Deadly dragon Ulster Museum, Belfast The willow dragons (1 of 3) were created by the Ulster Folk Museum's master basketmaker, Bob Johnston. #Woodensday

I'm hoping to try something similar with a resin that is set with UV light. I intend to stain the sample, dry it, and then add the resin and set it.

I do like the way lichens grow on flint. Similar feathery, fungal margins occur on polished granite - when lichens finally begin to colonise such smooth surfaces.

Whether it’s a park, sports field or cemetery we want you to tell us what #birds use your local greenspace!🐦🌳 Sign up to our Birds in Greenspaces survey at www.bto.org/greenspaces#birdsJust download the app, select your greenspace and log bird records! #UKBirding #BirdingScotland #BirdingWales

Septoria bellidis ex Bellis perennis #Bellisperennis #Bellis #Gänseblümchen #Daisy #Pâquerette #pratolinacomune #margarita #Septoria #Septoriabellidis #phytopathology #mushroom #mushrooms #fungus #fungi #pilz #pilze #champignons #champignon #nature #natur #FungiFriends

Cherry laurel leaf spot, likely caused by the fungus Eupropolella britannica. This fungus produces brown spots on the leaves, which are typically larger than those caused by other fungi responsible for cherry laurel leaf spot.

Every day is a good day for sharing one of the most useful papers about research data ever written. PLEASE get your people to understand and follow this advice. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

'Chop and drop' art in the walled Garden at RHS Bridgewater.

'Chop and drop' uses dead plant material in situ to provide free mulch. No need to carry the waste away. Here the ornamental grasses are also providing a colour contrast with areas of exposed soil. A useful garden technique providing plants are not diseased.

Different waste materials from the garden are used to build dead hedges at RHS Bridgewater. The hedges add sculpture and shape to the garden landscape while providing homes for fungi, invertebrates, small mammals and birds.

Old chimney stack and boiler house at RHS Bridgewater. Now replaced by an altra-efficient biomass boiler that uses waste tree trimmings to heat the glasshouses when needed.

13.3. Wollschweber #animalmarch #KleineKunstklasse #gelprint #acrylics #pencils #pastels #mixedmedia #art #beefly

Latest UK Hydrological Summary: -Rainfall in February above average across UK apart from N & W Scotland -River flows in normal range to above with record Feb levels in E Scotland & SW England -Groundwater exceptionally high across S England -Reservoirs at / near capacity https://tinyurl.com/4n9w9tyb

Harvest mice, Dorset, March 2026.

Entyloma fumariae yesterday in the nice weather. This had just two British records before Chris and I started recording it, but it actually appears to be widespread and common. #FungiFriends #WildPlantDisease

River Leven. No shingle visible today and no chance of finding foam. When the water is this silty, #aquatichyphomycetes can't be filtered out from water either. The build up of silt on the fine filters covers the spores.

In the Lake District checking out field sites for this autumn's @britmycolsoc.org.uk #aquatichyphomycete workshop. We'll be coming to this site if the water level isn't too high.

Data

FRDBI records of E. eburneum (left) vs E. ranunculacearum (right; only 15 records!).

I've just discovered you can search a user's posts on Bluesky! How long has this been a thing I haven't known about? In case you've missed it too, click on the three dot icon in a user's profile and select 'search posts'. Works a treat as long as you can remember which user you want to search!

An excellent example of the necrosis it can cause on epiphytic bryophytes. Thanks for the tag.

NNNS Transactions article 2 details aphid recording carried out in the Norwich area between 2020-2025, during which time @norwichbirder.bsky.social managed to locate & identify 144 species. Around 1/3 are illustrated, including some excellent photographs from @caryocatactes.bsky.social 3/x

GeoGuide home page — explore! #geology geoguide.scottishgeologytrust.org

Do I need this Sarah? I think, perhaps, I do! Congratulations.

This looks like fun, as well as being hugely worthwhile. How can people sign up as a volunteer?

Lots of Claviceps spartinae on the Spartina in the Southport saltmarsh today. On a few plants the Claviceps was hosting Fusarium heterosporum too!

Do microbes get more food by swimming or staying still? Turns out both work, and cilia help them pull in nutrients no matter the strategy. buff.ly/vK3GmK5

A great explanation on how to define a species. It’s complicated… www.scienceofbirds.com/blog/how-do-...

I had the honour of reading this pre-publication. It seems even better second time around! If you live in the south-east of the UK, you won't find many of the species covered but the book is still worth buying. The advice on HOW to look and how to attempt IDs is second to none.

🦇If you want/need to work on a building that is home to a colony of bats our 'Bats and roost risk management in construction' course is for you! - Online over two afternoons on 16 & 23 February (1:30pm - 5pm). - Booking deadline: 15 February Book now: www.bats.org.uk/our-work/tra...

🦇 Everything you need to know about the Bat Conservation Trust's Nocturnal Garden at #RHSChelsea Flower Show is here: www.bats.org.uk/our-work/noc... . Learn about the concept of the garden, our plants, the bat sculpture and more! Designed by Melanie Hick and sponsored by #ProjectGivingBack

🦋 Pan-Species Listing: Become a Super-Naturalist Record all the wildlife you see in the UK and level up your natural history skills. Join @graemelyons.bsky.social Lyons on 13 May to discover the world of PSL. @panspecieslisting.bsky.social 🎟️ FREE! Book now: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1977266072...

Is this the year when you're going to get to grips with identifying grasses? They can be tricky, especially when growing in "interesting" ways, like the Creeping soft-grass spotted by @averisben.bsky.social. Don't worry, we have some great #WildFlowerID resources for you: bsbi.org/learn/resour...

Did somebody mention basal rosettes? Check out the fabulous Basal Project website, it has almost 2,000 photos of basal & juvenile leaves of British & Irish wild plants: basalproject.org.uk

Massaria inquinans ex Acer pseudoplatanus #Massariainquinans #Massaria #GroßsporigerAhornKugelpilz #Acerpseudoplatanus #Bergahorn #sycamore #Érablesycomore #acerodimonte #arceblanco #mushroom #mushrooms #fungus #fungi #pilz #pilze #champignons #champignon #nature #natur #FungiFriends

In this review in Fungal Ecology, Håvard Kauserud (@drhyfe.bsky.social) argues that while the ITS region is by far the best DNA (meta)barcoding marker for fungi, we should not use it naively or simplistically doi.org/10.1016/j.fu...

Nice to be starting 2026 with our new paper with @sei.org on making #CitizenScience biological recording more inclusive @savebutterflies.bsky.social doi.org/10.5334/cstp...

Thinking of monitoring butterflies in your local area or setting up a monitoring project? We have new guidance to help navigate the various monitoring methods and choose the best option for your project. buff.ly/fvThSQq

Dormouse monitors! It's time to submit dormouse survey data. There are several different reporting routes, depending on the type of work you’ve carried out, so we’ve put together guidance to help you submit the right information in the right place👇 ptes.org/dormouse-data-submission-guidance

There are five species of aphid that feed on Bamboo in the UK - so far I've only managed to find this one, Takecallis arundicolens, found again this morning from Bamboo overhanging a pavement in west Norwich.

Vegetative identification of ‘small’ Geranium species can be tricky and you need to take a close look at hair length and glands as well as degree of lobe incision. Here are a couple of useful resources archive.bsbi.org.uk/BSBINews99.pdf pg 22-28 thewildflowersociety.org.uk/wp-content/u...

Is your back garden a pollinator hotspot? 🌸🐝 New research shows flower-rich gardens can be powerful refuges for urban pollinators. Join Emma Plant from @glasgow.ac.uk on 22 Apr 2026 for a FREE entoLIVE to learn more. 🌍 🧪 🔗 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1964456916... @royentsoc.bsky.social #pollinators

An hour to kill? Is it possible that the fabulous @trevorthebotanist.bsky.social doesn't know that his #UrbanPlants talks are #AppointmentViewing, just like #TheTraitors? Such modesty! The video is here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCdC... And here's Trevor's #UrbanPlants book: bsbi.org/blog/2025/06...

It is John Aubrey’s 400th anniversary this year! My next book publishes his Natural History in full for the 1st time. It is not the quaint collection of random anecdotes suggested by the heavily edited 1847 version, but cutting edge c17 science all penned with Aubrey’s characteristic brilliance.

Sunday book review: Pan-species Listing by @graemelyons.bsky.social Publisher: @pelagic.bsky.social Review: markavery.info/2026/01/04/s... "Hardly anyone has the knowledge to write this book & even fewer could write it so well!"

There are two other lichen guides for Britain and Ireland in print. But this is the first one written by a northern team. If you live in the North of the UK, then this is definitely the one for you.

Looking good. Great to see lichens included.

Interested in moth trapping? Wondering which trap to use? Or if different bulbs collect different species? Using 100k samples from @gardenmothscheme.bsky.social our new paper looks at these questions and more! With with Bill Kunin and @katatrepsis.bsky.social #mothsmatter #teammoth

On Sunday February 22nd I'm doing a lichen walk and talk at Higham Hall near Cockermouth. More info here: highamhall.com/course/liche...

Which theme will your best pictures fit into? Don't forget to give your photos titles to get people's attention. You'll want to win as many votes as possible!