Quieter trap than I expected given the conditions. I did get Elephant Hawk Moth and the remains of a Poplar Hawk Moth (sadly, the birds beat me to the trap). Enjoyed looking at this Fan-foot up close! #teammoth

New bird added to the garden list: Great White Egret. Flew overhead SE. Mentioned this before, but we don’t get many at all in North Sheffield.

Painted Lady in the garden. @bcyorkshire.bsky.social

No need to seed #meadows!!! Sayer's Old Meadow was an arable field bathed in chemicals until 2005. It was abandoned for 5 years & since then it has been mowed annually. No seeds/plants have ever been introduced to it. It is very species-rich. Ecological restoration is often best when we do less!!!

VC63 - New species to the trap last night include Coronet, Marbled Beauty, and Purple Clay. #teammoth

Elephant Hawk Moth (x3) attracted to the MV light last night. Phenomenal creatures. #teammoth

VC63 - Light Emerald and Buff-tip the macro highlights from last night’s trap. #teammoth

VC63 - few bits from last night’s trap. Scalloped Oak, Small Fan-foot, Riband Wave, Beautiful Hook-tip. #teammoth

Common Plume on Bindweed. #teammoth

Quick scan with the torch after putting the Hedgehog food out. Green Carpet, Snout and Mottled Beauty. #teammoth

Abundance!

Ingbirchworth Res for a quick walk this evening. Yellowhammer, Garden Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Reed Bunting, Skylark, Mipit, GC Grebe, Barn Owl. Good numbers of House Martin and Swallow too.

Gold Swift mating - spotted near Stanage Edge, Peak District. #teammoth

Merlin on Strines Moor, chased by a Curlew. Red Kite further down the moor near where Mortimer Road meets A57.

Great White Egret flying low and east over Black Lane, Tankersley was definitely a surprise to see on the way home from work. Don’t get many this way @shefbirdstudy.bsky.social

Grey Heron over the house. Stunning in flight, as always.

A great birthday gift from some of our best friends (who just happen to own Sheffield’s best indie bookshop)!! The book is fab and so beautiful. Reminds me of my first bird book; a hand-me-down from my dad ‘Garden and Field Birds - Eggs and Nests’ by Jiri Felix. Love it!

Setaceous Hebrew Character in the garage this evening.

RSPB Blacktoft Sands today. Great to see Bearded Reedlings, Yellow Wagtail and Bittern. Good numbers of Marsh Harrier as usual. Some nice butterflies about too including Painted Lady and Green-veined White.

A settled evening so here goes. #teammoth

Orchids at RSPB Old Moor.

Two out of the (only) three White-tailed Eagles fledged in England in 2025 have since 'disappeared in suspicious circumstances', i.e. people killed them within months. Read this, and see how much effort those people go to, to kill them. We all know who & why. Two out of three. Within months.

Barn Owl over next door’s field again this evening. Three sightings over the past week so appears to be a new regular on the garden list. Managed to take the world’s worst picture of this encounter.

This afternoon North Yorkshire Police announced the suspicious disappearance of young male White-tailed Eagle G834, the first to fledge from Dorset in centuries. This eagle was special for multiple reasons, not only his historic status but also wowing visitors & school children around Poole Harbour

Speckled Wood on borage in the garden @bcyorkshire.bsky.social

Woodcock over the garden! Knew they were in Westwood CP but to have one roding over the garden during breeding season… wow!

Porter Valley today. Grey Wagtail, Mandarin, Wren, Blackcap, GS Woodpecker. Whitethroat in the hedgerows. All the usuals.

Incredible views of a migrating Common Quail as it flew past the ship in the English Channel! @sophieshrike.bsky.social

@wildsheffield.bsky.social Wyming Brook today. A beautiful site. Redstart, Cuckoo, Sparrowhawk, Grey Wag, and loads of Blackcap, amongst many others. No sign of the Flycatchers or Wood Warblers.

Distant Wood Warbler heard in Beeley Wood this morning. First for the year. @shefbirdstudy.bsky.social

Hobby over High Green yesterday evening too. In and around the House Martin and Swift. New one for the house list (now at 72 sp.).

Common Toad on the garden yesterday evening.

Always great to get a Grey Phalarope in the Dearne Valley. Last saw one here in 2018 and it was in winter plumage. This time in breeding plumage - what a stunner!

The headline findings are striking: 🔥 Moorland burning produces 0.7–1.6 kT of PM2.5 per year — equivalent to ~30% of PM2.5 from all road transport in the UK 👥 On active burning days, more than 2.32 million people on average were exposed to at least a 5% increase in PM2.5 concentrations

West Wood, Sheffield. Redstart (2 singing males), Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Grey Wagtail, Treecreeper, Goldcrest.

20 Swift over Westwood CP! Big influx today @sheffswiftnetwork.bsky.social

Getting started on my two squares soon. Woodcock recorded earlier in the year on one of them.

With a 77% decline in Willow Tit across the UK between 2024-2025 (BBS), every nest counts. Wherever possible, we protect Willow Tit nest cavities from GSW attack with mesh guards. On public sites we add additional camouflage to keep the nest discreet and blending in with the natural surroundings.

Wander up Midhope Moors produced some nice birds. Dipper and Grey Wagtail aplenty. Whinchat, Spotted and Pied Flycatcher, distant calls of Cuckoo and Ring Ouzel. Other finds included Violet Oil Beetle and RB Froghopper.

Strong numbers of Avocet and LR Plover at RSPB Adwick Washlands today, I counted 14 LRP! Caught up with the Spotted Redshank - stunning bird in near enough full breeding plumage. Close views of Garden and Sedge Warbler were a delight too.

Holly Blue in the garden. Bumper year for these it seems. @bcyorkshire.bsky.social

Sir David Attenborough… on your 100th birthday, we thank you. For a lifetime dedicated to the natural world, and for sharing its story with such grace and wonder. Generations have fallen in love with nature because of you. Happy birthday, Sir. 🎉

A record number of Puffin has been recorded on Skomer Island for the second consecutive year:

Few stop offs on the way home from work. RSPB Old Moor - usuals including 3 LR Plover, two Redshank, Warblers and C Whitethroat. RSPB Wombwell Ings - Spoonbill, four Redshank, lots of Lapwing plus chicks.

We’ve released our first rescue Hedgehog, Witty, into the garden tonight. Another Hog was making their way off the garden as we released him!

Fantastic day on the Northumberland coast. Black-throated Diver was the first spot of the day!

Quick stop off at RSPB Old Moor after work today produced Hobby, R Plover, LR Plover, Scaup (female still present), as well as the usuals. Influx of Swift in last few days.

Black Redstarts nesting in a Swift brick in Winchester!! We advocate for these as universal nest bricks and they really are. No other types of integrated bird box are required @hannahbournetaylor.bsky.social @ukrbbp.bsky.social @sosswifts.bsky.social

Nightingale the best from the nets this morning. Small arrival of other warblers including 5 Sedge caught and ringed. @rarebirder.bsky.social

Nice return to Staffordshire💚 Our first Cuckoo of the year has arrived in Staffordshire all the way from Africa… and it’s one we ringed in 2024! 🌍🐦 Thousands of miles later, back where it belongs. Nature is unreal. #Cuckoo #MigrationMagic #UKWildlife