Art. Archaeology. Biomimicry. Birding. Botany. Conservation. Cymraeg. Entomology. Food. Foraging. Gardening. Health. Herbalism. Horticulture. Music. Natural History. Ornithology. Permaculture. Philosophy. Politricks. Spirituality. Sustainability + more
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This month, WaderTales will be ten years old. I'm going to create a thread that highlights some of the research findings that have surprised me. Plenty of "Wow!" & "I didn't know that!" moments. Here's a link to the catalogue of 150 blogs wadertales.wordpress.com/about/ #ornithology
“The tide has again receded over the sand-flats. The remaining framework of a wooden ship is half-sunken in the sand. On one of the ribs a cormorant stands with wings lifted” Writer: EL Grant Watson Artist: CF Tunnicliffe
It's great to know you enjoy using the NBN Atlas. We currently have 185 data partners who share their data with us registry.nbnatlas.org Whilst we always encourage the sharing of data, we also recognise that some organisations have their own valid reasons for sharing or not sharing.
Yes, I could imagine that to be the case. But what a shame - the NBN portal is a truly incredible resource!
As a keen naturalist always interested in discovering new species your website is my first port of call to check status and distribution. I’ve always assumed that the various societies involved in biological recording would routinely share data with NBN in order to support science & conservation.
In recognition of #WorldLakeDay, here is some beautiful #SciArt from "The fresh-water fishes of China" (1943), digitised for #BHLib by @amnh.org. 🐠 🐡 🐟 #ILoveBHL 🧪 ➡️ www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12398729
Indeed, just after posting a friend commented that they thought it was a more widespread species than indicated on the @nbntrust.bsky.social map. I’m surprised that data isn’t shared between the two schemes.
Many thanks for the clarification. Seems to have a limited UK distribution according ti the @nbntrust.bsky.social map so pleased to record this species.
I found this impressive beast whilst gardening in Holyhead earlier this week. I’ve no idea of the species and would be grateful for an identification if this is possible? #entomology #arachnology @cofnod.org.uk @britishspiders.bsky.social
Thinking of the artificiality of chalk streams, water meadows, former wetland levels such as Somerset, coppice woodland, wood pasture, the species favoured, those disfavoured seems to me to be an argument for both conserving these cultural 'habitats' and restoring lost more 'natural' ecosystems.
New Europe-wide study finds that efforts to provide pollinator habitat in urban areas - such as sowing wildflower mixes - really do work, boosting numbers of bees and butterflies: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe (1 December 1901 – 7 February 1979) was a major visual influence on my childhood. House Sparrows feeding on wheat, a story about abundance, about a pest, which became a beloved bird (for many people) which became scarce.
A fine Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) investigates some graffiti in Holyhead earlier this week. Camouflage? Mae Llyngesydd Coch gwych (Vanessa atalanta) yn ymchwilio i graffiti yng Nghaergybi yn gynharach yr wythnos hon. Cuddiw?
For #FindsFriday a rare fragment of a #Neolithic patterned cloak made of lime bast, dating 2700-2500 BC. Found in Maur-Schifflände, Switzerland. On display at Landesmuseum Zurich. 📷 me #Archaeology
50% decline in the European Grassland Butterfly Indicator since 1991 www.naturetoday.com/intl/en/natu... @savebutterflies.bsky.social
Convinced that you can tell a person’s charcter by watching the BBC #AntiquesRoadshow with them. You’re either fascinated by the deep history, skills involved in making the crafts displayed, priceless cultural references and personal stories. Or you’re only interested in the monetary value.
Iberian Wagtail (Probable, Male)- Traeth Penial, Llanfwrog, Anglesey 18/05/25. Another excellent find by @keelebirder.bsky.social White throat, strong super behind eye, narrower in front, dark lores, uniform dark ear coverts, almost absence of white in lower eye ring. Must be an excellent candidate.
The brilliant British Dragonfly Society has landed! Do give them a follow...😊💚
I used to saw logs by hand when living with a wood burner. A chainsaw made life much easier! The Industrial Revolution gave us the ability to mechanise many tasks that can now be done wisely and sustainably. But it seems like humanity is sat on the very branch we’re cutting off = our downfall. 🙄
Yes it was rather bedraggled. Surprised it had survived tbh. Nearly gave me a heart attack as I caught glimpses of it and my bird ID brain kept screaming “does not compute”! Another very educational bird, just glad it was close enough to suss out eventually.
Indeed! Had worn, faded remiges, no black belly, and a weird feeding action; shuffling slowly around the pool unlike any of the tens of thousands I’ve seen before. Sadly it had a leg injury, hence the gait (and suspended moult?). One for all the Dunlin connoisseurs out there @turnershbo.bsky.social
Binoculars up and heart thumping (or whatever the old DIM Wallace saying was!) when I saw this weird brown wader creeping along the edge of Carr Lane Pools, Merseyside the other day. Ran for the scope and got better views - and the usual terrible digiscoped images. Any ideas people? #UKBirding
150 or so Little Terns at Gronant this morning - very close to laying now. Such an important bird conservation project organised by @denbighshirecc.bsky.social and North Wales Little Tern Group. Great views of the birds from the hide. @birdsinwales.bsky.social #birdingWales
Nice mix of species at Orgreave Lagoons, South Yorkshire this morning including a Whimbrel, 2 Common Tern, Raven, Yellow Wagtail, Redshank, LRP and 4 Reed Warbler. @shefbirdstudy.bsky.social #YorkshireBirding #UKBirding app.bto.org/birdtrack/pu...
Wild that civic leaders everywhere don't look at what Paris has accomplished and say "I want that kind of legacy for my city too" but instead just continue to preside over unhealthy, unpleasant, and unsafe urban landscapes.
Over the ten years I lived on Flamborough Headland, I kept detailed nature journals, notes, lists, photographs & drawings, recording the remarkable wildlife that visited my garden. That garden became The Rarity Garden my new book. It’s a journal, yes—but it’s so much more. Coming soon. Stay tuned!
Hard agree! In my opinion he’s one of the greatest wildlife artists ever and his skills were apparent from a tender age. “At the age of 15, Jonsson had his first public exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History in Stockholm, which caused a sensation among the museum's professionals”
I’ve fancied a visit to the Lars Jonsson museum larsjonsson.se?lang=en since his paper ‘ID of Stints and Peeps’ with the late Peter Grant appeared in @britishbirds.bsky.social and blew my mind. Elsewhere in Sweden a new exhibition is on from 13 June - 12 October; liljevalchs.se/en/kalender/...
A brilliant, driven friend was elected as a Green Party councillor but resigned; she’d tried organising women-only events to discuss green issues but was warned that excluding transwomen was problematic. The party’s losing countless votes; no other mental illness demands society adopt the delusion.
Wow, just gorgeous! 😍
Advise please @btobirds.bsky.social Can field observers safely identify Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) of the northern ‘acredula’ race? Presume ringers can measure wing length (and study plumage forensically)? Any documented proven breeding in UK, as mentioned by Gary? #UKBirding
Dont know about Yorkshire but I see grey looking birds breeding here sometimes. bsky.app/profile/gary...
Thanks G! Had prolonged close views today as it fed in a willow along the shore; completely monochrome with pale legs & long primary projection. Can they be identified definitively in the field? Unsure about status in Sheffield/S.Yorkshire, presumably scarce. Your breeding birds are v intriguing!
@shefbirdstudy.bsky.social The Costa del Redmires Reservoirs was heaving with humans along the shore this afternoon. Birdwise all the usual suspects, but the highlight was enjoying superb views of an incredibly grey, presumed northern Willow Warbler of the ‘acredula’ race. #YorkshireBirding
Puts the photographers whinging about ‘attacks’ by breeding Artic Terns on the Farne Isles into perspective. 😮
I’m not saying that the works of this sinister man shouldn’t be challenged. Truly hope that brave people close to the regime make significant action to end this destructive chaos as soon as possible, for the sake of us all. It’s a truly astonishing time in history for all the wrong reasons.
I understand your response. Is it bad to say I pity this unhinged sociopath? Conflict resolution is increasingly important to me. I often see people lose self-control over insignificant matters and ignore major issues. If you’re only taught to use a hammer everything is going to look like a nail!
Yes! For me first discovering the amazing world of mychorrizae was a complete game changer in the way I think about botany,mycology, trees and woodland ecology. I’m sure that modern humans are only just scratching the surface when it comes to truly understanding the deep interconnections in nature.
Interesting! Nowadays I always think of trees as vertical reservoirs. Once met a gentleman who ran a willow nursery, he blew my mind discussing the amount of water uptake by different cultivars esp those bred for biomass. Anyone who’s cut, stored and processed firewood will attest to this fact.
Wondrous Minoan artistry from Bronze Age Crete! Small luxury rhyton carved from rock crystal. The artisan who created this vessel some 3,500 years ago, had an eye for beauty as well as immense technical skill! Heraklion Archaeological Museum 📷 me heraklionmuseum.gr/en/exhibit/r... #Archaeology🏺
Phased out of birding for a while due to the discovery of females and a horrible fortnight-long Isles of Scilly ‘rarity mosh pit’ experience. Vowed to make up for lost time so bought a few books inc Peter Grant’s Gull guide. Thought I’d learn my gull plumages or ignore them forever. Big mistake!
Used to work in an outdoor shop. Every week reps appeared with shiny new kit. I bought loads. Realised most was useless after a few months use; I’d been seduced by the marketing hype. Ask the people who use what you need on a daily basis. Quality kit isn’t always the latest or most expensive.
Thanks, will check it out. Still occasionally lurk on X, and certainly are some great people on there, but must admit it feels bad knowing who’s behind the platform.
Thanks. First heard of such a set up years ago. I should certainly resubscribe and add yet more issues to the piles of this and other journals.
Good call, that certainly has potential, although wouldn’t it look weird using just one of the eyepieces?! Not quite a travel scope but must say the 115 mm model looks very tasty. I’ll just have a look down the back of the sofa for the cash… 😉
That time of year again
If you buy plants over Easter or afterwards, please source them from a #peatfree nursery, so peatland stays intact with its rare ecosystems & vast carbon-storing potential. There are over 140 growers across the UK on the Peat Free Nurseries List & the number is constantly growing. #gardening #nature
Gunfire (murder?) and theft on his first day ‘discovering’ Australia! 😡 These early European explorers got murder and pillage down to a fine art on a global scale. So important to challenge the history lessons we’re taught; it doesn’t take long to realise who the real uncultured barbarians were.
A glorious morning on Fanad Head in north Donegal. A couple of stunning summer plumage Long-tailed Ducks and Eider enjoying the sun as much as I am.
History proves that old Welsh coastal communities had strong links with Eire (and other Irish Sea nations) simply because of the ease of travel and their skills in boat building, navigation and seafaring. Easier to get to Dublin with a good wind than travel deep inland! FYI @cduigan.bsky.social
Ha, been there! 🙄 Anyone recommend #BirdingGear to photograph/film birds while #Seawatching? Heard of someone with a double mounting plate on tripod for telescope and big lens configured on same target; enabled panning with scope and using camera simultaneously. #Seabirds #WildlifePhotography
Reminder that claims about suicide by trans young people are dangerous. Alarming rhetoric, unevidenced claims, lurid language - they carry risk. Vital message that we should all sign up to: support is available.
We should all be concerned about mental health of young people whose distress is expressed through gender identity. But they need reassurance re the #SupremeCourt judgment, not alarming rhetoric. Not hostility & prejudice but support. And the best mental health care we can offer.
Weird bird! Had a few similar experiences over the years. Although humbling on realising the error, such episodes are deeply educational. I like to think I won’t make the same mistakes in future. The best birders have been through the same process. If they say otherwise they’re egotistical liars.
Let me guess… because this man is going to end homelessness overnight with a tiny fraction of his personal wealth? 🤔
Hi Bluesky, the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest #OpenAccess digital library of biodiversity literature and archives. We're a global consortium of 660 contributors who've made 63 million pages of biodiversity knowledge freely accessible online. www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Whilst researching this gentleman the caption below had me howling… metro.co.uk/2015/12/14/m...
A man in Rhyl says he’s a Jedi. No costume/prop will ever make him a real Star Wars character. Every human deserves freedom and to be treated kindly, especially the mentally ill. Let him play with his light sabre in his own Space. But must everyone else go along with his fantasy? #UKSupremeCourt
The Monarch #butterfly embarks on one of nature's most incredible journeys, migrating up to 3,000 miles from #Canada to central #Mexico. These tiny travelers, with wings of vibrant orange, navigate the vast distances using the sun and Earth’s magnetic fields, defying the odds
Spring is a good time for a trip to the superb Sheffield Botanical Gardens. The @sheffcitycouncil.bsky.social staff and volunteers deserve credit for developing this green oasis in the city. The star of a recent visit was this gorgeous Magnolia liliflora 'Nigra’. #GardensHour #NationalGardeningDay
GET YOUR GARDEN BUZZING – Encourage pollinators into your garden. Pollinators in Crisis, on Spring offer bit.ly/4it13o5 tells you which plants to grow to help bees, butterflies & other pollinators @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bbowt.bsky.social @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social @plantlifeuk.bsky.social
Fred Ingrams, March 2024., Burn, Caithness
Yet another case of WTF !? from the other side of the Atlantic. At present American 🇺🇸 politicks is like watching some movie in the ‘Crazy Leader Evil Empire’ dystopian nightmare genre play out in real life. Please someone, sort the Tangerine Tw*t out before the entire world is destroyed.
Exquisite c. 20,000 year-old laurel-leaf point. Expertly worked and aesthetically beautiful, this Solutrean flint tool is 28 cm long, just 1 cm thick, with edges so thin they’re translucent! From Volgu, France. Musée d'Archéologie nationale Saint-Germain-en-Laye 📷 by me #Archaeology
Switzerland is one of the few countries to have introduced "tertiary" cleaning of sewage. Cleaning the sewage 3 times, removes not only bacteria & viruses but also chemicals & medicines - reducing risk of antibiotic resistant bacteria developing. www.theguardian.com/science/audi...
‘Jay in Magnolia’ acrylic, 23 x 32 cms. For sale, please enquire. Jays are widespread throughout the UK except for northern Scotland. They inhabit gardens where they may be seen more easily rather than being hidden in woodlands, their other habitat of choice. #jay #gardenbirds #birdart
Having problems tagging your organisation… keepbritaintidy.bsky.social Wonder if you know of any research comparing the cost to local councils of #FlyTipping especially compared to the provision of free services and/or income generated by waste licensing? bsky.app/profile/mran...
2/2 Photo of Greenhouse Lane crap same day. Surely the cost of @sheffcouncil.bsky.app deploying crews to clear #FlyTipping is more than that generated charging for waste disposal? A free council service would see the grading, recycling and sale of materials. #NoBrainer @keepbritaintidy.bsky.app
1/2 @tpltravelled.bsky.social Saw your X post about the insane #FlyTipping at Greenhouse Lane (I don’t now use X, just lurk). Thought you’d be interested to know I reported a load of similar crap that had totally blocked Clough Lane to the council on 30th March. Same crew with a tipper truck? 🤔
#BirdingWales
Help shape the future of bird conservation! 🦉 Red List category changes for 140+ bird species are open for discussion until 20 April.🌍 💬 Join the Globally Threatened Bird Forums & share your input: forums.birdlife.org/red-list-cha...
WOW, these baskets are about 9,500 years old! 🤯 Look like they were made yesterday rather than by hunter-gatherers during the Mesolithic! Made of esparto grass, they were found inside the Cueva de Los Murciélagos (Cave of bats), Spain. Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid 📷 by me #Archaeology
Air pollution has dropped significantly in #Paris in the last 15 years as a result of a deliberate strategy. Mayor @annehidalgo.bsky.social’s leadership has traded car space for green space, safe bike space, kid space.. and traded pollution for people. Good trade.
NEW PAPER from the GLiTRS team! 🎉 We review how best to use different types of evidence to better understand global insect declines 🦗🪳🪲🦋🐛🐜 "Integrating multiple evidence streams to understand insect biodiversity change" published in @science.org 🔗 tinyurl.com/mr35bdaa A summary 🧵 below (1/7)
Exactly as I said a few days ago. The situation reminds me of the Brexit vote chaos when certain hedge fund managers made a financial killing overnight because of their manipulation of the fluctuating markets. Politricks and greed go hand in hand all the way to the bank. 💰 bsky.app/profile/mran...
Absolutely love this work by Vicky Huang, who will be exhibiting with Printmakers of Scotland at the University of Stirling 15-17 Aug. @printersofscotland.bsky.social www.printmakersofscotland.com #printmaking
As a BirdLife Datazone user, varying from occasional to frequent, this is a brilliant resource, and the refresh makes it even better and clearer. 👏 #SciComm
#BirdingWales #BirdingUK/REI
NEW PAPER, JUST OUT! 👀 Insects from the '70s and '80s were already collecting microplastic, decades before the term microplastic even existed. 🤯 A thread on the surprising history of this pollutant and the incredible insect larvae that helped us uncover it. 🐛 Let's dive in! 🧵👇 1/x
@pittasoma.bsky.social
A reminder, as rational people observe and try to understand with astonishment the destructive behaviour of the American President, that a team of eminent psychiatrists have published MULTIPLE volumes warning America and the world of this very sick, deeply sinister man. bandylee.com/books/
Absolutely disgraceful. Take water firms back into public ownership with no compensation - after all, they've robbed us for years without investing or providing the service they contracted to do
Life size driftwood horse sculptures by UK sculptor Heather Jansch #WomensArt
Common Milkwort, Polygala vulgaris, on the Purbeck coast #wildflowerhour
@britishspiders.bsky.social @royentsoc.bsky.social @fossilsndcoffee.bsky.social @thelancetendo.bsky.social @cancerresearchuk.org @rcoanews.bsky.social @sailorrooscout.bsky.social @vanessacarteramr.bsky.social @maggiefox.bsky.social @bsacandjac.bsky.social @abc-network.bsky.social
A key point highlighted in the lecture is the fact that there are millions of potentially useful chemicals in venom; researchers are only scratching the surface with less than 1% of the compounds in question evaluated. Global biodiversity is (amongst many other things) our natural medicine chest.
This fascinating talk looks at the medical use of chemical compounds found in the venom of a range of species eg arthropods, reptiles, molluscs et al. Research has discovered potential applications in the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes, cancers, anaesthetics, antibiotics etc youtu.be/SDLbFowy3A0?...
Excellent. That’s amazing site fidelity! Let’s hope the Ouzels have a successful breeding season and you enjoy further adventures with your camera!
Yet another reason to protect all biodiversity, not just the big sexy famous species. These wasps hold potential cures for very serious diseases.
Great image. I notice this bird is colour-ringed; a research project in the Peak District has seen several broods marked in recent years. Maybe worth contacting the Ring Ouzel Study Group if not already; their informative website is worth a look by all who love these superb thrushes. ringouzel.info