Biol/Geog tutor @FieldStudiesC | MSc BioSci @RoyalHolloway | @UniExeCornwall | Posts about wildlife, often birds. I also like frisbees | He/him | ๐ฆ๐ณ๏ธโ๐
Nice day (once the fog cleared!) up on Exmoor today with @unisouthampton undergrads sampling freshwater inverts. On top of which we also managed to see plenty of Red Deer, a Dipper and even an Osprey! ๐ฆ๐ฆโโฌ๐ฆ
#exmoor#ecology#biology#fieldwork#outdooreducation
Phwoar! Short-eared Owl just now out the coach window on the way back from Braunton Burrows with a school group! New addition to the work list for me :) It was patrolling round this field just north of Bittadon, North Devon (51.1741191, -4.0960574) @BirdGuides
In 2022 I went to RSPB Greylake to see a patch of grass which I was told had a Baikal Teal behind it. Yesterday I relived that experience, but blissfully without any pesky grass in the way. Cool duck!
@Natures_Voice@somersetbirds
THREE humpback off Pendennis Point in Falmouth this evening, the first expertly found by @LukeStoppard and photographed by @BenHancockSmit1 breaching here. 350+ people, largely students at the point within 90 mins of it being found ๐คฏ
Cirl Buntings still at Stolford Beach early this afternoon. Group of 3 spending their time between the marsh and the bushes by the footpath. Another (Iโm told) flew off towards end of Whitewick Lane. @BirdGuides@somersetbirds
Surprised to find a washed up whale carcass at Porlock Weir today! Looks like it met its fate a while ago. Anyone able to confirm the species? @SomersetWT@NHM_strandings#CSIP
So this happened tonight!
Magnolia Warbler at St Govan's Head. A totally surreal experience but simply incredible!!
What an amazing bird๐ฎ๐ฎ @PembsBirds
Great day out in Wiltshire this week with @sjportugal1979 to lifer Stone Curlew and Great Bustard, bringing me to 250 UK species. Unexpectedly lifered Small Blue in the process!
Very excited to have finally caught my first Elephant Hawkmoth in the trap last night! Other showstoppers included a Lilac Beauty, Green Silver-lines and the hypnotic iridescence of a Burnished Brass ๐
You know itโs been a good walk when the most common butterflies are Green Hairstreaks. Common Heaths and Tree Pipits about too at Dead Womanโs Ditch last week.
Ever wondered about Siamese Fighting Fish? I have. Too much, perhaps. You can read more about them in my Quick Guide, published today in @CurrentBiology! https://t.co/TM2W2SwZ9t #betta
Nice trip to @RSPBHamWall this morning to see the Great Reed Warbler. Vocal and showing well enough, but intermittently. Also, first Hobby and Garden Warbler of the year.
Some non-bird highlights too, incl. a grass snake and loads of โcool shiny beetlesโ (Agelastica alni?).
When I picked up a Raven chasing something high above my head, I never expected it to be a Quail! It managed to escape and continued high north inland, having presumably just crossed the Mediterranean.
Itโs been a good week for โbirding on the jobโ this week, with a Pied Flycacther on site at @FSCNettlecombe and 3 Whinchats along one of our fieldwork sites near Nutscale Reservoir. @somersetbirds
Nice stroll around Dunkery Beacon this morning - thought Iโd make the most of the weather. Highlights were singing Cuckoo, pair of Redstarts and a Whinchat. @somersetbirds
Spent today at Sandbanks with Exeter City Ultimate for beach nats ๐ฅ followed by a fly-by visit to see my first Black-crowned Night Heron at Iford Bridge. Great day all round!