Simon Gray

Aftermath of the fire on Carn Glenshane recently! It’ll take a long time for this to recover @ulsterwildlife.bsky.social #wildfire #glenshane #sperrins

Photograph of a bog with blue water and colorful moss in the foreground and green trees and blue sky in the background.

Boglands - where beauty flows from an overabundance of death. The hope of resilience, grit, and quiet determination is perhaps the hope we all need.

Nice to find the scarce Sphagnum teres in the base rich mire in east Co. Clare. It is classified as having 'Near Threatened' status in Ireland

Sphagnum in the limelight

Red Mason Bees have emerged from their overwinter rooms in our bee hotel, 2 weeks earlier than last year due to this warm weather!‬⁩ @ulsterwildlife.bsky.social @rspbni.bsky.social #redmasonbee

Extremely windy day up on Fair Head but was worth it for the views towards Ballycastle and Knocklayd #fairhead #causewaycoast #ballycastle

A different perspective on the ancient monastery site at Nendrum‬⁩ #nendrum #strangford

Great thread from Cat on her PhD exploring the role of aquatic insects in supporting populations of declining birds, in this case Spotted Flycatchers.
More evidence that re-wetting woodlands & wider countryside, and cleaning up #rivers, could be beneficial #ornithology #ukbirding

𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐨 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐦

Fire crews from Ballymoney, Ballycastle, Ballymena & Kilrea are attending a large gorse fire outside Ballymoney this evening.

Five fire appliances are currently are at the scene; crews are working well to tackle the fire.

📸 NIFRS North

Police urge public to enjoy Mournes safely as dry weather continues With another weekend of dry and fine weather on the horizon, police in Newry, Mourne and Down are urging the public to enjoy the region’s stunning beauty spots responsibly.

With another weekend of dry and fine weather on the horizon, police in Newry, Mourne and Down are urging the public to enjoy the region’s stunning beauty spots responsibly.

I don’t understand, if 2.5 TRILLION dollars can be vanished in a day, but nothing real has changed, and this happens every few years, Then what?? Why are we stuck with this stupid system 😭

The frogs in the garden pond are at peak activity atm! Can hear them croaking from the house! @ulsterwildlife.bsky.social @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social @arc-trust.bsky.social #frogs #gardenwildlife

Are you an ornithologist based in Northern Ireland? Come and join our team @bto-ni.bsky.social! Find out more and apply: www.bto.org/jobs

Sad to see land reclamation taking place below Hen Mt in the western Mournes. To what end?! For a few sheep? Or because it’s tidier? Society would get a lot more out of the bog and heath the way it was before #peatlands #mournes

The view from Cock Mt beyond the turf banks along the Rowan Tree River to Slievemoughanmore and Eagle Mt in the distance #mournes #mournemountains

Well, this is not good

Love this so much.

The steep sided slopes of Glendun in the Antrim Glens with the sun shining on the fields #glendun #antrimglens

Sunset over sea and islands, County Kerry, Ireland

Sunset over a calm Atlantic in Kerry this evening. Just watched the seals haul out for the night. Now a fish dinner and bed sounds like a plan!

More than happy thanks!

Nice to see the whooper swans back for the winter in this part of the world @rspb.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social @ulsterwildlife.bsky.social #whooperswans

This image features a Brambling mid-flight, wings stretched wide, showing off its striking orange flanks and patterned black and white plumage. The bird’s intense focus and streamlined posture suggest a swift and purposeful journey, the contrasting colours of its feathers glinting in the light as it cuts through the air. The delicate symmetry of its wings, with the layers of black and white edges, makes for a graceful yet powerful moment captured in flight. The Brambling’s autumn tones blend beautifully with the soft, blurred background, evoking the fiery flight of autumn’s changing season.

Bold and bright, a Brambling in flight. 😍

Happy #FlyDay!

📷 Martin Abbess

Goldeneyes make a splash in today’s #AutumnArrivalSpotlight! 💧

Arriving from Scandinavia and Russia, these striking birds bring their golden eyes and crisp black-and-white plumage to our winter lakes.

Keep an eye out for their elegant dives and lively presence! 😄

Amazing sky contrasting with the sand bars at the mouth of Loch Gruinart on Islay @rspb.bsky.social #islay #lochgruinart

Today’s #AutumnArrivalSpotlight is the mighty-beaked Hawfinch! 🍂

A shy autumn migrant, these large finches are drawn to the UK’s woodlands, where they put their powerful bills to work cracking seeds.

Have you spotted one?

What happens to the world if forests stop absorbing carbon? Ask Finland The natural sinks of forests and peat were key to Finland’s ambitious target to be carbon neutral by 2035. But the land now emits more greenhouse gases than it stores

"For decades, [Finland's] forests & peatlands had reliably removed more carbon from the atmosphere than they released. But from about 2010, the amount absorbed started to decline ... In 2021-22, Finland’s land sector was a net contributor to global heating."
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Autumnal colours aplenty across the Tracking the Colour of #Peatlands sites

Forsinard Flows🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Kauhaneva–Pohjankangas National Park 🇫🇮
Grande Plée Bleue 🇨🇦
Flanders Moss🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

📸: various members of the public

#PeatColours