Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Andrew Clarke @mrandrewclarke.bsky.social · 7h

Interesting how the digital revolution changes the way we communicate.

(This was a while back).

Me: You working later?

Daughter: Yep.

Me: Oh, thought you were off.

Daughter: Colleague is ill. Boss told me on a piece of paper.

Me: 🤔

You mean he GAVE YOU A NOTE rather than sending a text!!

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Andrew Clarke @mrandrewclarke.bsky.social · 8h

Worth a read 🧵

Nice to hear some sense regarding Nature and planning laws rather than the usual bollocks from a bunch of deeply corrupt greedy politicians in bed with the house building industry.

Debbie Tann MBE @debbietann.bsky.social · 9h

We are being sold a false story that nature is the enemy. That newts, bats, snails and spiders are somehow responsible for the so-called housing crisis and a blocker to economic growth. This is a deliberate lie - using a cynically chosen group of species that could be found in a witches cauldron.

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Andrew Clarke @mrandrewclarke.bsky.social · 1d

Reposted by Andrew Clarke

wonderingfree.bsky.social @wonderingfree.bsky.social · 1d

october entered,
drenched in amber
and transition.
how is there so much beauty in death?
i asked the trees.
may you know for yourself
the brilliance
of your own unburdening,
they whispered.
may you rest in the quiet blessing
of your own lightness.
-Emory Hall

Be well folks💛

#Photography #Nature

The capture is of a lane lined with trees with overhanging branches. The golden leaves catch the light.

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Reposted by Andrew Clarke

Anne van den Broek Art @annevandenbroekart.bsky.social · 2d

My latest oil painting of the Bearded reedlings. Love these birds.
#wildlifeart #birdart #birds #oilpainting

Oil painting showing two male bearded reedlings. Both are sitting on reed branches with seed plumes.

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Reposted by Andrew Clarke

Birdingprof @birdingprof.bsky.social · 2d

Swapped for the Mourning Dove perhaps. Seriously, how does a Woodpigeon get to Texas?

ebird.org/checklist/S2...

@alexanderlees.bsky.social

eBird Checklist - 11 Oct 2025 - South Padre Is.--Valley Land Fund lots (LTC 036) - 14 species (+1 other taxa)

Submitted by Anonymous eBirder.

ebird.org

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Andrew Clarke @mrandrewclarke.bsky.social · 2d

It’s been a gorgeous sunny day for a wander up the Porter Valley, Sheffield to the edge of the @peakdistrict.bsky.social

Highlights were three skeins of Pink-footed Geese totalling 384 WNW, Little Owl, Green Woodpecker, 3 Crossbill & Raven. @shefbirdstudy.bsky.social Also some nice fungi & inverts.

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Andrew Clarke @mrandrewclarke.bsky.social · 6d

Ah, the back end of the Johnson years… so many memories! And not even the slightest whiff of corruption, either at home or abroad.

I mean haven’t we all had a quick look down the back of the sofa and bought a £3.8 million mansion with cash?

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Andrew Clarke @mrandrewclarke.bsky.social · 6d

Great to read this short article about the Cors Ddyga Glossy Ibises. Written by naturalist Nigel Brown and illustrated with a truly stunning image by @jmjbirding.bsky.social

apple.news/AsgfWVGZMQu6...

Country diary: The marshes are graced with a little catwalk glamour — The Guardian

Ynys Môn (Anglesey): What a pleasure it is to watch a pair of glossy ibis – true head-turners, and an increasingly common sight

apple.news

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Andrew Clarke @mrandrewclarke.bsky.social · 6d

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/cambri...

National Trust Wicken Fen nature reserve

Wicken Fen National Trust nature reserve becomes first UK site to record 10,000 species of wildlife

www.nationaltrust.org.uk

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Reposted by Andrew Clarke

Sheffield Bird Study Group @shefbirdstudy.bsky.social · 18d

Any birders reporting autumn passage Ring Ouzels (esp in southern England) please look out for coloured leg rings on juveniles from the Peak District Eastern Moors project. 🙏
Report to [email protected]

Combo of 3 colours on left leg

@birdguides.bsky.social @rarebirder.bsky.social
#ukbirding

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Reposted by Andrew Clarke

Rachel Taylor @fidhw.bsky.social · 9d

Birds in stained glass, freestanding #art or wall sculptures, rarely window panels. My birds are celebrations, explanations, rants and sometimes tears; but like the birds that inspire them, they are all beautiful dancers-with-light…

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Reposted by Andrew Clarke

Richard Morris @ahistoryinart.bsky.social · 11d

Daniel Gerber's 'Shad Fishery,' (1943) depicts townsfolk gathered on the riverbank at Cuttalossa, a Pennsylvanian hamlet tucked into a bend in the Delaware River, armed with nets to catch shad (a herring like fish) as they swim upstream.

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James Harding-Morris @bsbicountries.bsky.social · 22d

Some positive plant news from the BSBI - Holly Fern rediscovered in Cwm Idwal after 150 years! share.google/ZlNYNfC4f6h2...

And with a quote from our very own @bsbicymru.bsky.social

Plant Atlas maps for Holly Fern here: share.google/9t1TB44l1G1i...

“A remarkable discovery”: Rare fern found in Welsh valley 150 years after being wiped out by Victorians | Countryfile.com

The young holly fern was rediscovered by a naturalist on the rugged slopes of Cwm Idwal in Eryri National Park.

share.google

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Reposted by Andrew Clarke

Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 17d

A #Roman figurine of a lizard, carved from a single piece of hyaline quartz. It was found in a Gallo-Roman tomb in Belgium, where it was buried as part of an assortment of grave goods about 2000 years ago (📷 MFAH, Brussels) 🏺 AncientBlueSky #Archaeology #RomanArchaeology

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Julian Hughes @penrhynbirder.bsky.social · 22d

Most only get to see Sabine's Gulls through a rain-spattered 'scope, but this was the week to see them up close during the biggest ever Welsh influx. The week's sightings in #NorthWales in @northwaleslive.bsky.social BirdNotes.

📷 Kevin Hitch #BirdingWales

www.birdnotes.wales/blog/gales-b...

Gales bring Arctic visitors to North Wales

This month’s windy conditions has brought unprecedented numbers of seabirds close to Welsh coasts. It will take time to collate all the counts, but those of two species stand out. The national...

www.birdnotes.wales

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Reposted by Andrew Clarke

Julian Hughes @penrhynbirder.bsky.social · 23d

With several sites in Wales hosting multiple Grey Phalaropes over the weekend, 2025 is now the best year this century, with 112. #BirdingWales

The best-ever year will take some beating, however. 227 were seen from The Smalls lighthouse alone in just 12 days, during 18-29 September 1960.

Chart shows the number of Grey Phalaropes recorded in Wales annually since 2001. The best year on record was, until this weekend, 2001 with 107 individuals. 2025 has now overtaken that with 112.

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Andrew Clarke @mrandrewclarke.bsky.social · 25d

When you consider that the UK relies heavily on imports of many tree crops (despite the fact that we have some of the best soils and climate for arboriculture in Europe) and simply removing herbivores naturally results in tree cover why are we not developing more agroforestry projects?

Jeremy Bartlett @jeremybartlett.bsky.social · 25d

Something unusual in the Swaffham area.

In rows behind deer fences, at first glance they look like giant non-flowering sunflowers auditioning for 'The Day of the Triffids'.

They're actually very fast growing hybrid Paulownia (Foxglove Trees).

eastangliabylines.co.uk/environment/...

A plantation of hybrid Paulownia trees just north of Swaffham, Norfolk.

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Reposted by Andrew Clarke

Paul Roberts @npaulroberts.bsky.social · 25d

A spellbinding display from six Sabine's Gulls at Jackstones Pier, Aberavon. Incredible to witness at close quarters. Little Tern, Black Tern and two Grey Phalaropes also present.

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Andrew Clarke @mrandrewclarke.bsky.social · 25d

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Reposted by Andrew Clarke

Biological Recording Company @biologicalrecording.co.uk · 25d

🌸🐝 What do pollinators really need beyond flowers?

Find out with Prof @jeffollerton.bsky.social in Gardening for Pollinators: It’s About More Than Just Flowers!

Join us on 14 Jan 2026 on this Online Symposium.

Check it out here:
👉 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1419239717...

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Andrew Clarke @mrandrewclarke.bsky.social · 25d

Morning fungal folk. Mycology books come in many variations; some are serious tones packed full of detailed scale drawings and scientific jargon… others leave you asking so many questions.

“Hey guys, why is that man in a tuxedo holding a mushroom? Why the trumpet?”

🤣

Cascade Mycological Society @cascademyco.bsky.social · 25d

#NatureBookChallenge #FungiFriends #MycoBookClub

Book cover of All That the Rain Promises and More by David Arora. A bearded man in a tuxedo, grinning while holding a trombone and a large cluster of golden mushrooms as he he walks in a woodland setting.

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Reposted by Andrew Clarke

The Slim Dude 🇨🇦 @slimdude.ca · 26d

All this raises the question: why should profits for investors be given priority over affordable, clean energy for all?

www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Linda McQuaig: Solar energy has dropped dramatically in price and that’s a problem for investors

Long considered a luxury for chardonnay-sipping environmentalists, solar energy now has the potential to become the energy choice of beer-drinking workers concerned about the cost of living.

www.thestar.com

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Reposted by Andrew Clarke

Countryside Jobs Service @countrysidejobs.bsky.social · 27d

New funding for local groups to tackle nature recovery across UK - @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social
Grants of up to £25,000 now available to improve nature for communities thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery c-js.co.uk/3KpHReM

New funding for local groups to tackle nature recovery across UK

c-js.co.uk

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