VOTE NOW for Britain's Favourite Butterfly! The UK is home to 60 species of butterfly, each with their own unique story. But who will be crowned the nation's favourite? You don’t have to know your butterflies to take part! Vote for your favourite and help us to spread the joy of butterflies...

What a joy it was to have a natter with lovely Lucy Lapwing about her brilliant book, 'Love Is A Toad', at Peterborough @waterstones.bsky.social last night - big thanks to the wonderful audience and fab store staff!

Very enjoyable evening with @ajaytegala.bsky.social last night deep in the Deepings for their lit fest. Thank you to everyone who joined us—what a great night! Go and find cuckoos and nightingales this lovely spring day! #DeepingsLitFest #naturewriting

This week I return to a place I first visited 24 years ago – drawn back by something I couldn’t name then, but now recognise as hiraeth: a deep connection to somewhere that feels like home, even if you can’t explain why. Some places stay with you. They shape you. They call you back.

@ajaytegala.bsky.social and I are in conversation about our shared love of birds and place on 1st May at the Deepings Literary Festival. Join us in Fenland! deepingsliteraryfestival.co.uk/festival-pro... #Deepings #AuthorTalk #naturewriting

Appreciating the dawn chorus in spring on my local woodland patch

Habitat generalist butterflies tend to be faring better in the UK. Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) had its 4th best yr at @ukbms.bsky.social sites in 2025. It also had its best yr on record in Scotland. In the UK, its numbers are up 87% since 1976, but in Scotland abundance is 566% up this century

50 years of data reveal specialist butterflies disappearing across the UK, but the good news is that conservation efforts are making a real difference - helping butterflies isn’t complicated, we can all be part of the solution by making places butterfly-friendly 🦋 @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Thrilled to feature on BBC Radio 4’s 'Harrier Angels' with Robert Macfarlane. From carved angels to harriers roosting on Wicken Fen, it’s a story of persecution, recovery and sky-dancing wings. I hope you enjoy: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Happy 20th birthday to Wicken Fen's oldest Highland cow, Speedwell (named after the wildflower) who has spent her whole life on the Cambridgeshire nature reserve: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/cambri...

Took a walk this afternoon to blow away the cobwebs - crunching on shingle beneath the North Norfolk sky

Some feathery facts and foot folklore: taking a look at the grey heron - a symbol of #spring and good luck

I'm excited to share the latest Wild Tales episode, made at @wwtworldwide.bsky.social Welney, exploring the lives of our wild winter swans, delving into their behaviour, epic migrations and the people who study and protect them 🦢 www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zKN...

Some great birdwatching moments in The Fens this week: Long-eared Owl by the Nene Washes and Bittern at Deeping Lakes

It was a pleasure to report on the winter weather, here in The Cambridgeshire Fens, for the BBC Radio 4 Today programme

A close encounter with a flock of starlings that decided they quite liked the tarmac road!

Latest #blog post from #Morston #pond www.morstonpondswamp.org/post/the-fal... how as #community #volunteers we continue to try to rid our pond of invasive #crassula @themarshtit.bsky.social @ajaytegala.bsky.social @bramblebotanist.bsky.social @avalanchechris.bsky.social @steffanaquarone.bsky.social

Our showreel has landed! If you love nature, folklore and seasonal stories, book Witching the Wild Year for your venue, event or festival - perfect for seasonal celebrations, theatres, museums, nature reserves, gardens, heritage sites... Email [email protected] or message me ✨

This weekend, I had the great pleasure of speaking on a panel at the National Trust's Annual General Meeting, chaired by the brilliant Charlotte Smith (of BBC Countryfile and Farming Today) - it was genuinely great fun and a real honour to be asked!

This sounds like a fascinating evening talk!

So much fun Witching The Wild Year at the historic Talbot Hotel in Oundle with my lovely, celestial collaborator Zoë Howe ✨ Thank you to our lovely audience for making it a magical evening

So exciting to get a visit from YouTube superstars Dan and Phil ...and get to appear in their latest spooky video! www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFD4Isfa-tA (I pop up about 4 mins in)

Fantastic to finally meet Dara McAnulty on Wicken Fen and chat nature in celebration of his new book 'A Wild Child’s Guide to Nature at Night'. Dara’s enthusiasm made the conversation a real joy; the children in the audience were captivated — and it was wonderful to hear how much he loves the Fen!

I spent a nostalgic morning at Deeping Lakes with Melvyn Prior, chatting about my teen years volunteering on the reserve and how those early experiences shaped my career! Our chat is available on the @lincswildlife.bsky.social Wilder Lincolnshire podcast: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bdv...

Zoë Howe and I are bringing 'Witching the Wild Year' to Oundle's Talbot Hotel – an evening of ghost stories, folklore, foraging tips, nature notes and a folk song or two. Thu 30 Oct, 7pm - Talbot Hotel, Oundle Join us if you dare — tickets are vanishing fast! talbothotel.co.uk/upcoming-eve...

Morning crane fly-by - a flock of 55 cranes flying past our house in the light fog this morning!

Sound on for whooper swans fresh from Iceland, back in the Fens for the winter - welcoming these beautiful birds is a highlight of October here in Cambs/Norfolk!

📣Good news! Wicken Fen Nature Reserve has recorded 10,000 species of wildlife making it the first known UK site to do so. Records date back 200 years, in the 20th century 13 species new to science were discovered, and in the last 25 years records have surged as the reserve expanded. buff.ly/EEmfTjc

After six years of home-working and book-writing on makeshift setups — from the kitchen table to a camping table — I finally have a proper desk! This beautiful piece belonged to Norfolk boatbuilder Harry Last (1900–98). After a bit of polishing, it has a new lease of life as my home office desk.

What a beautiful sunrise this morning on Blakeney Point! Always great to catch up with the NT wardens and UCL academics

Only a few tickets left for the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme 50th Anniversary Conference! We're looking forward to celebrating 50 incredible years of butterfly monitoring and volunteer achievement. 🎉🦋 Book your free place 👉 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/uk-butterf... #UKBMS50

Such a fantastic day @wildsummituk.bsky.social yesterday - a coming together of nature conservation organisations, such unity, much-needed optimism, drive and determination - a pleasure to be part of it with @savebutterflies.bsky.social 🦋

Some wonderful events at #WildSummitUK this morning, across our smaller stages @wwtworldwide.bsky.social has explored what ‘access to nature’ means & we loved hearing the ideas on how to help insects with @savebutterflies.bsky.social, @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social, Buglife & @ajaytegala.bsky.social

The #BigButterflyCount results are in 🦋 unfortunately, butterflies have failed to shine despite the hottest UK summer on record - find out more and help support @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Around 65 cranes flying over the village yesterday - a bit distant, but a very exciting sighting from our garden! (On the Cambs-Norfolk border not far from @wwtworldwide.bsky.social Welney)

Such an honour to narrate the latest @nationaltrust.org.uk Wild Tales episode - The Overview Effect featuring astronaut Tim Peake! Listen here: youtu.be/Azduz1E46NU

Join our panel of experts from Butterfly Conservation, Buglife and @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social to discuss the latest science and your ideas about what a People’s Rescue Plan for Insects should include! Do you have a question about insect recovery for our panel? Let us know 💬 @ajaytegala.bsky.social

As summer fades, it’s the perfect time to plan something magical for the dark nights ahead. Join Zoë and I for Witching The Wild Year: a cosy night of wonder with wild tales, ghost stories, folklore and seasonal secrets: 30 Oct Talbot Oundle 01832 273621 31 Oct Kirk Theatre Pickering bit.ly/47M1qYp

Such a pleasure to welcome @nationaltrust.org.uk youth ambassador @aneeshwar.bsky.social to Wicken Fen yesterday. Aneeshwar is a ray of sunshine! It was wonderful to see his excitement as he explored the Fen for the very first time and became an honourary ranger for a day - helping check the Koniks.

Radio 4's Martha Kearney visits Wicken Fen, makes an aeolian harp with Kathy Hinde, learns about the windpump from Gez and chats nature & history with me in today's episode of Open Country - catch up here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002hb97

With insect species declining across the UK, it’s clear we need a rescue plan🐞 Join the discussion at #WildSummitUK with @savebutterflies.bsky.social, @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social & @ajaytegala.bsky.social putting your suggestions to them🦋 Book tickets👇 wildsummituk.eventbrite.co.uk

I’ve got a dazzling wildlife encounter to share! Near Cambridge, I heard that unmistakable peep before spotting not one… but a family of kingfishers! I had a privileged close-up of a juvenile. Kingfisher sightings are a sign of good fortune, so here’s hoping a little of that magic comes your way!

Join us at #WildSummitUK and help shape our rescue plan to save insects 🦋📢 This one-day event brings together campaigners, politicians and communities in Bristol on 11 September for a day devoted to action for nature. Will we see you there? Get your tickets at 👉 buff.ly/WGbenAR

With insect species declining across the UK, it’s clear we need a rescue plan🐞 Join the discussion at #WildSummitUK with @savebutterflies.bsky.social, Buglife, @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social & @ajaytegala.bsky.social and put your suggestions to them🦋 Book your tickets👇 wildsummituk.eventbrite.co.uk

11 years, 1 month & 11 days is the longevity record for Swallow in Britain & Ireland! 😮 🪶 You can share your sightings with us by using @birdtrack.bsky.social at www.birdtrack.net 📷 Swallow by Philip Croft/BTO

Did you know, William II - son and successor of William the Conqueror - was killed by an arrow 925 years ago today: 2 August 1100, the day after Lammas. The King of England was hunting in the New Forest at the time. 🎨 Matthew Paris, c.1253 #OnThisDay #history #DidYouKnow

Had great fun quizzing @ojborg.bsky.social about @savebutterflies.bsky.social live on @bbcradio2bot.bsky.social Midnight Mastermind - catch up here (intro from 28:20, questions from 32:45): www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

The @savebutterflies.bsky.social Big Butterfly Count runs until 10th August - take part and help protect these important insects bigbutterflycount.org

Had a great afternoon on Wicken Fen chatting to Martha Kearney for an upcoming episode of BBC Radio 4 Open Country

It was great to see Mike Dilger from @BBCTheOneShow & @ajaytegala.bsky.social again, & to also meet Seniz Mustafa. We all met up to promote the @savebutterflies.bsky.social #BigButterflyCount 🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋 #citizenscience #butterflies #butterfly