Delighted to find more Snow Fleas (Boreus hyemalis) at Felbrigg today. Train from Norwich to Roughton Road then walk to Felbrigg in smarring rain. Spent nearly 3 hours staring at moss getting cold & damp, finally found 2 females on the last mossy stump as we were leaving, just when the sun came out.

Collister Pill: several thousand calidrids, almost all in the air throughout my visit. Little else of note. The disturbance seemed to be caused by wildfowlers up towards West Pill. Why is any shooting allowed within the SPA? I mean, WTF does the P in SPA stand for? #gwentbirding

Reform risk reviving Thatcher-style 'industrial destruction' in Wales, warns TUC www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

Latest Blog about catching up with the Penduline Tits at Aust #avonbirds mountainbirder.blogspot.com/2026/01/pend...

'Blwyddyn Newydd Dda - Happy New Year' Rainbow over The British, Abersychan this morning. It didn't last long, in fact it was gone in the blink of an eye ... but it was lovely to see at the beginning to the New Year.

Redwing at lisvane reservoir. 1/1/2026 #birds🪶 #birdingwales #birdsSeenIn2026 #Naturephotography #NatureTherapy🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

A new survey has revealed that conservation grazing by heritage Dartmoor ponies is delivering strong results, with several rare and vulnerable bird species now breeding on restored heathland:

'Bore Nadolig - Christmas Morning' Christmas morning at The British, Abersychan. How lovely this old industrial site looks, even in the winter. Nadolig Llawen i bawb / Happy Christmas to all.

A Somerset caravan park owner has been ordered to pay £116,263 after being convicted of disturbing a SSSI:

Labour seem determined to wreck what’s left of our natural world. So many broken promises. www.wildlifetrusts.org/news/nightma....

Natural Resources Wales has published a pioneering report identifying more than 3,000 species in Wales that now occur in five or fewer locations – putting them at very high risk of extinction in the country:

UK Biodiversity Indicators 2025 are now live jncc.gov.uk/our-work/uk-... With contributions from nearly 100 organisations, they are useful tools for summarising & communicating broad trends 🧵 #TogetherForNature

'Fel Nodiadau Aur Bach - Like Little Golden Notes' Autumn leaves, like little golden notes clinging to their branches at The Lasgarn Woodland, Abersychan. An intriguing path, which winds its way through old limestone quarry workings and quite possibly the track bed of an old tramroad.

'Hanes Cudd - Hidden History' Late afternoon at the Lasgarn Woodland, Abersychan yesterday. This old embankment for the horse drawn tramroad built to haul limestone from the quarries to the local ironworks is not so hidden now that the leaves have had their autumn fall.

Did not expect to see a Pied Flycatcher today. Latest Gwent record. Might go back tomorrow to get it on the ‘birds I have seen in the UK in December’ list. Currently attempting to piece together the ring details. Ta to Chris for finding and Matt for passing on the news. #gwentbirding #birdingWales

@teesbirds.bsky.social @durhambirdclub.bsky.social @nybirdnews.bsky.social Caspian Gull at Portrack/Haverton hill Gull roost this morning, thanks to Martyn Sidwell for help with id

The first meeting of the Wood Warblers at Goytre House Wood, our nature reserve, was held today. Volunteers cleared vegetation around tree saplings, planted in 2022. Bird and bat boxes were mapped in preparation for activities next year. The weather was very kind to us. #birdingwales #gwentbirds

'Awyr Dân uwchben yr Hen Dŷ Injan - Fire Sky over the Old Engine House' An industrial glow in the sky above the old engine house at The British, Abersychan yesterday as the sun faded - a lovely moment to look at this relic of the past, evocative and beautiful.

My first Snow Flea (Boreus hyemalis) of the winter at Cali Heath @yorkswildlife.bsky.social reserve today. Nice of her to pose out in the open on a fallen leaf, so didn't need to spend hours waiting for one to emerge from the Polytrichum moss! @ynuorg.bsky.social #Mecoptera #Boreidae #ukwildlife

One of several Stone Curlew within a 100 metres or so of our hotel accommodation in Corralejo, Fuerteventura recently.

Yesterday I went to a very dry Goldcliff to see this beauty. My first Willow Emerald. In the ditch, just past the humpback bridge.

Our last post on X...

Migrating Whinchat from last week. #birding #birds #naturelovers #birdphotography #Naturephotography #Wildlifephotography

Grey Phalarope still Llandegfedd res distantly from Dam, also Little Grebe #gwentbirding

AQUATIC WARBLER!!! Still can’t believe we caught this stunner at Carey this morning! Made it worthwhile giving it a go between weather fronts. The bird was interestingly a good weight of 15g! #ukbirding

More than three years have passed since the UK Government announced that it would ban the sale of peat for gardening, yet official documentation is still to appear and peat extraction continues:

A pleasent evening watching the rising tide at Peterstone, Gwent, turned a little manic in the final minutes before the mud was covered, when looking through the Redshank flock I found a Marsh Sandpiper, ooossh, County 1st!!!! Manage to relocate the bird about 45 mins later

The society is devastated after a grass fire damaged a significant part of Goldcliff Lagoons. However, the reserve remains open, and there are plenty of birds showing. www.gwentbirds.org.uk/2025/08/29/f... #birdingwales #gwentbirds

Diolch yn fawr iawn @nation.cymru and Jon Gower for this lovely opportunity to share a little about the fascinating landscape that is The Canada Tips, Blaenavon nation.cymru/feature/y-fi...

'Golygfa o'r drws blaen - View from the front door' - It's been many a year since someone lived in this dwelling alongside the Hill's Tram Road, just below The Keeper's Pond, Blaenavon, but this view from what would have been the front door remains magnificent. So evocative on many levels.

Climate denier buffoon gets a reality check - his damage already done. www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202...

So true.

These pieces of shit manage to bring Hezbollah into a disagreement about ecology in Hertfordshire because they are knee-jerk islamophobes and racists

I wrote about John “Ozzy” Osbourne—a working class lad made good, who rose from a slaughterhouse killing floor to the highest echelons of rock stardom in spite of himself, who gave us heavy metal and left a more complex legacy than many realize—for @thenation.com www.thenation.com/article/cult...

Last week, @olds_liam led a guided walk for staff & students from University of Bristol at Coity Tips, Blaenavon. We explored the unique habitats and species of colliery spoil — which included sightings of iconic species such as Bilberry Bumblebee, Mottled Grasshopper, Fairy-flax & Bee Orchid.

Good morning, and welcome to a new week! Our featured tour this week is Fabulous Fuerteventura, a wonderful late-winter escape to a warm Canary Island naturalist's paradise, home to an enticing mix of birds, butterflies and wildflowers. (1/2) mariposanature.com/tours/wildli...

Ignore climate change deniers, says TV naturalist.... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Geezer and I on our way to the stage 🎸 Photo by Mark Weiss, ca. 1970s

A busy one this morning! Scarlet Tiger nfg, I suspect several other species will be too once I get round to processing 😁 #TeamMoth #MothsMatter

First Marbled White butterfly of the season from The British, Talywain, South Wales.

Today's visit to monitoring #PiedFlycatchers at @rspbcymru.bsky.social Gwenffrwd Dinas with #Fledgemore brings the season to an end about two weeks earlier than usual. Over 600 boxes monitored and well over 900 Pied Flys ringed or retrapped. @btocymru.bsky.social @birdsinwales.bsky.social

Back to one of my local patches, watching Whinchats and finding a disciple of God. www.thewildlifeoculus.com/2025/06/the-... #birdingwales

There is no such thing as an overreaction with what has now happened. This is the line in the sand. Every red hat who supports killing Americans is a traitor.

Chicago ✊

I would come home from school, drop my stuff, and disappear into the acres of thick brush where we'd all "play army", or into the 70 acre cornfield behind the house to just run around chasing my brother, or I'd grab a pole and pedal off to one of ten or twelve ponds I liked to fish. Wild heathens.

Remember this next time you see a dog owner encourage their beloved furbaby to swim around in the pond or river at a nature reserve or national park. People in conservation have actually thought this true for a while, in fact there are even 'sacrificial ponds'.

Birdbrained? A Reed Bunting at Magor Marsh (Gwent Wildlife Trust) today. #birdingwales #birds

'Grym Natur - The Power of Nature' Ty Cwmsychan Farm, Abersychan photographed yesterday and last November. One of so many trees damaged locally by high winds over the winter period.

'Tywydd gwyntog a heulog a gwyrdd ym mhobman - Windy and sunny weather and green everywhere' My favourite photo of the week. View at Cwmbyrgwm, The British, Abersychan looking towards the Pant Glas Slip. The landscape is looking so green now.