VP early morning the juv LRP remained, 1 Green Sand, 1 ad Oystercatcher, fresh juv Black-headed Gull, 7 Egyptian Goose including the pale ad and a juv, 3 Teal, juv Chiffchaffs etc #shropshirebirding #ukwildlife 🪶

V excited yesterday when our small Shrewsbury garden was visited by a White-letter Hairstreak. 1st on the Hemp-agrimony then on @janettem34.bsky.social 's fave rose, Lady of Charlotte! We see Purple H most years (not yet this) but WLH is a full on garden ✅ #gardenwildlife @westmbms-99.bsky.social

VP early morning Green Sand, 2 Little Egret, 2 Egyptian Goose, Barn Owl still out hunting at 0702, fledged juv Whitethroats, 8 Stock Dove, first Gatekeeper of the year, Painted Lady, Red Ads, Essex and Small Skippers etc #shropshirebirding #mybutterflyyear @ukbutterflies.bsky.social

Yesterday's visit to Newtown with @janettem34.bsky.social for my 200th ParkRun and Pryce Jones exhibitions (our main motivations, respectively) produced an unexpected patch of what I take to be Artemisia verlotiorum, Chinese Mugwort, by the R Severn above a shingle bar. #wildflowerhour #ParkRun

A nice bank of acidic grassland on our Wednesday site with the wildlife group at Green Acres Farm, Kemberton with masses of Heath Groundsel (Senecio sylvaticus). In organic for 26 years with very flowery margins too. A few Small Torts and lots of hoverflies, mainly migrant species. #wildflowerhour

Recent #Shrewsbury clearwinging - Currant (garden tick!) on Philadelphus flower while Orange-tailed lure was run nearby and one of 2 Yellow-legged to ves the same afternoon (20th). No luck with Red-tipped so far but keep trying as they are nearby. #teammoth #ukwildlife

Star of the weekend was probably Eristalis similis on Hemlock Water-dropwort at Cors Ddyga RSPB on Saturday 13th. New for Anglesey we think. with @keelebirder.bsky.social and @janettem34.bsky.social #wildflowerhour #pollinatorpals #diptera

Earlier still on Friday 12 June at Foryd Bay the Western Reef Egret (or Heron if you insist) showed very well in our fortunately timed visit en route to a family do in Llandudno. with @janettem34.bsky.social It's been a tricky monkey on and off. #ukwildlife #ukbirding

Bit of an orchid fest at Conwy RSPB last weekend including Bee and unexpected (by me) Early Marsh. #wildflowerhour #ukwildlife

Psilothrix viridicoerulea on Thrift (Armeria maritima) flower head on Holyhead Island, Anglesey last weekend for #wildflowerhour #ukwildlife

Wildlife Group on Weds were at Longdon Road Cemetery in town. Diverse mix of native and a few alien plants plus a few showy insects and many less showy ones. My first Ringlet of the year, Small Tortoiseshell (not seen many this yr) and Grey Sedge (uncommon in VC40). #mybutterflyyear #botany

VP y'day w G for 1st time in a while. Good to see broods of Coot, Mallard & Mute Swan; GCGrebes nest building in a decent spot for once; Oystercatchers yet another try, 2 LRP, 2 returning male Teal, ad and juv Kingfishers, 2 Egyptian Goose, Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Gadwall etc #shropshirebirding

On White Grit SSSI in Monts with the wildlife group on Wednesday - big turn out for very nice meadows with Heath Spotted Orchids out in force. #wildflowerhour #orchidchallenge

Just inside the VC40 boundary on Wednesday near the wildlife group's site of White Grit Meadows (Monts). Shown this Petty Whin (Genista anglica) by Rob R, can't recall having seen in Salop, and certainly not recently. Hanging on in heathy grassland. Late again for... #wildflowerhour #ukwildlife

Blimey, this pristine Striped Hawk-moth is not what I was expecting in the garden moth trap #Shrewsbury this morning🤩. Only c3rd county record by the look of it. Otherwise 1 Small Mottled Willow and 2 xylostella the only migrants in a rather thin catch. #teammoth ##ukwildlife

Another good night in the #Shrewsbury garden moth trap. Scorched and Broken-barred carpets, Coronet etc nfy. Silver Y an actual migrant and the star a rather mint Pine Hawk-moth nfg. 56/36 similar to yesterday but many different species #teammoth ##ukwildlife

Otherwise Alder Kitten was the best of the rest 56/35. Good diversity for here in May but not big numbers. Hooching with caddis though. It got to 33C yesterday and no lower than 15 overnight in the open greenhouse. #shrewsbury #teammoth #ukwilflie

Best night of the year last night for the garden moth trap in #Shrewsbury, unsurprisingly, but Light Knot Grass was a life moth and a massive surprise, or would have been had I not twitched one that a mate caught elsewhere in town yesterday! More of a surprise, less of a lifer. #teammoth #ukwildlife

Insects were hard to find in the New Forest last week with low temperatures and hardly any sun. Last morning it finally broke through and this stonking longhorn Stictopleura scutellata appeared on a massive old Beech stump. It was still too cold for much else though, sadly. #ukwildlife #beetle

This morning's trap less busy w a clear sky and slightly lower overnight temperature, although still decent by recent standards. No doubt about the star moth, Small Mottled Willow, only the second for the garden after one on 6 Aug last year. Part of a big influx but it's Salop. #ukmoths #ukwildlife

Putting my Christmas present from @janettem34.bsky.social into use in the garden and success with Red-belted Clearwing. No luck with Current or Lunar Hornet so far but too early for then, perhaps? These days who knows, phenology in flux. #teammoth #ukwildlife

Meanwhile the moth trap has been a lot busier since we got back from down south and the heatwave started. Yesterday lots nfy including Alder Moth, 2 Scalloped Hazel including a v dark form and Pale Tussock. #teammoth #ukwildlife

Closer to home a good year for annuals with plenty of space after last year's drought, I guess. Masses of Bugloss, Lycopsis arvensis, at Venus Pool this year - it's a good site for it but don't recall it in such profusion before. #wildflowerhour

Plagiobothrys scouleri, aka Popcornflower, in the New Forest this week with @janettem34.bsky.social Like a tiny white forget-me-not and once placed in Myosotis. In barish damp areas, it was a new plant for me. #wildflowerhour

Belvide this a.m. with @janettem34.bsky.social - Black-winged Stilt the main aim. Mainly distant but once did a nice fly-by. Also Dunlin, 7 RP, 12+ Common Tern, Mandarin etc and, more remarkably, a v early patrolling Lesser Emperor found of course by Steve Nuttall. #ukbirding #staffsbirding 🪶

A few more photos from Portland last week, which I have been v slow to download. Push of Spotted Flycatchers and Reed Warblers on the Friday (15th) with a few other migrants including a few Sedgers and Chiffchaffs still arriving.

Decent amounts of sunshine at Portland despite the often chilly breeze so some nice butterflies seen including Adonis Blue, Wall, Dingy Skipper. Painted Lady, Small Heath and others. #mybutterflyyear #ukbutterflies #ukwildlife

Some Portland specialities too (well I see more of them here than I do anywhere) - Pale Flax (Linum bienne) and Yellow Vetchling (Lathyrus aphaca) - both of which seem to be having a good year at the Bill. #wildflowerhour

Some riots of colour at Portland this weekend (staying at the bird obs as always) with Black Mustard (Brassica nigra) in Crown Estate Field and Thrift (Armeria maritima) on the slopes today. Bit late for #wildflowerhour camera issues!

And folk wonder why we talk about ecological breakdowns: in the past on this sort of date, today's brisk, chilly headwind would have been a dead cert to produce a strong passage of Swifts and a good fall of migrants; today we logged 3 Swifts and 28 nets - many open for 10 hours - caught 5 migrants!

Mothing has been slow here recently so this Puss Moth was a treat last night. Muslin, Vine's Rustic and Chocolate-tip also nfy. #teammoth #Shrewsbury

VP yesterday morning to have a look at the splendid Avocets that arrived on Weds (always a day when something good pops up as I'm never there). This morning a singing Sedge Warbler was in scrub just off Rock Street in Shrewsbury, which was the more surprising record to me! #shropshirebirding 🪶

Wildlife group on Weds on fine spring day in woodland near Earl's Hill. Lots of insects about including nfy #hoverflies such as Leucozona lucorum, first #Odonata of the year Large Red Damselfly, and a decent flora including Sanicle. We didn't get to the best planty bit - glacial. #ukwildlife

VP with G back on Tuesday - spring-like out of the E breeze. Dropped the sluice another board. Green-winged Orchids out, 2 Green Hairstreak, lots of Orange-tip, Speckled Wood, Dasysyrphus tricinctus, 3 LRP, Common Sand, Goosander, Garden W, Siskin etc #shropshirebirding #ukwildlife #diptera

Announcing The Bird Guide: North America! This landmark field guide, published in association with @cornellbirds.bsky.social, will set a new standard for North American bird identification. Publishing in early 2027, the guide is now available for pre-order from booksellers everywhere. 🐦‍⬛ 📙

📣New regional checklist released! A provisional checklist of Barkflies (Psocoptera) for Cheshire & Lancashire by Keith Fowler is now available. This is the first checklist for this under-recorded group in the region. 👉 Download it here: www.northwestinvertebrates.org.uk/document/a-p...

Couldn't resist a trip up to Ellesmere w @janettem34.bsky.social to see the sum plum Black-necked Grebe. A bit distant but nice scope views. The male Lesser Scaup remained on S shore with Tufteds, an unexpected Common Sand flew round calling & 3 singing Reed Warblers present. #shropshirebirding 🪶

Walking to the the Mereside #WeBS count this morning there was much Alliaria petiolata (Garlic-mustard) along the old cycle path. Orange-tip male a cheat from a different site earlier in the week. WeBS had 8 Tufted, Grey Heron, 2 Mallard broods, Willow W etc #wildflowerhour #cabbagechallenge 🪶

Green-winged Orchids (Anacamptis morio) just coming into flower at Minsterley Meadows with the wildlife group on Wednesday. All seemed to be rather dark in colour in this (large) population. We were also shown the Moonwort (Botrychium lunaria), which was just unfurling. #wildflowerhour

VP WeBS early morning 2 Reed and a Garden Warbler both nfy, singing Redstart high in the big oak for the patch year, 2 Whitethroat, Siskin, 2 Jay, 16 Sand Martin, 2 Common Sand, 2 Snipe, 11 Shoveler, 3 Shelduck, 3 Teal, 4 Gadwall, Cetti's, Mallard brood etc #shropshirebirding 🪶

Still going through pics from La Palma now 6+ weeks ago. The endemic Viola palmensis on the north side of the caldera near Roques de los Muchachos, the highest point on the island at c2400m, on 2 Mar was one of the best plants of the trip and definitely at its best. #wildflowers #lapalma #botany

Tuesday so to VP with G as usual. Chilly and blustery w 120 Sand Martin, 2 Swallow, 45 BHGull (most 2CY), Common Sand, brood of 11 Mallard, 22 Shoveler, 18 Gadwall, 4 Siskin, Whitethroat, 3 Mandarin, Peregrine, Kestrel caught a small mammal etc. Red Kite being chased by the Oycs. #shropshirebirding

13 Apr continued... Then normal service was resumed with 2 Wheatear and Redstart around Pole Cottage; 6 Pied Fly, 4 Redstart, 2 Swallow etc Bridges; and 4 bright male Yellow Wags at Polemere. #shropshirebirding

1010 Y'day heading for the Mynd w @janettem34.bsky.social we were amazed to see a White Stork over the A49 near Chatford. After some manoeuvring we found a place to stop and caught it heading to SW overhead. Assumed it was the Shotatton bird but primary damage = not the same one. #shropshirebirding

Wood Sorrel (Oxalis acetosella) patch in woodland at Severn Valley Country Park with the wildlife group on Weds. Also Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera) rosettes looking a bit trampled. #wildflowerhour #woodlandflowers

Spring annuals on Lyth Hill last weekend with @janettem34.bsky.social Upright Chickweed (Moenchia erecta), Changing Forget-me-not (Myosotis discolor) and Blinks (Montia fontana) already going over. Blinks and you've missed it etc. #wildflowerhour

Later at VP with @janettem34.bsky.social Whitethroat nfy in the lane hedge, Common Sand, 2 LRP, 4 Oystercatcher, 13 Shoveler, 12 Gadwall, 22 Tufted, GWE, the confiding Kestrel, c50 Sand Martin, Swallow, 4+ Willow Warbler, Cetti's etc in blustery conditions with heavy showers. #shropshirebirding

White Stork by A5 at Shotatton this morning, thanks to Reevesy for the refind. It moved just S of the village to fields being ploughed. No sign of rings and not the recent bird in Staffs? as primaries all present and correct. All suspect but as good as we could get these days. #shropshirebirding 🪶

A couple of Canary Islands endemic insects from our trip to La Palma on our way up to Roques de los Muchachos on 2 Mar. The splendid hoverfly Chrysotoxum triarcuatum and the 'slender long-horned bee' Eucera graciliceps. with @janettem34.bsky.social #diptera #lapalma

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