Julian Hughes

Buglife News: Love Your Pet, Not Pesticides: New Report Warns of Flea and Tick Treatment Threat to Rivers Read more of our latest news related to invertebrates, insects and bugs.

A new report from wildlife charity Buglife reveals that pesticides from common flea and tick treatments are now widespread in rivers across Britain and may be contributing to major declines in freshwater invertebrates bit.ly/4b1Pu50

And exciting news of five organisations combining forces for next Bird Atlas, and I for one am delighted. There is much to do, but bring it on!

@btobirds.bsky.social @btocymru.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social @birdsinwales.bsky.social @birdwatchireland.bsky.social @scottishbirding.bsky.social

Grebes and divers gather in sheltered bays Saturday’s bright sunshine and flat sea were perfect for watching birds offshore. Scanning from Penmaenmawr, more than 200 Red-throated Divers and almost as many Great Crested Grebes were in Conwy...

The week's bird news from #NorthWales distilled into the @northwaleslive.bsky.social BirdNotes column.

Multiple grebes and hundreds of divers are a sign of northward movement, as Sand Martins and Wheatears arrive.

📷 Pierre Montieth #BirdingWales

www.birdnotes.wales/blog/grebes-...

A Sparrowhawk perches on a branch showing its barred underparts and yellow eye. Wording below reads: Can you help monitor raptors in Wales?

1/ We need you to help us monitor raptors in Wales! 🦅 You choose your survey patch, like the route you enjoy walking each week, and the raptors you want to record. It’s as easy as that! Find out more and take part ➡️ bit.ly/CudyllCymru #BirdingWales

Well done Mike for getting video of both birds - glad the second one came closer after I left. Helps the @welshbirdsrarities.bsky.social submission!

Both reported again today off Penmaenmawr.

#BirdingWales

Thanks to @mikepnature.bsky.social for confirming the second Red-necked Grebe, which was right at the limit of my 'scope range. Was fairly certain about ID, but not 100%

Screenshot of sightings from BirdTrack app, at Penmaenmawr this morning. 10 Eider Common Scoter 6 Red-breasted Merganser 2 Red-necked Grebe 179 Great Crested Grebe 1 Slavonian Grebe Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull 3 Black Guillemot 209 Red-throated Diver Shag Pied Wagtail

A couple of Cliff Mining Bees in the sunshine on Mynydd Tir-y-cwmwd today. No previous site records on @cofnod.org.uk.

Earlier, found a couple of Red-necked Grebes off Penmaenmawr, one in breeding plumage close to shore, and a Slavonian Grebe. Another Slav and 23 GN Divers off Trefor. #BirdingWales

Bird nests support a diverse, dynamic and distinctive macroarthropod community on the forest floor Nests built by vertebrates, such as birds and mammals, constitute diverse microhabitats that are inhabited by many arthropod taxa and represent important hubs of local biodiversity. Compared to leaf...

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/...

It actually is the law. That is the date of the end of phase out. A new government would now have to pass a new law to introduce lead ammunition now.

NEW ANALYSIS: UK emissions fell 2.4% in 2025 as coal fell to a 400-year low. Incredibly, we used less coal last year than than in 1600, when Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne and Shakespeare was writing Hamlet.

All the details in our article: www.carbonbrief.org/...

Major win for Great Britain: lead ammunition will be banned in outdoor shooting! This historic ban on lead ammunition in Great Britain sets a powerful precedent for other nations to follow.

Ban on sale and use of most lead ammunition in Wales, Scotland and England confirmed to be in place from 1 April 2029. Good.

www.birdlife.org/news/2025/08...

Congratulations!

Welsh Government grants legal protection for Eurasian beavers Emily Price New Welsh Government legislation has officially recognised the Eurasian beaver as a native species and granted it protected status. It marks a major milestone in restoring beavers to the W...

New Welsh Government legislation has officially recognised the Eurasian beaver as a native species and granted it protected status ✍️ @emilypricejourno.bsky.social

Letter to the editor concerning the paper “Attraction points: A new sampling design method to quantify common finches' populations” published by Marazuela Pinela et al. in Ecological Indicators, 171, ...

New 'letter to the editor' criticising a previous paper published in Ecological Indicators is well worth a read: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Includes this quote 'At least two of them (Marazuela Pinela and López Espí) are self-proclaimed silvestristas—the Spanish term for songbird trappers'

Thank you!

An exciting initiative for woodlands and their wildlife in the Mawddach catchment.

👏 @rspbcymru.bsky.social, @nationaltrust.org.uk, @plantlifeuk.bsky.social, @cofnod.org.uk, @natreswales.bsky.social et al.

Measures to protect pelagic megafauna are now "unnecessary regulatory and economic burdens" 🧪🌎

Bioacoustics as a tool for the detection and monitoring of a scarce woodland bird – the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Having declined massively in numbers and range in Britain over the last few decades, the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dryobates minor is a priority...

Following the December 2025 paper on detecting& monitoring Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, we’re inviting your questions.
We’ll put them to the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Network next weekend when they meet,&publish their answers soon
The paper: britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti...
Add your questions below

🗓️ Dydd Gwener 6 Mawrth

Dewch i gymryd rhan mewn sesiwn ysgrifennu creadigol wrth i ni ddysgu am y frân goesgoch a'i chysylltiadau eiconig â'r Brenin Arthur chwedlonol 👑

Anfonwch e-bost at hanna.baguley@rspb.org.uk neu ffoniwch 07540 682905 i gadw eich lle!

#NaturamByth

🗓️ Friday 6 March

Come along and take part in a creative writing session as we learn about the chough and it's iconic connections to the legendary King Arthur 👑

Email hanna.baguley@rspb.org.uk or call 07540 682905 to reserve your spot!

#NaturamByth

Getting DOI not found...?

I was invited to be guest editor on a history journal yesterday by the same brand...

Skipping through timeline after a busy day. Initially assumed this is what you'd won last night....

Congratulations on the actual award. Well deserved.

BirdLife Malta condemns the Government’s decision to reopen new trapping licences BirdLife Malta strongly condemns the Government’s decision, announced through the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WBRU), to reopen applications for new General Trapping Licences. This move represents a...

Beyond commenting really.

Maltese gov reauthorises finch trapping in defiance of the EU law and ECJ judgements.

@jessikaroswall.ec.europe.eu needs to take immediate action.

birdlifemalta.org/2026/03/bird...

Thanks to @birdsinwales.bsky.social for the numbers. Little Auk is now rare enough for records to be assessed by @welshbirdsrarities.bsky.social.

For more on @rspbcymru.bsky.social's call to Welsh Government, read www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happen...

Winter storms wreck seaBIRDS A Little Auk found swimming close inshore at Trearddur Bay for a few hours last week is an increasingly rare visitor to North Wales. It really is a small auk: at 165g (6.5oz), it is less than half...

A rare, and brief, appearance by a Little Auk off #Anglesey headlines the week's @northwaleslive.bsky.social BirdNotes, as thousands more #seabirds starve in North Atlantic storms.

This and the week's other sightings in #NorthWales.

📷 John Oates #BirdingWales

www.birdnotes.wales/blog/winter-...

Number Of Sea Bird Species In The World

17 more maps in the series: brilliantmaps.com/biodivers...

Number of days per year when temperatures exceeded 30ºC (85ºF) In Europe

Credit: Josh Holder (NYT)

Source: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/...

PhD opportunity: I am looking for someone with a passion for the natural environment and an interest in developing applied research collaboratively with the RSPB.
ONly two weeks left to apply!
#phd #ecology #rewilding #naturerecovery #bird #plant #invertebrates #biodiveristy #research #teesside

Now and the next 4 weeks are the very best time of year to find Willow Tits, which are paired and defending territories. They're at their most vocal and obvious until the leaves come out. Report all certain sightings to county recorder and @birdtrack.bsky.social to help monitor remaining populations