James Lowen Wildlife

NEW BLOG: It's no flea. Some choice winter minibeasts, including Snow Flea and Bristly Millipede. www.jameslowen.com/blog-7-mar-2...

No UK eBird records of Rough-legged Buzzard from 2026 yet (below); this species will likely be rarer nationally than Black-winged Kite in future. Both very visible signs of climate (and land-use) driven range shifts #UKBirding #Ornithology

My day out in the sun last week now feels a long time ago, but the minibeasting included these fabulous weevils, which we think are Dorytomus longimanus. Birdwise, the highlight was finally seeing the Bintree Black-bellied Dipper - and apparently being the last people to do so, watching it at dusk.

NEW BLOG: Hoom's. On Hume's Warbler.http://www.jameslowen.com/blog-1-mar-2026-hoom-s.html

Come stay at the Observatory this spring with the season being well underway already! We have plenty of availability and for a very reasonable price of £15 per night for friends, and £20 per night for others!

Had to pick up my daughter from a party in Hopton today. But that meant that the long-staying Hume's Warbler in Lowestoft was essentially en route, so didn't feel like a twitch... @lowestoftlizards.bsky.social

too right

BLOG 28 Feb 2026 Autumn 2025...

NEW BLOG. Autumn 2025... It's been a while since I last blogged, largely because of IT issues. But it's time to catch up. Here's something about last autumn - well, some of it, including finding some rare birds. www.jameslowen.com/blog-28-feb-... #ukbirding

A teaser for my mini-eulogy to the brimstone butterfly, published in the March issue of The Simple Things magazine.

A much-needed day out yesterday, with Will & Sarah. With thanks to @vannabartlett.bsky.social for info, we tracked down seven Snow Fleas at Felbrigg (one in a new area) and, while waiting around Bintree Mill, amused ourselves with scores of Bristly Millipedes on the building walls. Stunning, both.

Your wish is my command.

While explaining nestling defence mechanisms, in this case squirting faeces, I have just written 'thereby putting the poo in hoopoe'. I don't know whether to clock off for the week, because things are not going to get better, or get my coat. #Birding

Currently writing a prose love poem (well, a magazine article) about the hoopoe. Trying to work out whether I can squeeze in a reference to the Tittifers. #InTheNIghtGarden

retrospectively liked!

The Talk

It’s a damn fine issue of #NeotropicalBirding. If you ever go birding in South or Central America, or the Caribbean, you need to subscribe.

Good news.

🚨 For those with access to collections of bird specimens: we are looking for collaborators who can quickly measure bulbuls/greenbuls (Pycnonotidae) for a project on intraspecific trait variation. We need 100s specimens measured from common species in return for co-authorship. Anyone up for it? 🧪🌐🪶

I appear to have written a book in Spanish. Well, sort of. Aves de Espana is a translation of Birds of Spain, which was published in 2023. But it’ll do.

Bishopthorpe Parish Council want to sell a small wildlife oasis hosting rare wildflowers like Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem to a developer. This field belongs to the people of Bish who cherish its wildlife. Please sign this petition to stop them doing this. Thanks 😊 c.org/syGKBRcGBY

Just a few days to go until our next deadline. Apply at the link below. #ornithology

Snap, grackle and pop. Shameless urban filth in Hampshire with @pterodroma.bsky.social @stuartwhite73.bsky.social #UKBirding

The Great-tailed Grackle was a fun addition to today's Killdeer twitch with @jameslowenwild.bsky.social and @stuartwhite73.bsky.social wasnt at all bothered by passers by, but didn't like mopeds! #rarebirdsUK #ukbirding @birdguides.bsky.social @rarebirder.bsky.social

My first UK killdeer since 1 jan 1994.

After 2h static on the M25 m, perhaps due to a deerkill accident, we watched the Ripley double-banded plover in the rain and mud, then stroked the Hythe grackle. Time now for a Kent-wintering bluetail… @pterodroma.bsky.social @stuartwhite73.bsky.social #ukbirding #filthytwitching

Nature loss is a national security risk, intelligence groups warn The degradation of ecosystems around the world threatens UK food security, a long-awaited report says.

During the 1990s environmental damage was projected in the future to cause mass migration, food price increases, disease & extreme weather, among other things. We are living now in the beginning of that future. Taking action is vital for national security.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

garden yeartick. #aurora #just

We don't need to reintroduce large highly mobile waterbirds. If we create suitable space and habitat for them they will colonise naturally and are more likely to be successful #UKBirding 🪶🌍 an #Ornithology 🧵1/5

Government’s wildlife targets will be missed in England, watchdog says Seven out of 10 targets have little likelihood of being met by 2030, Office for Environmental Protection says

Utterly damning report from Office for Environmental Protection - the Govt’s not only missing its targets to protect wildlife in England, it’s also failing on *almost all* environmental measures - and in some cases actively destroying the natural world through its obsession with growth at all costs

What Joe said.