Please read @katebradbury.bsky.social's thorough and thoughtful take on this perennial debate👇. The key message here, as it should be in all conservation debates, is... Show us the evidence!

It's so good to have some positive news this morning in ZSL's latest State of the Thames report, but there's no room for complacency about the health of our urban rivers. #Thames #waterpollution #conservation #UrbanNature www.zsl.org/news-and-eve...

A lovely diary piece from one of my favourite nature writers and namesake. www.theguardian.com/environment/... #naturewriting #birds #Amandas

I'm so so grateful to David & @ldnwildlifetrust.bsky.social for making this trailer for my book Wild Pavements - Exploring Britain's Cities with an Urban Naturalist, which is available to pre-order & out 5 Mar. 😀💚 www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

Please read @markavery.bsky.social in BirdGuides on access. Like Mark, increasing access to sensitive sites concerns me, particularly in urban areas. I wrote about this in Bird Watching Magazine back in Sep 24 the-urban-naturalist.com/2024/09/11/3... & explore further in Wild Pavements, out 5 March.

2nd challenge in *Chirrups & Trills* (the programme I've devised to help me & others get better at identifying bird calls) is no. 2 of 3 about 'garden frequenters'. Do have a go & let me know what works/doesn't work for you. the-urban-naturalist.com/2025/12/31/t...

1st challenge in *Chirrups & Trills* (the programme I've devised to help me & others get better at identifying bird calls) is 1 of 3 about 'garden frequenters'. Do have a go & let me know what works/doesn't work for you. 🙏 the-urban-naturalist.com/2025/12/29/t...

Seeking testers for Chirrups & Trills, a programme I'm devising for building identification confidence with commoner bird calls. If you're up for trying one of the call challenges, I'll be sharing them on my blog over the next few days the-urban-naturalist.com. Many thanks in anticipation. 💚🙏

Glee as I got my best xmas present ever - a soft-back advance reader copy from Team Wild Pavements at Flint Books. Can't wait to see it in hardback come March. #urbannature #naturewriting #1stBookDiary

Us urban botanists aren't often put off by inclement weather. An annual tradition is a 1st Dec hunt for wild plants in flower in Deptford, SE London. Here I am in the rain on Mon checking the seed shape of Beaked Hawk's-beard, more usually in flower in London in May. #urbanbotany #urbannature

More Shrubsole wisdom, we'd do well to heed.

Seems only right for a massive shout out today for Rach Appleby (www.instagram.com/rachapplebya...) - who was chosen to illustrate my book cover. Do have a peek at Rach's fab portfolio... I particularly like her #birdart #nature #natureart #wildlifeart #urbannature #naturewriting

Our crab-apple scrumpers... which don't actually like crab-apples very much. One year will they remember how sour they are? #parakeets #parrots #urbanbirds #birdbehaviour

We might approaching the end of peak fungi season, but there's still lots of interesting things to find in an inner London woodland after a rainy night. the-urban-naturalist.com/2025/11/24/h... #fungi #urbanfungi

The countdown to my 1st book being published is almost unbearably exciting, & there's been so much to learn. I've kept a #1stBookDiary along the way, & here's diary ch 1. #naturewriting #creativewriting #urbannature #publishing #non-fiction freelancenaturewriter.com/2025/11/13/c...

Nature writers are invariably a delight to talk to & when I asked for top tips on editing, this is what they said... @nicwilson.bsky.social @drmjwarren.bsky.social @amyjanebeer.bsky.social @jensoilandpen.bsky.social @derekniemann.bsky.social shorturl.at/y1IiL Here's me chatting to lovely Nic Wilson.

Next Tuesday 28th Oct 12-1pm, I'll be talking online about my forthcoming book, Wild Pavements: Exploring Britain's Cities with an Urban Naturalist, as part of the interesting eARTh Spotlight programme. & it's a free event.💚 www.ticketsource.co.uk/cccibathspa/...

A richly deserved standing ovation last night at @guildhallschool.bsky.social for Haydon Thorpe's interpretation of @robertmacfarland.bsky.social's prose poem Ness. A luscious recipe of recorded soundscape, #spokenword, song & visuals supported by the amazing Guildhall music students. Just fab.

This will be fab - I just wish I was nearer. 💚

I love a great data visualisation - the sweet spot between art and science - & this is packed with them. Respect is due to @phoebeweston.bsky.social & the other authors www.theguardian.com/environment/... #birdmigration #datavisualisation #birds #ornithology

How exciting! A new book. 😀

I had such a fun time at the Centre for UK Nature @nhm-london.bsky.social yesterday planning a collaboration with the team at NHM's Urban Nature Network for a #WildPavements event in spring 2026. www.the-urban-nature-network.mn.co/ These #urbannature champions are my kind of people. 💚

Absolutely next on my autumn reading list. 💚

Lovely #naturewriters, what would be your top tip for editing #naturewriting. 🙏 @nicwilson.bsky.social @nicolawriting.bsky.social @drmjwarren.bsky.social @jensoilandpen.bsky.social @derekniemann.bsky.social @janevadams.bsky.social @levparikian.bsky.social freelancenaturewriter.com/2025/10/14/e...

Glorious #bloomscrolling

New term special offer. #ThumbnailNature journals for just the price of P&P. Offering ideas to get your #naturewriting underway and inspiring #ThumbnailNature pieces contributed by a cornucopia of talented workshop participants. Visit my shop to grab your copy. freelancenaturewriter.com/shop/

Is attracting wild birds with sound ethical? If you're a birdwatcher of any sort, I'd love to hear your views by 10 Oct in response to this v short survey for a feature... &, as always, very grateful for reposts. forms.gle/3jZyeJw8qngC... #birds #pishing #birdsounds #birdwatching #birding

It was great to catch up with 10 cohorts of MA students & hear some inspiring stories of writing and other successes. 💚

Hurray! Hurray! I'm delighted to see that David's new BBC documentary Wild London will be celebrating #urbannature and will reinforce some of the key messages in my book 'Wild Pavements - Exploring Britain's Cities with an Urban Naturalist', (Flint Books, 5 March 2026).

***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 🧵...