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Louis P

@sibthorpia.bsky.social
209 followers 140 following 87 posts

Ecologist, botanist and pan-species lister. Living and working in Cornwall (from Norfolk).

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Reposted by Louis P
Steve Rogers 🟰🟰 @runnelstone.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
A sec cal + Buff-breasted Sandpiper was found today at Drift Res. (2nd Aug) by Louis Parkerson. It arrived with two Little Ringed Plover. There are c. 190 records for Cornwall but most are juvs.
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Reposted by Louis P
Steph' Thorpe @stephbirdart.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Can people stop using AI to edit photos? I’ve seen so many “edited” photos where they have been run through CGPT and the like and its literally added plumage features etc that don’t exist or are completely wrong🤷🏼‍♀️😞
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Louis P @sibthorpia.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
A few highlights from a fabulous trip to north Cornwall today - Bog Orchid (Hammarbya paludosa), Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile), Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) and Cornish Sea-lavender (Limonium cornubiense). #stillflowering #wildflowerhour
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Louis P @sibthorpia.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
A few tiny things from Berry Head this morning - Ononis reclinata (Small Restharrow), Bupleurum baldense (Small Hare's-ear) , Centaurium pulchellum (Lesser Centaury) and Trinia glauca (Honewort). The first two required lots of searching on all fours! @bsbibotany.bsky.social
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Louis P @sibthorpia.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Polypogon viridis (Water Bent, left), Polypogon monspeliensis (Annual Beard-grass, right) and what I believe to be their hybrid (centre) from Portland last week. Hopefully to be confirmed by the Poaceae referee soon - would be the fourth UK record if confirmed.
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Louis P @sibthorpia.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
This year I've finally bitten the bullet and begun looking at whitebeams. Earlier this week it was the turn of the Menai Strait Whitebeam (Sorbus arvonicola) - easily separated from Sorbus aria at the same site by the grey leaf undersides (comparison in the last photo). @bsbibotany.bsky.social
Sorbus arvonicola leaves at the top of the photo, greyer than the Sorbus aria leaves below.
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Louis P @sibthorpia.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
I'm a bit late for #wildflowerhour as per usual but South Stack Fleawort (Tephroseris integrifolia subsp. maritima) has to be worth a post! I'm sure many a botanist will recognise this view.
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Louis P @sibthorpia.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
A bit late for #wildflowerhour but a long-awaited trip to Bryher for the miniscule Dwarf Pansy (Viola kitaibeliana) was very successful, with hundreds of plants found rubbing shoulders with other tiny gems such as Small Adder's-tongue and Spring Vetch. @bsbibotany.bsky.social
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Louis P @sibthorpia.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
A successful post-work twitch this evening - Kentish Plover on Long Rock Beach. They don't get much better than this!
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Louis P @sibthorpia.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
The Cornish endemic Western Ramping-fumitory (Fumaria occidentalis) is my contribution to this week's #wildflowerhour. This colony is probably the best known in the country, having grown on a car park edge on the Lizard for decades!
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Louis P @sibthorpia.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
The stunning vivid purple flowers of Pasqueflower (Pulsatilla vulgaris) in the early morning sun are hard to beat! These were my first, but it might have to become an annual pilgrimage for me. #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social
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Louis P @sibthorpia.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
While Mibora minima (Early Sand-grass) is usually at home on coastal sand dunes, this species has recently colonised the lawns of an estate in Thetford - where it has become locally dominant in places! #wildflowerhour
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Louis P @sibthorpia.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Anyone who knows me well will be aware that my favourite plant family are sedges, so I was particularly pleased to encounter Carex ericetorum (Rare Spring-sedge) for the first time on Tuesday! The Brecks is a stronghold for this scarce sedge of short, calcareous grasslands. @bsbibotany.bsky.social
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Louis P @sibthorpia.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
Perfoliate Penny-cress (Microthlaspi perfoliatum) was also a real treat to see on my way back home yesterday. Hundreds of plants adorned a few sections of this fairly unassuming Cotswold dry stone wall. @bsbibotany.bsky.social
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Louis P @sibthorpia.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
A stop at Brean Down in Somerset was very productive, with its unique assemblage on the S-facing limestone slopes. White Rock-rose, Dwarf Sedge & Dwarf Mouse-ear were in fine form already, while Somerset Hair-grass and Goldilocks Aster (far out of reach) were vegetative only @bsbibotany.bsky.social
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Louis P @sibthorpia.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
I thought I'd check in on Sand Crocus (Romulea columnae) at their sole Cornish site (rediscovered in 2002) and was astounded to find hundreds in flower already! I counted at least 564 flowers over two outcrops. @bsbibotany.bsky.social
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Louis P @sibthorpia.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
A few early-flowering species for #wildflowerhour- Gagea bohemica (Radnor Lily), Draba aizoides (Yellow Whitlowgrass) and Hornungia petraea (Hutchinsia).
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Reposted by Louis P
James Drage Hubert @jamesdrage.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Always a joy to spend time birding around Norfolk with friends. 145 spp over 6 days with many highlights and many geese! Kite and Snipe 📸 @lukestoppard.bsky.social
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Louis P @sibthorpia.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Don't think I'll ever beat these views of Jack Snipe! Seen just a few miles from home this evening.
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Louis P @sibthorpia.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
2025 was perhaps my best year of botany, so I thought I'd post a few highlights from Scotland. A well-timed trip to Orkney in May produced Oysterplant (Mertensia maritima), Holy-grass (Hierochloe odorata) and Scottish Primrose (Primula scotica). @bsbibotany.bsky.social
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Louis P @sibthorpia.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
A colourful duo from the Loch Ness area today - Purple Saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia) and Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem (Gagea lutea). @bsbibotany.bsky.social
Purple Saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia)Purple Saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia)Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem (Gagea lutea)Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem (Gagea lutea)
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Reposted by Louis P
Finley Hutchinson @finleyhutchins2.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
Sounds like this is the place to be now… and why not start with some blue skies! Temperature inversions and Brocken spectres up Ben Wyvis with @sibthorpia.bsky.social last Saturday, certainly a day to remember! 😊
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