Ellie Mayhew (she/her)

#WildStrathfillan

Thrilled to see several rare white-letter hairstreaks hanging around the Brighthelm butterfly bank in central Brighton today. Excuse terrible pic. Well worth a visit if you are local.

Nice to spot an Osprey flying overhead in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park today #WildStrathfillan

It’s always a pleasure to get out into the field. #WildStrathfillan

Elders seem to be flowering well this year, along with Hawthorn (seems like another bumper year for the latter).

First Grasshopper Warbler of the year for me yesterday. Lovely to hear so close to home, too.

Love where you live 🌳🌱

Heard my first Willow Warbler of the year today whilst exploring The Great Trossachs Forest 🌳

Absolutely delighted to have had a Dark-edged Bee-fly in the garden today, feeding on some Red Campion I grew from seed a couple of years ago. It is such a privilege to be transforming a plain lawn into a wildlife haven!

Hare's-tail Cotton-grass coming into flower at @nosterfieldnr.bsky.social nursery. This is being grown for an upland habitat creation project in Nidderdale; it once grew in a handful of lowland raised mires in central North Yorkshire but all have long since been destroyed.

Recording Long-eared Owls YouTube video by Rare Breeding Birds Panel

Another rare breeding bird species to look for in the early spring is the Long-eared Owl - here’s RBBP member Ian Francis with some advice on where, what and how to find them youtu.be/Wopsx7WxpVQ?...

As seen in the latest issue of our newsletter - if you've got any good photos of Gulls Eating Stuff, then send them along! (details in the post below ⬇️)

Yes I did actually! Too much of a nature nerd 🌳🌿🪵🐦‍⬛

A Sand Martin perches at the entrance of its nest

In March, Sand Martins begin to arrive back in Scotland after overwintering south of the Sahara Desert.

These nimble little birds are social nesters, which means as many as several hundred pairs can nest close together in a single colony.

Have you spotted any yet?

📸: Ben Hall

Communications Specialist — Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest Invitation to tender for an exciting project helping us show the impact of our work with Scotland's rainforest.

Invitation to tender: Saving Scotland’s Rainforest impact reporting. We are looking for an experienced communications specialist to help us tell the story of the impact of the Saving Scotland’s Rainforest project. Apply now! savingscotlandsrainforest.org.uk/jobs/communi...

Map of Scotland with a large area of the west coast highlighted in blue.

woman with a mobile phone photographing up close mosses on a fallen log. Credit John MacPherson - WTML

Are you a community group in #ScotlandsRainforest (see map below)? Are you interested in networking, training, community enterprise &/or £ to restore rainforest? Please complete this short @communitywoods.bsky.social survey before 15 Mar ➡️ buff.ly/TvZF3pd. Big thanks
@asrainforest.bsky.social

Amazing. I used to spot them frequently when I was living down in Cornwall.

Another day and another tagged seabird… this time a Brown Skua at Saunders Island, Falkland. Ring ABU and with a geolocator (?). Anyone know anything about it? Also great to see it with a recently fledged chick. Survivors of the HPAI wave across the isles.
@scottishseabird.bsky.social? #Seabirds

A lovely walk through oak woodland at @wtscotsocial.bsky.social Glen Finglas reserve today. Highlights Great Spotted Woodpecker, singing Chaffinch & Great Tit, Nuthatch, Juniper & an incredible array of bryophytes (which I really need to start learning!) 🌿🐦‍⬛

Photo of two women on a hillside. One is holding a small sapling and the other is digging a hole. There is a bright yellow bucket by them and some other volunteers dotted behind them.

Two volunteers dig into the ground. They have a bucket of young scot's pine and are wearing bright coloured jackets and coats.

A group of 20 or so people are gathered by a marquee with the Woodland Trust logo on it. Everyone is chatting and having a cup of tea. There is a collie in the foreground

Phew, what a day! Massive thank you to everyone who came out yesterday to help plant the first of 300,000 trees this spring at #GleannShildeag 🌱

Over 1,300 trees between us - not bad eh!

📆 See you all again on the 29th? buff.ly/iTSEbKN

📸 Caz, Assistant Site Manager

100% 🎵

Me too!

Applications open for new Trainee Conservation Plant Nursery Manager role — The Lower Ure Conservation Trust We are looking for an enthusiastic candidate to assist and support work in our conservation plant nursery and be trained to manage the running of the nursery into the future.

If you're interested in native plant conservation and habitat creation, @nosterfieldnr.bsky.social are looking for a part-time trainee nursery manager (2 days/week, £10.4K pa). Based at Nosterfield NR nr Bedale in North Yorkshire.
www.luct.org.uk/blog/2024/4/...

It's International #LanguageDay today!

Dr Ross Crawford, Cultural Heritage Adviser for 'Callander's Landscape' project, shares what Gaelic place names can tell us about the natural and cultural heritage of an area: eu1.hubs.ly/H0gYKzs0

Image: Schiehallion photographed by Dave Tarvit ⛰️

Ahh just heard my first singing Blackbird of the year! 🐦‍⬛ Such a
flutey, comforting and evocative song.

A large old gnarly pine tree grows in a glade within a pine forest. A man - ecologist Alasdair Firth - examines the trunk. Photo taken on the Native Woodlands Discussion Group excursion 2024. Photo copyright Coralie Mills.

Granny pine with ‘fir candle’ scars at Abernethy National Nature Reserve, Cairngorms 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Fir candles were resinous strips of pinewood used as lighting by folk too poor to buy candles. Collected by travelling folk and sold at local markets. Continued in use into the early 20thC.

#ThickTrunkTuesday

Nice to see my first wee female hazel flower of 2025 today, near the New Forest. Spring is on its way!

Dead Whooper Swan Photo C Deasy

Starting to hear reports of Avian Influenza hitting Whooper Swans. Please report all sightings of dead birds for possible testing. In 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 & 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 contact DefraGovUK, in N Ireland Daera & in Republic of Ireland Dept of agriculture. Please also report to @birdtrack.bsky.social for monitoring

Image of a Woodlark on the ground alongside the wording: Heathland Birds Survey. www.bto.org/heathland-birds-survey. BTO logo sits top right of image. Image credit reads: Woodlark © Liz Cutting/BTO

1/ Can you help us survey Woodlark for our Heathland Birds survey? Monitoring has started for this species, so visit our website to sign up. ➡️ www.bto.org/heathland-birds-survey #Ornithology #UKBirding