Moving on out

Honey-buzzards are on the move. Last week at Falsterbo, southern Sweden, several hundred were logged passing through. Mostly adult birds, all of whom will have made that journey south before, but waves of juvenile birds will soon follow, heading to Africa for the first time.

The observation provides a slightly tenuous link to announce that I, too, am moving on. After almost five years as Editor here at British Birds, I will be leaving for pastures new in a little less than a month. The last few years have seen considerable change in the organisation, as we have navigated rising print and paper costs, an expanding digital and social-media offering, and a period of enormous transition for the publishing industry in general. I’m happy, though, to be leaving BB in the same strong place it was in when Roger Riddington retired at the start of 2021 and, although many elements of the production process and the internal structure of the company have changed considerably, BB has, I hope, retained its core values, aims and interests.

It’s also reassuring to be leaving the organisation in very capable hands: the Board of volunteer directors continue to dedicate a considerable amount of their time and effort to BB to ensure the business continues to grow and develop, while Sarah Harris (a lifelong birder, ringer and BB reader, currently working at BTO) will take on the role of Editor & Content Manager, offering a capable and well-trusted pair of hands to steer BB into the future. 

Stephen Menzie, Editor