisory Group (SOTEAG) has been monitoring the status of the bird population. In the mid 1970s, there were about 17,000 Common Eiders in Shetland. A survey performed in August 2012 revealed that are only about 4,576 Common Eiders in Shetland.

The article reports on BirdLife International's project to save the bird, Jankowski's Bunting Emberiza jankowskii.

The article announces that the periodical is awarding grants to young birders in Great Britain to encourage them to pursue their birdwatching interest.

The article focuses on a request for information about the daylight calling behavior of Tawny Owl.

The article reports that a young Osprey Pandion haliaetus had a record-breaking journey from her home at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Loch Garten in Scotland to West Africa in two weeks.

The article reports that British Tom Gullick has become the first birder to see 9,000 species, observing 90 percent of all the world's birds.

The article reports that the Norfolk Wildlife Trust (NWT) reserve of Cley Marshes needs to raise one million British pounds to increase the size of the reserve by one-third, for another 60 hectares (ha.) that will secure the missing link of eight kilometers of coastal nature reserves.

The article reports that Cuckoo Cuculus canorus "BB," sponsored by "British Birds," satellite-tagged near Loch Katrine, Stirling in Scotland on May 17, 2012, as part of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Cuckoo project, arrived in Chad at the end of July 2012.

The article reports that based on new figures, 40 million Common Starlings Sturnus vulgaris have disappeared from the European Union (EU) since 1980, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) launched a research project to determine the cause of the species' population decline.

The article reports on a healthy increase in the numbers of Black-browed Albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris, currently classified as Endangered by BirdLife, breeding in the Falkland Islands, of at least four percent per annum between 2005 and 2010.

The article offers information on the 24th British Birdwatching Fair that will be held over the weekend of August 17-19, 2012 in England.

The article discusses a genetic analysis which found that the pioneer Choughs that appeared in Cornwall, England in 2001 and founded a new breeding population there were from Ireland. University of Aberdeen scientists in Scotland collected moulted feathers from the Cornish Choughs, and from Choughs in other populations across Europe. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was extracted from the feathers and the DNA sequences of the new Cornish Choughs were compared with those of Choughs living elsewhere.

The article highlights the appeal of police for information after a Golden Eagle was found dead near Morar, Lochaber in Scotland in March 2012 and a post-mortem showed that the eagle had been poisoned with banned pesticides.

The article reports on a court's decision to fine gamekeeper Jonathan Smith Graham 450 British pounds and ban him from operating a crow cage trap for five years after he pleaded guilty at Perth Sheriff Court in Scotland to using a crow trap in which a Buzzard was trapped and starved to death.

The article reports that 14 critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpipers were hatched in captivity at Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) Slimbridge in Gloucestershire, England in mid July 2012. It notes that they were the first ever Spoon-billed Sandpipers chicks hatched in Great Britain and only the second flock ever to have been hatched in captivity. The decline in Spoon-billed Sandpiper numbers and the efforts to save the species from extinction are also discussed.

The article highlights the unusual single close to land conglomeration of the endangered bird specie Beck's Petrel. According to bird conservation organization BirdLife International, the record count offers an opportunity to take Beck's Petrel conservation to another level. It reveals that chum attractant was not used in this extraordinary event for such bird specie which are solitary at sea and far offshore.

The article looks into the rising illegal bird trapping activity in the Republic of Cyprus.

The article reports on the most recent series of nest destruction of Northern Goshawk bird species in Peak District in Northern England.

The article announces the two six-month incarceration of egg-collector Matthew Gonshaw and his ban from visiting Scotland during the breeding season.

The article reports on the newly satellite-tagged Common Cuckoo bird named "BB" by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). It announces that the bird journal British Birds joined BTO's Cuckoo tracking project. The project has included "BB" with code number 115591 belonging to the 2012 batch. In 2011, Two English Cuckoos, Lyster and Chris, were tracked south to the rainforest of the Congo basin.

The article announces that an updated version of the paper by Ed Drewitt and Nick Dixon regarding the diet of urban-dwelling Peregrines Falco peregrinus in "British Birds" in 2008 has just been published in "Devon Birds," the journal of Devon Birdwatching and Preservation Society in England.

A photograph is presented of a Prothonotary Warbler Protonotaria citrea which stayed for 24 hours onboard the Enniberg trawler about 250 nautical miles southwest of Iceland, taken by Esbern Christiansen in June or July 2010.

The article discusses the highlights of the second International Common Swift Seminars conference which was held in Berlin, Germany on April 10-12, 2012 which was attended by 78 participants from 20 countries including Israel, Russia and China.

The article reports that the April and May 2012 floods have affected some of Britain's already threatened wildlife according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). It notes that several of RSPB's 211 nature reserves suffered severe flooding including the Ouse Washes in East Anglia, deemed an internationally important reserve. The nests and breeding sites of 600 waders including 37% of the Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago population of England and Wales were likewise flooded.