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Twitter bird news and free text messages

Sightings of scarce birds are now being posted to Twitter accounts. It is possible to receive Twitter updates on your mobile phone via text messages. Most UK mobile carriers will include messages received from Twitter in your text bundle and some won't charge anything at all! You can therefore get real-time bird news texted to your mobile phone for free! Please check with your carrier to find out if charges apply to you. The links on the right might be of use.

When following these instructions please replace "XXX" with one of the following Twitter account names:

You can create a Twitter account and start following using your phone. To create a Twitter account text "START" to 86444. To start following text "FOLLOW XXX" to 86444. Charges may apply. Alternatively follow the instructions below to create an account using your web browser.

Create an account at twitter.com

  1. Go to www.twitter.com/signup.
  2. Fill in your details and click "Create my account".
  3. Follow the on-screen prompts.

Start following

  1. Go to www.twitter.com/XXX.
  2. Click the "Follow" button.

    3. Follow

    The "Follow" button will be replaced with the word "Following" with a green tick next to it.

    Following

Set up your mobile number

  1. Go to www.twitter.com/devices.
  2. Fill in your details and click "Start".
  3. Follow the on-screen prompts.

Get Twitter updates on your mobile phone

  1. Click the mobile phone icon next to the "Following" word.

    2. Mobile off

    The mobile icon will turn green indicating that you will now receive text messages.

    Mobile on

FAQ

Will I be charged for the text messages?

Neither Twitter or me will charge you for receiving text messages from Twitter. However, your mobile carrier might. Charges will vary depending if you have a contract or pay-as-you-go phone. Some carriers don't charge anything, some include them in your text bundle and some charge at your usual text message rate. My research shows that, generally speaking, it's free to receive text messages from Twitter (usually with a fair usage policy of about 500 messages per month). Please check with your carrier to find out if charges apply to you. The links on the right might be of use.

Which species will I receive messages for?

You will receive messages for a pre-determined list of species which have been chosen for their relative scarcity in the county. These species are indicated on the "Species" page by the Alert icon.