Sweeping birch under oak this morning provided two new insects: the Nationally Scarce Pammene splendidulana (Shining Oak Tortrix) & the commoner Anaspis fasciata. Later 4 Wood Sandpipers with the local Crane #NorfolkBirding. Green Hairstreak & Pammene rhediella (Fruitlet Mining Tortrix) there too.

I think my personal highlight from today's @norfolknats.bsky.social walk at Wendling Beck was finding this Green-socks Peacock (Elaphrus riparius). It was my first peacock beetle and I found it in exactly the spot (the muddy edge of a pond) that I've looked for them previously but without success.

Lots of alderflies on the wing at the moment. Most will be Sialis lutaria but there are two other species, at least one of which is in Norfolk (fuliginosa: so far only recorded at Wendling Beck). They require a close look at the tip of the abdomen to identify to species.

Looking forward to showing people round part of the Wendling Beck Project tomorrow. Lots on the wing there today and the forecast looks just as good for tomorrow.

The atypical song of the Westleton Iberian Chiffchaff can be seen in sonograms of the bird compared to more typical sonograms. This is the Westleton bird. Note the descending quality across the first two phrases. The structure of the “wheep” notes is atypical too. 1/2 #ukbirding

Some snaps from the the local area over the last few days: Marsh Tit still common round here, a Crane that's been here since February, Green Hairstreak at a new site for the species yesterday and Light Orange Underwing at it's only known current Norfolk site. #NorfolkBirds #NorfolkMoths

Our new Atlas of UK spider, harvestmen and pseudoscorpion records is now online at britishspiders.org.uk/atlas. It gives access to 1.6 million records and is constantly updated with data submitted and verified via irecord.org.uk/enter-srs-records.

A new set of some 600 grasshopper recordings from southern Europe, shared by Julien Barataud. Below an example Eugryllodes escalerae, xeno-canto.org/1095289

Interesting thread about a strong contender for the surprisingly scarce Herring Gull x Great Black-backed Gull #BirdHybrid…

I’ve just watched 'My Garden of a Thousand Bees' filmed in Bristol by Martin Dohrn and available on BBC iPlayer. Absolutely mind-blowing and quite possibly the best wildlife documentary I’ve ever watched.

I built a thing for me and thought it might be useful for others. It's a set of guides, 20 at the moment, to help with my rubbish memory when doing ids in the field. Everything is cached on your device so works in low signal areas. naturesfieldbook.com

I have updated the @norfolknats.bsky.social species guide to Norfolk Psyllids, which is available to download from the NNNS website here: norfolknaturalists.org.uk/wp/wp-conten... It now covers 60 species (about 3/5 of the British list) so is hopefully of use even for those outside of Norfolk.

A subtle intersex Teal from Draper hide at Rye Meads the last few days. Female type bill, mixed head pattern, male breast and coarse variegated barred flanks, yellow undertail without black surround.

A relatively quiet morning at Waxham, with the exception of a side-by-side view of the Glaucous and Iceland Gulls off Waxham Sands Campsite. A single White Wagtail was also of note on the campsite turf.

Apolygus - simplified Apolygus is a tricky genus, but the impact of a new paper (if widely accepted) simplifies things. As a confirmed taxonomic lumper, I approve! - ajcarthropoda.blogspot.com/2026/03/apol... #Bugs #Hemiptera #VC55 #Miridae

The last group of beetles, finishing my 2+ year-long project of working through my outstanding specimens and reviewing my old records, is the bark beetles, Scolytinae. Often difficult to ID but if I haven’t made any mistakes then some relatively unusual ones among them. IDs in ALT text. #UKBeetles

Here are some more weevils: from subfamily Hyperinae, Brachypera zoilus and what seems to be Hypera venusta, and from subfamilies Lixinae and Mesoptiliinae, the lovely Rhinocyllus conicus and Magdalis carbonaria. #UKBeetles

A reminder that this event is next week, Tuesday 24th March 2026. It would be great to see many of you there!

Oak-galls in Britain by Robin Williams Available at: www.nhm.ac.uk/resources/re... #wasps #Hymenoptera #plantgalls

The weevil subfamily Entiminae has taken me a while to go through. Some of them are delightful chunky dumplings of beetles, like these: Barynotus moerens, Attactagenus plumbeus, Otiorhynchus rugosostriatus and Graptus triguttatus.

Loving the article on #BirdHybrid Great Spotted x Syrian Woodpecker. Illustration of a hybrid by @artkokay.bsky.social is a great choice for the cover. A candidate for vagrancy to the UK too (more likely than pure Syrian) with apparent hybrids recorded in Netherlands & Germany: I didn’t know that! 🪶

Of all the possible consequences of the Iran War, this one does not rate very high up on my list of concerns. Frankly, if I was one of the returning expats facing unexpected tax bills, I hope it still wouldn't be. www.standard.co.uk/news/politic...

More weevils… here are some of the highlights from the Curculioninae subfamily: Furcipus rectirostris, Cionus longicollis (pair), Acalyptus carpini and Dorytomus tortrix. The Cionus genus is adorable!

I’ve now finished reviewing my records and specimens of Apionid weevils. They’re cute little things, if often tricky to identify. Arguably none as attractive as the Sea-lavender Weevil that @arableplants.bsky.social posted last night, so a trip to the coast to find that may be in order this year.

The weevil families Rhynchitidae and Attelabidae are beautiful beetles. Here we have the Nationally Scarce Lasiorhynchites cavifrons, Tatianaerhynchites aequatus (Apple Leaf Weevil), Deporaus betulae (Birch Leaf Roller) and Apoderus coryli (Hazel Leaf-roller). #UKBeetles #UKInverts

I’ve resumed my efforts to get up to date with my beetle records, reviewing past records and identifying outstanding specimens. I’ve now finished off the Chrysomelidae and am making progress through the weevils, then I can move on to the bugs… Here’s the tortoise beetle Cassida viridis.

I was a bit slow seeing this but a really interesting #BirdHybrid here…

Rare and Sensitive Breeding Birds. Please avoid posting photos of rare and sensitive breeding birds and divulging their location and nest sites from 1st March to 31 July. #CornwallBirds #BirdsInCornwall #CBWPS #Bird #Birds #Birdwatching #ConnectWithNature #WildIsles #BritishWildlife #WildCornwall

Final call for any outstanding 2025 bird records. Please send to [email protected] as soon as possible. Not required if already submitted to Ebird/Birdtrack. Thanks

#BirdID #BirdHybrid

Here are some much better photos of today’s Snow Fleas…

Chuffed to bits to see Snow Fleas (Boreus hyemalis) today at Felbrigg. Huge thanks to @vannabartlett.bsky.social for finding them previously and providing directions and to @caryocatactes.bsky.social for spotting them first today - I hadn’t appreciated how tiny they would be! #UKInverts #SnowFlea

This is becoming a pervasive issue, for example involving the sidelining of actual experts and the heaping of pressure on regulatory bodies to move forward with dubious (re)introductions. A quick ecology 101 for ‘conservation gurus’. Thread 🌍🦗🦋🪶🦬🧪1/

Here's the hopper talk from last night - well worth a look. I come across them often when vacuuming, although I won't be buying the books (another £170, although they'll be on the list.) There are more than I thought, in the UK. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwNt...

A dapper wintering Bluetail at @wendlingbeck.bsky.social continues to show on & off today. Bird on private land & owners are keen for birders to be help not hinderance to the community. Therefore, I've been asked to organise a donation pot for St Mary's Church upkeep. ko-fi.com/simonleomitc...

Periodic reminder that moa de-extinction could lead to net biodiversity loss due to conservation deprioritisation of extant species. The (re)introduction process of any resultant genetically-modified Emus will very expensive www.nature.com/articles/s41... #Ornithology

Throw in the fact that members also receive the county bird and mammal report for free (plus a load of other benefits too) and it’s hard to imagine why anyone who’s interested in Norfolk’s wildlife wouldn’t be a member of NNNS. Must be the one of the best value-for-money memberships available.

A very interesting bird here… #BirdHybrid #NorfolkBirds

This is my go-to paper to point out that significant long-distance trade in wildlife is an ancient phenomenon- here macaws were traded from AD 700 from Meso into North America. Advocates of reintroductions of charismatic species based on sparse remains often conveniently overlook the role of trade.

Just ID’d this Pogonus litteralis from my garden moth trap in August. I’m 16 miles inland but this is coastal and Nationally Scarce so quite unexpected here. Not my first halophilus beetle here though: Bledius bicornis in 2019 & Dicheirotrichus obsoletus in 2023. Also quite a few saltmarsh moths.

Always a good read and this one is no exception…

This fabulous book arrived yesterday and I’ve already read it pretty much from cover to cover. I normally prefer audio books and can’t think of another physical book I’ve read so comprehensively for literally decades. Congrats @graemelyons.bsky.social: a fantastic achievement.

Does anyone on here have a good technique for everting a moth’s aedeagus? I have had success pushing/pulling it through but that doesn’t always work. I can’t source an affordable pipette that’s fine-tipped enough (one in photo has outside diameter of 0.8mm - needs to be nearer 0.25mm). #TeamMoth

My first #lacewing of the year, and an excuse to try out the camera on my new phone. It’s either Chrysoperla carnea or Chrysoperla pallida. Females of these two species can’t be told apart but based on my records of males here it’s several hundred times more likely to be carnea.

The full paper is behind a paywall but this seems a good summary of our knowledge of the ancient historic presence of Dalmatian Pelican in UK: bou.org.uk/blog-crees-d.... I struggle to see how you can read this and think, heh, British wetlands are again suitable for bringing these pelicans back.