FINALLY GOT IT! I've taken well over 100,000 pelican pictures, maybe 200,000. Over 20,000 the past month alone. Today, I snagged "The One That Got Away" In my infinite optimism, I give you, a very rare: Fish success story. 🪶

We found a rare bird (only 4 previous ebird records in Sabah) in the form of a Fairy Pitta at Danum! Worth slogging the leech-infested trails in the dark 🎉 #BorneoBirding @sophieshrike.bsky.social

Finished up 5 days in the Danum Valley. Some of the toughest but most rewarding birding I've known. Giant Pitta and Bornean Ground-cuckoo both seen (!) but far too elusive for photos #BorneoBirding @sophieshrike.bsky.social

Gould's Frogmouth giving the death stare along the Kinabatangan River last night #BorneoBirding @sophieshrike.bsky.social

Another day, another Pitta! This time a Western Hooded Pitta along the Kinabatangan River. #BorneoBirding @sophieshrike.bsky.social

Black-crowned Pitta was a star from our time at Sepilok. What a dapper fella! #BorneoBirding @sophieshrike.bsky.social

The colours on this Black-and-Yellow Broadbill are really quite something! It landed nearby for a split second before melting into the greenery at Sepilok RDC. #BorneoBirding @sophieshrike.bsky.social

Bornean Peacock-pheasant today. Words don't do it justice! #BorneoBirding @sophieshrike.bsky.social

Wishing all of us many gorgeous nature adventures in 2026. Whatever chaos is happening there is always something beautiful or exciting or funny to see out there. 🌿

For millions of overtired parents, especially of small babies and/or neurodivergent ones, every fireworks night is a night of unnecessary, completely preventable, stress and psychological violence. Ban the sale of fireworks to the public, now. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...

A selection of passerines from Mount Kinabalu (names in alt text). We're now moving on to the steamy lowlands and a whole new set of species awaits! #BorneoBirding @sophieshrike.bsky.social

Happy New Year! Started off 2026 with a rather special sunrise. Went on a trek for Friendly Bush-Warbler but it remained distinctly unfriendly! Sundaic Island Thrush and Besra were good compensation though. #BorneoBirding @sophieshrike.bsky.social

Lots of rain on Mount Kinabalu but it didn't stop the highland endemic Whitehead's Trogon showing well - this is the female. #BorneoBirding @sophieshrike.bsky.social

Up there with my most wanted birds in #Borneo, the amazing Whitehead's Broadbill from Mount Kinabalu! @sophieshrike.bsky.social

I have returned to Bluesky to post that we have just seen Marbled Cat in Malaysian Borneo and I am very very happy. Thank you for your attention to this matter. @hcbirding.bsky.social

Scenes! #BorneanBandedPitta @sophieshrike.bsky.social

Found the immense Rajah Brooke's Birdwing (Trogonoptera brookiana) in the Crocker Range, #Borneo, today. Butterfly highlight right there! #Butterfly #Lepidoptera

A steady start to birding in Borneo today with Java Sparrow, Blue-naped Parrot, Common Iora and Chestnut Munia seen amongst others. Brown-backed Needletails harassing a Peregrine was amazing to watch but far too fast to capture on camera!

Tufted Duck shortly after dawn from my local park lake

The immature shrike at North Warren RSPB. Identification of birds this age to species is not often possible, but a suite of features visible suggest Daurian Shrike (Lanius isabellinus) in this case IMHO - comments in alt text #RareBirdsUK #SuffolkBirding #UKBirding

Whilst so intently looking for doves on St Agnes, Isles of Scilly, last week we enjoyed superb views of this European Turtle Dove @sophieshrike.bsky.social #IoSBirding #IslesofScillyBirding #UKBirding

Couldn't believe it when we found a Death's-head Hawkmoth caterpillar on the Isles of Scilly. A serious wildlife ambition achieved! @sophieshrike.bsky.social #TeamMoth

It's not a trip to the Isles of Scilly without a Longstones cream tea. Tried the Devonian method today, such a heathen but it works! Followed by the Holy Vale experience, replete with Yellow-browed Warbler and Firecrests. #UKBirding #IoSBirding

A Kestrel appeared in our garden on the #islesofScilly early morning, hunting moths around the moth trap #UKBirding #IoSBirding

Great to see Least Adder's Tongue (Ophioglossum lusitanicum) on Wingletang Down, St Agnes! Must have walked past it lots of times in the past without realising 😅 @sophieshrike.bsky.social #WildflowerHour #BSBI

A slightly better shot of the Mourning Dove yesterday on St Agnes. Thanks to the landowner and birders for allowing and arranging access. This was not only a first for the Scillies but also a first for England! #UKBirding #RareBirdsUK #IoSBirding #IslesofScillyBirding

American Mourning Dove finally in the bag!!! 3 days of searching put to rest. Tiny little thing. #UKBirding #RareBirdsUK #IoSBirding #IslesofScillyBirding @sophieshrike.bsky.social

*IMPORTANT* Please read & share, it could save you or a loved one from a lifetime of chronic system-wide illness. 🙏❤️ Today I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease.😔 I was bitten by 4 ticks 30 days ago & had a red rash come up around one of the bites, that soon started spreading... *Continued below

Revealed: 5,000 English nature sites at risk under Labour’s planning proposals www.theguardian.com/environment/... This is what the Planning & Infrastructure will mean, if it becomes law. Every single SSSI in England will lose its protected status, as well as non-SSSI sites for protected species.

The Government’s Housing Bill Branded a ‘Licence To Kill’ Protected Species for Property Developers. My latest for @bylinetimes.bsky.social @batconservation.bsky.social @cieem.bsky.social @dom70.bsky.social bylinetimes.com/2025/03/26/l...

Sharing a few photos from the amazing Flock to Marion Again cruise off South Africa in January, starting off with the first albatross of the trip, the smart Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross. #FlocktoMarionAgain @sophieshrike.bsky.social

Ahem

It’s nearly spring so time to swot up on warbler identification.

Don't mean to brag but there are now FIVE tufted ducks on my mini patch 👌 #SuffolkBirding

Curating a Starter Pack that will hopefully be useful to folk coming over to BlueSky and looking for all of the UK conservation orgs and recording societies go.bsky.app/Nget1LP Will keep adding to this. DM or reply to be added and please share.

Our programme of field meetings & indoor events for 2025 is now live! 54 events across Britain & Ireland, inc training days, webinars & workshops for beginner botanists; specialist & residential courses for experienced botanists; conferences & great days out: bsbi.org/field-meetin... All welcome!

I'm doing a free giveaway to celebrate the publication of my latest book! Like and repost to enter (UK only). Winner announced on Sunday. See the link below to find out more about the book. #freebie #giveaway

I hate to get political on here but I think it's important that we continue to have a habitable planet

Am I taking bad out-of-focus photos or is it ✨️artistic✨️ ? #SuffolkBirding 🪶

Ooh I already got tufted duck on my mini patch list this year! 💪 For context, 99.99% of the time it is mallards only and this is only my second tufted duck here- it's all relative! 🦆 #SuffolkBirding #PWC2025

I may as well join in with a 2024 highlights summary! 15 new British bird lifers, including my 2000th world bird species this year, with sociable plover in Cornwall. I also started regular local patching with 82 species for the year, including our patch mega joint find of palla's warbler!

Some 2024 birdy highlights in 4 photos - Sri Lanka Blue Magpie and Pied Thrush both in Sri Lanka, Dark-eyed Junco twitched in UK and working with Stone Curlews. Have a happy new year!

Today got involved with the first day of the #NewYearPlantHunt, including common groundsel, cock's-foot, daisy, and petty spurge if that counts as flowers! #WildflowerHour @hcbirding.bsky.social

I've really enjoyed doing regular local patching this year. Even in December I'm getting new patch ticks on my tiny inland patch with goosander and pochard the latest brief visitors on 15th and 21st respectively. Relatively common birds elsewhere but still a buzz here! #SuffolkBirding #UKBirding 🪶

What a way to bring up seeing 450 species in the UK than with the utterly brilliant Yellow Warbler at New Hythe GPs, Kent, today! Vocal at dawn, but it took till midday to see it well after which it was on show and calling almost constantly. #RareBirdsUK #UKBirding @sophieshrike.bsky.social

American Yellow Warbler at New Hythe, Kent - a fab lifer to end the year!! ✅️🎉 @hcbirding.bsky.social #RareBirdsUK #UKBirding 🪶

Please consider supporting Lego Black-faced Spoonbill by casting a free vote! Great idea to raise awareness for conservation 🪶🌏 ideas.lego.com/s/p:f6cb9380...

Since it's #Blackflyday here is one of my favourites, Tachina grossa. It's the largest European tachinid fly (1.5 to 2 cm long). I don't often see it. My photo was taken at Roydon Common in Norfolk in August 2021. Its larvae parasitise moth caterpillars. rcannon992.com/2016/09/20/t...

Sometimes I'm 🙁 but then I see any bird and I'm 🙂 #SuffolkBirding 🪶