Mike Toms

Recent articles by Mike Toms

Pink-footed geese grazing on farmlands © David Tipling / Lonely Planet Images / Getty

Do wintering pink-footed geese cause problems for farmers?

Kernbeisser (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) Hawfinch • Ostalbkreis; Baden-Württemberg; Deutschland, Germany
The hawfinch has a super-strong bill © Erec Thielscher / ullstein bild / Getty

Do hawfinches ever visit gardens?

Canada goose. © Dave Porter/ Getty

What is moult-migration?

Duck drinking among Common Pochard, Aythya ferina, ducks at Welney Wetland Centre, Norfolk, UK

Which of our wintering ducks come from Russia?

Cuckoo-bird-Lillian-King_623_0-3c6060e

Is climate change hitting our summer migrants?

623_Waxwing_Suffolk_GaryChalker-2b9bf80

Do all migrants fly twice a year?

Close-up of a Song thrush (Turdus philomelos) with snail shell near St. Marys in the Isles of Scilly, a common bird in gardens, farms and woodland throughout Britain

Do birds other than song thrushes break snail shells on stones?

White tern on Midway Atoll in Hawaii. © Danita Delimont/Getty

Why do white terns lay their eggs on branches?

Woodcock at nest © Mirceax / Getty

If the woodcock is a wader, why does it live in woods?

Cuckoo-_Mark-Hamblin_Getty-silver-birch-Derbyshire_623-8b2ed58

Where do cuckoos go in winter?

The adult ouzel perching on a mountain ash.

Where do our wintering thrushes come from?

A robin's nest contained blue patterned eggs. © Marcia Straub/Getty

Why do some birds’ eggs have patterns?

iStock_000003185336_Small_623-5e68a88

What’s the difference between a song and a call?

oystercatchers_IolandaFrisina_623-9f5d9ca

Are pecking orders common in bird society?

Blue-footed booby with eggs. © James Stone/Getty

How do birds’ eggs form?