A couple of downpours in Cambridge today. They are literally off the charts

Despite the summer showers, these beauties are out and about at the slightest flash of sun. I’m leading more Swallowtail tours tomorrow and Wednesday and there may still be a place left on Weds for any lastminute fairy-folk! @greenwingstours.bsky.social

Love this kind of story. A twitch for Black-headed Gull just seems wrong! www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Ok, so last week didn't quite deliver. But today did. 4mm so far, and on ground already soft from the preceding days.

Government grants "emergency authorisation" for use of the neonic insecticide acetamiprid on sugar beet. Deja vu. Product label below.

Mega Cambridge garden odonata while I was hanging the laundry. Norfolk Hawker! @britishdragonflies.bsky.social

First public consultation on Ireland’s draft National Nature Restoration Plan is now open 👌🐸🦋🐞🐝 Have your say by June 30th. #RestoreNature www.gov.ie/en/departmen...

Interesting looming battle in one of my childhood stomping grounds covered by @patrickbarkham.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Does anyone have any recommendations of a butterfly guide in Japan? (person, not book) thanks @dunnjons.bsky.social @mariposanature.bsky.social @greenwingstours.bsky.social @matthewberry.bsky.social

Unsurprisingly no mention of any green space in this proposed development on the Cambridge airport land. Another (the 4th) railway station, and a movie studio (what?) but no green space! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

In other news. A great find by an old friend @jameseaton.bsky.social Indonesian parrot, seen once in a century, reappears in mountain forest | Reuters share.google/iuUjtEvSnove...

And another paper that's likely to spark debate "Biodiversity offsetting, if properly implemented, can be an effective tool for pollinator conservation" besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Enjoy this 5min film (in English) on how a potato field in N NL was transfered into a butterfly haven: vimeo.com/292261901 Geniet van dit filmpje van maar 5min over hoe een aardappelveld is veranderd in een vlinderparadijs door Willem van Hemmen: vimeo.com/292261901

Plenty of food for thought in this article. Not least the proposal for attempting to shift the larval food plant of the English subspecies of Swallowtail. @patrickbarkham.bsky.social link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Did you catch the magnificent Marsh Fritillary on #Springwatch? 🦋 This striking butterfly with orange, yellow and brown chequered wings was once so common in Northern Ireland that in the 1850s farmers recorded fields swarming with caterpillars in the autumn! 📷: Tim Melling

I enjoyed Claire Jackson's brilliant new play about a modern-day Eleanor Glanville, the pioneering naturalist who gives her name to the Glanville fritillary. It's first run is June 5/6 at www.phoenixarts.co.uk, Hants – there may be a few tickets left. Recommend! www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/j...

Absolutely spoiled by the delight of so many butterflies in our garden... @norfolkbutterflies.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

If this gets established it will be the first site with Small, Chalkhill, and Adonis Blue in Cambs. Sharing the site with Dingy Skipper, Dark Green Fritillary, Marbled White and more.

I'm almost giddy at the prospect of decent rainfall in Cambridge over the next 3 days

England just had its warmest spring on record. The record was last set in spring 2025. Before that, spring 2024. 9 of the 10 warmest springs have occurred since 2007. It's almost like there's a long-term driver causing this... www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/new...

A first family outing to Monks Wood, Cambridgeshire this morning. What a place. Plenty of Black Hairstreaks, one newly-emerged White Admiral and a Norfolk Hawker. All put on iRecord. @bc-cambs-essex.bsky.social @britishdragonflies.bsky.social

I just went out there and saw 1 possibly 2. First from the Dyke in over a decade Unfortunately the cutting is in a bad way. Very overgrown. Without management in the next 12 months all value for chalk grassland will be lost @bc-cambs-essex.bsky.social

Credible report of Small Blue at Burwell Cutting near Reach, Cambs. If anyone can get there today (Sat 30th) to check I would appreciate it @macrolunchtimes.bsky.social @sciencebase.com @jonheath.bsky.social

Hot off the press. Cambs & Essex Branch Newsletter No. 85 (sorry it's taken a while) tinyurl.com/3w97szb6

Chance to see Coton’s moths & butterflies during the Cambridge Nature Festival May/June. Free but need to book 🎟️ www.eventbrite.com/o/6706959258...

We've been seeing a few painted lady butterflies around in Suffolk, west of Mildenhall, but this morning every bramble patch beside ½mi of drove road was covered with them. This video doesn't do them justice as there were thousands. @bc-suffolk.bsky.social

🚨 New report: how integrated distribution models can improve #BiodiversityMonitoring. Combining structured survey data with opportunistic records (e.g. 🐝 bumblebee sightings) can improve model estimates compared to using presence‑only data alone. 🔗 jncc.gov.uk/resources/5a...

Anecdotally seems like the spring broods of Adonis and Small Blue in Cambridgeshire are not good this year. Possibly a consequence of the drought last summer, and cool period in early May. And don't suppose this heatwave helped

Northern Marsh Orchid. Maidenvale Nature Reserve, Darlington. 30+ spikes at a small post industrial green space on the edge of the town.

Great footage of Brown Hairstreak larva interacting with ants on tonights Springwatch. Starts @42 minutes @bc-hertsmiddx.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Dingy Skipper seen at Monks Wood recently. First record from here in years. They are not great at dispersing so I wonder if they have been holding on undetected in low numbers all these years? @richardkbroughton.bsky.social

Please note - Indicia systems, including the UKBMS website will be offline from 5pm tomorrow Weds 27th May until midday Thurs 28th May for planned essential maintenance. Thanks for your patience!

Wondering what the mortality is going to be for nesting birds. Those ground temperatures are higher than birds' core temperatures. Species nesting on the ground and in buildings/boxes or full sun are going to be in serious trouble. Not to mention possible effects on food (inverts, mammals).

Feeling hot? Imagine dipping your feet in the cool of the River Tees.

I love rummaging though my parents' bookshelves to see what wonders they kept. @richardkbroughton.bsky.social @themarshtit.bsky.social @sheldonbirds.bsky.social

Nice to hear @tonyjuniper.bsky.social up early on a Bank Holiday morning to talk about this www.gov.uk/government/n...

Nothing says “I nearly did the right thing” quite like a poo bag swinging gently from a tree branch.

Back to the Tees Valley next week (mainly VC65). Intrigued to see what butterflies on the wing. Would be good to add a few to my regular Tetrad - Holly Blue, Wall, Common Blue, Small Copper maybe? Assuming too early for Large Heath on NYM? @drmperdix.bsky.social @daveob66.bsky.social

Large Skipper @magogdown.bsky.social this afternoon. @bc-cambs-essex.bsky.social

The first brood of Small Blues is currently on the wing @magogdown.bsky.social. @bc-cambs-essex.bsky.social

The Brecks are one the the great underappreciated landscapes of England - one of the last haunts of genuine Great Bustard no less. So much potential for further restoration too

Definitely, we should be treating woodlands like water storage sponges, not digging/maintaining ditches through to get the water out as fast as possible. Sod the dogwalkers getting muddy.

britainsfavouritebutterfly.co.uk/butterfly/ch... Chalk Hill Blue

We're sometimes shy about allegiances but how will you vote? Please share! I'm a floating butterfly voter agonising between Purple Emperor, Brown Argus, Swallowtail, Brimstone and Large Tortoiseshell (so exciting it is back!) @savebutterflies.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/environment/...

A Silver-studded Blue caterpillar in the company of its symbiotic Lasius niger ants at Wheal Maid last Sunday.

"Cambridgeshire – one of the most water-stressed areas in the UK – and Bedfordshire received less than 5% of average rainfall." Had a little bit in May. But after the winter deluge we are already parched again in Cambridge. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Identification help for friend please. Saw this Erebia sp in the French alps a few years ago. Seems out of range for the species that others have suggested @chrisvanswaay.eurosky.social @pietervantieghem.bsky.social @europebutterfly.bsky.social www.inaturalist.org/observations...

This is always a good walk (when the weather cooperates). There have been relatively good numbers of Dingy Skipper this year, and the Adonis Blue and Green Hairstreak are showing well Join me next Thursday

From the archives for #wildflowerhour Moon Carrot on Lime Kiln Hill, Cambridge.