@dartmoorac
Self-employed ecologist and a rural social scientist worrying about Dartmoor: wildlife, hill-farmers, archaeology, peat & wilding. Also Associate Research Fellow Centre for Rural Policy Research at the University of Exeter And Scilly!
A male Hairy-footed Flower Bee - in garden this morning - first of the year
Starfish cluster - so many stars in the sky tonight ....
Birds in my garden today were getting ready for spring - plenty of sunshine and 25 species of bird calling or singing including a flock 20 siskin, chiffchaff, blackcap, nuthatch, greater spotted woodpecker along with a couple of species of butterfly, hoverflies and honey bees
The Peacock has now been joined by two Red Admirals!
Peacock butterfly in my garden this morning 😀
Robin singing in my garden this morning
I've been waiting a long time for this book and it is now published - fantastic - great group to get into and this book will make it easy for you - climate change messengers
Part of the California Nebula from last night
First primrose of the year in my garden today
First Lesser Celandine of the year flowering in my garden today
Aurora seems to have finished in Exeter now - 3 surreal photos from my iPhone earlier - handheld 3 sec exposures through the oak tree in my garden
From a couple of night's ago - the Monkey Head Nebula MGC 2175
Update - when I posted my picture of M33 the Triangulum Galaxy I speculated that the straight below to the left was a satellite - in fact it was the asteroid 443 Eros which was only visible for 2 days and has now gone out of sight. Beginners luck!
Clear skies tonight so another play with the Seestar S30.
The Orion Nebula M42 - really pleased with this
The Triangulum Galaxy (and a satelitte!)
The Pleiades (and another sateilitte)
Bought a Seestar S30 after admiring Martin Goodey's solar photographs - still experimenting with it and dodging clouds - couple of first attempts though: the Andromeda nebula M31 and the Pacman nebula M281 .... really impressed with the kit ..... but lots to learn
The Wolf supermoon tonight - rising over Exeter
Drove back across the moor from Newbridge to the Moretonhamptonstead cattle grid: 30 sheep and 30 ponies - empty moor
Have heard about them before but today was the first time I have actually seen them: bracken bales - on Plasterdown I think - used for animal bedding #Dartmoor
Really interesting day out as part of the Dartmoor Land-use Management Group work: Easdon Common - trig point and Welsh Black bullock
Nick Drake is my favourite artist of all time - couldn't resist this 4 LP 'the making of five leaves left' - love the melancholy and mourn the waste
The 2025 Cold Moon - the final full moon of 2025 - it's also a super moon - meaning it is at its closest to the earth - so it looks big
Dartmoor - Gidleigh Common - hill farmer and dog
Been to Chris Chapman's book launch of 'Hallowed Earth' - brilliant and very busy. In the Gidleigh / Throwleigh matrix - I love it - my favourite picture Steven with his dogs
Despite all the rain and gloom a Speckled Wood continues to thrive in my garden when the sun eventually comes out
![The Drove [2025] A Cattle Droving Adventure](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:muaspgvpjytdrwrwojhaxfep/bafkreih5yga5osdgmzyhw2y5lvsfuihorem4mfh3trvibmjozhjfqctlvq)
This is great .... cattle droving in the Highlands
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RPQ...
