Zoë Freedman 💙💛

Health Inequalities and Prevention Programme Manager, @NHSEngland Southeast region. Views my own. Tweets mostly about healthcare, opera, and wildlife, esp bees.

[Zoë Freedman 💙💛 @ZoeFreedman]

@BBCRadio3 I'm sure I'm not the first to tell you that @TezierLudovic is a baritone, not a tenor! But thank you for playing the duet from Les pêcheurs de perles this morning!

[Zoë Freedman 💙💛 @ZoeFreedman]

@oldenoughtosay 41, brought up in London. She is 'mum' but was 'mummy' when I was a child. Interestingly my 5yo calls me and his dad by our first names.

[Zoë Freedman 💙💛 @ZoeFreedman]

@TheGreenJeanie I didn't know they could tuck their wings underneath! That's really cute 🐝

[Zoë Freedman 💙💛 @ZoeFreedman]

@TheMERL Hang on, I was told last week by a member of staff feeding the chickens that one was called Lines (and the other Joyce after James Joyce!).

[Zoë Freedman 💙💛 @ZoeFreedman]

@Thomashornall My cheese slicer - a gift from my mum when she visited Bergen - is the single most-used implement in our kitchen 👌🏻

[Marian Hill @hill_marian]

Ivy flowers are a really importance source of food for an amazing array of insects during early autumn and ivy berries are food for many creatures too. Please think twice before cutting ivy back, as you will be depriving many creatures of food and cover for nesting.

[Zoë Freedman 💙💛 @ZoeFreedman]

@Buzz_dont_tweet I understand this is a red listed species! Just spotted my first sitaris muralis on my house wall just above the nests of my anthophora plumipes bees. Location: Baughurst, Hampshire.

[Zoë Freedman 💙💛 @ZoeFreedman]

@RuthElleson THANK YOU, Ruth. I did not know until I read your tweet that Arte was available on demand here. I have downloaded the app and am excited to start watching!!

[Zoë Freedman 💙💛 @ZoeFreedman]

@jsdhenderson Sorry you didn't get to hear Tézier, who is an absolutely brilliant Scarpia.

[Jurassic Coast Guide @jurassicguides]

COMPETITION TIME! I’m giving away this lovely Oistoceras Ammonite from Charmouth! All you have to do to enter is make sure you’re FOLLOWING me and REPOST this post. Winner Announced Friday Evening! (05/07/24) Good Luck!🤘🏻

[Zoë Freedman 💙💛 @ZoeFreedman]

@OliverG63370963 @RuthElleson OMG he was amazing!!

[Zoë Freedman 💙💛 @ZoeFreedman]

@RuthElleson It was SO GOOD! Hope you make it to a performance.

[Carl Bovis @CarlBovisNature]

Know the difference... 😀
Here are 4 similar birds that spend most of their time in the sky, which I've photographed recently. 🐦

1. Swift - All brown, but can appear black against the sky. Short forked tail, long scythe-like wings. 🐦
2. House Martin - All white stomach and throat, appears black on the back, but with blue tinge. short wings, short forked tail. 🐦
3. Swallow - Red throat, white stomach up to a dark band below the throat. Long forked tail with streamers. 🐦
4. Sand Martin. Similar to House Martin but even shorter, slightly forked tail, white stomach with dark chest band and white throat. Brown on the back. 🐦

Other information to help with identification;

If your bird is on a wire or post, it's definitely NOT a Swift.😊 (Swifts only land to nest, everything else they do in flight, including eat, drink and sleep!)
If your bird is nesting under eaves, it's definitely NOT a Sand Martin.😊 Sand Martins nest in holes in sandy cliffs.
If your bird is screeching, it's a Swift. 😊

Next time you go out, look up and see if you can identify these birds. They're all summer visitors to the UK. ♥️

[The Bee Guy @the_beeguy]

We’ve had a number of enquiries lately from people worried about having a bumblebee ‘hive’ in their garden.
‘Are they dangerous?’
‘Should I have them removed?’
‘Will they be there forever?’
Here’s a quick bumblebee lifecycle thread to explain.
Please #retweet for the #bees.
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[Zoë Freedman 💙💛 @ZoeFreedman]

Ooo is it Andrena haemorrhoa?

[Zoë Freedman 💙💛 @ZoeFreedman]

@StevenFalk1 and other bee enthusiasts. Could I have some help with ID please? Gorgeous little bee on ceanothus in my north Hants garden.

[Andrew Morris @devilstrillblog]

The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama told its staff today that it is axeing its junior department at the end of this term. Almost 200 children study there on saturdays. That will all stop in July. This is not rich kids playing expensive instruments. One of them texted...

[frances quinn @franquinn]

A holiday in the UK is not a staycation, it’s a holiday in the UK

[The Bee Guy @the_beeguy]

Spoiler Alert!
Quick version:
Queens just out of hibernation.
Hungry and house-hunting.
Rest often between flights.
Don’t move or help for an hour unless in immediate danger!
Flowers best option.
50/50 white sugar/water next best option - NOT HONEY!
Don’t bring her inside.
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[Bumblebee Conservation Trust @BumblebeeTrust]

Your kindness can kill a bumblebee 💔

📢 Please share! Bumblebee queens are starting to emerge from hibernation. British weather isn’t always ideal and people with the best intentions can cause more harm good. Let’s change that.

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