Falsterbo Migration Festival, Sweden in pictures

 Beach life

 TUB at the Falsterbo Bird Fair

 Lurking in the Extremadura booth

 TUB discussing the UK's Vote National Bird Campaign

 Announcing Sweden's newly elected National Bird - The Blackbird

 Cormorants against a moody sky

 A migrant Common Redstart

 Spot the Spotted Flycatcher (Vanesa Palacios)

 Spotted Flycatcher (Vanesa Palacios)

 Spotted Flycatcher spotting flies (Vanesa Palacios)

Honey Buzzard

Ebro Delta Bird Festival

In mid- September I found myself in sunny Tarragona, Spain in the Ebro Delta some 90 minutes drive south of Barcelona. The Delta is a coastal expanse of ricefields that at this time of year is in the process of being harvested. It is at this time that wonderful marshy wetland areas are exposed after the harvest - a magnet for a plethera of birds. 

 A view from the fair to the coast

 The venerable raptor guru, Dick Forsman, delivering a talk

I was visiting the 2nd ever Ebro Delta Birding Festival http://www.deltabirdingfestival.com/?lang=en as a general spectator. It was my first visit to the area in 13 years but I remembered nothing of it during my exploration!

 Audouin's Gull 

 Can anyone name this dragonfly?

 Little Egret

 Garganey

 Yellow Wagtail (Iberian race)

 Booted Eagle

 This field is rammed with waders - believe me!

 Another Audouin's Gull

 Pied Flycatcher 

 TUB checking a Great Reed Warbler 

The SEO Birdlife reserve next door to my hotel

Old Moor RSPB Reserve, Barnsley

I visited this really neat little reserve that was once an epicentre for mining. Over the years it has been totally transformed. 

 Lapwings with Dunlin and on Curlew Sandpiper. Can you see it?

 Green Sandpiper

 Common Snipe

 Goldfinch

 Common Redstart

 Linnet

A pair of Tawny Owls

The Land Trust

 Rabbit Ings Country Park, Barnsley

Back in September I was lucky enough to be invited to Yorkshire to visit some community spaces and parks that they have created and manage.

In short, the Trust have taken blighted collieries and derelict pits and turned them into beauty spots on the edge of urban areas that are alive with wildlife. Rabbit Ings CP was my first port of call and it looked like a very interesting site. Rangers told me that even Short-eared Owls frequent the area during the winter.

 Frickley Country Park

Frickley CP was the next port of call. With its seven miles of paths I found it hard to believe that it was once a colliery.

 Frickley Country Park - another aspect

 Meadow Pipit

We visited a selection of other sites that they have crested in the Sheffield area including Warren House Park near Doncaster.

 A tribute to the National Bird drawn by kids in Warren House Park

 Dinnington Community Woodland

 Dinnington Community Woodland was my favourite spot as it seemed to hold a lot of potential for some good birds.

 I particularly liked the small wetland area on this site. Despite the heavy footfall from dogwalkers et al, I really felt that this portion of the site would make a great local patch.

TUB, the Land Trust's Ian Kendal and Sarah Williams

I admired the work that The Land Trust do because it really reflects my feelings when it comes to regenerating land