New garden and new moths! Moved back East to Peterborough. A new moth for me this morning: Toadflax Brocade. On 75 species, expecting to go over 80 and maybe close to 90. Heat made sleeping hard but mothing exciting! Always a joy when the trap is full up. #teammoth

Amazing to see huge swarms of Cockchafer beetles in Ailsworth yesterday evening. Never seen that before. There were so many swarming around the trees. Zooming around over the grass in the park.

Another first for me in Austria were hundreds of trees wrapped in Ermine moth webs. Seen hedges coated in the UK but never found whole trees. Incredible to see. Amazing how much webbing these tiny caterpillars produce. Fascinating to see the entire trunk wrapped up, like clingfilm! #teammoth

Bidding a fond farewell to Austria today. I'll miss waking up to Grinbergspitze mountain each morning. Mayrhofen is an incredible place to stay. I can't wait to return and explore other parts of the Alps. They're such a special landscape.

Further evidence of the complete system collapse with regards our rivers. Nothing works or is fit for purpose. It is desperately sad. Campaigner threatened with prosecution by Environment Agency after waterway cleanup www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Blink and you'll miss it! Just watched a Dipper pair flying through this waterfall to reach their nest. Incredible to witness. Such remarkable birds.

A final high alpine walk for me as my Austrian Alps holiday draws to a close. Reached my highest point of the trip at 2278 metres. Awe inspiring views of the Zillertal Alps. Amazing wildflowers everywhere, including lots of Bird's-eye Primrose. Mazarine Blue and Ring Ouzel the other highlights.

A more sedate day today, to ease my aching legs. 6 miles along the valley floor. Beautiful chapels and churches. Lovely rivers and waterfalls. Screaming Swifts and gliding White Admirals the highlights.

Today was all about the alpine flowers. Up above 2000 metres in the Austrian Alps. Alpine Snowbell, Globeflower, Trumpet Gentian and many more I could not identify. A kaleidoscope of colour. Pure magic.

Breathtaking walk in the Stilluptal valley today. More lovely butterflies, including Thors Fritillary which was new for me. Large Blue and Chequered Skipper also great to see. Some cool beetlew too and the ever present wildflowers.

This is fantastic. We need more of this. Properly monitored and quantified. But we need decision makers to listen. The science isn't new. It is about giving nature space to do its thing. When we take everything, as we normally do, we make problems for ourselves www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Wonderful 8 mile walk exploring the Zillergrund valley. Up to Steinerkogl and down via Brandberg. Lots of lovely flowers and butterflies. Black-veined White and Birds nest orchid may have been the highlights. But there were so many delights. Just paradise!

Arrived in Mayrhofen for a week in the Austrian Alps. The Zillertal Valley is stunning. Feels like paradise. Views of the majestic mountains from my hotel room balcony. Can't wait to get walking the trails tomorrow. Excited to see what wildlife I can find.

Lots of wonderful wildlife in my parents garden. The Slow worm in the compost heap and Mullein moth caterpillars the highlights. The usual bat was out last night. Two hedgehogs seen recently. Painted Lady butterflies too. Ermine moth caterpillars on the apple and spindle. Newts in the pond.

Final day in Snowdonia. Climbed Moel Siabod. Lovely walk, although the ridge path up was tough. Especially in the hailstorms! Another Cuckoo heard. So many here. Such a stunning and special part of the world. Can't wait to return!

A more gentle walk today, after the exertion of yesterday. Starting in Trefriw and going round two lakes: Llyn Geirionydd and Llyn Crafnant. Lovely views and lots of bluebells. Soundtrack of Cuckoo's (four or five) and Willow Warblers. Just wonderful.

Marsh Fritillary for me! Get voting!

Fantastic walk up Y Garn in Snowdonia. Up via Lyn Idwal and Devils Kitchen and down via steep ridge back. Amazing panoramic views. Tryfan a welcome constant brooding presence. Bilberry Bumblebee the wildlife highlight, a new species for me.

More thrilling urban wildlife seen today in Peterborough. A Peregrine perching on the block of flats opposite my office block. Lovely to watch it preening its feathers. Below by the road, the gory remains of its breakfast. I think it's a pigeons wing!

This morning on my daily walk to work in Peterborough I heard my first Cuckoo of the year. It brought genuine joy to my heart.

Wonderful trip to Old Sulehay and Barnack Hills and Holes. Pasque flowers, Bluebells, Wild Garlic, first ever Toothwort, Nightingales singing, first Willow Warblers singing, Nomad bees. The pure magic of spring! 😁

The miracles of migration will never cease to amaze me. And in a world of so much turmoil and uncertainty, it feels strangely comforting to see birds like this continuing to live out their lives. All is not lost and the world can still function.

I love this time of the year. The world is waking up. Intricate tiny details everywhere. The spring blossom is stunning. Blackthorn and willow an explosion of intricacy.

Not sure I can find the words after watching this. Of course I knew about the scandal. But this drama hits so hard. There aren't words strong enough to describe how I feel or how bad this situation is. www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

The Somerset Levels is drying out. King Alfred's monument emerging from the flood that engulfed it a month or so ago. Curry Moor remains full. Pumps on and powering the water away, down the rivers to Bridgwater Bay.

Spring in the air tonight and on Sunday during my @webs-gsmp.bsky.social count at @wwtworldwide.bsky.social Steart Marshes. Skylarks were singing. Such a glorious sound. A group of smart Grey Plover the highlight.

A glorious sunrise walk around the Quantock Hills today. Dead Women's Ditch > Somerton Combe > Shepherds Combe > Ramscombe. I love it there so much. Golden light, twisted oaks, wild streams, far reaching views, open heath.

Vast volumes of water moving slowly through the Somerset Levels and Moors. These photos show the King's Sedgemoor area, looking towards RSPB Greylake and the A361. Water transforms the landscape. Amazing to witness its power.

Just been doing my Somerset garden moth trap records data entry (yes I know I am always late!). Nice to reflect on the previous year. Euchromius ocellea was my highlight of 2025, new for me. I am now at 623 species on my life list. I wonder what 2026 will bring. #teammoth

An admirable decision and one that shows courage and leadership. We will need much more of this as the climate breakdown intensifies.

Another year and another wonderful UK Moth Recorders Meeting. An annual highlight for me. These were my two favourite talks; from Kent and Ireland. Thanks to @savebutterflies.bsky.social for continuing to put on this lovely event each year.

Took a walk to look at my local floods in Somerset. From Burrow Mump to King Alfred's monument along the River Tone. Lots of water on land and in the river. Tone has over topped its northern bank. Amazing to watch the power of the flow.

Muted tones and mist on my early morning @webs-gsmp.bsky.social at @wwtworldwide.bsky.social Steart Marshes. Big flocks of Lapwing and smaller groups of Avocet the highlight. Not ideal conditions as not at high tide. Always a joy to be out there though.

This is an issue that I worry about a lot too. Traditional ecological monitoring techniques often tell you more than new modern methods. We must not abandon them. Too many people are rushing to embrace new technologies without thinking about the issues.

The world is changing. We have decisions to make. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

This is a wonderful book. I'm halfway through and enjoying it. These passages stood out. We need to rebuild our connection to the natural world. Too many of us now have no link to it. It is alien to so many. People don't know, understand or care about it. We have lost so much.

I found this dogs vomit slime mould this morning in Somerset. Such a strange looking thing! Wonderful name too!

This is significant. Probably more significant than we realise. It will be impacting other wildlife, particularly invertebrates that are more sensitive to changes in flowering and vegetation growth. It impacts our management practises. What once worked may not now. The world is changing.

This intrigues me. I need to find out more. In England we have species with legal protection. I wonder how this differs from what we have. What extra does it provide? It is an exciting and interesting movement, which we are lagging behind on in the UK.

Another crucial milestone in the Rights of Nature journey! www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Wonderful visit to @rspb.bsky.social Ouse Washes. It looked stunning in the sunshine. Lovely to see the Whooper Swans. Also saw a huge group of Coot, never seen so many! Kingfisher, Lapwing, Wigeon, Teal also great to see. A really lovely reserve to visit.

Government's proposed new National River Walk a damp squib says @openspacessociety.bsky.social -it's not new, but on existing rights of way. Priority should be green paper on access to nature, and new legislation. www.oss.org.uk/new-national... @ramblers.org.uk @naturalengland.bsky.social

I walked the line of HS2 from London to Birmingham. This is what I found: www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte... More widely, the scale of construction going on outside Birmingham was epic. All this striving for... no economic growth. The model isn't working anymore.

Just finished a wonderful long walk from Middlezoy to Langport, across the Somerset Levels. Stunning misty sunrise. 18 cranes on Aller Moor, bugling away. Kingfishers on the River Parrett. Lots of Lapwing around too.

Lots of birds on my @webs-gsmp.bsky.social count at @wwtworldwide.bsky.social Steart. Dunlin flock grown to 5000. Hundreds of Wigeon on the River Parrett, whistling away. Watched a Peregrine hunting the Dunlin, incredible to watch it launch itself at the flock. @btobirds.bsky.social

1. Some good news at last. This week’s column is about the amazing thing a couple of us stumbled into three years ago, which we’ve now developed into a global research programme. It doesn’t change everything, of course, but it could help change quite a lot. + 🧵 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

"But I have also watched in continuing dismay what we might call the Thatcher syndrome: apparently intelligent politicians failing yet and yet again to have the courage to implement the decisions necessary to tackle the ever more imminent danger of climate change."

The birds are back! Great @webs-gsmp.bsky.social count today at @wwtworldwide.bsky.social Steart Marshes. Dunlin, Wigeon, Teal, Pintail, Shelduck, Peregrine, Red Kite, Marsh Harrier. The mesmerising Dunlin murmuration is always a joy to see.

"Facts alone cannot save habitat." Wise words. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

One of the most amazing things about Corfu was the swifts. They screeched across the sky in the old town, screaming over the rooftops and through the squares. It was a raw and thrilling spectacle. Two different photos here, one black and white and the other colour. Which do you prefer?