Today’s post for #Sheffield #TheOutdoorCity - open.substack.com/pub/abitblac...

Had a look around this exhibition yesterday. Particularly enjoyed the drawings and woodcuts by Hilda Quick.

We still appear to have young Swifts in our nest-box but the adults are not visiting as frequently but they were a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday evening two birds were wheeling around over the rooftops. One popped into the box and we could hear the young calling.

Yesterday I came across these galls caused by the cynipid wasp Diplolepis mayri on brownfield land next to the Sheffield & Tinsley Canal. The galls were first found along the canal by Joan Egan (et al) back in September 2014. #galls #entomology

Calling all Sheffield & Derbyshire birders! We're looking to gather as many Ring Ouzel sightings as possible this August & September to aid the work of RSPB Eastern Moors Partnership. Please see our website news item for more details: www.sbsg.org/sbsg-news/re... #ukbirding 📷 Chris Greenwood ©

Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia) in Chatsworth Deer Park yesterday afternoon. One of several butterfly species feeding on the flowers of Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense), a valuable source of nectar at this time of year.

Bilberry Bumblebee (Bombus monticola) visiting the flowers of Buddleja and Hebe in a Sheffield garden, about 2 km from open moorland.

Yellow Bird's-nest (Hypopitys monotropa) recorded near Hope Cement Works on yesterday's field-meeting with @sorbynathissoc.bsky.social

Looking forward to visiting this exhibition in September.

Today I finally caught up with Marsh Helleborine, a species that has eluded me for many years. It's a beautiful plant, which thrives in a fragile and vulnerable habitat (dune slacks). Thanks to my zoom lens I was able to get some close-ups of the flowers without straying off the footpath.

Yesterday I managed to get a couple of pics of a Norfolk Hawker (Aeshna isoceles) at Cley Marshes. It's a new species for me.

Quite a graffiti statement in the tunnel under the A616 while heading for Wharncliffe Woods this morning. Nature is always taken for granted and not taken seriously. It’s part of our life and future. Open your eyes and ears. #nature #health #wellbeing

Male and female Muntjac in the garden this morning. The female appears to be pregnant.

Volucella bombylans, a fly disguised as a bumblebee. One of my favourite insects!

Syrian Thistle (Notobasis syriaca) flowering in a field off the A149, near Wells-next-the-Sea in Norfolk. I recognised it from the photos posted by @vc57botanist.bsky.social a few days ago. It's a spectacular and distinctive species. This specimen was about 6 feet tall.

I have just passed the 50,000 records milestone on iRecord. Record number 50,000 was this Black-spotted Longhorn Beetle (Rhagium mordax) in Beeley & Great Hollins Wood, Sheffield.

Our outline programme of activities for April 2025 to March 2026 is available on our website at www.sorby.org.uk/events Full details of each activity can be found in our monthly newsletter, which is distributed free to members.

Nice clump of Sainfoin flowering next to Sheffield Transport Interchange. It's a beautiful plant but we don't see it very often in South Yorkshire.

Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) poised for action at Rocher Bog, near High Bradfield.

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) basking near the pond in Sheffield General Cemetery.

The Broad-bodied Chaser dragonflies were very active at Rocher Bog yesterday. At least four males were competing for the attention of one female. Thankfully, this male kept returning to the same perch between skirmishes.

Some insects from the past few days. Species info in the alt text. Detailed locations on iRecord.

Yesterday afternoon I spotted this Sedge Warbler singing in a small Hawthorn right in front of the Wath Ings Hide at RSPB Old Moor. I could have watched it all day!

Liz and I were treated to close views of a Water Vole at Redmires Reservoirs a few days ago. We visited at a time when the footpath wasn't too busy with dog-walkers, so the vole was happily foraging out in the open. Water Voles can be quite tolerant of people, provided you are quiet and keep still.

Just seen my first Dark-edged Bee-fly of the season - on a windswept gritstone edge in the Peak District.

Comma (Polygonia c-album) on the flowers of Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa). Photographed yesterday at Turner's Field, Anston.

Toothwort (Lathraea squamaria), photographed yesterday at Anston Stones Wood, South Yorkshire.

Patriotic Millionaires: Brian Eno joined fellow multi-millionaires outside the Houses of Parliament this week to demand more tax from the government www.westminsterextra.co.uk/article/yes-...

Yesterday's sighting of two Commas on the Steel Valley Walk brings my iRecord butterfly total to 10,388 records.

Ewden Valley from Wharncliffe Crags.

Lunch at Peat Pits, overlooking Agden and Bradfield Dale. Skylarks singing overhead. Colt's-foot flowering on the roadside.

Two noteworthy finds from today's walk along the Sheffield & Tinsley Canal: a Bee Orchid rosette and rose gall caused by the wasp Diplolepis mayri.

Our local Tawny Owls were very vocal last night. They started calling shortly after it went dark yesterday and continued, intermittently, until about 6:30 this morning. The breeding season must have started! #springwatch

Dipper singing on the River Don near @wardsendcemetery.bsky.social this afternoon. Also, a large plant of Stinking Hellebore flowering on the south-western bank (a scarce species locally) and three Bee Orchid rosettes where Livesey Street meets Penistone Road. #sheffield

Word of the day is ‘arsle’ (19th century): to have a distinct sense of going backwards.

Looking forward to spring.

The Sorby Botanical Group has just finished drawing up its outline programme for April 2025 to March 2026. It contains lots of interesting field-meetings covering a wide variety of sites, from the Derbyshire Dales to urban Sheffield. Many thanks to Maja and others for pulling it together!

Other work of the Ladybird artists. Fox Artist: CF Tunnicliffe

Beautiful day to be up on the moors.

Skylarks singing at Rocher Top.

Lion Dance at New Era Square, Sheffield. A welcome splash of colour on a cold, grey winter's day!

Purple Hairstreak is a widespread, but under-recorded butterfly. Winter is the perfect time to fill in some of those blank spots on the distribution map by looking for their eggs amongst the buds of Oak trees. I found this one on Bodmin Moor last weekend.

Where does iRecord data go? How does iNaturalist verification work? What recording app is best for bird observations? These are some of the questions I’ll be covering in this upcoming webinar. @nbntrust.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/using-wild...

Pet owners accidentally poisoning garden birds. Our latest research finds pet flea treatments (fipronil and imidacloprid) in 100% of blue tit and great tit nests, with nestling mortality higher in the more contaminated nest. @SongBirdSBS @SussexUni @CannelleTassin

Heading home after a grand day out at @nhm-london.bsky.social with @lizs345.bsky.social

Our article in the Conversation - reveals that only half of ecological features required on new housing estates are actually there. It's a systemic problem of housebuilders not putting them in, management companies not maintaining them and a lack of enforcement theconversation.com/property-dev...

Just seen my first butterfly of the year - in Sheffield Botanical Gardens. I think it was a Red Admiral but it didn't stay still long enough to confirm the species.

Looking forward to spring.

1776: Dark & still, snow frozen.

Our February 2025 newsletter is available now for subscribing members. Cover photo by @rogerbutterfield.bsky.social