One person’s childhood vision has grown into a movement taking Crowthorne by storm! 🪶 A record 38 people turned up for the village swift walk, and we had to add two extra dates to keep up with the demand!

Saturday walk around Whitecross Green Nature Reserve with @dmesg.bsky.social first time ever seeing a Wasp Spider #ukwildlife @bbowt.bsky.social @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social

This female Purple Hairstreak was unusually accessible yesterday at @bbowt.bsky.social Dancersend Waterworks - spending ages slowly feeding on Knapweed and thistles a long way from any Oak trees. What a delight!

🐇 Who doesn’t love spotting rabbits hopping through long grass during a walk in the countryside? They were first introduced to the UK by the Normans for food and fur but are now a common sight for many.

To start off National Moth Week, discover some moths you may find whilst out and about this summer! ✏️ Illustrations by Prisha

This male southern migrant hawker was spotted hanging out at Whitecross Green Wood! This dazzling dragonfly, also known as the blue-eyed hawker, is a recent arrival to Britain. 📸 Phil Townsend, Volunteer Warden at Aston Clinton Ragpits

💙 Viper’s-bugloss is a vibrant blue flower that blooms in late spring and summer, but where did it get its curious name? 👉 Discover more wildlife this July: buff.ly/KBuszOf

🪲 Staff from BBOWT's Landscape Recovery and Land Management teams, and the Future Nature WTC Land and Farm Advice Service had a great day out with local farmer facilitators, hearing about the Farming Insects project in the Chilterns. 📸 Charlotte Newberry

A local wildlife success story! 🐸 We had a wonderful walk around Lent Green Lane pond, in collaboration with the Friends of the Pond residents group, and Simply Walk. 📸 Barbara Polonara

Some new grey wagtails have entered the world! 🩶💛 With thanks to our friend Henry for sending us his fantastic trailcam footage from Waterstock Local Wildlife Site.

The meadows at Gallows Bridge Farm are full of colour! Which wildflowers can you spot in these photos? 📸 Chloe Bradford

Make a difference for nature: bbowt.org.uk/join-us You can: 🌳 Restore wildlife across your landscape 🌇 Bring nature into towns and cities 🦋 Protect threatened species on your local Wildlife Trust reserves

🌱 If you want to restore nature in your community but don't know where to start, get inspired by what this local group has achieved in just a few years. 📍 Eco SoCo in Sonning Common, Berkshire, is a local community group looking after nature in their area. buff.ly/Uf9B3C8

🪹 As its name suggests, the house martin can be spotted nesting in the eaves of houses in our towns and villages! Its intricate mud nests take days to build, and as drier springs make mud harder to come by, installing aritifical nest cups is a crucial way to support the declining population.

🦋 Thanks to the wonderful work of the West Berkshire Volunteers and Land Management Team, two boards have been installed at Snelsmore and Greenham Commons for engraved butterfly plaques. 📸 Adrian Wallington

🦋 Have you seen many butterflies yet this summer? Here are just a few to look out for along woodland rides and hedgerows!

The Nature Festival shows what's possible when universities, charities, local organisations, volunteers and communities come together. Together we're helping more people discover, understand and care for the nature on their doorstep. @bbowt.bsky.social

Wrens are opportunistic nesters! This pair have nested in the used bale twine at Chimney Meadows Nature Reserve. A great example of how not being too tidy can be good for wildlife 🪹 📸 Louise King

We’re hiring - Fen Futures Project Officer 🌿 Join our team and help restore some of our rarest wetland habitats. You'll deliver an exciting project focused on conserving endangered invertebrates of lowland alkaline fens, including the Southern Damselfly. Apply now: www.bbowt.org.uk/jobs/fen-fut...

🌞 With the summer holidays just around the corner, we have nature-filled fun for all the family at our Sutton Courtenay Environmental Education Centre, and Woolley Firs near Maidenhead! 👉 Find out more and book: buff.ly/UtdgMZg

I had one at @bbowt.bsky.social Dancersend Reserve the other day enjoying the prolific Knapweed but these were the best photos I could get. I see them regularly in my garden but not so often 'in the wild'.

Our Senior Land Manager, Tom Hayward, discovered an ant nest constructed around a ragwort plant at Greenham Common. Ants may build satellite colonies around ragwort to 'farm' the aphids living on the plant, and bring their sugary excretions back to feed the main colony.

📣 Volunteering opportunity! Our Retail and Information Volunteers are the friendly first point of contact for everyone visiting The Nature Discovery Centre near Thatcham. It’s a rewarding role that puts you right at the heart of our conservation community!

Gaze upon His Imperial Majesty! 🦋 Our Senior Land Manager, Roger Stace, discovered this purple emperor butterfly at Warburg Nature Reserve, desperately searching for moisture or minerals in the baked soil. In the midst of the hot, dry weather we've been experiencing, its proboscis is working hard!

We’re hiring! 📣 Membership Assistant Join our friendly team and help support our members with a variety of admin tasks. You’ll keep processes running smoothly and will play a key role in creating a great member experience. Apply now: www.bbowt.org.uk/jobs/members...

Very pleased with myself for not immediately looking in Hymenoptera when I spotted this lovely insect on Scabious at @bbowt.bsky.social Dancersend. Even more pleased to have acquired the @naturebureau.bsky.social Flies Guide which quickly led me to Physocephala rufipes, the Waisted Beegrabber

There's something magical about putting pen to paper while sitting in nature ✍️🌳 As we come to the end of #30DaysWild, why not give it a go? ✏️ Draw a flower 🪶 Sketch a bird 📝 Add notes Skilled illustrator and volunteer Prisha shares how drawing outside helps her to appreciate the nature around us.

🌱 Are you aged 16-21 and looking to get involved in conservation? We have an exciting opportunity to join our new Youth Volunteering Panel! You will use your voice to help shape the future of volunteering within BBOWT and join the movement for change to protect nature. 📸 Gavin Dickson

New one for me - walking my @ukbms.bsky.social butterfly transect at @bbowt.bsky.social Dancersend with hazy sun and the thermometer hovering around 30 degrees. Hard work with them constantly on the move. So many Ringlets and Skippers. Nice to see S-w Frit and longhorn beetle Stenocurus meridianus

Not sure whether you've spotted a swift or a swallow? They do look similar at first glance, so here's a guide to tell them apart! ✏️ With thanks to our talented Communications Volunteer, Prisha, for her stunning pencil illustrations.

Have you ever tried keeping a nature journal? It is not about perfect drawings. It is about noticing more, slowing down, and seeing nature in a new way. Read our top tips 👉 buff.ly/dQPIqmP

This Swift Awareness Week, learn some fascinating fun facts about these iconic birds! 🪶

Celebrate your #30DaysWild journey so far by taking a quiet moment to step outside and look up at the night sky (you probably won't need the hat, scarf and hot chocolate tonight!)⭐💫✨

🐝 Wasps... complicated. Hyperparasitism? Kleptoparasitism? Inquilines? It's a good thing that Phil Bruss is here to clear things up, and explain why insects aren't just part of the scenery. Watch the full video here: buff.ly/wjKtMd0

What do you love about nature in Oxford? What could be improved? Come and have a chat with Becky on Saturday 27 June at thenaturefestival.org/event/rooted... @naturerecovery.bsky.social @morethanadodo.bsky.social @biodivoxford.bsky.social @ecioxford.bsky.social

Have you heard of the big five? 🪲 Coleoptera 🦋 Lepidoptera 🪰 Diptera 🐜 Hymenoptera 🥤 Hemiptera For Insect Week, Phil Bruss is here to help us get our heads around all that insect diversity! Watch the full video here: buff.ly/wjKtMd0

Did you know that glow-worms are actually beetles which use their bioluminescence to attract mates?  This one was spotted by our Data Manager, Ellen a couple of weeks ago at @bbowt.bsky.social ’s Whitecross Green Wood Let us know if you spot one: https://tverc.org/recorders/share-your-records

🪰 We’re celebrating the UK’s flies! Flies don’t always get the appreciation they deserve. They play hugely important roles in our ecosystems, but they’re also amazing in their own right. They can be beautiful, colourful and wonderfully weird.

💦 Help your garden wildlife by providing some water. Here are some different ways you can try for different creatures. 🐤 Small bird drinking station - Floating logs in your pond, ideal for robins and sparrows.

🐦️ Blackbirds are usually the first birds to sing in the morning, making their presence known before the sunrise. This songster seemed startled by the presence of a trail camera in his territory! Thank you to Henry Manisty for sharing his fantastic footage from Waterstock Local Wildlife Site.

Looking for soldierflies yesterday at BBOWT's Parsonage Moor (Cothill Fens) and was pleased to see females of the rare Orange-horned Green Colonel (Odontomyia angulata) @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @bbowt.bsky.social @gailashton.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social

A great opportunity to find out about restoring chalk grassland at Dancersend www.bbowt.org.uk/events/2026-...

Join Alice & Jenny for a gentle outdoor workshop in Headington Hill Park to slow down and reconnect with nature, your senses, and your creativity 🌳🎨 Find out more and register at thenaturefestival.org @morethanadodo.bsky.social @bbowt.bsky.social @biodivoxford.bsky.social @ecioxford.bsky.social

☀️ With another hot week, remember to look after yourself and your local wildlife. Here are five simple things you can do to help wildlife in your garden.

Want to learn about INSECTS? 🦗🪲🦋 As Insect Week begins, Phil Bruss is back to take us on a tour through a world of six-legged wonders. Keep an eye on our socials this week for more videos from Phil, or watch in full here: buff.ly/wjKtMd0

Join us on Mon 22 June, 7pm for a free @bbowt.bsky.social Volunteer Community online talk on wildlife recording with TVERC. 👉

The day-flying Six-belted Clearwing moth Bembecia ichneumoniformis seen at eastern end of Greenham Common today - lots of its foodplant bird's-foot-trefoil in flower @upperthames.bsky.social @bbowt.bsky.social @tverc1.bsky.social

Happy summer solstice ☀️ It's officially the longest day of the year. With a whopping 16 hours of sunlight today there is so much time to get outdoors for #30DaysWild! Let us know how you'll be celebrating 👇 📸 Russell Savory

☕️ We were delighted to welcome the Mayor of Thatcham, Cllr Mark Lillycrop, and his Mayoress, Jenny Lillycrop, to the Nature Memories Café at the Nature Discovery Centre! They joined our regular attendees in making leaf and flower imprints in clay discs 🍃

🦉 We're thrilled that six barn owl chicks were ringed at one of our reserves on the Upper Ray Meadows! This is the first time in several years we've recorded barn owls breeding on the site. All box checks and ringing performed under license by the Bucks Owl & Raptor Group (BORG). 📸 Steve Thomas