Changes at birdguides.com

Dear BirdGuides subscriber

I am writing to let you know that the BirdGuides website and news service will shortly transfer to new management.

Our website birdguides.com first went live in 1996, two years after Dave Gosney and I founded BirdGuides itself. This was one of the earliest websites in the UK. Over sixteen years later the site is among the busiest destinations for UK birders and we are proud that the service has become an important and valued resource for many people.

Our original website, born 27th December 1996.

Three years ago, the senior team at BirdGuides (John Cromie, Fiona Barclay and myself) became involved with a new venture touchpress.com publishing apps for iPad. This business has become a considerable success, demanding ever-increasing amounts of our time. Last year we came to the conclusion that we could no longer do justice to the simultaneous opportunities presented by both companies. So we decided to seek a new home for BirdGuides.

I am pleased to say that we have now reached agreement to transfer ownership of birdguides.com and the associated sightings news service to Warners Group Publications plc. You will be familiar with Warners as the publishers of Birdwatch magazine. We are delighted that BirdGuides and the loyal community we have built up around the business will be in such good hands. Dominic Mitchell, Managing Editor of Birdwatch, has commented regarding the acquisition that: "BirdGuides is the leader in its field and a very successful innovator of birding products. We look forward to maintaining that tradition and the high standards of service the company has set."

Key staff at BirdGuides (including webmaster Dave Dunford, news manager Josh Jones and the news team) will remain with birdguides.com.

Our green look from 2004.

The original owners of BirdGuides are retaining the field-guide apps and our interactive software including BWPi. We also continue to own the large multi-taxa film library that we have built up over many years. We will shortly be publishing exciting updates to our existing apps along with several brand new titles under our new identity NatureGuides (natureguides.com). The first of these is an app field guide to the Bumblebees of Britain & Ireland featuring illustrations by Richard Lewington. You will continue to hear about these NatureGuides projects through birdguides.com.

Please may I take this opportunity to thank you for your custom and support over the past many years. I would also like to express our sincere gratitude to key partners particularly the BTO, Butterfly Conservation, British Birds and Digital Spring. We wish you all the very best in your birding.