Dr Adrian Colston's Avatar

Dr Adrian Colston

@dartmoorac.bsky.social

Self-employed ecologist and a rural social scientist worrying about Dartmoor: wildlife, hill-farmers, archaeology, peat & wilding. Also Associate Research Fellow Centre for Rural Policy Research at the University of Exeter And Scilly!

1,575 Followers  |  1,566 Following  |  328 Posts  |  Joined: 08.08.2024
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Posts by Dr Adrian Colston (@dartmoorac.bsky.social)

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A male Hairy-footed Flower Bee - in garden this morning - first of the year

25.02.2026 11:44 — 👍 12    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Starfish cluster - so many stars in the sky tonight ....

22.02.2026 22:05 — 👍 14    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

Birds in my garden today were getting ready for spring - plenty of sunshine and 25 species of bird calling or singing including a flock 20 siskin, chiffchaff, blackcap, nuthatch, greater spotted woodpecker along with a couple of species of butterfly, hoverflies and honey bees

22.02.2026 20:43 — 👍 7    🔁 0    💬 2    📌 0
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The Peacock has now been joined by two Red Admirals!

21.02.2026 13:08 — 👍 21    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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Peacock butterfly in my garden this morning 😀

21.02.2026 12:27 — 👍 36    🔁 3    💬 1    📌 0
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Robin singing in my garden this morning

05.02.2026 12:34 — 👍 11    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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I've been waiting a long time for this book and it is now published - fantastic - great group to get into and this book will make it easy for you - climate change messengers

02.02.2026 22:15 — 👍 33    🔁 9    💬 0    📌 1
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Part of the California Nebula from last night

02.02.2026 14:20 — 👍 13    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0
The Living Layer | Restoring peatland in the UK's South West
YouTube video by South West Peatland Partnership The Living Layer | Restoring peatland in the UK's South West

www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3VC...

02.02.2026 11:32 — 👍 3    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0
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First primrose of the year in my garden today

01.02.2026 12:02 — 👍 17    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0
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First Lesser Celandine of the year flowering in my garden today

31.01.2026 13:40 — 👍 17    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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Aurora seems to have finished in Exeter now - 3 surreal photos from my iPhone earlier - handheld 3 sec exposures through the oak tree in my garden

20.01.2026 00:05 — 👍 23    🔁 3    💬 0    📌 1
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From a couple of night's ago - the Monkey Head Nebula MGC 2175

11.01.2026 20:58 — 👍 11    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Update - when I posted my picture of M33 the Triangulum Galaxy I speculated that the straight below to the left was a satellite - in fact it was the asteroid 443 Eros which was only visible for 2 days and has now gone out of sight. Beginners luck!

07.01.2026 16:45 — 👍 5    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Clear skies tonight so another play with the Seestar S30.
The Orion Nebula M42 - really pleased with this
The Triangulum Galaxy (and a satelitte!)
The Pleiades (and another sateilitte)

06.01.2026 00:50 — 👍 9    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Bought a Seestar S30 after admiring Martin Goodey's solar photographs - still experimenting with it and dodging clouds - couple of first attempts though: the Andromeda nebula M31 and the Pacman nebula M281 .... really impressed with the kit ..... but lots to learn

03.01.2026 22:31 — 👍 17    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 1
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The Wolf supermoon tonight - rising over Exeter

02.01.2026 17:09 — 👍 7    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Drove back across the moor from Newbridge to the Moretonhamptonstead cattle grid: 30 sheep and 30 ponies - empty moor

29.12.2025 21:08 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Post image 24.12.2025 09:11 — 👍 4    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
A Brief Journey - sailor's run ashore in 1954 to Plymouth, Dartmoor and Looe
YouTube video by BBC Spotlight A Brief Journey - sailor's run ashore in 1954 to Plymouth, Dartmoor and Looe

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug0...

22.12.2025 21:09 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
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Key road on Dartmoor to be closed for 18 weeks The road could be

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

22.12.2025 13:19 — 👍 4    🔁 3    💬 0    📌 0
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Have heard about them before but today was the first time I have actually seen them: bracken bales - on Plasterdown I think - used for animal bedding #Dartmoor

18.12.2025 22:57 — 👍 5    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0
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Really interesting day out as part of the Dartmoor Land-use Management Group work: Easdon Common - trig point and Welsh Black bullock

16.12.2025 23:12 — 👍 7    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Nick Drake is my favourite artist of all time - couldn't resist this 4 LP 'the making of five leaves left' - love the melancholy and mourn the waste

11.12.2025 23:34 — 👍 4    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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The 2025 Cold Moon - the final full moon of 2025 - it's also a super moon - meaning it is at its closest to the earth - so it looks big

04.12.2025 22:39 — 👍 9    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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Dartmoor - Gidleigh Common - hill farmer and dog

16.11.2025 22:14 — 👍 17    🔁 3    💬 1    📌 0
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Been to Chris Chapman's book launch of 'Hallowed Earth' - brilliant and very busy. In the Gidleigh / Throwleigh matrix - I love it - my favourite picture Steven with his dogs

15.11.2025 21:01 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Despite all the rain and gloom a Speckled Wood continues to thrive in my garden when the sun eventually comes out

10.11.2025 14:25 — 👍 12    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
The Drove [2025] A Cattle Droving Adventure
YouTube video by Lockett Agri-Environmental The Drove [2025] A Cattle Droving Adventure

This is great .... cattle droving in the Highlands
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RPQ...

03.11.2025 12:17 — 👍 6    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0
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Red Admiral in my gardening this afternoon

02.11.2025 15:08 — 👍 10    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0