Start Birding Now

20/10/2026

October in Shetland is wild. The Atlantic weather hits hard, the flowers fade, and the Hairst (autumn) gales roll in. 🏝️

But with those brutal easterly winds comes the ultimate reward. Thousands of birds blown completely off course, tracking down from Siberia and Scandinavia straight to these treeless islands. 🦆

From massive flocks of Brambling and Fieldfare to mega-rarities like the grey-checked thrush anything can turn up. It’s unpredictable, it’s soaking wet, and it’s absolute birding gold. 🌟

www.austinmorley.blogspot.com

20/10/2026

🎨 How to ID a Goldfinch: Quick Guide for Beginners! 🐦✨

Ever spot a colorful little visitor in your garden and wonder exactly what you're looking at? The European Goldfinch is one of our most stunning garden birds, but they can be tricky to tell apart depending on their age!

Here is a quick breakdown to help you log your next sighting: The Adult Checklist:
♦️ The Mask: A bright, striking red face outlined with clean black and white head markings.
♦️ The Wings: Jet-black wings with a brilliant, thick yellow band that flashes brightly when they fly.
♦️ The Body: A warm, tan-brown back with a pale or white underside, and a fine, pointed bill perfect for eating seeds.

🤔 Male or Female?
They look almost identical! But if you look closely, the male's red mask usually extends just past the back of the eye, while the female's mask stops halfway across the eye.

🟤 Spotting a Juvenile (The Trickiest Part!):
Young goldfinches do not have the red face yet! They have streaky, grey-brown heads and bodies and can easily be mistaken for other finches. The giveaway? They still sport those bright, signature yellow wing patches from a very young age!

👇 Share your garden photos below! Have you seen any goldfinches visiting your feeders this week?

19/10/2026

Meet the Whooper Swan. 🦢❄️

Arriving all the way from the Arctic tundra and Iceland, these majestic giants are officially touching down for the winter. Distinguished by their signature straight necks and bold yellow-and-black bills, they form lifelong partnerships and communicate through unmistakable, bugle-like trumpeting calls. 🔉🔉

Watch until the end to hear their distinct call! 🎧

19/10/2026

The Brambling Quick ID Guide! 🔍🍂

Think you're looking at a standard garden chaffinch? If it’s between October and April, it might actually be a Brambling! 🪴🍁

These beautiful finches migrate over to the UK from Scandinavia every winter, often mixing directly into local chaffinch flocks to feed on the ground. 🐥🐥🐥

Save this quick checklist for your next birdwatching session:
🔸 The Flight Flash: Look for a striking white rump when they take off.
🔸 The Colours: A gorgeous, rich rusty-orange breast and shoulders.
🔸 The Beak: A bright yellow winter bill (unlike the chaffinch's grey bill).
🔸 The Belly: A clean white belly with dark, speckled flanks.
Look for them foraging on the ground beneath your feeders or under beech trees! 🌲✨

18/10/2026

🚨 Exciting news! 🚨

I am absolutely thrilled to share that I’ve been featured in the Leigh Journal today! 🌿🐦

From blogging back in 2012 to launching my social channels over the past year, my main goal has always been to make birdwatching accessible, fun, and easy for everyone. Getting to share that passion on a bigger local stage means the world to me.

A massive thank you to the Leigh Journal for highlighting how birding can boost mental health and why protecting our local UK wildlife is more important than ever.

Check out the full article here and let me know what you think! 👇

➡️ https://www.leighjournal.co.uk/news/26636002.meet-birdwatcher-helping-thousands-discover-nature/

WHILE many people spend their weekends watching football or shopping in town centres, Austin Morley can often be found scanning wetlands, woodlands and marshes in search of birds.

18/10/2026

🌿 ‼️ UK BIRD ID QUIZ ‼️ 🌿

Flycatcher season may be winding down, but our ID skills never sleep! 🦅 Can you identify the three species pictured below? Hint: They are all flycatchers spotted in the U.K. , but telling them apart takes a sharp eye!

👇 Drop your guesses in the comments below!

🏆 The first person to get all three exactly right wins ultimate bragging rights and the title of "Patch Expert" for the week.

Ready, steady... twitch! 🧐 👇

17/10/2026

Think you’ve found just another "boring" grey bird? Think again. 🤫🐦

The Barred Warbler is the ultimate master of disguise. At first glance, it looks completely featureless, plain, and easy to overlook. 🍫

But if you know exactly what to look for, you might just realize you're staring at an ultra-rare visitor! Look closer for:

🔆 The Tell-Tale Eye: A striking, bright yellow eye that completely pierces through its otherwise plain face.

🔆 The "Barred" Belly: Subtle, wavy crescent scales across its underparts (though younger birds can be almost completely blank!).

🔆 Heavy-Set Bill: A chunkier, heavier bill than your average garden warbler.

Drop a 😮 if you’ve ever been lucky enough to check this rare beauty off your birding bucket list!

17/10/2026

🐦 Meet the Shetland Wren: A peerie bird with a massive voice! 🗣️🎶

Did you know that the Shetland archipelago has its very own endemic subspecies of wren? While it might look familiar at first glance, the Shetland Wren is a true island specialist, distinctly larger, darker, and significantly louder than its cousins down on the UK mainland!

Whether they are darting through heather or foraging along the rocky shorelines, these little characters are a joy to watch.

📸 Have you managed to snap a photo or hear the booming song of a Shetland Wren lately? Drop your pictures and sightings in the comments below! 👇

17/10/2026

British birders right now!

We are officially on High Alert. 🚨 Right now, continental Europe is experiencing a historic, massive Northern Nutcracker invasion, and birdwatchers across Britain are staring intently at the English Channel and the North Sea, praying for an easterly wind to push one over.