iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

On this dreary morning, there’s a wren singing with new-spring intensity. I’ll take that.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

a desolate fen the linnets’ drift-chatter makes it less so

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

a jay's acorn screech journey-bound swallows chatter change breathing new life

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

“Tsik tsik tsik”, as two song thrushes arrow overhead, above a loose band of mist that creeps across & envelops the meadow.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

An intricate, spherical nest made of grass, belonging to a harvest mouse micromys minutus. Tennis ball-sized, this particular nest is situated c.50cm above ground, anchored to & densely woven from reed sweet-grass glyceria maxima.

A spherical, tennis ball-sized harvest mouse nest, about 50cm above ground, anchored to & woven from reed sweet-grass.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

seedhead bronze seen in the marsh harrier ghosting now gone

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Recently visited the Museum of Chelmsford. Delighted to stumble on a display marking the centenary of J.A. Baker’s birth, feat. a draft of “The Peregrine” &, fr. his birdwatching diary (1954-56) the 21-03-55 entry concerning Oaklands Park (in which the museum now sits). @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social

A current Museum of Chelmsford display marking the centenary of the birth of celebrated (local) nature writer John Alec Baker.

Pages from J.A. Baker’s Birdwatching Diary (1954-56).

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

A poem I wrote has found its way into this established & engaging magazine. Very pleased! With grateful thanks to the editors.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Grateful just for the way the sunlight catches things sometimes.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

From berry-laden cover, a blackcap & chiffchaff sing simultaneously. An autumn preamble with spring written all over it.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Early September: redwings & fieldfares reach the shore of my mind.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Just now: a buzzard above me, wheeling on sun-kissed wings beneath a cloudlet sky. A perspective giver, spirit lifter.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

The soft colours, & layers & textures of this morning’s sky north of my home town.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

dew-strung gossamer early air holds earthy tang a chiffchaff’s reprise it starts the repair of me, summer worn autumn I am yours

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Autumn whispers hello in the robin’s changed song.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

A new poem. It’s called “Stop, Look & Sparrows”. Freshly written & follows a situation I had last week. (Perhaps a 2-minute read, & so any reads here appreciated.)

A photo of a printed poem, written by me, titled “Stop, Look & Sparrows”.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

lighting-up time mist over the playing fields owl’s wavering call

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

a chiffchaff’s reprise an autumn tang in light air bramble after rain

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Thunderstorms — instant rewilding of the mind.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Treasure found on a suburban path walked this morning. Red kite, green woodpecker.

Feathers found (placed against oak bark for photographing):

red kite (left) and green woodpecker (right).

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

a landscape of loss industry community place love ecology scattered wounds seen & hidden scars these wuthering heights

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

A quiet, leafy lane; “pretty” becomes “enchanted”, courtesy of one shaggy bracket.

A quiet lane through broad-leaved woodland, mainly shades of green but for a splash of “toadstool red” on the left — a shaggy bracket, fresh & fixed to the trunk of a common ash tree.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

buzzard hovering moorland slope wind-assisted sun-lit dale backdrop

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

A landscape of light & shade, curves & lines; change & staticity.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Mist sprayed, moss topped Gleaming grey rocks Sculpted, rounded Fixed in fizzing waters Iced-tea stained Ancient, untamed The dipper’s domain

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

The subject & style is a little different than is usual for me, & so it’s with tentativeness that I share this poem I wrote about yesterday’s solar eclipse. (If there’s one person here who reads it & enjoys it / with whom it resonates, then honestly, that is enough.)

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Even the woods is not a particularly pleasant place to be right now, aesthetically or audibly. Noticeable almost everywhere, are the leaves curling at the edges, drooping, browning, some having dropped; the hot wind has whipped up drifts—a brittle crunch to the kick. No relief for the worried mind.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

House Martin nestlings, nestled. Incomprehensible, really — soon, mere weeks after hatching, these tiny bodies will leave this quiet, quite safe & sheltered spot in rural England, & make a perilous, latitude-crossing journey to sustaining wintering grounds, via the Mediterranean Sea & Sahara Desert.

Two juvenile house martins in their under-eaves, mud-cup nest.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

If 37°C or above is reached this Thursday in the UK, it will be only the 9th day on record that 37°C or above has been recorded in the UK — for the 3rd time this year. So, three out of those nine ≥37°C days have occurred in 2026…

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Four months on and I learn that my submission was well-received, and is due to be published online at the end of this month. Pleased of course, and grateful for the opportunity.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Recently read this—a fine book exploring our attitudes to nature. An excellent, engaging read—informative, honest & balanced. Had myself wishing Ian lived near to me; regularly over a coffee, we could cheer & console each other on the state of British wildlife & wild places. @iancarter67.bsky.social

Front cover of the book “Human, Nature” by Ian Carter.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

lonely is the sky and my summer heart now the swifts are gone

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

in-between tides stillness in constant change a curlew’s far call

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

susurration without melody the summer lull

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

A sweet young robin, breast speckled brown but for the faint flush of red like a small graze on a child’s knee.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

A thrilling, unexpected sighting of a silver ghost today — a (male) hen harrier drifted my way down an unkempt field ditch, with textbook ethereal elegance.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Young blackbirds pepper the garden in recent days — delightful company. Their learning ways; their warm, mottled traybake plumage; their sweet & soft ‘tchup’ conversational calls.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

The quiet, drowsy heat The shining, ripening wheat The shimmering air, & mirage Over knuckle-hard dusty chalk From a rose-clad hedgerow A yellowhammer, suddenly, & citrus bright Offers his pleasant rattle &, in that moment, all is right

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

the last swift the first pipistrelle the evening star

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Out under a forget-me-not sky, walking the grassy margins of a ripening wheatfield. Yellowhammers sing atop the hedges in this noonday heat; their dry, cheerful rattle is carried in the welcome breeze.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

A flight of swallows, young & older, gracefully skimming over a wheatfield edge dotted with poppies; chittering as they go, blue backs sheening in golden sunset light... So beautifully did the summer speak.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

This I wrote in sorrow, & as self-therapy, after visiting & walking a short reach of a precious English chalk-stream.

A poem I wrote called “Pale Blue Dot”, about our modern tainting of a precious river.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Earlier today a gorgeous male blackcap visited the garden, & gleaned insects from the single dogwood shrub I planted a few years back. This tiny, blink-of-an-eye event—that I had provided something for this bird—was just so gratifying, akin to the warm glow felt by a child having been well praised!

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Today, by the glittering brook, sitting in the deep shade cast by the old oak tree, is where you’ll find me.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Twilight cloud with a salmon-pink flush.

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

catching late sunbeams diaphanous wings flash red scarlet tiger moth

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

So fortunate to have the peregrine falcon resident in town; the fastest animal known to science, an icon of the sky. Its presence & aura enhances the place in which I live & call home. One can nearly always be seen perched on a crocket to this church’s spire (as here).

A peregrine falcon is perched on the 7th crocket down from the spire top (left-hand side).

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

A worn male blackbird, out on the tinder-dry lawn, tirelessly scurrying back & forth in the blazing sun, snatching flies. The record-breaking June heat does not stop him, such is that intense parental instinct. A rather poignant & also beautiful thing to see.

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