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Tony Marchese

@tonyvicenza.bsky.social
242 followers 166 following 272 posts

Socialist, birder, proud father and grandfather. Widower.

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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Frustratingly brief video clip...more Salvia than Moth..but pleased to see this Hummingbird Hawkmoth in the backyard,in Tavistock in the sunshine, on the 13th October. I've seen 6 different ones this year.
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Not to miss out, a trip to Berry Head was in order-after my new 'smart TV' was delivered ...in time for the England match this evening. A Turtle Dove feeding well at 3.30pm and tho scared off by a Jay,it stayed in the same field. Thanks to finder and WhatsApp groups. Not seen for,how many years?
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
A slightly better digiscoped photo of the Spotted Sandpiper. At least you can see the key i.d. features : pot bellied,yellowish legs,plain tertiary,2 toned recurved bill. Shortish tail compared to Common. Answers to the name of 'Bob'. I recall Bill Oddie RIP helped identify key features in juvs.
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
After dipping 3 plus Buff-breasteds at Davidstowe y'day (partly due to torrential downpour) I was hoping to catch up with the juv Spotted Sand at Drift today. A late start so arr 1.30pm. My strategy was to wait for it to return to the Dam. Well after c 3 hours,ready to go a chap spotted it!!
Juv Spotted Sandpiper. Photoscoped as too far for the 'big camera'. And moving quickly along the shoreline.
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Always love September birding. Scarse birds,American waders. 4 juv Black Terns,Cheddar Res. 1 Pec Sand,Davidstowe,later 4 Pec Sands Siblyback plus 1 Buff- breated Sand. 1 Little Stint (ringed),Dunlin,Ringos Greenshank,2 Common Sandpipers. 2 Buff- breasted Colliford Res after one prev day afar.
Pectoral Sandpiper,Davidstowe. 2 of 4 Black Terns Cheddar Res. Ruddy Darter and Clouded Yellow. 2 x Buff-breasted Sandpipers,Colliford Lake.
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Martin Elcoate @melcoate.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Now you know how to separate a Coot from a Moorhen. Love the Horne Section.
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Peter Jukes @peterjukes.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Just a reminder, Professor James Orr, Reform UK head of policy, teaches 'ethics' to undergraduates at Cambridge University youtu.be/aXut3s90rUI
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Grandadery duties saw me go up to Brum on Monday via Cheddar Res and saw 4 juv Black Terns ( 100s Gadwall,Coot) Then coming back today a stop at Eastleach Martin to see the LT Shrike for the 2nd time,now in all its finery and closer views!!
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Wordle 1,901 2/6 ⬜🟨⬜🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Another 2. On a roll. Good luck wordlers. #wordle
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Wordle 1,899 2/6 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Well what a pleasant surprise. Good luck wordlers wherever you are #wordle
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
After dipping on the juvenile Red-necked Phalarope at Roadford Lake on Sunday (what a runaround) news broke of another at Seaton Marshes y'day. And success! 40 years since my 1st in Kent,this species is uncommon in the west of the country. But a delightful,frenetic bird.
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Visiting a friend in Derriford Hospital this afternoon,pleasantly surprised to see at least 5 Painted Ladies nectaring on Buddleia. Here's a photo of one of them.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
China launches global tax hunt going back decades. UK needs to do the same. Last year HMRC failed to collect £59bn of taxes, that is £500bn since 2010. Poorest 20% Britons pay higher proportion of their income in direct/indirect taxes than the richest 20%. archive.ph/6hIvy
ft.com
China launches global tax hunt going back decades
Fiscal pressure sparks retroactive campaign and tougher controls on future offshore capital flows
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Henceforth I will block anyone or any bot that doesn't use their own name. Anonymity should have no place in social media. (If trying to hide from abusers,change your name.)
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Peter Smith @redpeter99.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Every time Eric Cantona appears on my TL, my thoughts go back to when he signed for Leeds United. In an interview, he was asked who he admired and he said the French poet Rimbaud. A Leeds fan immediately made 1000 T shirts with a picture of Sylvester Stallone on the front. #lufc
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Worth a trip to my old patch Prawle Point yesterday to see the recent Red-billed Chough 'invasion'. The two birds still in field behind Langerstone Point. Feeding happily until local Corvids saw them off,temporarily. My 3rd or 4th sighting here since the 1990s. Are they Cornish birds on holiday?
Short wobbly video to show there were two!
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Wordle 1,868 2/6 ⬜🟨⬜🟨🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 A good start to the day. Good luck #wordlers.
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Wordle 1,863 2/6 🟨🟩🟨⬜🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Well that was unexpected and fun,though equally disappointing as I also like the challenge of harder words. Hey ho. Good luck wordlers.
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
The ever increasingly brilliant photos of the Long-tailed Shrike and now a sound recording of its song makes me consider a return trip to see or possibly hear this fabulous bird. However I have family visiting next week so it's likely to move on! Or will it?
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Well foot recovered.No hospital appts a trip to Gloucs was in order. 4.5 hours as it turned out with my sat nav going ape past Michael Wood.Reached area and a kindly man in a big Suv directed me to the site. Once there a friendly chat with a farmer+combine meant I could park..and chap let me see it!
At 11.30am a lot of heat haze!Perhaps c 80 on site when I was there. Over 400 at the weekend.Long-tailed Shrike. 2nd or 3rd UK record depending if this same as Fife's sighting.The hedge where it favoured tho had been closer earlier in the day.
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Done it again. A mega rarity- in this case a Long-tailed Shrike- turns up within twitching distance ie 3.5/4 hours away,Gloucestershire, and I've injured my left foot! We'll have to see if a) the bird stays b) my foot recovers by tomorrow.
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Fairy @lafeeverte.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
This is fucking hilarious
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
I hate football pundits! England played well against the World Cup winners. And were leading 1-0. And were beaten by a better side, despite all the fouls in the first half. Tuchel gave us a believe that we could win. We nearly did. @bbcnewsi.bsky.social
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🦋 Frankie 🦋 @frankiemillie10.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
In Greek mythology Narcissus is brought down by Green reflecting pool 🤔
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Andrew Fisher @fisherandrew79.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Could Count Binface be the Martin Bell of this era?
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
And just for the sake of clarity, I have no intention of driving 9 plus hours to see a Shrike,however pretty and fabulously rare! The England match was,however, sensational. The team good in every department.Not said that for many years. And I remember the Eng v Mexico match at Wembley in 1966!
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Andrew Fisher @fisherandrew79.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
#OnThisDay 10 years ago ... The Chilcot Report was published showing that Tony Blair exaggerated the case for war, that Iraq posed no military threat to the UK, that Blair had committed the UK to war come what may, and that there was no post-invasion strategy 🧵
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
@robmurphy.bsky.social Gosh. The big six oh! Happy birthday Rob. ( A little bird told me!)
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Sat.27th June. Another Devon Butterfly Conservation walk in the East Devon Pebblebeds. Focus on Silver-studded Blues and Wasps! My 1st Heath Potter Wasp 'pot', Mining Bees and 'cuckoo' Wasps. Ruby-tailed are v.small and spectacularly colourful inspiring men to look in ground holes!
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Andrew Fisher @fisherandrew79.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Trump is a rapist. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Supreme Court rejects Trump's appeal of E Jean Carroll's sexual abuse case
The decision means the US president will now have to pay her the $5m (£3.6m) in damages she'd been awarded.
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Well 4.5 hours drive to see the Western Reef Heron is closer. Moving south,I wonder whether it will move down into the South-West : Hayle or Drift Reservoir? It's on my list but would drive to see it again if came closer.🤞
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Wordle 1,836 2/6 ⬜🟩⬜🟨🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Gosh. Another 2. #wordlers Good luck everyone.
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Wordle 1,833 2/6 🟩⬜⬜🟨🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Well that was a welcome surprise. #wordlers
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Private equity controls UK dentistry. Initial consultation fee up by 23%, tooth extraction up by 32%. Gross profit at private equity controlled companies rose by 20% year-on-year. Profit margins of 20%-30%. Govts handed dentistry to finance industry. Too many can't afford dental care.
leftfootforward.org
The finance curse is devouring the UK
Prem Sikka is an Emeritus Professor of Accounting at the University of Essex and the University of Sheffield, a Labour member of the House of Lords, and Contributing Editor at Left Foot Forward. Th...
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Andrew Fisher @fisherandrew79.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Your regular reminder that not a single new reservoir has been built in England since privatisation. Water companies have increased our bills above the rate of inflation and made 10s of billions in profit.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Meet James Purnell. Andy Burnham's chief of staff. In earlier incarnation, he supported the Iraq invasion; was chairman of Labour Friends of Israel; said that Winter Fuel Allowance and free bus passes should not be sacred; supported PFI, lie-detector tests for benefit claimants. What next?
theguardian.com
Andy Burnham picks former Blair minister James Purnell as chief of staff
Decision is one of Makerfield MP’s most significant since his Westminster return as he builds his team for government
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Ha ha! The Western Reef Heron has relocated ( and been refound) in Pembrokeshire. Nearer,only 4.5 hours from Tavistock. Good luck to anyone going to see this lovely bird.
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Calling all moth-ers.Is this a Blomers Rivulet?
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Former CEO of Pennon, owner of South West Water, received £270,000 bonus despite a parasite outbreak that contaminated drinking water. SWW dumps sewage in rivers, fleeces customers, neglects investment. Execs rewarded for abusing people. OFWAT didn't stop the bonus. Let customers vote on exec pay
lbc.co.uk
Water boss awarded £270,000 bonus despite parasite outbreak that left more than 140 people ill | LBC
Pennon’s former chief executive Susan Davy received the payout after the board reversed an earlier decision to withhold it, despite anger over the Brixham cryptosporidium outbreak.
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Western Reef Heron
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Western Reef Heron. 18th June 2026. RSPB Conwy. 1st for Britain.
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Virus on and off most of (tho not all of) spring,so as the bird refound and weather forecast not so bad I thought,why not. And good excuse to see the family ( ie grandchildren) in Brum. Up at 5am,left at 6am and in Caernafon at 12.15. It had flown...to RSPB Conwy. 10 mins later I had 10 secs view..
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Watching BBC news just now and listening to young people's opinion following Govt decision to ban social media for under 16 year olds. Best quote : 'What will you do after the ban? Stare at a wall'!
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Byline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
📌 ICYMI — Reform Councillor Who Slammed Angela Rayner on Tax Owed HMRC Over £250,000 Through Failed Firms — @josiahmortimer.bsky.social Wigan Reform councillor David Bowker railed against the former Deputy Prime Minister, whilst repeatedly leaving taxpayers out of pocket himself
bylinetimes.com
Reform Councillor Who Slammed Angela Rayner on Tax Owed HMRC Over £250,000 Through Failed Firms
Wigan Reform councillor David Bowker railed against the former Deputy Prime Minister, whilst repeatedly leaving taxpayers out of pocket himself
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Wordle 1,817 3/6 🟩⬜🟨⬜⬜ 🟩⬜🟩🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 That's better. #wordlers
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Sainsbury's boss eyes bumper £7.3m payday as shoppers reel from higher food prices. Up from £5.4m last year – 200 times average employee pay. Govts preach pay restraint to workers, silence on exec pay, shareholder returns. Let workers vote on exec pay.
thisismoney.co.uk
Sainsbury's boss eyes bumper £7.3m payday
Britain's second biggest grocer wants to raise the maximum Simon Roberts can take home to £7.3m if targets are met.
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
So my question today is: who HASN'T driven to Caernafon to see the Western Reef Heron,a UK 1st. I'm playing a dangerous long game as I have things to do before my Italian class on Wednesday morning. But if it remains....
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Andrew Fisher @fisherandrew79.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
If a working class person is found to be sub-letting their council home, my local council tells me they will be subject to eviction, fined up to £50,000 and could face 2 years in jail. One rule for the rich, another for the rest of us. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Andrew was sub-letting Royal Lodge cottages, NAO report reveals
A public spending watchdog examines the property arrangements of royals including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
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Tony Marchese @tonyvicenza.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
If there is any hierarchy of cancers, Pancreatic would ( as a survivor of prostate cancer) imho go top for speed and survival , so this is very positive news.
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