The Birds Mate blog
Practical, UK-grounded guides to birding with the phone you already own — identifying songs, logging fast before it flies, and the gear that's actually worth the money. No anorak required.
Days out · Where to bird
The best RSPB reserves to catch your birds
A dozen brilliant RSPB nature reserves across the UK to head out to, fill your collection, and back the charity that keeps these places wild. Puffins, bitterns, ospreys and murmurations, from Suffolk to Belfast.
30 June 2026 · 6 min read · Read →
Smartphone birding · Pillar guide
The modern UK smartphone birding guide for beginners
Use the phone in your pocket as birding kit — sound ID, offline maps, a lock-screen burst shortcut and a few quid of mic shielding. The one-hour beginner setup, no £400 optics required.
30 June 2026 · 8 min read · Read →
More in the “modern UK smartphone birding” series landing soon — mic fixes, no-signal logging, cold-weather battery, owl screen settings and more.