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Mark Avery

@markavery.bsky.social
7.5K followers 989 following 76K posts

Conservationist, campaigner, author, columnist, blogger, grandpa

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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 11h
What does Natural England think of the daft, damaging development plan for wind turbines all over a protected landscape? They have thought about it a lot but can’t find much to like in it markavery.info/2026/10/08/g... 4 subversives & a wire-haired dachshund 📷 Lorne Campbell/Telegraph
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 12h
Birch Polypore I think. #ukfungusday this weekend
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Giant (for an aphid) Willow Aphid. Quite a fun find (not in my garden).
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Sunday book review: Insects of Britain & Europe: a field guide by Thomas C. John, Peter Mullen and Paul D. Brock Publisher: @princetonupress.bsky.social Review: markavery.info/2026/10/04/s... "a great resource" @royentsoc.bsky.social @coleopsoc.bsky.social @ynuorg.bsky.social
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
NEWS: RSPB Medal celebrates success of campaign to ban lead ammunition markavery.info/2026/10/03/r...
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Plumed Fan-foot earlier this week in our Raunds garden VC32.
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Filbert Cobb (not his real name) RIP. I never met Filbert Cobb although he was a regular commenter on my blog and wrote four wonderful guest blogs. Today he is being laid to rest. See markavery.info/2026/10/02/f... 📷 Hazel nuts/Cobs/Filberts Wolfgang Vreder/Unsplash
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Where's Kazakhstan? The tale of a rare bird, donations from delighted twitchers and where the money went markavery.info/2026/09/28/w... @birdguides.bsky.social #cotswolds #shrike #twitch 📷 Dave Collins/BirdGuides
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Guest blog by Paul Bateman - Wildlife Crime and the First Few Minutes markavery.info/2026/09/28/g... @wildjustice.bsky.social @wildlifeblog.bsky.social @rspcaoffficial.bsky.social
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Crisis? What crisis? My local authority rescinds the climate emergency declaration it made five years ago markavery.info/2026/09/28/c... Do they think things have got so much better...? 📷 Sara Ward/NN Journal
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Sunday book review: Doctors by Nature by @jaapderoode.bsky.social Publisher: @princetonupress.bsky.social Review: markavery.info/2026/09/27/s... 'a fascinating tale' @england.nhs.uk @lshtm.bsky.social @nhm-london.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social @europebutterfly.bsky.social
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Sunday book review: Peasants by Maryam Aslany Publisher: @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social Review: markavery.info/2026/09/27/s... 'a mind-expanding read - thoroughly recommended' @labouruk.bsky.social @nfudc.bsky.social @birdlifeeurope.bsky.social
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Scarce Silver-lines was a lifer for me and is such a classy moth. VC32, Raunds, Northants.
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Tried some wine-roping this week; mixture of booze and sugary things attract some moths which don’t go to light traps. No luck this time but Old Lady is the species I sometimes get.
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Mot a moth, but Bombardier Beetle near moth trap this morning. Quite a good record for VC32.
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Nice variety of moths; Rusty Dot, Barred Sallow, Gold Triangle and Brindled Green. VC32, Raunds, Northants.
Rusty DotBarred SallowGold TriangleBrindled Green
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
And, just now, a HH-m
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Good to see Barry Gardiner MP wearing his Yellowhammer pin badge as Westminster species champion on today’s #BBC #politicslive
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
An account of a book scam markavery.info/2026/09/20/b... #naturewriting #books #authors
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Sunday book review: The Secret Language of Birds by Colin Rees. Review: markavery.info/2026/09/20/s... Publisher: @thamesandhudson.bsky.social An interesting read with gorgeous artwork but an awkward font.
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
13 Hen Harrier chicks fledged at Geltsdale RSPB nature reserve - excellent news. More details markavery.info/2026/09/18/r...
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Four moths from yesterday's catch (Dark Sword-grass, Lunar Underwing, Orange Swift and Barred Sallow) which mean that it's autumn just as much as the Robin singing from the bushes and Blackbirds 'clacking' away before roosting.
Dark Sword-grassLunar UnderwingOrange SwiftBarred Sallow
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Sunday book review: Prelude to Murder by Alan Stewart & Lyndsey Hamilton. Publisher: Thirsty Books. Review: bit.ly/4cDxsrs 'Gripping account of #murder by an ex-gamekeeper & the bullying & #wildlife deaths that presaged it. This will be one of my books of 2026.'
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
This is promising but by no means a certainty markavery.info/2026/09/11/i... #iceland #whaling
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Nick Mackinnon analyses the really sloppy proposal for shrinking but massive windfarm on deep peat markavery.info/2026/09/10/g... This level of analysis takes ages, dedication and brains. I am so impressed.
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Two Clancy’s Rustics and a (lifer) Vestal this morning. VC32 Northants.
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Public back nature restoration as a means to protect us from extreme weather (climate change) markavery.info/2026/09/10/r... @rewildingbritain.org.uk
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
RSPB extends Lower Lough Erne nature reserve markavery.info/2026/09/10/r...
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I had to change a plug the other day - I enjoyed it. That’s the first time I’ve changed a plug for years and years.
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Feels like summer has ended now.
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Flounced Rustic
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
I couldn’t help noticing… (see Alt text).
Nice bookA gull with yellow legs which is a Yellow-legged Gull, not a Herring Gull. A Ring-billed Gull from North America, not a common or Common Gull
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Guest blog - What all Wise Men and Women Know by Ric Edelman markavery.info/2026/08/23/g... #suffolk #iran #png #desert #rainforest #cheetah #naturewriting @greenlighttrust.bsky.social
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
One man and his dog still well ahead on points in contest with multimillion££ windfarm proposal. Nick Mackinnon has this alleged plan on the ropes markavery.info/2026/08/20/g... and the opposing corner must be reaching for the towel. #walshawmoor #haworth #hebden #climate #peat #slide
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
A minute before the total eclipse a week ago in northern Spain and it's slightly gloomy but then the skies darkened for 90+ seconds. Very impressive. If I were a medieval peasant I'd wonder what was happening. Even vaguely understanding what's happening didn't remove the awe of the experience.
20:28 at Ermita de Nuestra Senora de Carajas, Palencia probably 90+ coverage of sun.20:30 at Ermita de Nuestra Senora de Carajas, Palencia and the eclipse is total.
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Our colander is back in the UK and is telling its mates about the total eclipse it saw a week ago in northern Spain.
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Spotted this interesting bug in our cabin, yesterday, on the Pont Aven as we reached Plymouth returning from Santander, Spain. It's a Planuncus tingitanus or Variable Cockroach - a good record for the UK! Maybe we brought it with us on clothing/baggage. #brittanyferries
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
We have a minor flying ant thing happening. I noticed the Black-headed Gulls obviously hawking before I noticed the ants!
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
This Small Ranunculus was in the shower yesterday.
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Farming always plays the victim Guardian article www.theguardian.com/environment/... My take on it markavery.info/2026/08/05/f... #drought #food #wheat #land
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
A productive night Mon/Tues for moths: Gypsy, Scythris limbella and Cydia amplana all lifers. C. amplana probably 7th record for VC32 (although three weeks ago it would have been 4th!). #teammoth
Gypsy Moth male (cute antennae)Cydia amplana a micro-moth which is probably the 7th Northants recordScythris limbella
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
I'm sad at the passing of Rod Liddle. Guardian obit www.theguardian.com/media/2026/a... My blog markavery.info/2026/08/05/r... @newstatesman1913.bsky.social @thespectator1828.bsky.social
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
The 4th of five episodes of the evolution of @chrisgpackham.bsky.social and his T-shirt markavery.info/2026/08/05/6...
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
from Sharrock Atlas 1976. That colony lasted for over 50 years then...
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Sunday book review: Drifting North by @dominicmhinde.bsky.social Publisher: @manchesterup.bsky.social Review: markavery.info/2026/08/02/s... 'A very good read' #carbon #climate #renewables #coal #Uist #Shetland #Orkney #Lanark @wainwrightprize.bsky.social
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Sunday book review: Bitter Honey by @jenniedurant.bsky.social Publisher: @princetonupress.bsky.social @islandpress.bsky.social Review: markavery.info/2026/08/02/s... 'It's a cracker!' Bee hives are driven thousands of miles across USA to provide pollination services. Not all plain sailing.
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Scotland’s rarest mountain woodlands get £108k grant markavery.info/2026/07/31/s... #rewilding #nevis #corrour #glencoe @n-t-s.bsky.social @johnmuirtrust.bsky.social @treesforlife.bsky.social 📷 @scotlandtbp.bsky.social
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Obs gave me several low-certainty options but none was even faintly believable. This Eratophyes wd've been nice. This Wikipedia image is created by user ruut aussems at Waarneming.nl, a source of nature observations in the Netherlands. This image is uploaded as image number 6529033 at Waarneming.nl
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Fellow moth-ers - have you ever done this? I spent nearly 40mins this morning trying to identify this well-marked, tiny but beautiful, and sadly dead, moth. Until I turned it over and found it was a piece of wood. 🤣 #teammoth
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
No-fly zone over part of @rspbminsmere.bsky.social markavery.info/2026/07/30/n...
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