Just seen something quite heart-breaking while walking with @wildveitch.bsky.social, a swift bouncing off of a building multiple times trying to enter a former nest, before giving up. The accuracy of it's attempt clearly demonstrated a nest used to be present. @hannahbournetaylor.bsky.social

Here are a few of my favourite images from this week. #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Forest cuckoo bees investigating an area close to a freshly dug rabbit hole.

These carder bees are loving the bugle 🐝

The water-crowfoot is looking spectacular on the wildlife pond.

My oasis.

Today's #WildflowerHour submissions.

I was asked if we still had rabbits on the reserve... youtube.com/watch?v=3tcM...

Great stitchwort starting to make an appearance.

The star of the camera trap show 🦉 @EssexWildlife #Springwatch @BBCSpringwatch

Wood anemones, lesser celandine, bluebell, and I believe floating arrowhead (Sagittaria natans Pall.)? #WildflowerHour #WoodlandPlants

Churchyards found to be rich in biodiversity; all nature needs is a bit of peace and quiet! www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Job Alert! New postdoc position in our lab investigating cognitive biases in wild bumblebees. Thanks to Wild Animal Initiative for the funding. Position for 31 months. Deadline: December 9th. Please apply/boost #PostdocJob #AcademicJobs #Bees jobs.ncl.ac.uk/job/Newcastl...

Feeling extra appreciated today. I got nominated twice for being a Good Egg at work. Grateful for the recognition and the awesome team I get to work with 🥚🥚

Published in 1960 (Ladybird book). Streams thick with eels. Now they're criticaally endangered. Shifting baseline.

If Britain still had bears, wolves & lots of eagles, many of these salmon would end up in surrounding forest, providing essential nutrients. But Britain's wiped out all its bears, wolves, and almost all of its eagles and forest. So the salmon just rot in the rivers, waiting to die, then washed away.

Coelacanths are pregnant for five years, the longest gestation of any known animal, and do not reach maturity until they are around 55 years old.

This is worrying to see: birdfeeders on nature reserves in Willow Tit strongholds. Feeders boost competitors & predators, making life harder for Willow Tits (britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti...). And dirty feeders: poor hygiene is main cause of disease currently wiping out Chaffinches & Greenfinches.

Titbit: Willow Tits & Marsh Tits use their black throat patch like a status badge to intimidate rivals. They change posture to increase/reduce the size of the black patch as needed. The Marsh Tit and the Willow Tit, published 5 Dec 2024: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/marsh-tit... #ornithology #ukbirding

Is messy the new beautiful? Why debates about what nature recovery looks like matter - new paper by Flurina Warrmann and @jlorimer.bsky.social www.naturerecovery.ox.ac.uk/news/is-mess...

I tried to put a bit of order on my ideas on leadership, especially related to managing a research lab. This is mainly an internal document, but I thought it could be useful for someone else as inspiration. bartomeuslab.com/2024/11/14/o...

Wild Bird Indicators... - an overall shallow decline of 16% - the steepest decline is farmland birds down 61% - woodland birds have declined by 35%. www.bto.org/our-science/...

Crowsheath Wood (November 2024). youtube.com/watch?v=iB-v...

The issue of people not appropriately disposing of their dog 💩 is getting worse, and seems to have increased since putting up a sign 🤷🏼‍♂️ TBF, they have picked it up but put it down again somewhere else 🤦🏼‍♂️

I always forget to check the weekly theme for #wildflowerhour, so here's a single red campion plant from yesterday still going strong. When does the theme get announced? @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

A late birthday present from my nieces. Apparently we're not allowed to start building until Monday! 🐦‍⬛🏠

A new kind of mitochondria www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKOd...

Thought I'd see what's going on over here. It certainly appears more pleasurable than over there 🐦