Sign in

Prof Duncan Westbury

@duncanwestbury.bsky.social
1.1K followers 491 following 601 posts

Professor of Sustainable Agriculture. Nature-based Solutions; Grassland Specialist; Expert Wildlife Gardener, as seen on BBC’s ‘Gardeners’ World’. Views are my own.

PostsRepliesMedia
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Had fun comparing a non-coppiced versus coppiced Hazel with a chlorophyll meter earlier.
081
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
This year I’ve really seen the importance of this patch of devil‘s bit scabious so I’ve been collecting seed regularly and throwing over my recently scarified meadow strip in the hope of getting more in the future!
1325
Reposted by Prof Duncan Westbury
Little Green Space 🐝 @lgspace.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Is your ivy flowering? Please don't cut it back if you can avoid it! At this time of year in the UK, ivy flowers are a brilliant late season pit-stop for hard-pressed pollinators like bees, butterflies, hoverflies and moths 🐝 #gardening #wildlife #nature
Butterfly perched on ivy flower
511847
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The meadow has been cut, but this rogue field scabious continues to deliver! 
0252
Reposted by Prof Duncan Westbury
Little Green Space 🐝 @lgspace.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
A request! We can't grow this account fast enough. So please follow us if you aren't already, and please share this post to spread the word. Help us do our bit to share positive solutions to the nature & climate emergencies, and bring more nature into people's lives. Thank you 😊🐝
A bumblebee on a yellow dandelion
7152104
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Scarifying perennial wildflower strips & meadows every 4-5 yrs is a great way to rejuvenate the sward in the absence of large herbivores. Look how this has encouraged new seedlings whilst retaining much of the original plants. Yes it bounces back!
0286
Reposted by Prof Duncan Westbury
Natalia (Nat) Zielonka @natbzielonka.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
New paper 👇 (my last PhD chapter!) 🍇🐦🧪🌍️ Bird damage in English vineyards is modest & mostly at field edges — and doesn't affect yield. Management & weather matter more. Biodiversity ≠ production trade-off. @simon-butler.bsky.social et al. @ueaceec.bsky.social @dice-kent.bsky.social #Ornithology
2167
Reposted by Prof Duncan Westbury
Clayton Meadow in Dorset @claytonmeadow.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Thanks for your advice on this meadow a couple of years ago. Much appreciated @duncanwestbury.bsky.social
031
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Thoroughly enjoyed delivering this research seminar at Qingdao Agricultural University. With a UK focus I related the content to what I have observed travelling around China & shared my ideas on what both countries could be doing.
060
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
A neighbour up the road called this evening worried about a wasp problem! I went to investigate and managed to get a photo when one settled. In flight they did look like small wasps. Turns out they are ivy bees!
0190
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
If only I knew how to make wine! I have 3x this amount.
381
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
I have now listened to the whole book via Audible whilst commuting. I found it thoroughly interesting & I fully recommend. I have thought about much of what Mark writes & we share many of the same views. There is hope for wildlife, but more is needed sooner rather than later. @markavery.bsky.social
0144
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
115g (27k seeds) of wild parsnip seed harvested along with dozens of shield bugs!
0132
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
This came to me when driving home from work:
031
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
If you are creating your own perennial wild flower meadow in the next couple of weeks, please do not include yellow rattle! Next year, the establishment year, is when you have to cut regularly to a height of 5-8 cm and collect the cuttings. This will eliminate the rattle!
0101
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
This perennial wildflower strip is now over 14 yrs old. Over the years I have staggered cutting & scarification to give more species a chance to survive. This year after the late hay cut I’ve scarified hard to remove a lot of moss build up. Don’t worry it will look great again!
0140
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Cut, scarified, and sown! Malvern Hills Trust road verge set to be beautiful in 2028! Next year I will cut & collect every 4-5 weeks to boost establishment. A massive thank you to the Trust for their permission.
0362
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
I continue to be impressed with what my patch of devil’s bit scabious is delivering for bees and butterflies. I’m especially pleased there isn’t a single honeybee in sight!
0314
Reposted by Prof Duncan Westbury
Marburymoths @marburybirds.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
I am sat having breakfast with the Ravens reflecting on what an unusual & special thing it is to have such a relationship with wild animals. I call it a relationship as that is what it feels like. I get joy and companionship from them and they get food and companionship from me
361442142
Reposted by Prof Duncan Westbury
Natalie Bennett @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
"Catastrophic decline" in giant cuttlefish Algal bloom "caused by ocean warming, marine heatwaves & nutrient pollution, exacerbated by climate change" #PlanetaryBoundaries are all interrelated. #Biodiversity collapse is visible side www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Why Australia's giant cuttlefish mating season has gone silent
According to official figures only 1,811 cuttlefish turned up to mate this year, down 97% on last year.
9311176
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
The sun is out once again in Malvern! Time to warm up & feed! @savebutterflies.bsky.social
0232
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Fantastic to see red hemp nettle doing so well at Salzburg train station. A rare non-native (Archeophyte) in the UK, but native to Austria.
0140
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
What a lovely surprise @bayernmunicheng.bsky.social We visited the stadium & I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, bladder campion, meadow clary etc by bins, large swathes of wildflowers. Well done Bayern Munich!! @plantlifeuk.bsky.social
016115
Reposted by Prof Duncan Westbury
GlosBio @glosbio.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
@duncanwestbury.bsky.social
052
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
0131
Reposted by Prof Duncan Westbury
Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
A little wave to my friends! 👋
1212
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Musk mallow produces lovely “purses” of seed
0151
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
A nice harvest of wild carrot seed. Getting ready for some road verge enhancement.
1142
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
I think this perfectly sums up this summer on the fruit & veg patch!
0113
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
How can a news story get this imagery just so wrong? Many people really have lost touch with nature. Very sad.
160
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
A real late summer photo, wild carrot in seed & a common blue butterfly taking a rest.
1365
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
The world’s smallest flowering teasel plant! I frequently have to convince growers that cutting their wildflower strips in between rows of grape vines etc to a height of 20 cm will still yield lots of flowers but they are doubtful. As shown by this teasel in our lawn, they adapt.
0111
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Not many wildflowers left in flower, but this patch of devil’s-bit scabious is going strong!
3110
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Remember these? So when did you last see one?
6113
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
I’ve started feeding the meadow voles fallen apples in our wildflower strip and they seem to love them! Food and moisture!
1100
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Dear BBC, please do your homework & stop contributing to #BeeWashing with honeybees. Yours Faithfully, Duncan
0103
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
#BeeWashing at its best! In the 1950s in the UK there were around 250,000 hives similar to what we have today. The issue is that we have lost so much wildflower forage in that time so there is increasing pressure on our wild pollinators. Honeybees are not the solution
0219
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
I am honestly concerned that there is a drive to increase woodland cover, but due to climate change we are failing. Many trees are dying. We have left it rather late & solutions like regen are perhaps better. @wtscotsocial.bsky.social
140
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
The rabbits gave up nibbling the barley many weeks ago!
070
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Listen to my thoughts on #BeeWashing that went out live on BBC Radio Gloucestershire this morning. Fast forward to 1:51:00 www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
Jon Smith - 22/07/2026 - BBC Sounds
Join Jon and the team for the essential start to your day in Gloucestershire.
032
Reposted by Prof Duncan Westbury
Bumblebee Conservation Trust @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Wow! Amazing footage!
032
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
A wildlife garden is about providing what you can throughout the year. With the ongoing drought I’m still providing vital resources without having to water.
2344
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Wow! I have never seen this before! Apparently mating only takes two minutes but then they are locked in for over an hour! The Queen frequently took flight with the male still attached, amazing power! @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social
1223
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
A beast!
0162
Reposted by Prof Duncan Westbury
Worcestershire Wildlife Trust @worcswt.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Great news for orchard wildlife! 🌳🪲🦋 Rare species of beetles, fungus and a moth across #Worcestershire, #Herefordshire and #Gloucestershire will be supported by funding from Natural England's #SpeciesRecoveryProgramme. Find out more 🔗 www.worcswildlifetrust.co.uk/news/orchard...
A photo of fruit trees in an orchard with long grass surrounding them. There is white blossom on the trees and the branches are twisted in different directions
091
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Not sure what I like more, the small scabious flower or the hornet mimic hoverfly!
2193
Reposted by Prof Duncan Westbury
Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
www.audible.co.uk/pd/Reflectio...
audible.co.uk
Reflections
Check out this great listen on Audible.com. In this informed, incisive, and passionate commentary on the state of nature and conservation, Mark Avery reflects on our relationship with the wildlife aro...
111
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Such a beautiful flower (small scabious) but I’m having trouble trying to get more in this patch dedicated to them.
170
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
The black knapweed patch is finally delivering
1150
Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
Human-induced #ClimateChange is real. We can adapt to some of the benefits this might bring. My grapes are certainly liking it!
191