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Reposted by Henry Cook

Prof Bill McGuire @profbillmcguire.bsky.social · 10h

"The Treasury....plans to gut green rules with amendments to its planning and infrastructure bill – ditching the precautionary principle, slashing species protections and curbing legal challenges"

Indefensible

This must be fought tooth and nail

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The Guardian view on Labour targeting nature: the problem isn’t snails, but a broken housing model | Editorial

Editorial: Rachel Reeves’s drive to speed up development is beginning to treat wildlife and the environment as expendable. Voters want homes built, but not at any cost

www.theguardian.com

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Roger_TL45Y @rogerhorton.bsky.social · 10h

As the mist lifted this morning at RSPB Lakenheath these three (there were others!) Whooper Swans took flight along the River Little Ouse which marks the boundary between two counties!
#Norfolkbirds #SuffolkBirds #UKBirding

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Henry Cook @hcbirding.bsky.social · 13h

Couldn't believe it when we found a Death's-head Hawkmoth caterpillar on the Isles of Scilly. A serious wildlife ambition achieved! @sophieshrike.bsky.social #TeamMoth

A large green caterpillar clings upside down under a branch

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Birdingprof @birdingprof.bsky.social · 17h

Deep breath.

OTD 40 years ago: Probably my purplest of purple patches.

Literally ran (I could do that on those days) from I.o.S. airfield to get the Yellow-rumped Warbler ✅ at the school. Then ran back up the hill, as an American Golden Plover ✅ had just been found there…1/

Yellow-rumped Warbler seen at dawn behind the school on Scilly 1985.

📸 unknown

American Golden Plover on St. Mary’s airfield, Scilly 1985.

📸 unknown

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Henry Cook @hcbirding.bsky.social · 16h

Wow!

Henry Cook @hcbirding.bsky.social · 16h

It's not a trip to the Isles of Scilly without a Longstones cream tea. Tried the Devonian method today, such a heathen but it works! Followed by the Holy Vale experience, replete with Yellow-browed Warbler and Firecrests. #UKBirding #IoSBirding

A cream 'tea' with a hot chocolate instead

The mysterious elms of Holy Vale and the narrow track that follows the valley.

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Reposted by Henry Cook

Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 1d

What frightens me most about Halloween cobwebs isn’t how they look…..it’s that they catch the living.
Enjoy the season, but keep the plastic webs indoors; or skip them altogether.

Downy woodpecker entangled in plastic artificial decorative Halloween spider webs.

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Henry Cook @hcbirding.bsky.social · 1d

A Kestrel appeared in our garden on the #islesofScilly early morning, hunting moths around the moth trap #UKBirding #IoSBirding

A young Kestrel perches on branches of a conifer tree

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Steffen Oppel @steffopp.bsky.social · 3d

NEW JOB in #ornithology with @RSPBScience to oversee research in #Wales with #seabirds and #waders: buff.ly/qkTVU6m

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Dr Alex Bond @thelabandfield.bsky.social · 2d

Well, it's official. After our paper last year (onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....), the Slender-billed Curlew is officially declared Extinct today.

Scientists dream of describing new species, not writing their obituary and epitaph, knowing that they are gone forever #ornithology

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Henry Cook @hcbirding.bsky.social · 3d

Great to see Least Adder's Tongue (Ophioglossum lusitanicum) on Wingletang Down, St Agnes! Must have walked past it lots of times in the past without realising 😅
@sophieshrike.bsky.social #WildflowerHour #BSBI

A single spike from a least adders tongue. It was barely 2cm tall.

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Henry Cook @hcbirding.bsky.social · 3d

A slightly better shot of the Mourning Dove yesterday on St Agnes. Thanks to the landowner and birders for allowing and arranging access. This was not only a first for the Scillies but also a first for England! #UKBirding #RareBirdsUK #IoSBirding #IslesofScillyBirding

Mourning Dove stands on the ground, its back is facing with its head turned side on

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Scott Reid @scottinscilly.bsky.social · 3d

After two frustrating days the secrets of the St. Agnes mourning dove were finally revealed today!

First for Scilly, first for England, sixth for Britain! A real heavyweight nearctic mega to get the pulses racing, and a very classy little bird it is too!

#ScillyBirds

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Reposted by Henry Cook

Ben Sheldon @sheldonbirds.bsky.social · 3d

Fascinating, while at the same time somewhat nightmarish:

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Greater noctule bats prey on and consume passerines in flight

Despite billions of passerines seasonally migrating during the night at high altitudes, only three bat species have been found to consistently tap into this rich prey resource. However, it remains unk...

www.science.org

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Henry Cook @hcbirding.bsky.social · 3d

American Mourning Dove finally in the bag!!! 3 days of searching put to rest. Tiny little thing. #UKBirding #RareBirdsUK #IoSBirding #IslesofScillyBirding @sophieshrike.bsky.social

A rare dove sits on a wooden pallet amongst a polytunnel frame

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Michael Fogleman @michaelfogleman.com · 4d

Here's some of what I picked up before the clouds rolled in. This is 9 minutes of migrating birds played back at 20x speed with trails to emphasize their movements. So many birds up there - this is a pretty narrow field of view! #birds

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Henry Cook @hcbirding.bsky.social · 4d

Haha, true, but I missed the Ophioglossum lusitanicum too. That's been there for many years but I can never find it!

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Henry Cook @hcbirding.bsky.social · 4d

Another no-show from the American Mourning Dove on St Agnes so we paid homage to the long-staying Spotted Sandpiper before leaving #RareBirdsUK #UKBirding #IoSBirding #IslesofScillyBirding @sophieshrike.bsky.social

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Henry Cook @hcbirding.bsky.social · 5d

No sign of the American Mourning Dove yesterday on St Agnes so we'll try again today. A Hoopoe was nice compensation though! @sophieshrike.bsky.social #IoSBirding #IslesofScillyBirding #UKBirding #RareBirdsUK

A Hoopoe, a tan bird with black and white stripes on the wings and a crest, stands on boulders

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Henry Cook @hcbirding.bsky.social · 5d

Appalled to hear this government describe our beleaguered nature in this way. Nature is a necessity, not a nuisance.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Rachel Reeves clears planning blockage amid ‘good relationship’ with developer

Exclusive: Chancellor says 20,000 homes were being held up due to ‘some snails that are a protected species or something’

www.theguardian.com

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