Greenshank, Lesser Black-backed Gull and flowering Hawthorn on my wander down the Wansbeck this morning. #timestheyareachanging

Second Winter Bird Survey visit to my Northumberland square this morning for @btobirds.bsky.social was a quiet affair with 20 species recorded but lifted by my first singing Mistle Thrush of ‘Spring’

Marco Gabbiadini has aged a bit..#NUFC

Cruise-ship stowaway owls set for US return after living it up at Spanish resort

Reform UK’s attack on nature protections risks destroying the UK's already fragile ecosystem | Stuart Spray

Next week a must-win for #nufc, not for the obvious Derby joy but many of the teams just above or around us are playing each other and will drop points as a result - it’s a chance to move up the pack and get our noses in front.

Jesus - @zackpolanski.bsky.social is absolutely fucking brilliant as he ANSWERS, coherently and credibly, questions and (unsuccessful) attempts from Kuennsberg to trip him up. Vote Green @greenparty.org.uk, people. Listen to him/them, this is an opportunity to start turning things around.

Last light in #Northumberland this evening.

Morning hour with the old dog in local woods turned up 2 Gt Spotted Woodpeckers and a Goosander. Afternoon reprise at Druridge in with a Slav Grebe plus the juv Gt Northern Diver doing marathon lake laps. A watch till dusk elsewhere failed with owls but a Sparrowhawk hunting Starlings was cool.

Only 2 years since the ban on neonics, France's population of insect-eating birds has risen 2-3% - from banning a single type of insecticide. Demonstrating just how much harm we cause birds when pesticides kill off the insects they need for food. @paneurope.bsky.social

Decided to potter around Druridge Bay this AM. Five Snow Buntings, Gt Northern Diver and Common Scoter on freshwater, Spotted Redshank, Pintail, Cetti’s Warbler, a trickle of Twite, single Fieldfare and a few Siskins, 3-4 Marsh Harriers kept me ticking over. #lowcarbonbirding #northumberland

Enjoyable mid-Nov seawatch at Newbiggin this AM with a good range of species on heavy seas. Two Little Auks N, 2 Velvet Scoters, 3 Arctic Skuas, 53 Little Gulls, 2 Gt Northern Divers and a good range of wildfowl inc 20 Goldeneye and 7 Shoveler N. A Woodock whizzed S. #lowcarbonbirding

Watching Labour MPs take a wrecking ball to nature makes me so angry & so sad. Their action tonight voting down amendments to the #PlanningBill intended to protect wildlife & habitats from destruction is so reckless & so counterproductive. People didn’t vote Labour for this 👇

If you're into Bird Identification, check out the new #BirdID feed. Post to the feed with the hashtag #BirdID. Share and repost for those with an interest in Bird Identification. Hopefully we can see some good discussion, postings and learning on the platform. bsky.app/profile/did:...

Swifts are declining. Not recovering. Climate change is the root cause, reducing first-year survival. Nest boxes are not changing that. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

Brilliant that Black-necked Grebes are doing well such smart birds but can’t help feeling a little sad that they’re absent locally in what used to be a former stronghold in the 80s. Counts of 30+ were possible back then and multiple breeding sites, all now gone. #northumberland

Climate change – the world after tomorrow Records of chaos following historical climate change offer a warning to contemporary global society By Dr Pam Jarvis

The real ghoul haunting Britain this Halloween. static01.nyt.com/images/2025/...

At 14:31 exactly nine years ago, burned into my memory this wee thing raised my pulse like no other has before or since.

Springsteen Deliver me from Nowhere is such a powerful film, enjoyed it back in my home town this evening “The place we came from is no longer there..”

Most of England, deluded and ready to hit the self-destruct button (yet again) if this is to be believed. A country about to fall victim to the grift and tear itself apart.

UK wind power benefits and costs 2010-2023 : Lower energy bills through avoided gas: £14.2bn Avoided infra & new gas generation: £133.3bn Subsidies paid to wind power: - £43.2bn Overall benefit to UK economy **£104bn** Don't believe the wind power haters www.theguardian.com/environment/...

No matter which party is in charge, the shots are being called by powerful donors, not ordinary voters. No wonder most people feel so cynical about politics – they’re dealing with a cost-of-living crisis, while politicians from both parties are on the take. substack.com/home/post/p-...

That irrational fear is best expressed by the guy in this article who doesn’t want the river navigation opening up in case it brings “small boats” with immigrants into a town in the middle of the Peak District.

Quiet morning sea-watch and stroll around the Moor trying out the new fleece-lined BirdGuides Waterproof for size. A couple of Twite, some close-up Purple Sandpipers and an increase in Rock Pipits were the best if a quiet 4-5km circuit. #lowcarbonbirding

Yay. Priceless. The right column at the right time. And a gleefully English two fingers to the haters.

Some pretty harrowing scenes of bird flu hitting the Common Crane population coming out of Germany! youtu.be/sRJeCLgzcKY

That third goal was a thing of absolute beauty by the way #NUFC

Decent morning around Newbiggin, felt rare but in the end failed to deliver a big prize.Two Velvet Scoter in an hour peering through mist, a Woodcock fresh-in at the church. Long-tailed Duck surfing in the bay, Twite by the old football field and a Common Redstart out on the Moor. #lowcarbonbirding

Was just 4km away watching a bit of a raptor-fest (2 Marsh Harriers, 5 Buzzards, 3 Kestrels and a Sparrowhawk) when the other Alan T hoyed out the news of this beaut.

British.

“The importance of viewing climate denial as a defence of modernity is to understand that anti-environmentalists have got something right: there is something fundamentally incompatible between the idea of environmental limits and foundational aspects of the modern world-view.” My piece in Resilience

One of the most incredible WTF!! moments I have witnessed in 41 years birding Belvide. 8 White-rumped Sandpiper on the north shore between 4pm-5.30pm. Just short of a British Record of 11 on the outer Hebrides. Thought I'd lost the plot when I saw them. Still pinching myself. #UKbirding

“To be a birder is to fall in love. Obsessively, irrevocably and, perhaps, foolishly. This love, it creeps up on you.”

I know statistics are poorly understood and are misused. But facts matter Between the 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2021 Census *every* ethnic group in the UK has become *less* geographically segregated and *all* groups, majority and minorities, are more likely to interact with people not like them

We always knew that Labour cares about little else other than keeping private developers happy. But here's proof showing off to JP Morgan despite destruction of some of the "rarest creatures in our country." Let's make that description Labour votes. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

First BTO Winter Bird Survey visit this morning, little of note, 70 Golden Plovers, a single Stonechat and six Whoopers S the giddy heights. An amble back via a few sites at the coast produced a 1w Spoonbill, Great Northern Diver and 4 Barnacle Geese on the deck.

Smoke and mirrors drivel There is no such thing as sustainable aviation fuel We need a prohibative levy on the minority that flies for fun every other weekend No new airport expansion and a ban on private jets And train not plane for domestic travel www.theguardian.com/business/202...

The Taiga Two have eluded me over last two days here in N’land but a decent start to October finding a Great Egret at Colt Crag Reservoir this PM. #lowcarbonbirding

A nice shift in perceived colour between central and peripheral vision. The fixated disc looks purple while the others look blue. The effect presumably comes from the absence of S-cones in the fovea. From Hinnerk Schulz-Hildebrandt: arxiv.org/pdf/2509.115...

Green Party - Nationalise the water companies, tax the super rich, invest in our public services, stop the genocide, lower bills. The Telegraph - Greens are "hard left."

A major influx of Curlew Sandpiper has taken place across Britain and Ireland during September 2025, with the arrival considered the most significant for many years:

Are Curlew Sandpiper numbers high across Europe during this Autumn or are they concentrated further W in Britain? Be interested in any comments from further East.

How Reform UK Ltd’s policy proposals would deepen divides Reform UK’s rise may seem like change – but its policies will gut the same communities as austerity and make the richest richer still By John Hall @yorkshirebylines.co.uk

Revealed: ‘Corporate capture’ of UN aviation body by industry

The UK's leading insect-conservation charities have issued a united declaration on insect declines, calling for urgent, co-ordinated action:

Quiche at the beach and a dog walk this evening- didn’t expect a Ruddy Shelduck in off the sea with 8 Pink-feet!

And some folks say he's up there still.

Yet more compelling evidence to support @greenparty.org.uk policy that public services should be in public hands 👇

Bit of Tues afternoon garden tidy-up after a morning’s birding (2 Curlew Sandpipers and a couple of Swifts and first Rock Pipits).Chiffchaff singing goodbye from my woodland canopy as the odd House Martin dashes south overhead and a late summer Speckled Wood dances low across the lawn. Love Autumn.