***It's official - Sep's London Glossy Ibis battle is well underway***. Brilliantly exotic, likely dispersing from breeding sites in W France & Spain & arriving in the Brit Isles in large nos., incl at some of my fave London sites #urbanbirds #30MinuteBirder #LondonBirds @lnhs.bsky.social

Inspired by @concretebotany.bsky.social's fab #bloomscrolling, here are some #pavementplant finds. Undeniably attractive but alarming to see (v invasive in wetlands) Himalayan Balsam growing here on the edge of a dryish pavement in S London. #WildPavements

Lovely photo 💚 #WildPavements #pavementplants #urbanbotany

Fab pics from an orchid aficionado. Jon's 'Orchid Summer' is one of the most compelling (relatively) recent #PlantBased #naturewriting books I've read.

Impressive sea-watching pics from my pal Paul Bowerman @severnsidebirds.bsky.social who I had the pleasure of meeting back in Nov 2022 for a Bird Watching Magazine feature on birding in Bristol.

Delighted to have contributed, albeit in a minor way, to inspiring my birder-acquaintance @markavery.bsky.social to rejoin @bsbibotany.bsky.social. Us urban botanists love a good S American fleabane discussion! #UrbanBotany #WildPavements #PavementPlants

New regulations extend protections across more than 670,000 hectares of peatland, aiming to cut emissions, reduce wildfire risks and restore fragile ecosystems www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/B...

Back in 2020 I set off on a #PlantBased journey... I committed to teaching myself to ID the wild plants I found growing in S London & beyond with the help of the fab @bsbibotany.bsky.social & others. If you are interested, this is how I did it… freelancenaturewriter.com/2021/07/20/t...

This is such great news - I just know I'm going to enjoy Guy's latest book, if that's right word for such a challenging topic.

Absolutely delighted that my book THE LIE OF THE LAND has won the Wainwright Prize for Conservation Writing! This week, one of the book’s recommendations, a ban on moorland burning, became a reality. Next, we need a Nature Bill for England… bsky.app/profile/wain...

Co-led a delightful late summer bird walk at #BeddingtonFarmlands in S London yesterday, with inspirational birder Arjun Dutta (photo credit). Genial group of 15. 59 bird spp in 2h. ⭐s - Green, Common & Wood Sandpipers, Greenshank & #Hobby (old pic). This is what it's all about. #UrbanNaturalist

Hey @zoesqwilliams.bsky.social. If you fancy a South London pavement-plant walk, please get in touch. What we find won't all be edible, but I'd anticipate that there'll be many more plants than you'd expect. #urbanplants #pavementplants #WildPavements www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

There's probably a clever way to share X posts on Bluesky, but I don't know what that is... So, in the meantime, here's the sellotape and sticky-back plastic version. So lovely to see this from Book Brunch.

I was in Newcastle back in March at the start of the Kittiwake breeding season & heard how @dant-ne.bsky.social & others at the Tyne Kittiwake Partnership (TKP) are encouraging local businesses and residents to see these elegant gulls in a positive light. 1/3

For the ultimate #UrbanBirding, it's hard to beat nesting Kittiwakes. As well as enjoying these charismatic gulls at their most inland breeding site, I explore where to birdwatch in Newcastle for my latest column in the Sep issue of Bird Watching Mag. #WildPavements

This will be great.

So it's really happening then, & I didn't just imagine it. 😀 1/2 It's been so much fun exploring a different side of cities across Britain. 1/2

I'm so pleased to see that One Garden Against the World by @katebradbury.bsky.social has been longlisted for the @wainwrightprize.bsky.social conservation writing prize. 1/3

I'm chuffed to be collaborating with the S London skating community this Thurs 7 Aug at 6pm as part of a 2-week programme of events in SE22 8LF. #WildPavements #skateboarding #urbannature #urbanbirds #urbanplants #pavementplants

LOVE THIS BOOK. It's brilliant.

In the August issue of Bird Watching Mag, I investigate the impact of us feeding wild birds in urban woodland... and it's not looking good for species like this gorgeous Marsh Tit in S London #30MinuteBirder #WildPavements. A 🧵...

Hi Mark @markavery.bsky.social This month I'm investigating pros & cons of bird reintroductions for my column in Bird Watching Mag. What bird species, if any, would you like to see reintroduced to a particular part of the Brit Isles from elsewhere, as an impetus for improved habitat management?

Hi David @theurbanbirder.bsky.social This month I'm investigating bird reintroductions for my column in BWMag. What bird sp wd you like to see reintroduced to a particular part of the Brit Isles, alongside appropriately improved habitat management, from elsewhere in the Brit Isles. And why?

Hi Dom @dominiccouzens.bsky.social This month I'm investigating bird reintroductions for my column in BWMag. What bird sp wd you like to see reintroduced to a particular part of the Brit Isles, alongside appropriately improved habitat management, from elsewhere in the Brit Isles. And why?

Hi @stephenmossauthor.bsky.social This month I'm investig bird reintros for my column in BWMag. What bird sp wd you like to see reintroduced to a particular part of the Brit Isles (your patch?), alongside appropriately improved habitat management, from elsewhere in the Brit Isles, and why?

Hi @levparikian.bsky.social. This month I'm investig bird reintros for my column in BWMag. What bird sp wd you like to see reintroduced to a particular part of the Brit Isles, alongside appropriately improved habitat management, from elsewhere in the Brit Isles, and why?

‪Hi @howardvaughanbeb.bsky.social This month I'm investig bird reintros for my column in BWMag. What bird sp wd you like to see reintroduced to a particular part of the Brit Isles (your patch?), alongside appropriately improved habitat management, from elsewhere in the Brit Isles, and why?

Really interesting piece. #UrbanNaturalist

Have a guess what this housed temporarily, before they were released into the wild... Look closely & you might be able to spot one.

Only a couple of weeks to go before I teach my one-day @fieldstudiesc.bsky.social workshop - www.field-studies-council.org/courses-and-... on Sat 28 Jun at the fab Juniper Hall in the N Downs, and the good news is that there are few places left. 💚

Research won't necessarily lead you to the best sites for urban nature in a new city, but a local guide might. Highlight in Berlin was the day with Rolf, & the 5 urban #Goshawks we watched establishing their territories… Read in July Bird Watching Mag www.the-urban-naturalist.com #WildPavements

Is feeding #urbanmammals really a good idea? This begging red squirrel in Berlin’s Tiergarten has to be less alert to predators.

Great to see my urban birding acquaintance Tomos Brangwyn featured in this @pgreenfielduk.bsky.social news story. Tomos is a fantastic urban nature champion #WildPavements www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Delighted to see that Hannah's book has been commissioned, after watching it take shape while she was an MA nature writing student. She's a great writer and I'd anticipate it being truly inspirational. @chiffchat.bsky.social @bathspauni.bsky.social

Had a great time last night in the company of #urbanbotany enthusiasts at Trevor Dines' book launch in this fab venue on Pall Mall. I'm looking forward to curling up with my copy. & makes a nice change to be glammed up 💚@chiffchat.bsky.social #WildPavements

My 50th 30-minute birder column was published in BirdWatchingMag Jun 25, & still have oodles more things to write about. Here, what started as a consideration of London as a coastal city became a musing on the different and mostly entertaining ways birders interact on social media. #WildPavements

What a treat for international women's day... a deliciously preloved book by nature writer Eliza Brightwen, published 1909. Can't wait... #IWD2025

Last week, I was delighted to see my first Goshawk in an urban park at the heart of a European capital. In fact we saw 5 different Goshawks that day, busily establishing territories. But was I in a) London? b) Paris? c) Berlin? or d) Madrid? #birds #urbannature #30MinuteBirder #WildPavements

So, we've gained a strange appendage on the outside of our house. It's not pretty, but will it do the job? For my Feb column in Bird Watching Mag, I try out some nocturnal recording. #birds #urbannature #30MinuteBirder #WildPavements

My 1st contribution to BTO's Winter Gull Survey yesterday, reccying here - River Roding/Beckton Sewage Plant, E. London. Still processing data but c400 Black-headeds w/ a sprinkling of Common, Herring, Lesser Black-backed & Great Black-backed. #birds #lovegulls #urbannature #WildPavements

So there l was last summer, having a quiet coffee in the back garden, when some new neighbours moved in. & oh boy were they noisy... See the Feb issue of Bird Watching Magazine to read out about my wonderful summer of Hobby-watching. #birds #Hobby #urbannature #30MinuteBirder #WildPavements

As the new year starts I've been reflecting on the unsung (human) heroes of the birdwatching world. Who do you think we should be raising our binoculars to, in thanks for what they've quietly done for birdwatching?

Okay, controversial maybe, but Aberdeen is currently top of my list for best cities in the British Isles for birding. Why? Well, have a read of my #30MinuteBirder column in the Dec issue of Bird Watching Mag, & then tell me what you think... www.birdwatching.co.uk/features/art...