Birdwatch is always keen to receive topical and interesting material for publication.

These guidelines are designed to help anyone who wishes to write for Birdwatch or its website, or contribute images.

Contributing articles and news stories

Material commissioned directly by the magazine from experienced birders and writers will usually be undertaken on a commercial basis by individual agreement.

Uncommissioned writing may be sent to the magazine on the understanding that it may be used without payment. All written feature material or reviews will be clearly credited to the writer.

The following sections will give further guidance:

• Writing for Birdwatch
• Writing news stories
• Writing features
• Writing reviews
• Writing for the website
• Writing resources

Contributing images

Birdwatch welcomes the submission of digital images of rare and scarce birds from Britain, Ireland and the Western Palearctic. Images for inclusion in our online galleries are also welcome.

Please submit your work as unenhanced high-quality JPEG files with a resolution of 300 dpi and a width of at least 15 cm/6 in (1,800 pixels). Images can be emailed individually or in small batches to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , but the combined size of file attachments to any single email should be no more than 10 MB. Alternatively, very large or multiple files (including TIFF files at the same resolution as above) can be sent on a PC-formatted CD. Please ensure that the CD has a protective sleeve before mailing it to the Editorial Department, Birdwatch, Solo Publishing Ltd, The Chocolate Factory, 5 Clarendon Road, London N22 6XJ, UK.

All submissions will be considered for publication in the printed edition and online at www.birdwatch.co.uk. Payment for use in the magazine will be made by the end of the month of cover date at the usual rates (available on application); please note that no fee is payable in respect of online publication as, like other such sites, the Birdwatch website is provided as a free service to the birding community.

Any material that needs to be returned must be submitted with a stamped, self-addressed envelope (overseas contributors should supply payment in sterling or UK stamps to cover the correct cost of returning items to their country).