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 🪶

Huge win from @franzanth.bsky.social creating a Content Scraper Blocklist: bsky.app/profile/cont... It's a blocklist for the kinds of engagement bait accounts that repost stolen content, often with misleading captions.

Petition: Ban driven grouse shooting petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70... A few rich folk want to shoot birds and so they KILL everything else and show no respect for any rare bird or mammal they burn swathes of heather-contributing to pollution +floods+distasters we keep seeing. Ive signed

I've made a good Maga blocklist bsky.app/profile/did:...

How to take part in Wildflower Hour which is EVERY Sunday 8-9pm. During the week find an open flower (wild or naturalised, not planted) from anywhere across Britain & Ireland & share on Sunday evening using #wildflowerhour! Fancy an extra challenge? See if you can find ten blooms for #thewinter10!

Today I went on a wild goose chase at Swine Moor, Yorkshire- a successful twitch with two snow geese 👌 ✅️ #UKBirding 🪶 #RareBirdsUK @hcbirding.bsky.social

Little egret looking photogenic on patch today. Plus it was great to see a second kingfisher has now rejoined the first- they're a very vocal pair #SuffolkBirding #UKBirding 🪶

Picture 10, everyone. You can thank me later. www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/1...

Wow, they weren't kidding when they said the Amur stonechat shows well! #UKBirding 🪶 #SuffolkBirding @hcbirding.bsky.social

What secrets do the muntjac and magpie share? #UKBirding 🪶 #SuffolkBirding

Same.

A singular scabious is still out in flower on my local patch in Suffolk #WildflowerHour

Yellow-flowered strawberry from Norfolk last week #WildflowerHour

Hi, quick lowdown: -the For You feed is called Discover here. -add the Mentions and Quotes feeds to see those. -You can filter posts by tag, so tag your artwork to make it easier to find. -use the Sky Follower Bridge plugin to find your twitter moots -we have video, DMs, pinned posts now

Kingfisher back on my Suffolk patch, showing so close!! Haven't seen them here for almost a year. Of course I had to tell every dog walker that passed me to share the excitement 😍 #UKBirding 🪶 ##SuffolkBirding

Only took me all evening, but finally got AI to count gulls on saltmarsh drone imagery! Very pleased I figured this out! Red Diamonds on 2nd pic = manually located gulls, black dots = AI detected gulls Using QGIS with the Deepness plugin #QGIS #ImageDetection #UAV #Gulls

So hyped to see and photograph the comet C/2023 A3 this evening!! Very cool! @hcbirding.bsky.social

Narrow-leaved Pepperwort on the roadside. Future note to selves to keep more of an eye on traffic when plant recording 😅 #WildflowerHour #NorfolkFloraGroup @hcbirding.bsky.social

One month (!) of Yellow-browed Warbler records from @birdguides.bsky.social #ukbirding

I think my #WildflowerHour #FavouriteFind for this year has to be the Purple Milk-Vetch in Norfolk; I didn't know what it was when I first saw it but thankfully I had the excellent help of the #NorfolkFloraGroup

I didn't manage to get out botanising properly this weekend but did get to see this Sheep's-bit today at Winterton. Technically my second lifer of the day after the Desert Warbler! 🎉 #WildflowerHour @hcbirding.bsky.social

Fully lifered the Asian Desert Warbler at Winterton Dunes, Norfolk! #RareBirdsUK #UKBirding @sophieshrike.bsky.social

Asian Desert Warbler in Winterton 😍 #UKBirding 🪶 #RareBirdsUK @hcbirding.bsky.social

Ok I've made a starter pack of nature photographers who post all their own work and make it accessible with alt text. Thanks for the nudge to finally put one together.

every year 🥲🦉

Pale-legged Leaf Warbler at Bempton this afternoon #UKbirding

So thrilled to hear the Bempton Pale-legged Leaf Warbler emitting it's high-pitched 'tink' call and watch it tail pumping while stationary on a branch. A decent series of views over 2 days of a bird I never dreamed of seeing in the UK. This image brilliantly captured by Mike Edgecumbe #ukbirding