Superb blog post with some exquisite images. Can’t wait to see (or even find!) one of these far eastern beauties. Interesting to hear a key reference highlighting just how distinct this (sub?-)species really is, especially with regard to recent (taxonomic) changes to the British List. #RareBirdsUK

Hawkmoths at Wakehurst Place Glow Up event this evening. Trap is on a timer at home 👍 #TeamMoth

I honestly think this could be a real game changer for all coastal/riparian rare bird enthusiasts, especially the ‘knit your own vegan yoghurt in an upcycled low-carbon tiny house’ types. Twitch without a guilty conscience (apart from the odd bit of road kill) and get fit doing it. #BirdingGear

I saw the ‘84 Teeside Lesser Crested Tern (then slept in a bivvy bag on a golf course). Nowadays most of my twitching is vicarious. It is also less stressful and way more comfortable! Having read of the recent elusive Devon bird this bit of kit might come in useful for some? #RareBirdsUK

I enjoyed an extended sojourn in north Norfolk last year and this windmill was always a feature of the drive along the beautiful coast road; birding at the NWT Cley Marshes reserve, trudging out to Blakeney Point, searching for fossils and enjoying the varied delights of the coastal towns.

I can’t resist posting another photo of Aseroe rubra (Anemone Stinkhorn). This was the largest specimen I found and nicely shows the remains of the ‘egg’ it emerged from. Surrey 4/12/25 #fungi #FungiFriends

‘Researchers from the University of Bonn develop a fish-inspired filter that removes 99% of microplastics from washing machine water’ 💦 #biomimicry

A few years ago I went to collect my grandson from his mate’s house where his little sister was sat on the floor. The baby had her mum’s phone in hand and I watched in astonishment as this child, who couldn’t even talk or walk, scrolled to her favourite music on the device 🎵 then rocked out to it!

Rust art piece, all my own photos. #rustart #rust #welshartist #abstractart

What a spineless hypocritice! Surely the socialist founders of the @teamlabouruk.bsky.social would be turning in their graves if they saw the state of the party nowadays; Reform lite, getting cosy with disaster capitalists like BlackRock, supporting genocide, ecocide and letting the poor rot.

Real wildlife laws unlike feudal Britain

Ireland’s first stranded #narwhal washes up on Donegal beach www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

If Britain is to renew itself, it will not be through punishing weakness, poverty, ill health, disability or immigrants. It will be through recognising the strength and potential that exists in every person and building the systems that allow that potential to be realised.

This fascinating short article is highly recommended for anyone interested in marine mammals, zooarchaeology, history, folklore, Orkney and the links between humans, seals and the sea. @mammalsociety.bsky.social @coastalpaleo.bsky.social @nesmammals.bsky.social @marinemammalogy.bsky.social

Incredibly, it wasn’t until the Equal Franchise Act of 1928 when women over 21 were able to vote. My grandfathers were born in a time when females were deemed somehow inferior. Sadly this archaic attitude persists as some of your trolls are clearly lagging behind in terms of social human evolution.

The ‘dresser’ from the Neolithic village of Skara Brae on Orkney. Occupied from around 3100 to 2500 BC, the prehistoric settlement is one of the best preserved in the British Isles. 📸 My own. #SkaraBrae #Neolithic #Orkney

Presumably criminals are dumping waste because an expensive license is required to use the council recycling centres. Surely it would be more sensible to allow free access so materials can be graded and sold on, rather than wasting money employing staff and vehicles clearing up fly tipping?

Pink-footed Geese arriving in the rain, Sheringham - seemed an apt image for this morning's weather. Rain drops peppering the watercolour washes. Not the greatest weather forecast for an exhibition preview evening but such is life!

Some say ‘𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡’, ‘𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑦’ or ‘𝑔𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡’ but I’m so repulsed by the majority of these venal scoundrels that I propose a new collective noun: 𝐀 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐔𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐒 @susiedent.com @merriam-webster.com @oxfordacademic.bsky.social @universitypress.cambridge.org Cartoon: Osmani Simanca

Crikey, I passed a young woman earlier with such colossal false eyelashes that she could have really done with scaffolding on her face to keep ‘em in place!! ⺣👀⺣

Well that was off my rarity radar. What a superb find! Are there any other European records of this subspecies?

1/ “The first impression of Spurn is hardly a cosy one, the second impression is an abomination of desolation!” I doubt Julian Pettifer returned but the wildness is exactly what draws so many to @spurnbirdobs.bsky.social and the @yorkswildlife.bsky.social centre. youtube.com/watch?v=CULU...

A hugely significant publication from the great RJ Ussher in the Irish Naturalist of 1897: Great Auk bones in kitchen middens at Tramore Sandhills - barely 2 km (as the auk can’t fly!) from the 1834 live capture of the species between Brownstown Head & Ballymacaw, Co Waterford

So the former Ecology Party became so anti-science as to suggest humans can even change sex! IMHO they’ve been infiltrated by bad faith actors intent on destroying it from within. I’m awaiting a huge #GreenParty scandal involving top officials before the next election to further alienate voters.

How can #birding be more accessible to people with #disability? See our research on constraints and facilitators!

A mind-blowingly cool few days rock-pooling down at Falmouth last weekend concluded with a session at Helford Passage. We found a cockle new to Cornwall! Plus a load of other cool stuff. Full story in my blog... analternativenaturalhistoryofsussex.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...

"Upland forests are like natural rainmakers," Jiang said. "Protecting these ecosystems isn't just about biodiversity—it's about sustaining agriculture." #ClimateEmergency and #NatureCrisis intimately interlinked phys.org/news/2025-11...

Nuclear was never about ‘clean safe energy’. The plants were built to produce plutonium for warheads. Alternatively, billions in govt grants should be invested creating real sustainable employment in the area. I wrote ⬇️ days ago and now hear of a recent earthquake off the Anglesey coast! #Wylfa

For 30 years there has been one species firmly at the top of my hit-list: Crimson Speckled. 30 years ago they had an almost mythical status, now more regular of course. So I was beyond elated to find this in one of the traps this morning!!! @migrantmothuk.bsky.social @dorsetmoths.bsky.social

I speak for many birders when I say that the price of some optics is just ridiculous nowadays. I know you get what you pay for to some degree… but you don’t require a marketing PhD to realise that many more units could be sold if the price point was more affordable. #BirdingGear

Great exhibition that many CNHS members attended last night. Our patron, Dafila Scott was there too with some of her wonderful paintings. #dafila.bsky.social #staplefordgranary.bsky.social

Poverty is a policy decision. Concentrated wealth is a policy decision. Inequality is a policy decision. Remember this.

Based on what I've been able to find out, her name was probably Mary Frances Lewis and she lived in Ludlow

Remember: There is nothing natural or inevitable about extreme inequality; it’s the result of an economic system that values wealth and power over human dignity and justice. It doesn't have to be this way.

Great to speak at the @ethical-consumer.bsky.social conference this morning Imagine if normal people owned more of the economy we depend on... 💰🍎💧🚄💻⚡️⚽️

Wow, we found an even bigger and brighter one!!! analternativenaturalhistoryofsussex.blogspot.com/2025/11/how-...

Many thanks for the recommendation Lukas.

Can anyone recommend resources (both print and digital) to improve my rusty knowledge of the etymology of Greek/Latin/scientific names of flora & fauna? Many thanks!

Our new paper is out! We show that assessing the effects of adding flower patches in cities is complex and their direct benefits for pollinator communities and pollination aren’t always straightforward. @plantspeopleplanet.bsky.social #openaccess doi.org/10.1002/ppp3...

Brava!

Found a range of fungi incl. these smart Scarlet Waxcaps (Hygrocybe coccinea) nr Ringinglow, S.Yorkshire recently. Adjacent fields were emerald green from nitrate fertiliser application but this biodiverse pasture is too steep for the tractor! @britishmyology.bsky.social @sorbynathissoc.bsky.social

I also find it deeply ironic that some humans take it upon themselves to ask the artificial intelligence assistant @grok if a video or image has been generated by… wait for it… artificial intelligence! 🤦‍♂️