Deeside Sparrow
@deesidesparrow.bsky.social
Concerned about biodiversity loss & climate change. Interests: avifauna, plantlife, books, art galleries, museums 🐦🌾📚🖼🎨🏛
Hopefully, you will be cheered up @tycjanc.bsky.social by a summertime image of the willow tree in our civic square 🌳❤️😃. Image captured shortly 'before' this tree was on the receiving end of tree surgeon attention in August 2025! 😐
November 4, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Hopefully, you will be cheered up @tycjanc.bsky.social by a summertime image of the willow tree in our civic square 🌳❤️😃. Image captured shortly 'before' this tree was on the receiving end of tree surgeon attention in August 2025! 😐
I noted the inclusion of the image of the Common swift (L. Apus apus) on this poster for a public consultation on Local Nature Recovery Strategy suggesting this county council tier of government is likely to be more supportive than MHCLG, No. 10, etc.!
July 21, 2025 at 10:24 AM
I noted the inclusion of the image of the Common swift (L. Apus apus) on this poster for a public consultation on Local Nature Recovery Strategy suggesting this county council tier of government is likely to be more supportive than MHCLG, No. 10, etc.!
Observed today, 18 June, one of the plant transitions that I look out for in our garden each year. The first goldenrod to flower in 2025! 😄 In the near future, this will be sought out by pollinators. The area will be buzzing. 🐝🦋
June 18, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Observed today, 18 June, one of the plant transitions that I look out for in our garden each year. The first goldenrod to flower in 2025! 😄 In the near future, this will be sought out by pollinators. The area will be buzzing. 🐝🦋
My neighbouring House sparrows appear to have made excellent use of the time and space that I ensure they get in privacy under the protection of the privet hedge. Going by the fragment egg shell just found by the most protected section (where there's some hawthorn proofing against magpies, raptors).
May 6, 2025 at 3:19 PM
My neighbouring House sparrows appear to have made excellent use of the time and space that I ensure they get in privacy under the protection of the privet hedge. Going by the fragment egg shell just found by the most protected section (where there's some hawthorn proofing against magpies, raptors).
Mmh ... I wonder what's in this package I picked up from our corner shop this morning? It makes such a delighful percussive sound when tapped with the pad of a finger as well! It might be ... it is ... 🤸♂️🤸♂️🤸♂️😆
April 29, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Mmh ... I wonder what's in this package I picked up from our corner shop this morning? It makes such a delighful percussive sound when tapped with the pad of a finger as well! It might be ... it is ... 🤸♂️🤸♂️🤸♂️😆
'fessing that the meaning of the acronym OG wasn't 100% clear for me when I saw this post. 😊 It is now! Thanks. Merriam-Webster (helpful as always) has brought my vocabulary, ahem, more up-to-date? I found reassurance in learning the first use is id'd as 1991 & usage is categorised as 'slang'. 🙂
April 17, 2025 at 7:40 AM
'fessing that the meaning of the acronym OG wasn't 100% clear for me when I saw this post. 😊 It is now! Thanks. Merriam-Webster (helpful as always) has brought my vocabulary, ahem, more up-to-date? I found reassurance in learning the first use is id'd as 1991 & usage is categorised as 'slang'. 🙂
On second thoughts ... the above post may be too cryptic on your side of the Atlantic. 😊 So here's the reference I was riffing on! (I'm sure the master baker @andrewj27.bsky.social conjures scrumptious desserts using this ingredient & would recognise the formula 'coming forth' of 'sweetness'.)
April 9, 2025 at 6:16 AM
On second thoughts ... the above post may be too cryptic on your side of the Atlantic. 😊 So here's the reference I was riffing on! (I'm sure the master baker @andrewj27.bsky.social conjures scrumptious desserts using this ingredient & would recognise the formula 'coming forth' of 'sweetness'.)
Ah, in this case, I think departure is likely to be imminent. I'd like to think they'll get some wind assistance behind them travelling from AR. 😄
Yes, if I had settled for the AI summary, I'd have learnt nothing beyond the rather obvious ... But, I got onwards to access a research paper.
Yes, if I had settled for the AI summary, I'd have learnt nothing beyond the rather obvious ... But, I got onwards to access a research paper.
March 24, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Ah, in this case, I think departure is likely to be imminent. I'd like to think they'll get some wind assistance behind them travelling from AR. 😄
Yes, if I had settled for the AI summary, I'd have learnt nothing beyond the rather obvious ... But, I got onwards to access a research paper.
Yes, if I had settled for the AI summary, I'd have learnt nothing beyond the rather obvious ... But, I got onwards to access a research paper.
Journeyed to Hertfordshire to a horologists that services Citizen Eco Drive watches. I popped into an independent bookshop & bought this fabulous little novel. (Cost just GBP 2.99 new.) 20mm less 'long' on Y axis, 18mm less on X than standard books these days too! #SmallBeautiesHour
March 17, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Journeyed to Hertfordshire to a horologists that services Citizen Eco Drive watches. I popped into an independent bookshop & bought this fabulous little novel. (Cost just GBP 2.99 new.) 20mm less 'long' on Y axis, 18mm less on X than standard books these days too! #SmallBeautiesHour
I've found the relevant reference for the quotation from Ken Kesey. It is from a wider birds and wildlife descriptive paragraph on p. 245 (of the 628 pages in this edition). I did take quite a few notes on this interesting book before I 'off-loaned' it. 😃
March 17, 2025 at 5:36 PM
I've found the relevant reference for the quotation from Ken Kesey. It is from a wider birds and wildlife descriptive paragraph on p. 245 (of the 628 pages in this edition). I did take quite a few notes on this interesting book before I 'off-loaned' it. 😃
Each year, I photograph the first tree blossom I see on Deeside. It appears faithfully before the end of February. A tree that was much loved by my late mother as a sign of hope near the end of winter! 1st time highlighted in #SmallBeautiesHour. ❤️😄
March 3, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Each year, I photograph the first tree blossom I see on Deeside. It appears faithfully before the end of February. A tree that was much loved by my late mother as a sign of hope near the end of winter! 1st time highlighted in #SmallBeautiesHour. ❤️😄
Sorry I've missed #SmallBeautiesHour for several weeks. Back on 4th February I was surprised to see a cormorant on the canal in the middle of Chester. I walked towards the bird, which dived, then surfaced some way away, & then took flight. #RubbishBirdPics
March 3, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Sorry I've missed #SmallBeautiesHour for several weeks. Back on 4th February I was surprised to see a cormorant on the canal in the middle of Chester. I walked towards the bird, which dived, then surfaced some way away, & then took flight. #RubbishBirdPics
😃 Our inimitable blackbirds are coming towards their GLORIOUS spring season ... even if I erroneously reported fullish vocalisation of a 1st bird this week, likely a (related) Mistle thrush singing ... Yesterday, I saw eleven male blackbirds in the remarkable small area of the leaf fall in this pic!
February 8, 2025 at 8:32 AM
😃 Our inimitable blackbirds are coming towards their GLORIOUS spring season ... even if I erroneously reported fullish vocalisation of a 1st bird this week, likely a (related) Mistle thrush singing ... Yesterday, I saw eleven male blackbirds in the remarkable small area of the leaf fall in this pic!
OK, takes #RubbishBirdPics to an extreme, but a good story! The tide was reaching its height on the Dee between the 3rd & 2nd last bridges. A cormorant was stood on the groyne. When the water washed over its feet, it went diving for fish! ##SmallBeautiesHour 😆
January 27, 2025 at 9:37 PM
OK, takes #RubbishBirdPics to an extreme, but a good story! The tide was reaching its height on the Dee between the 3rd & 2nd last bridges. A cormorant was stood on the groyne. When the water washed over its feet, it went diving for fish! ##SmallBeautiesHour 😆
Spotted this antiquated signage out and about on a railway journey which appears to be a notice advising a 'private road' in the name of an owning entity that was replaced as holder of title 77 years ago. A stylish sign that merits #SmallBeautiesHour!
January 27, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Spotted this antiquated signage out and about on a railway journey which appears to be a notice advising a 'private road' in the name of an owning entity that was replaced as holder of title 77 years ago. A stylish sign that merits #SmallBeautiesHour!
The species on HB-T's list can all be seen within a walking distance of where I reside excepting only the Red-billed chough, the nearest population of which is around 80 miles distant. I often see a single Eurasian oystercatcher stood on the ancient cast metal mooring post in this photo! 🖤❤️🤍🐦😄
January 25, 2025 at 11:38 AM
The species on HB-T's list can all be seen within a walking distance of where I reside excepting only the Red-billed chough, the nearest population of which is around 80 miles distant. I often see a single Eurasian oystercatcher stood on the ancient cast metal mooring post in this photo! 🖤❤️🤍🐦😄
I imagine you are just that! 😄 That's fabulous. I would so much like to see a chough! It's the emblem of my home county of Flintshire. There are four choughs on the historic county flag that I last saw flying outside the Holywell (W. Treffynnon) tourist office.
January 24, 2025 at 12:07 PM
I imagine you are just that! 😄 That's fabulous. I would so much like to see a chough! It's the emblem of my home county of Flintshire. There are four choughs on the historic county flag that I last saw flying outside the Holywell (W. Treffynnon) tourist office.
As my just received communication from the National Gallery says: "Get ready for another year of incredible art as we continue to celebrate 200 years of bringing people and paintings together." 🖼 ❤️ #SmallBeautiesHour
January 13, 2025 at 9:17 PM
As my just received communication from the National Gallery says: "Get ready for another year of incredible art as we continue to celebrate 200 years of bringing people and paintings together." 🖼 ❤️ #SmallBeautiesHour
My #ReadingNewYearResolution, made 30/01/2024, did effect a change in my 📚 reading scope. Inspired by Marie de La Fayette (1634-1693), "regarded ... as the begin[ner] of the modern tradition of the psychological novel", I decided to complete at least 1 book written/translated by a woman each month ✔️
![This is a list of books written, or translated, by women that the poster either read, or re-read, during the calendar year 2024 extracted from a diary of all books read, both fiction and non-fiction. The list states the year of first publication in the original language.
The books are: Marie-Madeleine de La Fayette 'La Princesse de Clèves' (translated by Terence Cave) (1678 French), Jane Austen 'Sense and Sensibility' (1811) [re-read], Mary Elizabeth Braddon 'Charlotte’s Inheritance' (1868), Non-Fiction Sarah Gibson 'Swifts and Us: The Life of the Bird that Sleeps in the Sky' (2021), Non-Fiction Amy-Jane Beer 'Sparrows' (RSPB 'Spotlight On' series) (2019), Non-Fiction Faith Anstey 'Flowers in the Field: How to Find, Identify and Enjoy Wild Flowers' (2010), Elizabeth Bowen 'The Heat of the Day' (1948), Clara Reeve 'The Old English Baron' (1777), Mary McCarthy 'The Groves of Academe' (1952), Iris Murdoch 'The Bell' (1958), Charlotte Dacre 'Zofloya, or The Moor' (1806), Mary Shelley 'Frankenstein' 1818 [re-read], Ann Radcliffe 'The Romance of the Forest' (1791),Emily Brontë 'Wuthering Heights' (1847) [re-read], and a translation from French to English by Carol Cosman of the 1832 novella by Honoré de Balzac 'Colonel Chabert' published in 1997 by New Directions Publishing, New York.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:skp2naswd5ekl4ujnmcxsskj/bafkreidbehtnki6jb7dnl3uzozbnqcdtz3ombfvudlhz3guqzko2b64yzq@jpeg)
January 10, 2025 at 11:03 AM
My #ReadingNewYearResolution, made 30/01/2024, did effect a change in my 📚 reading scope. Inspired by Marie de La Fayette (1634-1693), "regarded ... as the begin[ner] of the modern tradition of the psychological novel", I decided to complete at least 1 book written/translated by a woman each month ✔️
Recently received a Cornell Lab of Ornithology email nudge for the GBBC 14-17/02/2025.
I love the 'Poster bird' image of a Barn swallow! ❤️
I didn't realise that the event is global. Though I can only see one British Isles participating group in Bangor, Co. Down, N.I.?
I love the 'Poster bird' image of a Barn swallow! ❤️
I didn't realise that the event is global. Though I can only see one British Isles participating group in Bangor, Co. Down, N.I.?
January 9, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Recently received a Cornell Lab of Ornithology email nudge for the GBBC 14-17/02/2025.
I love the 'Poster bird' image of a Barn swallow! ❤️
I didn't realise that the event is global. Though I can only see one British Isles participating group in Bangor, Co. Down, N.I.?
I love the 'Poster bird' image of a Barn swallow! ❤️
I didn't realise that the event is global. Though I can only see one British Isles participating group in Bangor, Co. Down, N.I.?
I know it's a #RubbishBirdPic! Best I could manage to give a #SmallBeautiesHour shout-out to this lovely irrepressible Pied wagtail I saw in Stafford last week. Caught my attention and sympathy as this little 'un is disabled - one passerine foot missing.
January 6, 2025 at 9:17 PM
I know it's a #RubbishBirdPic! Best I could manage to give a #SmallBeautiesHour shout-out to this lovely irrepressible Pied wagtail I saw in Stafford last week. Caught my attention and sympathy as this little 'un is disabled - one passerine foot missing.
Rest easy, when I spotted this tiny snail whilst preparing for the last garden waste bin collection on 04/12/2024, I carefully put the creature back amongst the vegetation! A creature definitely meriting a mention in the #SmallBeautiesHour. 💚🐌😄
December 30, 2024 at 9:25 PM
Rest easy, when I spotted this tiny snail whilst preparing for the last garden waste bin collection on 04/12/2024, I carefully put the creature back amongst the vegetation! A creature definitely meriting a mention in the #SmallBeautiesHour. 💚🐌😄
Most surprised on the morning of Sunday 29th December to see a familiar fluttering that I instinctively thought was not a moth! A #RubbishButterfliesPhoto but I don't apologise. I didn't dare risk disturbing this little creature basking in the sunshine. #SmallBeautiesHour
December 30, 2024 at 9:07 PM
Most surprised on the morning of Sunday 29th December to see a familiar fluttering that I instinctively thought was not a moth! A #RubbishButterfliesPhoto but I don't apologise. I didn't dare risk disturbing this little creature basking in the sunshine. #SmallBeautiesHour
Plausibly, this wonderful tiny creature that appeared and flew around delighting me when I cut back withered Michaelmas daisies on 04/12/2024, is a Common plume moth. I think it is suitable to feature in the #SmallBeautiesHour.
December 16, 2024 at 9:34 PM
Plausibly, this wonderful tiny creature that appeared and flew around delighting me when I cut back withered Michaelmas daisies on 04/12/2024, is a Common plume moth. I think it is suitable to feature in the #SmallBeautiesHour.