@phoenixsandy.bsky.social
Retired Biology teacher devoting my free time to Natural History. Keen Birder, increasingly enthusiastic "Moth trapper" and dabbler in too many other groups! The coast has always been my happy place.
1/ And they’re off! 📢 Our BTO satellite-tagged Cuckoos are on the move! 🌍
Follow their migrations via our interactive map ➡️ www.bto.org/cuckoos #Ornithology 🪶
1st day of Spring, so lovely to find a dusting of blooms on Cherry Plum, P. cerasifera for #wildflowerhour this week. Reflexed sepals are great differentiator from Blackthorn. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
Bee-flies are go! A 1st #BeeFlyWatch record for 2026 is in, from east Surrey on 26 Feb. Look out for more during warm & sunny spells over coming weeks, & please send in sightings, via iRecord if possible. Full details on the @dipteristsforum.bsky.social website: dipterists.org.uk/bee-fly-watch
Measles was wiped out in the U.S. 25 years ago and now we’re already past 1,000 cases in February because vaccination rates dropped below the safety line. This is what happens when public health gets gutted and people stop trusting basic science.
Despite the moon Oak Beauty & perennially reliable Hebrew Character saved me from a Wogan last night to kick off my mothing year here in vc45. #teammoth @gardenmothscheme.bsky.social
Gorse, Ulex europaeus for #wildflowerhour this week in Pembroke. Luminous flowers & coconut scent warding off the wet stuff! @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
Thanks John. Always reassuring for beasts I see less frequently.
Great to find my 1st Oil beetle of 2026 on #Pembrokeshire coastal path. Definitely a male & I think it's M. proscarabaeus, with pretty straight base to thorax? #coleoptera @coleopsoc.bsky.social @johnwalterswildife.bsky.social
Oh, my goodness, this is a huge breakthrough in cancer research. This is another example of why it is crucially important to fund basic scientific research.
Scientists Discover How To “Switch Off” Cancer Genes for Good share.google/WFhMJP5m3AK4...
DYK… Tree Lungwort isn’t just one organism — it’s multiple living together as one!
A fungus provides the structure while an algae inside makes the food.
Together, they create the bright green leafy lichen you see on the tree!🍃
#TreeLungwort #Lichen
Find out more - https://loom.ly/nVD6XL4
Female floral fireworks alongside Hazel catkins for #wildflowerhour here in Pembroke this week. Nice reminder that Hazel is monoecious! @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social
Cracking Male Red breasted Merg, actively feeding on Castle Pond, Pembroke now. Crippling views & great addition to patch life list #birdingWales #patch birding @birdtrack.bsky.social
Found a couple of beautiful contour feathers in amongst marshy grassland this morning. Can anyone ID them please? @rspb.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social #feathers
Great image Jane. Wish I'd thought of doing that, but I'd have struggled to include so many plants
Red Campion, Silene dioica for #WildflowerHour this week. Bright flowers a sign of better botanising ahead, here along #Pembrokeshire coastal path @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @wildflowersociety.bsky.social
Couple of hrs mooching between Fresh East & Swanlake Bay. Yellowhammer, Linnet & Skylark no-show, but Chough, Razorbill & my 1st Pemb. Dartford Warbler were ample compensation #birdingWales Yr list at 77, all within 12 miles of home #lowcarbonbirding
My favourite non fiction book of 2025. Couldn't recommend it too highly, as so well written #science #evolution @princetonupress.bsky.social
Child deaths outnumber homicides in the United States, but get far less public attention—
(This Data Insight was written by @hannahritchie.bsky.social.)
It’s a widespread view that child deaths are still a pressing problem in poorer countries, but not in rich ones.
Great to see empty shop fronts given a festive face-lift here in #Pembrokeshire. V Joyeux Noel! #art #artadventcalendar #Christmas
This #InternationalVolunteerDay, we're celebrating 50 years of incredible volunteer contribution to the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme! 🦋
Hear from the dedicated volunteers who make the scheme possible 👉 buff.ly/TEquScH
#UKBMS50
The 20 new Macro moths for garden this year in order of capture. #TeamMoth
“The beech is one of our largest and most beautiful forest trees”
(Trees, 1963)
Artist: SR Badmin
WOW! We have just passed 3.5 million records, it is certainly a record breaking year, details to come in December as I attempt a New for Norfolk advent calendar and post a species per day 😅... Yes we have had that many!!! #teammoth #norfolkmoths
My latest trapping session over past 5yrs produced 6 of 3 for garden actinic. Single figure temperatures didn't help, but Feathered Thorn is always a joy. I'll try again, as December moth eludes me. #TeamMoth @gardenmothscheme.bsky.social
Cycled from Neyland to Haverfordwest #Pembrokeshire today, along the v scenic #Brunel trail. A round trip of c30km. Carbon neutral & no rain! Hurrah.
Milford Cemetary (Part2) Had to include my first encounter with the 'Ballerina' What a beauty! #Biodiversity @britmycolsoc.org.uk
A tour of Milford Cemetary (part 1) with an expert produced quite the bounty, as photos below testify #Biodiversity @britmycolsoc.org.uk
A good couple of hours thanks. I was in sponge mode cos we had v knowledgeable guide. We managed c. 10 Waxcap spp & some other allies. I'll post a few images later today. One stand out for me was being Ballerina for 1st time; pure delight.
Nice one! Blundered into this chap most unexpectedly whilst looking for Waxcaps in a Pembrokeshire cemetery this morning. We've had a good year for them out here. @savingbutterflies.bsky.social
Our #AutumnArrivalSpotlight is on the Whooper Swan.
These elegant swans fly in from Iceland, their trumpet-like calls echoing across UK wetlands as they gather for winter.