MPs must act before our rivers run dry

Lovely to see wildlife thriving in the local #God'sAcre of St Nicholas, #Thorne yesterday [13/06/2026] #Yorkshire #IsleOfAxhome #HatfieldChase Plenty of botanical interest in the quiet corners #Wildflowers alongside more usual garden types 🌾🌿🙂

She [Elliot-Smith] continued: “If this law goes unchallenged, it could shape how chemicals are regulated in the UK for generations to come.” www.endsreport.com/article/1961...

Not good in terms of numbers with a cool & breezy night here in the #HumberheadLevels last night but always good to get Privet Hawk-moth in the trap, repatriated safely this morning. #Yorkshire #MothsMatter

"Please consider signing the petition launched by Friends of the Dales, calling the UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Mary Creagh MP) to bring in legal reform to help stop the illegal persecution of birds of prey." raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026/06/11/h...

"Hoare said Kent was one of the few places bucking the trend, with population and distribution now growing."

"In a medical context, it provides a new framework for understanding how potentially dangerous, non-swimming pathogens could spread through the human body, or through hospitals and water systems, by hitching a ride with highly mobile communities." phys.org/news/2026-06...

Oops, should read "We need Govt./ #defra to ban the sale of retail #Peat" in fact, I struggle to see why horticulture still pleads needing yet more time to transition to alternatives 😪🤔😠 I've borne witness to >40 years of prevarication 😢🤬 we need politicians to step up & recognise industry tactics 👍

Oh dear, here we go again - modern haulage wagons struggle with rural roads to Europe's largest compost processing mill on the periphery of #HatfieldMoors SSSI #Doncaster Wonder if they'll return to clear the 'litter'? #HumberheadLevels & We need Govt./ #defra to implement retail sale of #peat

"The Foxholes drilling proposal, submitted by the energy company Egdon Resources, raises a simple but profound question: who is responsible for protecting vital groundwater resources when fossil fuel exploration intersects with public water supplies?" yorkshirebylines.co.uk/region/who-i...

#NaturalEngland new #HumberheadLevels office constructed from sustainable materials, site #hydrology still being researched by Tony's team to safeguard #Peat resource & maintain #Wetland so it can help challenge #ClimateChange

All three species of #Wildflower growing amidst stone wall & tarmac #UrbanPlants #IsleOfAxholme #HumberheadLevels Think the Campanula is Trailing / Serbian Bellflower, but happy to be corrected 🙂 #Botany

#BadMothPhotography Orange Footman a species which has seen increased numbers reported over the last couple of years #HumberheadLevels #Yorkshire #MothsMatter @bcyorkshire.bsky.social @ynuorg.bsky.social @doublekidney.bsky.social

Broken-barred Carpet from last night's Actinic session, once regarded as an uncommon species in #Yorkshire but increasing in recent years #HumberheadLevels #MothsMatter @bcyorkshire.bsky.social @ynuorg.bsky.social @doublekidney.bsky.social

Three of last night's #HumberheadLevels green moths 🙂 Always nice to see Blotched Emerald, found on a vane & the Light Emerald on the box with the Green Pug actually in the trap 🙂 #MothsMatter #Yorkshire #Lepidoptera @ynuorg.bsky.social @bcyorkshire.bsky.social @doublekidney.bsky.social

Appeal Court throws out Moorland Association's legal challenge against new burning regulations raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026/06/05/a...

"The Natural History of Yorkshire in 100 Species" project. Look what arrived in today's post 🙂 what a lovely surprise 🫠 Thank you Lucy & Team @teamneyedc.bsky.social Guess what species my May 2022 offering was 🤔 www.neyedc.org.uk/100-species

I've created a petition to get Winston Churchill replaced on the five pound note, with a Bog-moss. Sign here please. c.org/j7ZFc4qRFn

#WorldPeatlandsDay Statutory agency had total management control since 2004 but it takes the voluntary sector to step up with innovative #sphagnum propogation to help restore #Thorne & #Hatfield Moors SSSI #ClimateChange ##HumberheadLevels #Peat

Two of today's speakers at Thorne & Hatfield Moors Conservation Forum's AGM (Details in alt.). Our third speaker, Louise Hill (front row back of head in view🙃) updated attendees on the "Mire Emergency" aka Sphagnum propagation at Gomde, Lindholme (Hatfield Moors). #Botany #Yorkshire #Wetlands

Dashing out to Thorne & Hatfield Moors Conservation Forum's AGM & got slightly distracted by this handsome Oedemera nobilis climbing up the cottage wall! #Coleoptera #HumberheadLevels #Yorkshire #Beetles

'Share' if you agree this is not ok in a modern society!

A new species of fungus has been discovered in Britain that destroys an aggressively invasive plant, raising hopes that decimated native habitats could be restored... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

"Mosses are just one part of Britain's complex biodiversity. But as our nature is classed amongst the most depleted in the world, with one in six species at risk of extinction, discovering a control on habitat destruction is a cause for hope." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

#MothsMatter Always pleased to get one of these beauties in the trap. Privet Hawk-moth. Our largest hawk-moth & once regarded as a mainly southern species. #HumberheadLevels #Yorkshire #Lepidoptera

George - you were very good. It’s so difficult to think on one’s feet, in a combative atmosphere where air time is short and yet make good points, come across as sane and nice, and get things right. You smashed it! And you usually do.

ACT NOW to help stop the illegal killing of Foxes and other wildlife. Please respond to the government consultation on trail hunting by 18 June. The League Against Cruel Sports has created useful guidance that can help you through the process. Visit www.league.org.uk/hunting_consultation

Make your voice heard on pesticides…tell the Government you don’t want glyphosate in your gardens, parks, playgrounds and public spaces. ✋ Add your name to their #GrowersAgainstGlyphosate petition gardenorganic.org.uk/glyphosate-campaign.

Eagles poisoned. Hen Harriers shot. Buzzards beaten to death. Birds of prey have been legally protected for over 60 years, but the law is still failing them. Our new report reveals 921 confirmed persecution incidents across the UK between 2015–2024. Read more: brnw.ch/21x2Rir

Help from #Harvestmen #Opiliones fans requested! I am looking for photos of Leiobunum limbatum, Leiobunum gracile (tisciae) & Dasylobus graniferus for a project I'm working on. These are European species that have recently been recorded in the UK. Reply to this post or message me if you can help.

Palantir claims its software saves medics time they can spend on patient care. But leaked internal NHS documents have revealed that Palantir software is 10 times slower than alternative tool 🐌 https://goodlaw.social/t009

#BadPhotography #Urban #Wildflowers The ubiquitous Herb Robert gets everywhere to add cheer to concreted areas but Wood Avens isn't a species I find very often in neglected corners of urban areas (does its scientific name provide us with a clue🤔) #Thorne #Yorkshire #Botany

After months of work my Norfolk Pseudoscorpion guide for @norfolknats.bsky.social is now on the website free to see/download. Covers 20 species recorded in Norfolk so hopefully useful for other areas of UK. norfolknaturalists.org.uk/wp/wp-conten...

I built a thing for me and thought it might be useful for others. It's a set of guides, 20 at the moment, to help with my rubbish memory when doing ids in the field. Everything is cached on your device so works in low signal areas. naturesfieldbook.com

New in #BirdStudy Using trail cameras to monitor Corncrakes: Use of passive infrared-triggered trail cameras to study timing of breeding and habitat use of Corncrakes Crex crex in Scotland doi.org/10.1080/0006... #ornithology @rspbscience.bsky.social @rspbscotland.bsky.social

"Police call out Moorland Association for “wasting time & distracting from the real work” of Hen Harrier Taskforce." raptorpersecutionuk.org/2024/08/01/p...

If you are interested in learning to identify the UKs ground beetles there are free guides to download on my website johnwalters.co.uk/publications...

Euronews reporting on under-investment in new antibiotics to prevent the rise of untreatable infections. At the same time, our inadequate sewage systems create ideal conditions to cultivate new resistant strains, as Leana reports, here, for the BBC: www.euronews.com/business/202...

Tomorrow, I'll be a speaker at 'Europe's toxic legacy', a webinar based on some of the findings @watershed-i.bsky.social + @investigate-europe.eu made while reporting on pollution from historic landfills. There's still places available if you wish to join us: eu01web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

"Vindictive evil woman" & "Poisoned witch" to deliver free webinar on illegal raptor persecution for Friends of the Dales this Wednesday. ⬇️New blog #RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026/05/18/v...

Every day a school day ...... "There are vibrant ecosystems everywhere for those with the eyes (and microscope) to see. So next time you see a patch of moss or lichen, take a moment to appreciate the drama of life, death, and rebirth being played out in those microscopic worlds."

Speedwells: Online ID resources. A pictorial guide by Moira O'Donnell thewildflowersociety.org.uk/wp-content/u... A crib produced by James Common commonbynature.com/wp-content/u... An article from the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland bsbi.org/media/pages/...

Dwarf Milkwort: classed as Endangered on #GBRedList. Only 3 populations left in Kent & 16 in northern England. Good job our friends @speciesrecovery.bsky.social are helping it come back from the brink! Find out more about Dwarf Milkwort on its #PlantAtlas2020 page: plantatlas2020.org/atlas/2cd4p9...

➡️ Original study: doi.org/10.3897/zook...

🕷️ A comprehensive review of pseudoscorpion dispersal via hitchhiking on flies has been conducted, incorporating records spanning over 260 years. ➡️ Check out our guest blog post, written by Jana Christophoryová of Comenius University Bratislava: blog.pensoft.net/2026/05/13/t...

ACT NOW for wildlife and Woodcock! Deadline: 17 May. Wild Justice has been lobbying for a reduction in the shooting season of Woodcock. The government have now opened a consultation. Follow the link for more info about how you can make a difference for Woodcock and other species. buff.ly/1FQThDt

We’re helping species like Dwarf Milkwort come back from the brink. Want in? Join our free newsletter at www.speciesrecoverytrust.org.uk 🙌

It's a boy .... Curimopsis nigrita, only found on Thorne & Hatfield Moors SSSI #HumberheasLevels in Britain 🪲 Brilliant bit of impromptu filming of the wee critter, maybe small at around 2mm but a fascinating & enigmatic denizen of our beleaguered #Peatlands, a habitat still suffering 😪

'Ghost sky dance' - powerful new artwork documents the illegal killing of Hen Harriers on UK grouse moors. A superb collaboration by sculptor Mark Butler & writer @gregorynorminton.bsky.social - exhibition tour coming soon. New blog ⬇️ #RaptorResearch raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026/05/09/g...