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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

@angbirdnews.bsky.social we finished our holiday on Anglesey today with a final visit to Cors Ddyga. The highlights were a female Hen Harrier, a Great White Egret, a Bullfinch and 10 Black-tailed Godwit (our 85th species of the holiday) plus calling Water Rail and Cetti's Warbler.

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

@angbirdnews.bsky.social 1 Water Rail calling, 2 Cetti’s Warbler calling and a single Pochard at Llyn Cefni

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

Cemlyn today 10/10 2 Chough (photo to follow), 15 Turnstone, 1 Purple Sandpiper

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

Beddmanarch Bay today @angbirdnews.bsky.social 30 Ringed Plover, Osprey with damaged primaries Inland Sea 15 Mute Swan, 4 Chough flyovers and 1 Mediterranean Gull all today 10/10

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

@angbirdnews.bsky.social Other bird sightings on days 1 and 2 of our trip. Kingfisher at Maltraeth bridge 8/10 and another single on 9/10 at Traeth Coch by bridge near car park below Pentraeth. 2 Cetti’s Warbler and 2 Water Rail (all heard) at Cors Ddyga 8/10, 5 Jay at Pentraeth

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

@angbirdnews.bsky.social Two days into our Anglesey break and 66 species so far. Solitary Greenshanks at Maltraeth 8/10 and Treath Coch 9/10. 3 Egyptian Geese Cors Ddyga 8/10, Wigeon c. 75 at Maltraeth 8/10, 2 Pintail Maltraeth 8/10, 2 Gadwall Cors Ddyga 8/10

Greekshank, medium-sized wader with long green legs, white front and grey back, standing in clear stony river with its long black beak pointing down intent on catching something to eat

Rock Pipit, a dark brown sparrow-sized bird with dark streaking on its offwhite chest and underparts. The bird is pecking around among the seaweed and stones searching for insects to eat.

Three Egyptian Geese in a wet grassy field.

A large flock of roosting Golden Plover on grassy bank alongside water-filled scrapes. The birds are distant but the golden brown of the birds can be easily seen in the evening sunlight.

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

Highlights of our second day on Anglesey 3 Reed and 2 Sedge Warbler at RSPB Valley, pairs Pochard,2 Great Black-backed Gull, 1 Chough and single boom of a Bittern. 16 Pale-bellied Brent Geese at Penrhyn Cors Ddyga (7-8pm) two different Bittern, booming constantly. @angbirdnews.bsky.social

Three Brent geese on sandy beach at Penrhyn. Long heads and necks with white collars and pale bodies.

Fulmar settled down on untidy pile of big twigs in a hole on the cliff face at South Stacks. Slate grey back and pure white chest and head with a jet black eye.

We watched this bird settle on the nest which had previously been used by ravens.

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

Highlights of our first day on Anglesey were: 3 Marsh Harrier, 1 Grasshopper Warbler (heard), c. 150 Golden Plover, 1 Snipe all at Cors Ddyga Red Kite, Osprey over Maltraeth Cob 2 pairs of Eider, 3 Black Guillemot, 10 Sandwich Tern at Benllech @angbirdnews.bsky.social

Around 50 of the c.150 Golden Plover, dumpy bids squatting down and most of them roosting with their head tucked into the feathers on their backs.

Male Eider duck on the sea, Black and white Sea duck with stiff short black taile, sloping forehead and greeny yellow patch on nape of the neck

Female Eider duck in the sea. The same sloping forehead as the male but colours completely different. Generally a grey appearance but on closer inspection they are variously coloured, grey, black and rufous brown, streaked on the neck but striped on the back and wings.

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

We start our 6 day holiday in Anglesey tomorrow. It looks as though there is plenty to see. We aim to be out every day birdwatching and looking for butterflies. @angbirdnews.bsky.social

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The Cliffe Butterfly Transect @cliffetransect.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

Completed the first survey week on our local butterfly transect today. We saw 16 individuals in four species. To put this into context we had only ever reported a single butterfly for week 1 across all previous four years. What a great start to the year

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

My best ever attempt at a BIF (bird in flight). An overflying buzzard near to Sinker's Field at Whixall Moss today. #shropshirebirds

A soaring Buzzard with wings outstretched and feet tucked back under the spread tail feathers.

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The Cliffe Butterfly Transect @cliffetransect.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Just under a week to go till the start of our butterfly transect for 2025 It’s encouraging that there have been so many sightings of our early butterflies. Could this year be a good one?

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

Another week of BTO #gardenbirdwatch and 16 species again. It's only a small garden in North Shropshire but we frequently attract this number of species and these maximum counts. Brambling and Nuthatch were welcome visitors this week.

Page from a notebook with February 2025 total showing columns of bird species in the garden, and a tally per species per week.

The 16 species last week were Blackbird, Blue Tit, Brambling, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Nuthatch, Robin, Siskin, Starling, Wood Pigeon

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Sarah Deere-Jones @sarahdeere-jones.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

Need vets on board, they push these treatments.

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Jack Wallington @jackwallington.com · 25/01/2025

Almost there, just needs another thirty of so! Well done everyone - people power!

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Seb Elwood @sebelwood.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

Having managed Wild Woodbury #rewilding site for a few years, it was great to organise @bbcspringwatch.bsky.social to film there with thermal cameras for this years Winterwatch 🌱

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Cllr Rob Wilson 🔶 @robwilson.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

Great to spot this in #Shrewsbury Library. 🥰 Highly recommended for all current (and potential future) #Shropshire Councillors @modacitylife.com

A copy of “Building the cycling city” by Melissa and Chris Bruntlett in Shrewsbury Library, U.K.

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Joshua Styles @joshual951.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

5 years after herbicide use ended, Hoylake foreshore is thriving: 240+ plant species ✅ 42k tonnes of sand captured annually, saving £45k ✅ Home to 2% of UK’s embryonic dunes ✅ Peat soils forming ✅ 30ha of rare habitat = biodiversity, protection, carbon capture 🌱❤️

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

I wonder if Shropshire Council are watching this with interest? Could the #nwrr go the same way? #shropshire

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 12/01/2025

Another week of BTO #gardenwatch in our small garden in North Shropshire. This was one of the best ever weeks in terms of the number of species. I added a new feeder this morning and so far Coal Tits and Robins have been taking advantage. #shropshirebirds

Ground bird feeder table in a home made cage using chicken wire to stop the larger birds from devouring the food.

A page from an exercise book with the month and year as the heading, columns for each week starting on a Sunday and a first column that lists the species. Each week a tally is kept of the maximum number of each species seen in the garden.

Last week there were a total of 18 species seen. 4 Blackbird, 4 Blue Tit, 2 Chaffinch, 2 Coal Tit, 1 Dunnock, 5 Goldfinch, 1 Great Tit, 8 Greenfinch, 3 House Sparrow, 3 Jackdaw, 10 Long-tailed Tit, 1 Robin, 1 Siskin, 10 Starling, 9 Wood Pigeon, 1 Wren, 1 Brambling, 1 Collared Dove

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Jack Wallington @jackwallington.com · 07/01/2025

Just deleted the Twitter app, earlier than I planned but I can’t be on there given the owner’s attack on Britain. I’m waving goodbye to 30,000 followers which is terrifying for my work as a writer and my nature activism but it’s the right thing to do.

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 06/01/2025

#gardenwatch in our small North Shropshire garden yesterday. 14 species including 10 Long-tailed Tits, 1 Siskin, 10 Goldfinch, Blue Tits, Great Tit and a single Chaffinch. A bit of snow on the ground today so we might see more birds and perhaps another species or more. #shropshirebirds

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Gerald Durrell would have been 100 on 7 January 2025. To celebrate @butterflycorfu.bsky.social are running an online photographic competition with a special theme. Read the news item for full details #butterflies

corfubutterflyconservation.org

Corfu Butterfly Conservation

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

I was thrilled to see my article about our #butterflytransect published in the winter edition of the Comma magazine. Thank you to @bc-westmids.bsky.social and here's hoping for a better butterfly year in 2025 #ukbutterflies

Photo of the double-page article which had pictures of the transect site, an Essex Skipper butterfly and statistics for butterflies recorded throughout the years of the survey

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

My Family, Friends and Butterflies This is the theme of the Corfu Butterfly Conservation photographic competition for 2025. Full details can be found on our website corfubutterflyconservation.org/article.php.... #butterf

A young boy looking in wonder at a butterfly that has landed on his finger. The boy is completely focused on the insect

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

I highly recommend taking part in the BTO's Garden Birdwatch project. I have done it for two years now, keeping a tally count of maximum number of each species seen in the garden. It's a great way of seeing first hand how the bird year unfolds. #birds #ukwildlife #shropshirebirds

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

Another week of BTO Garden Birdwatch in our small back garden in the UK. A flock of 8-10 long-tailed tits were briefly on our feeders and I managed this quick shot through the back door.Not long until the end of the year and that will be two full years of recording. #shropshirebirding

Three long-tailed tits are feeding together on a peanut feeder. These delicate pink, white and black birds with their very long tails move around together in the winter in small flocks

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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

How many has your constituency given to almost 33,000 signatures to ban driven grouse shooting? Top constituences: Derbyshire Dales, 256; High Peak, 217; Sheffield Hallam, 213. A clutch of @uklabour.bsky.social seats in the Peak District. Plz sign & repost petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

This screenshot is from the Facebook group for Corfu Butterfly Conservation @butterflycorfu.bsky.social It is a request for help in terms of any information you can share about the Oleander Hawkmoth or the plant it is feeding on. #moths #invertebrates #teammoth #mothsmatter

The Facebook post shows photos of the amazing Oleander Hawkmoth caterpillar, a large brown chunky individual with startling false blue eyes. It was found at the Capodistrias Museum in Corfu on a plant where it hasn't been recorded before. The author of the post is expressing surprise at the colour of the caterpillar because it is usually green. She is also interested in the plant and wants information from anyone who can share their knowledge about the plant or the moth.

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Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming @sustainweb.org · 19/12/2024

We’ve signed a joint letter alongside 14 other organisations, calling on the gov’t to take urgent action to reduce the UK’s oversupply of sugar, which is nearly three times greater than the total needed to meet the entire population’s maximum daily intake. Read the letter now! buff.ly/3DnPrDu

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Rebecca's Butterfly Farm (BCyA) @beccasbutterfli.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

This is a male Holly Blue #Butterfly that I reared from an 🥚 laid on this Ivy 🌱 next to my Butterfly Farm. You can tell the difference between male & female by the bigger band of dark blue the female has on her upper wing 🦋 #Butterflies #plants #conservation

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

Some more butterfly transect statistics for the years 2021-2025 from this site in North Shropshire.

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

Some more butterfly transect statistics for the years 2021-2025 from this site in North Shropshire.

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#CarbonReckoning (Andrew Boswell) @drandrewboswell.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

This is it: we are on the brink of stopping new oil and gas drilling for good. The government has paused approving new fields while it asks the public, what we think should happen. The gov stands on the side of people over oil and gas bosses. Sign here: actionnetwork.org/petitions/ha...

actionnetwork.org

Have your say in the UK’s oil & gas decision: No New Drilling

This is it: we are on the brink of stopping new oil and gas drilling for good. The government has paused approving new fields while it asks us, the public, what we think should happen.Help make sure t...

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

We should think of ebikes not as replacements for bicycles, but as replacements for other motorized vehicles. The way I used to get around Hawaiʻi was on my Vespa. When I got an ebike, I stopped using the Vespa and actually surrendered the license plate and registration. 👋🛵

A hand holding a scooter license plate and registration. Behind, there’s a yellow Vespa scooter.

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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Today's the last day of 2024 grouse shooting season & the petition to ban driven grouse shooting passes 30,000 signatures petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70... Help us get 100,000 signatures and the shooting season need never open again. Thank you.

petition.parliament.uk

Petition: Ban driven grouse shooting

Chris Packham, Ruth Tingay and Mark Avery (Wild Justice) believe that driven grouse shooting is bad for people, the environment and wildlife. People; we think grouse shooting is economically insignifi...

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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Draw a bobcat part 3 with @secondnaturemb.bsky.social We have an ear! Really pleased with this drawing and the class has been fun.

A colored pencil drawing of a bobcat with eyes, muzzle, and one ear mostly finished.

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Brendan Godley @brendangodley.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Please share and donate and lets get the beaver numbers up, biodiversity up, water quality up and peak floods down! 🧪🌐🦤 #mammal #conservation #restorationecology #rewilding #cornwall

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The Cliffe Butterfly Transect @cliffetransect.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

One of the butterfly species that bucked the trend on our transect in 2024 was the Orange Tip. This data and chart show an upward trend. Would anyone care to speculate why this species did well? Did this happen for you as well? #ukbutterflies #butterflytransect

A data table showing each year of our transect and the number of Orange Tip butterflies seen each year. An accompanying line chart with an upward trend line. We only recorded 21 Orange Tips in 2024 but that’s good for our site and significantly higher than any of the other years

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Rebecca's Butterfly Farm (BCyA) @beccasbutterfli.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Small White #Butterflies are how my #Butterfly Farm began back in 2017. They mean a lot to me as it is also the 1st species reared from a caterpillar when I was just 3 years old 💜🦋💜 #Lepidopterist #conservation

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

After Storm Darragh and in the two hours since sunrise we have seen 11 species of birds and over 50 individuals in our small back garden in North Shropshire. #birds #shropshirebirds

View of the back garden, patio and plant tubs in the foreground, a square of lawn surrounded by mature shrubs and panel fences.

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Little Green Space @lgspace.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Welsh rewilding charity Tir Natur has an opportunity to secure over 1000 acres of land in Wales to showcase rewilding 🌳🐂. Please help make this happen by donating to their Crowdfunder 👇 Every £1 you donate will be match funded. Please share! www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/cynefin-ap...

An illustration of a wild rewilding landscape, with hills, native trees and river, and wildlife including grazing horses and cows, owl, hedgehog, badger and eagle

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Rebecca's Butterfly Farm (BCyA) @beccasbutterfli.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Ivy is really important for wildlife. It's a foodsource for #butterflies and birds, a nesting place for #birds as well as many #insects, and most importantly Holly Blue Butterflies lay eggs on it 💙 🦋💙 #butterfly #Plant #gardens #conservation #nature #naturelovers

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David Shearan @iomtosalop.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

I am going to buy a secondhand Nikon D3500 soon, my first DSLR. One of my photography targets will be butterflies. Any advice please on which lens to go for? #nikon #d3500 #ukbutterflies

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