Frances (Marks) Buckel

Birdwatcher and watcher of all things in nature. BTO rep, views all my own. Conservationist, campaigner. Likes to paint, particularly birds.

[Andrew Waddison BEM @AWPRCO]

Angry doesn’t even begin to cover it..

Today at Snettisham beach protected area for ground nesting birds including Little Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover…...

Signage EVERYWHERE asking for dogs on leads.

📸 Derek Bromage - Snettisham Village Facebook Page.

[JmRoyle #LFC #YNWA #BLM #RejoinEU @MyArrse]

UK population is 69 million. There have been 200,000 migrant arrivals in 8 years which equate to 0.29% of the UK population, less than one third of one percent.
Put another way, 99.71% of people currently living in the UK did not arrive via small boats.
https://t.co/HRZz7jVkLr

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

A recent research demonstrates that birdwatching can literally rewire the human brain through neuroplasticity, producing measurable structural and functional changes that enhance perception, attention, and cognitive performance—potentially even helping to buffer against age-related decline.

While birdwatching has long been celebrated for its calming, restorative qualities, emerging neuroscientific findings reveal it delivers far deeper benefits. A 2026 study used diffusion-weighted and functional MRI to compare the brains of 29 expert birdwatchers (ages 24–75) with 29 matched novices (ages 22–79). Experts showed greater tissue density—indicating more compact, efficient neural organization—in regions tied to attention, perception, working memory, spatial awareness, and object recognition.

These structural adaptations enabled experts to identify birds, including unfamiliar or non-local species, with significantly higher speed and accuracy. During identification tasks, experts displayed increased activity in key areas such as the bilateral prefrontal cortex, bilateral intraparietal sulcus, and right occipitotemporal cortex—regions critical for visuospatial attention, object categorization, and memory.

This mirrors brain remodeling observed in other expertise domains, like multilingualism or professional musicianship, where prolonged practice fine-tunes visual and auditory processing. By repeatedly attending to subtle cues in plumage, songs, flight patterns, and behavior, birdwatchers drive cortical reorganization. Notably, these expertise-linked changes persisted across the adult lifespan, with older experts exhibiting brain features in relevant regions more akin to those of younger individuals—suggesting the development of cognitive reserve that may protect against aging effects.

[Wing, E. A., et al. (2026). The tuned cortex: Convergent expertise-related structural and functional remodeling across the adult lifespan. Journal of Neuroscience. Advance online publication. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1307-25.2026]

[Michael Turner @Michael71T]

Chinese fishing vessels are destroying the protected waters of Antarctica, hunting krills. These vessels can haul over 10 tons of krills every hour.

China's destructive krill fishing is pushing Whales to extinction.

[UKSwifts @swifts_uk]

Retweet ❗️

This is a Swift. sometimes they can end up on the ground. This is where they need YOUR help!

Swifts arrive back to the UK from April/May to nest. 🪺 (A THREAD)

[Harriet Lamb @HarrietLamb_]

Got a bit of time for TV? Watch this and you will soon be campaigning to bring water companies back into public ownership.
The stories of deep harm to people and to animals and fish are too sad - and are continuing still.
https://t.co/e2KmZ7TJuY

[Antifa_Ultras @ultras_antifaa]

FIFA rejected Iran’s request to play its World Cup matches in Mexico.

One of the countries hosting the World Cup, the United States, is bombing Iran, and FIFA’s solution is to reject Iran’s request. A disgraceful institution @FIFAcom.

[Feargal Sharkey @Feargal_Sharkey]

As we head into the spring please do remember this, flea treatment is highly toxic, keeps your pets away from rivers.

Yes, that does mean you. 👇👇👇

[Feargal Sharkey @Feargal_Sharkey]

Anthony gets it, how come govt doesn't?

[Feargal Sharkey @Feargal_Sharkey]

The petition is almost at 300,000 do your thing internet.

[Surfers Against Sewage @sascampaigns]

The courage and strength of Julie is incredible. When will someone in government have a fraction of the same and act to end this #SewageScandal

#DirtyBusiness

[Windrush WASP @WindrushWasp]

Powerful portrayal in Channel 4s #DirtyBusiness by Asim Chaudhry @AsimC86 representing the many water company staff at the sharp end, doing their best and taking the flak while the bosses behind the dirty business scandal take the obscene payouts.

@GMB_union @Channel4News

[Feargal Sharkey @Feargal_Sharkey]

Senior executives at Southern Water including the CEO knew the company had dumped millions of pieces of plastic into the sea a day before they admitted it to the public.

The beads were found to be contaminated with heavy metals, including lead, arsenic and cadmium.

Criminal investigation? Prosecution for fly tipping? Of course not.

"All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others."

https://t.co/WnKbog82EQ

[bucks bird club @bucksbirdclub]

Don’t forget to keep posting your Buckinghamshire Song Thrush and House Sparrow records on the sightings page - https://t.co/P3V8wqNbvm
Unfortunately both species appear to be less numerous than they once were, so this year we would like to assess their current status.

[dave lawrence 🐟🐟🐠 @dave43law]

True

[Benonwine @benonwine]

They killed TWO young Elephants and claimed they did it in self-defense because the Elephants charged at them!

The professional hunter is Max Delezenne and the trophy hunter is Mike Jines, the owner of TopGen Energy in Georgia, US.

Ban Trophy Hunting, Retweet if you Agree.

[Richard Sefton @richardosefton]

No one is scared of a #Labour government

No one is scared of a #LibDem government

No one is scared of a #Green government

No one is even SCARED of a #Tory government

LOADS are scared of a #Reform government

That should seriously tell people something

WAKE UP PLEASE

[krannyman @krannyman]

A Canadian firm is applying for a licence to strip vast quantities of seaweed from the west of Irelands coastline.
As an interesting aside, this is banned in Canada, the country with the world’s largest coastline, for environmental reasons.

[Protect Kamala Harris ✊ @DisavowTrump20]

Barack Obama hasn't been President in almost 10 years. MAGA racists cannot get past the fact that a Black man was President, won the Nobel Peace Prize, and will be remembered in history as one of the great leaders of the 21st Century.

RETWEET if you love President Obama! 💙

[Dr Timothy Utteridge @timutteridge]

The Snowy Owl has been declared Regionally Extinct in Sweden. For the first time in 20 years, the country has officially lost a bird species. https://t.co/LuhG9S6M1n