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Welcome to the Rare Bird Alert website

Established in 1991 Rare Bird Alert is the longest running instant birdnews service in the UK. Our team of experienced and dedicated birders check and send reports as soon as they break, sixteen hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Ways to get our birdnews

We offer the most comprehensive range of birdnews services to suit all birders. If rarity hunting is your thing, just like to bird locally or only go birding occasionally we have a solution to meet your needs. If you would like any advice or help with any of our services please contact us today.

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Pagers

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Still the ultimate tool for birders in the field who don't want to miss news.

  • Unrivalled reception works in many parts of the country where mobiles don't. Particularly good coverage in rural 'birding' areas
  • Flexible change the areas you get news from whenever you want
  • Packages to suit all birders
    local pagers covering individual counties or entire coverage for the UK, you decide
  • TRY FOR FREE today
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From
£134
per year

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Online

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  • Live birdnews over 100,000 sightings per year, updated all day, every day
  • Newsmaps so you can see where the birds are
  • Photo Gallery share your photos of birds in Britain
  • Previous Records fully searchable database of all the accepted rarities in Britain and Ireland, including maps, stats and photos
  • Articles finders' accounts, identification papers, news stories and much more
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Only
£59.99
per year

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Phones

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iPhone and Android App

  • Alerts instant alerts on breaking news
  • Browse the news search the news using quick links or build advanced filters
  • Gallery latest UK bird photos

Text messages

  • Instant text alerts to breaking news to any phone
  • Great for occasional use
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From
£59.99
per year

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Latest article

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Why bowerbirds build bowers: controlling the show, not just decorating the stage

A new synthesis argues bowers evolved to shape what females see and hear-turning courtship into a sensory 'theatre' rather than a brute-force beauty contest. More here >

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Babblers, by the numbers: colour metrics tidy up a muddled subspecies map

Chestnut-winged Babbler complex reshaped: Bangka-Belitung form revived, Banyak Islands name sunk, and Borneo's boundary pushed south. More here >

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Dormice don't 'happen' upon bird nests - they go looking

Nine breeding seasons of individual tracking show Edible Dormice repeatedly visit nest cavities at night and most encounters end in predation. More here >

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New Light on an Old Traveller

Great Reed Warblers breeding in Kazakhstan follow a unique, curved migration route to East Africa - and make a remarkable two-step journey home each spring, More here >

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Why Aren't We Using Bird-Safe Glass?

Decades of research show that simple design choices can prevent millions of bird deaths each year - yet most buildings remain deadly. More here >