New paper! Bird nests (Wood Warblers) are hubs of invertebrate biodiversity on forest floor, hosting more species/individuals than leaf litter. Probably due to heat & food detritus. Losing Wood Warblers = ecological networks lost. #ornithology
resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Arnside Knott sunset
First roding #Woodcock of the year for me just now. Not a bad backdrop either.
#Arnside Knott
#Cumbria
Sea Thrift Armeria maritima getting to the spring party early. Hayling Island, Hampshire. @bsbibotany.bsky.social
Marsh Clubmoss (Lycopodiella inundata) shoots creeping across a wet, bare substrate. The shoots are bottle-brush like, bright yellow-green with narrow, untoothed leaves sticking out from the main stem.
A series of Marsh Clubmoss shoots criss-crossing the flush, looking like a group of yellow-green centipedes running across the muddy ground
**BREAKING NEWS** - Marsh Clubmoss refound in Dunbartonshire, at a site where it was last recorded in 1854!
Being more-or-less evergreen, clubmosses make great botanical targets all year round. With that in mind, I set out to hunt for Marsh Clubmoss near Inveraran on the shore of Loch Lomond 🧵
Saxifraga tridactylites
Rue-leaved Saxifrage, Saxifraga tridactylites.
Fascinating #etymology:
Saxifraga = Stone Breaker, apparently referring to its use in herbal medicine to treat urinary stones rather than its habitat preferences. Tridactylites= 3 fingers (a little more obvious).
#wildflowerhour
#Yewbarrow
#Cumbria
Hazel, Corylus avellana
Hazel, Corylus avellana
Hazel, Corylus avellana
A study in Scarlet (or #Hazell)
#wildflowerhour
#Yewbarrow
#Cumbria
Tussilago farfara RSPB Leighton Moss car park
Colt's-foot, Tussilago farfara. A classic, & very lovely, #spring plant. It is now scarce in the intensively managed farmed landscapes of the UK, but does better in some disturbed urban and #brownfield sites, like this corner of #RSPB Leighton Moss car park.
#wildflowerhour
@rspbengland.bsky.social
Erophila verna s.s.
Common Whitlowgrass, Erophila verna s.s. Lots in flower on Yewbarrow. One of the earliest plants to really get going in #spring , and so the species epiphet is very appropriate.
#wildflowerhour
#Cumbria
Goldeneye, Tufted Ducks and Pintail RSPB Leighton Moss
RSPB Leighton Moss
Tussilago farfara, Colt's-foot RSPB Leighton Moss
Potentilla sterilis, Barren Strawberry RSPB Leighton Moss
A lovely mixing of the seasons at #RSPB Leighton Moss - Bitterns booming, the first Chiffchaffs are back & #spring plants are appearing, whilst wintering birds remain abundant with at least 33 Goldeneye this afternoon. Great views of an Otter too 💚
@rspbengland.bsky.social
#wildflowerhour
#nature
I eagerly await her return each year & this morning, there she was! 🥰 #Curlew CJ6 ringed as a chick in central #Finland in 2012, this is her 13th spring staging on the #AlstonWetland patch. 3-4 weeks fattening up on #Lancashire's finest earthworms then she'll be off once again. #waders #shorebirds
Primula vulgaris Eaves Wood, Silverdale
Primula vulgaris (Primrose) has an extended flowering period from Dec to May, but tends to appear mostly from March up here in NW England.
Eaves Wood, #Silverdale
#wildflowerhour
#Lancashire
Tactical voting groups say greens - not labour - will stop Reform in byelection.
On Thursday only Greens can beat Reform in Gorton and Denton. And we will beat their hate with a message of hope.
On Thursday help us make hope normal again.
Fox #Moths are pretty impressive critters, given that we've had plenty of cold weather lately. Quite a bit milder today and they're on the move.
Forest of #Bowland #NationalLandscape
@forestofbowlandnl.bsky.social
Loads of great #WildFlowerId resources on the @wildflowerhour.bsky.social website!
Sun Spurge, Euphorbia helioscopia
Here comes the Sun (Spurge), Euphorbia helioscopia. An #archaeophyte that thrives in open, disturbed habitats. Quite early for it to be in flower though.
#wildflowerhour
#Phenology
Common Field-speedwell, Veronica persica
Common Field Speedwell, Veronica persica for #wildflowerhour
This species thrives on bare & disturbed ground. Solitary flowers in the leaf axils, as fot all Field-speedwells. It has larger flowers than Green & Grey Field-speedwells, & the 2 fruits (no 📷) are set c90 degrees apart from each other.
Hazel, Corylus avellana flowers Manchester Ship Canal, Woolston
I never get tired of finding female #Hazel flowers. So tiny & yet so exquisite.
These on the banks of the #Manchester Ship Canal.
#wildflowerhour
The #Winter10 (11), Woolston Eyes Nature Reserve.
#wildflowerhour #Cheshire
Hazel, Gorse, Ragwort, Common Mouse-ear, Shepherd's-purse, Red Dead-nettle, Colt's-foot, Wavy Bittercress, Common Field-speedwell, Scentless Mayweed & Sun Spurge. A right mix of neophytes, archaeophytes & native species.
Colt's-foot, Tussilago farfara
The first Colt's-foot is an annual botanical highlight for me.
It's distribution is fairly stable overall but has been lost from farmland where it used to thrive amongst the messy edges. It often does well on #brownfield sites.
Woolston Eyes Nature Reserve, Cheshire.
#wildflowerhour 🌼
#Spring 🌿☘️
A small black cow among the wet woodland in Newborough Forest, Anglesey
Great to see cattle introduced to graze recently restructured woodland at @natreswales.bsky.social Newborough. #CowsInTrees will help to maintain wet glades important for several rare plants.
Walked out to Ynys Llanddwyn where 10 Purple Sandpipers clambered on the rocks. @angbirdnews.bsky.social
Absolutely brilliant take-down by @fionaharvey.bsky.social
of ludicrous myths & misinformation spouting from Tony Blair’s think tank. Why on earth does he think it’s sensible to make our energy more costly & less secure?
Gorse Ulex europaeus
Gorse in full flower with a very fine backdrop.
#wildflowerhour in #Oban
Snowdrops Mostly Galanthus nivalis f. pleniflorus
Snowdrops Mostly Galanthus nivalis f. pleniflorus
#Snowdrop recording in #Cumbria this weekend for the Flora of Cumbria Recording Group mapping project.
#wildflowerhour
@bsbibotany.bsky.social
@cumbriawildlife.bsky.social
Dog's Mercury Mercurialis perennis
Dog's Mercury, Mercurialis perennis. One of the first species to get going each year.
#wildflowerhour in South #Cumbria
Manton''s Polypody Polypodium x mantonii
Rustyback Asplenium ceterach
Whilst out Snowdrop hunting for the @bsbibotany.bsky.social @cumbriawildlife.bsky.social Flora of Cumbria Recording Group, we found some lovely patches of Manton''s Polypody, Polypodium x mantonii, & a large stand of Rustyback, Asplenium ceterach. Underbarrow, #Cumbria
#WildFernHour #wildflowerhour
Amazingly confiding Black Guillemots in Oban Harbour this week. I'm not used to seeing them in large groups like this. Awesome species and one of the few that could challenge Razorbill as my favourite (as much as favourites are invidious in the natural world).
#SuperSeabirdSunday
A wonderful Imbolc #wildflowerhour, it’s lovely to see some tentative signs of spring appearing! Special thanks to all of you for sharing your gorgeous photos! Hope you all have a great week and see you all again next Sunday! ☺️
Erophila verna. Hodbarrow Nature Reserve
Not been seeing much in flower again this week, but was pleased to find some more Common Whitlowgrass, Erophila verna, at RSPB #Hodbarrow
#wildflowerhour
@rspbengland.bsky.social
2. If we had more scrub and less intensively managed #hedgerows in the countryside they may not need it at all.
Gardens are so important for much of our wildlife as they can contain sources of food that are much scarcer than they should be in the #countryside
@rspb.bsky.social
1. This ornamental Crab Apple really comes in to its own at this time of year with up to 10 Blackbirds feeding. It can't be first choice as it gets ignored in the first half of winter, but highlights the importance of having fruit available throughout the winter months.
#Blackbird
#Garden #Wildlife
