Our latest research shows that UK songbirds are routinely exposed to toxic pesticides, covered today in @theguardian.com

Extraordinary dataset of 44 million+ records of UK #butterflies collected by 782,000 volunteers in the past 50 years shows many species are in long-term decline eg Pearl-bordered Fritillary. @ukbms.bsky.social is run by @savebutterflies.bsky.social, UKCEH, @btobirds.bsky.social, and JNCC. 🧪 1/

The management team at #ThamesRdWetland @thames21.bsky.social do not have fires at this important Metropolitan Site of Importance for Nature Conservation. If you're passing by on Thames Rd/River Cray By-way 105 and see a fire, it's ARSON. Please ring Police / Fire Brigade. THANKS.

#ThamesRdWetland @thames21.bsky.social Now been 2nd or 3rd ARSON attack last 3 wks. Large piles cut Reed composting carbon back to soil torched so now in atmos. All life in them incinerated. Nearby v.rare plants damaged. <0 IQ criminals seeking cheap 'laugh' don't care/too thick to understand.

#ThamesRdWetland next @thames21.bsky.social staff-supported workday 10th April. book.plinth.org.uk/.../Dsj81...... No particular skills required. All kit provided. Basic refreshments. Loos available at nearby council depot. Help wildlife. Meet new people.

Meanwhile, on the moon...

Artemis II sent a pic of the beautiful garden planet we are too greedy, lazy, short-sighted, and ungrateful not to destroy:

A new Atlas of Kent's Shieldbugs and Allies is a project being supported by Kent Field Club, and driven by a group of Field Club members. More info on our website - www.kentfieldclub.org.uk/projects/shi.... #KentNature #Bugs #Hemiptera @britishbugs.bsky.social

FRIENDS OF THE CRAY AT CRAYFORD - removing litter from along lower River Cray. Due to Easter, we've moved our usual session forward to Mon 30/3. Meet at 10am where Footpath 106 meets Barnes Cray Road. We'll check grot-spot at junction of Byway 105 and Maiden Lane then move to Footpath 106.

Just been alerted to FREE Bumblebee ID event Thurs 26/3 at Bexley Central Library, then Braeburn Park (Crayford). Apparently only 3 sign-ups so still time to book before you go to bed .... FFI / book: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bumblebee-...

The Nathusius' pipistrelle is one UK bat species that is known to migrate long distances across Europe. This makes them vulnerable to habitat loss and other threats across their migration routes.

“Sustainable” timber isn’t always safe. Forests are being destroyed, Indigenous communities displaced and critically endangered species like the Malayan tiger are under threat. Demand the UK government takes action @friends-earth.bsky.social action.friendsoftheearth.uk/petition/sto...

Next #ThamesRdWetland @thames21.bsky.social staff-supported habitat management session 13/3. Help finish this winter's Reed cutting and remove prev cut material. Kit provided. Basic refreshments. Nearby loos. Sign up: book.plinth.org.uk/e/LFbuahHJmC...

Foots Cray Meadows - Reedbed management with Thames21, 4/3/2026. 09.30-12.30. Please book online to take part. Working in the river in waders, so a reasonable level of fitness required. book.plinth.org.uk/e/bP12dwwvkN...

It arrived today. Very proud to have been able to make a teeny-weeny contribution to this superb new book. #ukorthoptera #orthoptera

🥳🌱New Paper!🌱🥳 Check out how we have been working with our friends at Fjordr to detect historical locations of floodplain meadows using physical and documented traces in the landscape, suppporting the case for restoration. 👇 tinyurl.com/y8frpr2h

How exciting! Published tomorrow. It'll be great! #naturewatching #lowcarbon @heatherdevey.bsky.social @rebeccaonthewing.bsky.social

Jelly Ear fungus, 13/2/26, on typical host, Elder, #ThamesRdWetland managed by @thames21.bsky.social Next staff-supported habitat work 13/3. If you can do gardening you can do this. All kit provided. Refreshments. Nearby loos. Meet new people. Get close to nature. book.plinth.org.uk/e/LFbuahHJmC...

14/2 a Mottled Shieldbug (Rhaphigaster nebulosa) fest #ThamesRdWetland SMINC, London Boro Bexley, managed by @thames21.bsky.social 3 of the 4 under loose bark on Elder damaged by fire 2022. First found UK 2010. Next staff-supported habitat management session 13/3 book.plinth.org.uk/e/LFbuahHJmC...

Nice article on how pet flea & tick treatments end up in rivers: the-european.eu/story-57030/...

This fabulous book arrived yesterday and I’ve already read it pretty much from cover to cover. I normally prefer audio books and can’t think of another physical book I’ve read so comprehensively for literally decades. Congrats @graemelyons.bsky.social: a fantastic achievement.

A worry when key wildlife land, most of Inner #CrayfordMarshes, Site of Metro Importance for Nature Conservation in GBelt, goes up for sale esp as next to site I manage. Despite Agent spin, Local Plan (2023) does NOT earmark for development (aggregates, building). £500K way down on 2022 ask. Donors?

#ThamesRdWetland @thames21.bsky.social Largely sunny 30th Jan. 8 volunteers did 36 person-hrs 45 mins cutting Reed, pollarding Sallows. Red Kite seen. Sign-up for our next staffed sessions, Fris Feb 13th + Mar 13th book.plinth.org.uk/e/LFbuahHJmC... All kit provided. Basic refreshments. Nearby loos.

Gardens & Allotments 🌸 Private green spaces are vital for urban pollinators. New research shows both support high diversity, with non-native flowers filling summer nectar gaps. Join Emma Plant in our FREE webinar on 22 April. 🌍 🧪 👉 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1964456916... @fieldstudiesc.bsky.social

From concrete to climate resilience 🌧️🌱 The Depave Oswestry project is helping turn hard, paved spaces into greener places that soak up #rainwater, support #wildlife and reduce flood risk — all shaped by local community ideas. Read more 👇 https://ow.ly/o6Ft50Y8fH9#rainwater#wildlife#Depave #UrbanNature #Oswestry

Friends of the Cray at Crayford - February litter-clearing session switched to Friday the 13th. Meet where Footpath 106 meets Barnes Cray Road at 10am. Equipment provided.

The European polecat is found across western Eurasia and North Africa. They were persecuted as being a pest animal in Britain, first declared as such under the reign of Elizabeth I. Due to hunting by farmers their numbers dropped significantly, but have been steadily returning in recent decades.

For #WorldWetlandsDay, we're shining a light on four of the 25% of Britain's threatened spider species that are wetland specialists. They're entirely dependent on aquatic habitats remaining wet, unpolluted and growing, not shrinking, in size and connectivity @naturalengland.bsky.social

Britain’s largest beetle is changing its range 🪲 Learn what a century of records reveals about UK stag beetles, where they’re holding on, where they’re declining, and what this means for conservation. 🌍 🧪 FREE webinar, 12 Mar 2026. 👉 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1975613846... @ptes-org.bsky.social

New UKCEH research shows UK saltmarshes are significant carbon sinks, storing ~6.5 t CO₂e ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, comparable to mangroves and seagrasses. Saltmarshes aren't yet included in the UK GHG Inventory, but the evidence base is strengthening. Read more: www.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-med... 🧪 1/

"[A new British intelligence report] echoes warnings some of us have made for years, only to be dismissed as nutters, doomsayers and extremists." "Every critical ecosystem is on a pathway to collapse...” You won't find more crucial reading than this.

East or west? Tracking work from 2017-2020 by BTO staff provided the first evidence of Scottish breeding Arctic Skuas wintering off South America! Other individuals wintered along the western and southern African coast. #seabirds @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social

This is amazing news Hannah. I very much doubt that this would have happened without your advocacy and doggedness. 👏👏👏🎉🎉🎉 Thank you!

At the UN climate talks, our govt kept quiet on a long-promised law to help end UK’s role in illegal forest destruction. I’ve emailed the Environment Secretary to demand urgent action to protect our forests. Will you join me? @friends-earth.bsky.social action.friendsoftheearth.uk/target/deman...

Sunny day at #ThamesRdWetland Solo Reed work + removing rubbish left by fly-grazers 😠 3, poss 4 Water Rail, Teal, 2 Cetti's warblers, 2 Song Thrushes, Water Vole signs. New volunteers welcome at our @thames21.bsky.social staff-supported event on Jan 30th. Sign up: book.plinth.org.uk/e/FJvrhxZVIv...

Curculionidae of the World Online has moved to a new URL: catalog.curculionoidea.org The old URL can still be accessed. We are working on a better and more detailed representation of the relationships between weevils and their host plants. Expect some really nice things in the near future!

Are you spotting orchid rosettes in your area? Would you like to be able to recognise native orchids before they come into bloom? Try this helpful #WildFlowerID guide which Mike Waller of @ukorchids.bsky.social fame created for @nhm-london.bsky.social: www.nhm.ac.uk/take-part/id...

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

5 ppl, 21 person hrs 44m work on sunny 16/1 #ThamesRdWetland @thames21.bsky.social 1st Lizard of yr basking at least 10.35-13.50. Prev earliest 19/1/16 (tho margin of error is we're usually only onsite 1 day/wk). 2 Peregrines. Buzzard. Bee Orchids. Join us 30/1: book.plinth.org.uk/e/FJvrhxZVIv...

Not good at fungus ID. It's been suggested elsewhere that this specimen on a pile of rotting Reed at #ThamesRdWetland @thames21.bsky.social on 3/1/26 could be Entoloma sp.,or a Lepista sordida (rather than Pseudoclitocybe cyathiformis). Thoughts welcome, tho may be impossible from just photos.

Seedling Slender Thistle (Carduus tenuiflorus) 3/1. Species on new London NRS axiophyte list. Grew in gravelly substrate railway end #ThamesRdWetland @thames21.bsky.social Lost there as organic content rose. Persists on rill roadside grit/dirt outside fenceline, but vulnerable to council strimmers🙁

Firework (ab)use Barnehurst area LB Bexley started Oct 18th + carried on for 46 of the 81 days to the 6th Jan when finally stopped. On at least 4 nights let off post 11pm 'curfew' + on 2/1 at 02.47 when it was 1am. Massive escalation in amount and duration of use here @fireworkreform.bsky.social

Amazing @bsbibotany.bsky.social www.linkedin.com/posts/botani...

2025 was the year of the pseudoscorpion as far as I'm concerned. I managed to see 14 species in Norfolk, mostly by cycling round to various churchyards but I also got a lift out to a few places by car. Over 100 churchyards visited by bicycle though. Photo montage of species, map of 2025's records.

RACING TO THE FINISH LINE Now that the introductory pages of our #FliesofBritainandIreland are being finalised the book is nearing completion - due Jan/mid-Feb 2026. Pre-order now bit.ly/4dqQI8Z @gailashton.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @wildlifekate.bsky.social

If you missed my talk on alien plants and have an hour to kill before #TheTraitors (haha!), it’s now available here www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCdC.... Enjoy! @bsbibotany.bsky.social

HELP NEEDED #ThamesRdWetland on Jan 30th! Due to adverse weather forecast, our 9/1 @thames21.bsky.social staff-supported event was cancelled. BUT the large amount of work we need to do before end of March is undiminished. So we're trying again .... To book: book.plinth.org.uk/e/FJvrhxZVIv...

Join Friends of the Cray at Crayford on Friday Jan 23rd for selective vegetation management along the river at Footpath 106 below Crayford town centre. @thames21.bsky.social staff-supported event, equipment provided. Sign up: book.plinth.org.uk/e/iOJnKAVgHA...

Digging a buried #ghostpond in Norfolk farmland way back in 2013. The darker lower sediments are the muds from a pond filled in 70+ years ago. We now know that ghost pond ressurection may be the most successful form of ecological restoration known! @billsutherland.bsky.social