BGB posts

As promised, here are a few posts from bloggers who took part in the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch last weekend:

shirls gardenwatch
Sheffield Wildlife

bogbumper

Words & Pictures

Devon Life

Please let us know if you have come across any others.

Big Garden Birdwatch

I'm sure you don't need reminding that the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch takes place this weekend.

If you are planning to write a blog post about your BGB experience, please leave a comment.

I will publish a list of links to members' BGB posts next week.

Nature Blog Network

I've just come across the Nature Blog Network, which seems to have similar aims to UK Natural History Bloggers but on an international scale.

Conservation Blogs

An early post described some of the RSPB's Blogs. Since then, two more 'conservation blogs' have come to light:

Shropshire Wildlife Trust

British Association of Nature Conservationists

Tony Whitbread, Chief Executive of the Sussex Wildlife Trust, also has his own blog.

As ever, please leave a comment if you know of any others.

Use of Video

I am researching a post about UK-based natural history bloggers who use video on their blogs.

Has anyone come across any good examples?

Wildlife Photoblogs

Many budding wildlife photographers now use photoblogs to display their work.

Here's a small selection of UK-based wildlife photoblogs:

fenphotography

Wildlife Photographic Journals

A Dorset Diary

The Green Fingered Photographer

Digiscope Diary

Professional wildlife photographer Andy Rouse also has a blog.

Please leave a comment if you know of any other photoblogs that are worth a visit.

Yorkshire Post birdwatching columns

It's not quite a blog in the true sense of the word, but the Yorkshire Post has a weekly birdwatching column available on its website, with features on birding, and details of recently-seen rarities in the county.

If anyone else knows of a similar resource produced by their local press, then please let us know.

Guest Authors

A warm welcome to our first two guest authors: Pete and Katie.

If you would like to join them, please leave a comment or contact me via uknhb (at) btinternet (dot) com.

Putting you on the map

Katie (of bogbumper and Notes on nature) has kindly put together a Google Map showing the location of all the UK's natural history bloggers:


View Larger Map

If you're not on the map or if your placemark is in the wrong place, please let us know!

Bigby Blogs

Although the idea originated in Canada, The Big Green Big Year 'carbon neutral birding' challenge is spreading slowly but surely around the globe. At the time of writing, 182 birders have signed up for the challenge, including 5 in the UK.

You can follow the exploits of some the Bigby birders through their blogs:

Sparroworking

Feathers of Hope

Bird by Bird

The Houston Birder

Words and Pictures

BirdForum

BirdForum is a great resource for discussing anything to with birds and birdwatching, with thousands of users from around the world. The identification Q&A is particularly useful if you get a picture of a bird you can't identify, with users usually clamouring to ID it for you!

The site also has a Wiki that all users can edit, which looks set to become one of the greatest databases of bird species and bird-related topics anywhere on the Internet.

The forum has a section of birdwatching blogs by its users. Some of the best, and most regularly updated, from UK birders include:

Tales of a Botanical Birder

Ruth Daniel

Stephen Dunstan

Colin's Birding Diary

Birding by the Criminally Stupid

Wild About Britain

Run entirely by volunteers, Wild About Britain is a registered charity which aims to:

change the face of British wildlife, by raising awareness and promoting our natural heritage, the environment and the great outdoors.

The charity's website is home to an on-line community with over 15,000 members, who interact through a series of Wildlife and Environment Forums. A few of the members also write blogs:

Pete's Walks

Deer Stalker

GuyF

Lincs Yellowbelly

Bugs Britannica - an update

The Bugs Britannica blog is continuing to attract interesting contributions from the public.

Here's an example, submitted by Ian Wallace:

Museum insect collections are full of human interest vignettes as well as the actual collections. Among those at World Museum Liverpool are a giant wood wasp, which sports an impressive egg-laying spike that a member of the public handed in during the 2nd World War thinking it was a secret weapon dropped by a German plane. Also along the war-time theme is a Scarce Swallowtail Buterfly with a few holes in the wings that the collector, Colonel J.A. Graham notes on the label “Jeancourt June 1917 blown up by a 3″ shell and picked up half dead”.

Guest Authors Wanted

Please get in touch if you would like to sign up as a guest author on this blog.

As a guest author you can either write posts for publication on this blog or insert links to posts on your own blog (see this example).

All you need to become a guest author is an account with Google/Blogger. If you're interested, please contact me via uknhb (at) btinternet.com.

RSPB Blogs

The RSPB has a team of bloggers who write on a wide range of topics:

Notes on nature

Investigations

Aren't birds brilliant!

Bird Flu

News

Fundraising

Other RSPB bloggers write about activities/developments on the society's nature reserves:

Minsmere

Hope Farm

Saltholme

Newport Wetlands

There are also several "nestwatch" blogs, which will presumably start up again once the nesting season gets under way:

Loch Garten Osprey Diary

Glaslyn Osprey Diary

Mull Eagles

A full list of the RSPB's blogs can be found here.

British Birding Blogs

Here's an alphabetical list of blogs by British birdwatchers:

Another Place...

Ashley's Birding Blog

Birding St Mary's

Birdnut 2

Birds2blog

Blyth Birder

bogbumper

Boulmer Birder

Borders Birds

Buckton Birder
Connor's Birding Site

Culture Birding

Diary of a Clyde Birder

Digiscoper

Dorset Dipper

Druridge Diary

Du Rose's Dogsthorpe Digest

Fraser's Birding Blog

George Bristow's Secret Freezer

HampshireBirder's Blog

Islay Birds

Joe's Birding Blog

Lutley Birder

Mark Lewis's birding blog

Newton Stringer

Nick Patel's Wildlife & Digital Photography Blog

Nonsuch Park Birder

On-firecrest's Birding Blockbuster

Peregrine's Bird Blog

Peter's Portfolio

pewit

punkbirder

Regent's Park Birds

Richard Ford's Birding Diary

Rob Fray's Shetland Wildlife Blog

Stoke Newington Birds

The Drunkbirders

The Natural Stone

Toadsnatcher

Weedon's World of Nature

Whitby Birding

Wright's Wanderings

Young birder

Youngmans Fancy

Young Norfolk Birders

Zac Hinchcliffe's Birding and Wildlife Experiences

I'm sure there are loads more birding blogs out there, so leave a comment down below if I've left anyone out. I will publish an expanded list at a later date.

The Flowering of Flickr

When I first stumbled across the photo sharing site Flickr, I thought it had great potential as a natural history resource. I'm pleased to report that, three years on, its potential is now being realised.

read more...

More New Blogs

barnsleywildlife

New Hythe Wildlife Blog

ST

Mark Lewis's birding blog

Mostlymacro

New UK-based Natural History Blogs

Urban Extension

Notes on Nature

Islay Birds

Dorset Greenwood Tree Project

shirls gardenwatch

Festival of the Trees #19

Festival of the Trees #19 is online now at Hoarded Ordinaries.