Dave Foster

Hegseth Ordered Second Strike to Kill Caribbean Boat Survivors: Report The United States changed its protocols after Secretary Hegseth told officials to "kill everybody" onboard an a Caribbean vessel in September.

WaPo/Military Times: Hegseth ordered troops to “kill everybody” on a boat at sea on 9/2/25-saying they were fighting “narcoterrorism”.

Yesterday, Trump fully pardoned former Honduran Pres Hernandez, convicted in ‘24 for conspiring to bring 400 TONS of COCAINE into the US. His sentence was 45 yrs!

A new subspecies of Manx Shearwater from the Canary Islands But how convincing is the supporting evidence?

Your daily Avian Hybrids story!

A new subspecies of Manx Shearwater from the Canary Islands
avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2021/06/16/a...

#ornithology

Yeah 😊 👍
I don't know anything about that 2003 record...I wasn't aware of any reports in Whitburn, ever.

Cold sweat time, my first thought on seeing these images is that they are the product of Generative AI on account of missing/deformed feet. Could this however just be manipulation of a real image of an extralimital Willow Tit? Never had to even consider these issues before.... #UKBirding

Petition: Call a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics & democracy We are concerned about reported efforts from Russia to influence democracy in the US, UK, Europe and elsewhere. We believe we must establish the depth and breadth of possible Russian influence campaig...

Why wouldn’t you want to know? What have you got to fear? Losing your precious Brexit? Being revealed as a traitor and a liar?
Surely, anyone decent and honest who genuinely cares about our country and our democracy has nothing to lose from this. So, sign up.
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...

The two ad. Bewick's currently here...Near Thurnham, Lancs. Bloody lovely things 😍

Michael Gove Made Orwell Prize Judge Despite Record of Attacking Journalists and Dodging Scrutiny Critics say "Orwell would have enjoyed the irony" of the former Conservative minister's appointment

I’m a past winner of the Orwell Prize & won partly because I exposed Vote Leave’s unlawful activities.

Michael Gove was its co-convener & refused to answer a single q. He’s now a judge of the prize & our world is truly one that Orwell would recognise

bylinetimes.com/2025/11/25/m...

...the appearance of the tail is so completely at odds with the adult-type wings etc, that's what had me puzzled. 👍

Cheers both 👍 The other two grey males on site have clearly darker (grey) central feathers. Initially - at a distance in dull light - those on this bird looked blackish, later at closer range in sunshine they were clearly brown, so I think you must be right Tom...

Otherwise ad.-male looking Hen Harrier but with dark )brownish, exact pattern impossible to determine due to distance) central tail feathers (at least the central pair) - anyone seen this? @macstronach.bsky.social @helsinkibirder.bsky.social @timsbirding.bsky.social @saloplarus.bsky.social

Turkey sends aircraft to help battle Iran wildfires Two Turkish firefighting planes, one helicopter and eight personnel will arrive in Iran on Saturday to help quell fires in the Hyrcanian forest in the country's north, Iranian environment chief Shina ...

“Heartbreaking scenes from Elit, Iran, where wildfire is damaging parts of the ancient Hyrcanian forests — a @unesco.org World Heritage treasure and one of Earth’s last temperate rainforests" Kaveh Madani, director of the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health

#Iran 🇮🇷

Hundreds of chicks clubbed to death every year for "tradition" - sign the petition to end it: protectthewild.org.uk/gannet-petit...

Just when we thought autumn was done, birding would be quieter and that was that, this vision of larid loveliness landed in the road in front of us! A cracking adult Franklin's Gull, the first record for Vatersay. #BirdingScotland #RareBirdsUK

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker at its nest in New Forest, photo by Steve Laycock

Six Lesser Spot young in a Quantocks nest, photo Gus Robin

Something to celebrate - our 2025 Lesser Spotted Woodpecker report - successful breeding season, the most nests monitored & highest number of chicks fledged per nest since we started in 2015. Acoustic monitoring giving amazing results too, download here www.woodpecker-network.org.uk/images/L_S_W...

Bridled Tern at Fife Ness, 23/08/25 We’d selected Saturday 23rd August 2025 for the second all day Fife Ness seawatch, building on the success of the previous years’ which had seen about 40 local birders participate, and p…

A write-up of August’s Bridled Tern at Fife Ness, which I’d totally forgotten to post #birdingFife #rarebirdsUK
chatterstanes.wordpress.com/2025/11/23/b...

End of fossil fuel era inches closer as Cop30 deal agreed after bitter standoff Wealthy countries should triple funds for countries to tackle climate impacts, but deforestation and critical minerals blocked from final deal

"A voluntary agreement to begin discussions on a roadmap to an eventual phase-out of fossil fuels."

Have you ever read such an absurd sentence?

Instead, what we are starting to see is an attempt to sanitise and cleanse Farage ahead of his potential rise to the premiership. We can see this in the many pieces, from the likes of Nick Robinson, to the BBC, trying to portray Farage and his party as being a "serious" prospect for high office, as opposed to the disastrous joke a Reform Government would actually be. You can see this also in the relative lack of media interest in what Reform is already doing in local Government.

Just like Johnson, who was only ever covered by the national media from the framing of his personality-based rivalry with his old Etonian school friend, rather than what he was actually doing in London, so too is the substance of what Farage's party is already up to in office being similarly glossed over. The result is that by the time that we get to the next general election, there is unlikely to have been much scrutiny, aside from by a small number of independent publications like Byline Times, of what the reality of a Reform Government would actually look like.

And this is spot on. No other political figure or party gets so little scrutiny. And it’s not like there isn’t a track record…
Corruption, Russia-links, Trump-christofascist-links, Brexit, racism, total incompetence in Reform-run councils…
A dangerous clowncar revving up to drive us into the wall.

Rachael Johnson: "Boris did his best".

Only because his best has always been fucking awful.

Let's consider Boris Johnson, a moral man and a great politician: I'd love to talk about all three of them, but I only have space for Boris.

Council tax shock for thousands of Durham’s poorest – thanks to Reform UK Durham will scrap full council-tax rebates, forcing 26,000 low-income working-age residents to start paying for the first time

Durham will scrap full council-tax rebates, forcing 26,000 low-income working-age residents to start paying for the first time | Peter Morris

Compare these images with those of L l melanuroides from Japan www.instagram.com/reel/DOuYs0A... - images taken N Lincs August 21sta nd 29th 2010 and suggested at the time as L l m by RM at B World but mag folded before it was moved forward - forgot it until seeing images linked above -

A video from earlier in the autumn during some particularly heavy Pheasant migration in Highland! #highlandbirds

Take three minutes to look at pretty birds, explore radar data, and see how we connect the structure of skies to MacArthur's ideas of niche partitioning. 📡🐦☁️🎧

A truly mind blowing 🤯 study into migration in the US using vast amounts of radar data! 👇

NHS private finance diverts money away from healthcare, towards the pockets of private shareholders.

Cat Eccles MP’s motion can force the government to drop their NHS private finance plans from the Autumn Budget.

✉️Take 2 mins now to email your MP to sign the motion and protect patients.

It is indisputable that Brexit has been an economic disaster, and notable that none of its political architects have paid any price.

Police must end Palestine Action arrests, says former UK counter-terror chief | The National Richard Barrett tells The National that activists who feel strongly about Gaza are 'not terrorists'

Police must end Palestine Action arrests, says former UK counter-terror chief

Richard Barrett condemned the UK government's designation of Palestine Action as a terror group and the amount of police time/resources used to arrest people holding signs.

www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

WSRT Wet Wednesday Webinars: Insect Declines with Dave Goulson Join Dave Goulson for a deep dive into the role of pesticides in driving insect declines in our next WSRT Wet Wednesday Webinar!

Insect Declines and the role of pesticides with @davegoulson.bsky.social online talk...

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wsrt-wet-w...

What an absolute cracker that whitethroat was! 😍

Almost certainly a Small Whitethroat (Curruca minula) but seems unlikely to ever be accepted as such. When I saw it, in the salubrious setting of the industrial works in the area. It was covered in soot from feeding in the bushes nearby. 📸 unknown

Pied Wheatear at Gibraltar Point. 2000. 📸 unknown

OTD 25 yrs ago: A Small Whitethroat (Curruca minula) at South Gare. When did it become Small over Desert?
‘Just’ a subspecies back then. Unfortunately it was never trapped, nor was DNA ever obtained, so it’s all moot. 🤷🏻‍♂️

A female Pied Wheatear at Gibraltar Point on the way back was very nice too.