Dr Marcus Rhodes

Starlings pouring into the reedbeds at Ham Wall last Saturday.

The European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme is growing fast thanks to some funding from the EU. We now have transects in nearly every European country. This is a powerful dataset to assess the health of our environment and improve biodiversity conservation

A Bewick Swan swimming on a lake. It has pure white feathers and a yellow base to its black beak.

A Pintail duck with glossy brown head, white neck and tapering tail, standing reflected in a pool of water.

A mixed group of White-fronted Geese and Greylag Geese grazing a field of grass.

I was up in Somerset and Gloucestershire last weekend and had a wonderful day at Slimbridge on Sunday. A childhood favourite, it's been many years since I last visited!

Better monitoring to support restoration of EU pollinators The Commission has adopted a new Pollinator Monitoring Scheme to help reverse the decline of pollinator populations by 2030.

The EU has published rules for the Pollinator Monitoring Scheme. Butterflies, moths, bees and hoverflies will all be monitored by every Member State. Target to reverse decline in Pollinators by 2030 and increase pops. A big step in conserving biodiversity environment.ec.europa.eu/news/better-...

Yesterday, we were brush cutting heather along the edges of the path, along with removing some scrub and saplings from the heathland. Next winter, we have plans to create a series of scrapes to increase the amount of early successional heathland.

Cornwall Butterfly Conservation volunteers cutting Gorse and saplings in an area of heathland.

Heathland has been mown one metre either side of a path to create shorter vegetation suitable for Silver-studded Blues.

Before: an area of heathland with mature, leggy Gorse bushes and a dense stand of Birch saplings.

After: some of the taller Gorse bushes, along with the stand of Birch saplings, have been removed from the heathland.

Cornwall Butterfly Conservation volunteers were at Ale & Cakes Mine today (no ale or cakes evident). This is a new site for our conservation work and one where it is urgently needed. Silver-studded Blue numbers have dwindled to single figures owing to succession of the heathland.

Cornwall Butterfly Conservation volunteers removing Buddleia with loppers from an area of heathland.

Cornwall Butterfly Conservation volunteers were working at Poldice Mine today, removing invasive Buddleia from the heathland. Silver-studded Blues have responded really positively to the management that we have been doing here over the last couple of years. @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Working together for the Marsh Fritillary 💪

As the Wales Marsh Fritillary Recovery Partnership Project comes to a close, we take a look back at some of the amazing achievements and hear from the people who will continue this vital work into the future 👉 buff.ly/rRh1kB9

What can we learn from a stranded whale? 🐋🧪

This female fin whale stranded in Cornwall and sadly didn't survive. Since then, she has been buried in a @cornwall.exeter.ac.uk research field, until now...

@exetermarine.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social

Learn more: news.exeter.ac.uk/environment-...

Lots of winter thrushes on the move and I also encountered my first Woodcock of the winter.

Wet woodland at Goss Moor: a tangle of twisted, moss-covered Sallows growing above dark, peaty water.

The orange, radial "fingers" of Hazel Gloves Fungus enclosed around a Hazel branch.

Wood Blewit: a lilac mushroom growing amongst leaf litter.

Dog-lichen growing over mossy Sallow tree. The underside of each lobe is covered in spiky protrusions.

A few treasures from the wet, mossy world of Goss Moor.

The rocky promontory of Gurnard's Head jutting out into the Atlantic.

A large flock of Choughs circling above coastal grassland.

The rugged cliffs at Treen with the sun setting behind Pendeen Lighthouse in the distance.

Along the Coast Path from Zennor to Gurnard's Head yesterday. Wonderful to encounter a huge flock of more than seventy Choughs - it's amazing to think they were entirely absent from this coast 25 years ago!

The sensory ecology of caterpillars - Journal of Comparative Physiology A Caterpillars (larval Lepidoptera) are one of the most ecologically and evolutionarily significant taxa on Earth. As both feeders and food, they shape the dynamics of enumerate ecosystems on land. Key ...

Do you work (/want to work) with caterpillars? Or sensory systems? Or BOTH?! Well good golly do we have the paper for you! We explain the senses that caterpillars have, what they use them for, and how anthropogenic sensory pollution might be messing it all up 🐛 doi.org/10.1007/s003...

Cornwall Butterfly Conservation volunteers preparing for habitat management.

Before: a hillside of Bracken heavily encouraged by Gorse.

After: Gorse bushes have been removed (retaining some for shelter) to open up the area of Bracken.

Back on Bodmin Moor this weekend with Cornwall Butterfly Conservation. This time, we were working at Fellover, another site for Pearl-bordered Fritillaries, managing Gorse and Bracken in an area between the two existing colonies. @savebutterflies.bsky.social

🌿 A new chapter begins.

After 10 years of raising awareness of coal spoil biodiversity, the Colliery Spoil Biodiversity Initiative is evolving into Glo i Natur CIC - continuing the same mission with new opportunities ahead.

➡️ Follow @gloinatur.bsky.social - this account will shortly be replaced 💚

The view from the West Bank at Cley across the Glaven saltmarsh towards Cley Windmill and Blakeney Church.

Cley Marshes this evening. Swirling flocks of Golden Plover, ten Marsh Harriers arriving to roost, and an impressive murmuration of Starlings.

Check out our new insect decline paper. By analysing 36 yrs of German ground beetle distribution data, we show:
- ~80% of species have declined, with significant declines for >50%.
- The decline was similar across species traits and threatened status.
doi.org/10.1111/ddi.... @consbiog.bsky.social

Simply magical!

But what a sound!

Back in the land of Geese #Norfolk

YouTube video by Butterfly Conservation Celebrating 50 years of butterfly monitoring

We're thrilled to share this film featuring some of the dedicated volunteers who monitor butterflies for the UKBMS

A huge thank you to them, and everyone who's supported the scheme over the last 50 years.
#UKBMS50

youtu.be/OrF5AgseX1U?...

It was one of my favourite highlights of the trip!

Cornwall Butterfly Conservation volunteers cutting Gorse.

Before: an small area of Purple Moor Grass and Rush Pasture heavily encroached by Gorse.

After: the Gorse has been cleared from the Purple Moor Grass and Rush Pasture with the cut material stacked into piles ready for removal.

Cornwall Butterfly Conservation volunteers were working at Church Hay Down today. We are slowly chipping away at the Gorse on this former Marsh Fritillary site in the hope that the butterfly will recolonise from just across the road. @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Atlantic Salmon leaping at Rogie Falls last month. An incredible feat of endurance and captivating to watch.

A White-tailed Eagle in flight. The distinctive large, yellow beak and white tail are clearly visible.

A group of three Red-throated Divers in Staffin Bay.

The towering basalt cliffs at Ruhba Hunish under a brooding sky.

For the last few days of the trip, we headed west in search of eagles on the Isle of Skye. We were lucky enough to see both White-tailed Eagle and Golden Eagle, along with Hen Harrier, Black Guillemot, Divers and (what I'm fairly certain were) Twite.

Two male Black Grouse standing off to each other at a lek. Each bird has glossy, black plumage, red eye wattles, and is holding its tail fanned out to reveal the white underside.

A mottled grey Ptarmigan hunkered down amongst granite boulders.

A Red Grouse poking its mottled russet head above the heather.

Loch Eanaich under brooding skies and a brilliant rainbow, nestled in a deep, glacial valley between Sgòr Gaoith and Braeriach.

We also spent several days venturing out on the hills to explore the moorland and Cairngorm Plateau. Lekking Black Grouse were a first for me and a truly unforgettable experience!

A Red Squirrel eating from a squirrel feeder.

A Crested Tit with its black bib and distinctive black and white quiff perched in the branches of a Scots Pine tree.

A Scotch Argus butterfly perched amongst grasses. Its dark brown wings are open revealing a row of eyespots set in a band of orange.

Rays of sunshine breaking through Caledonian pine forest in the Cairngorms National Park.

I've only just got round to sorting my photos from Scotland last month, so here's a short thread of some highlights. We were based along Strathspey for a week and a half, providing some wonderful opportunities for exploring Caledonian pine forests.

24th October: Want to be inspired by real stories of recovery and collaboration? Don’t miss the panel “Recovering Nature on Land”, where conservation leaders will share how they’re restoring habitats, protecting species, and bringing landscapes back to life!🌱

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cornwall-i...

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna hunting off Land's End a couple of weeks ago.

Cornwall Butterfly Conservation volunteers managing Bracken habitat for the Pearl-bordered Fritillary.

Before: a clearing surrounded by woodland and densely carpeted with dead Bracken litter.

After: pathways have been cleared through the Bracken litter to expose Violets (the food plant of Pearl-bordered Fritillary) and encourage further germination.

Bracken management at De Lank today with Cornwall Butterfly Conservation - another Pearl-bordered Fritillary site on Bodmin Moor. Encouraging to see lots of Violets beneath the Bracken litter where we were working. Let's hope the Fritillaries find them next spring! @savebutterflies.bsky.social