Brian Hill

'Extinct' butterfly spotted across England A butterfly classed as extinct in the UK for more than 30 years has been seen at sites across southern England.Eagle-eyed nature lovers have captured photographs of Large Tortoiseshells in Kent, Hamps...

'Extinct' butterfly spotted across England butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blo...

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Drumming Wyre Forest

I thought it was just a battered Small Tortoiseshell on a muddy patch… but something wasn’t quite right. Then it clicked—it was far too big! My first-ever Large Tortoiseshell, emerging in the sun after months of Cornish rain. @savebutterflies.bsky.social @marcusrhodes.bsky.social

This year so far far it has rained every day. 53 consecutive days of registered rainfall in Somerset also 36 Jours de Pluis consecutifs in France Nouveau record! @francoisjobard.bsky.social

The Map butterfly differs in wing size and color between seasons. We tested how these differences influence body temperature dynamics, revealing potentially optimized thermal performance between seasons. 🦋☀️

The study, led by Dani and Irča, is in preprint version: doi.org/10.64898/202...

Yellow-browed Warbler Silk Mills LNR Taunton past few days and still present late afternoon at western end of lake. #somersetbirding

Wolf Moon and Jupiter tonight

Always quality though when it appears. Merry Christmas!🎄😊

Ringtail Hen Harrier Curry Moor 4 pm
#somersetbirds

Smart male Merlin Greylake late pm. 3 Marsh Harriers (2 males) 4 Buzzards Kestrel Sparrowhawk #somersetbirding

A superb achievement by the County Recorder, Editors and all who submitted records. #somersetbirding

Spotted Flycatcher joins growing list of migrants overwintering in Europe New research shows that Spotted Flycatchers are increasingly overwintering around the Mediterranean rather than migrating to Africa, as Europe's milder winters reshape bird migration patterns. Using two decades of eBird data, scientists found that southern Iberia and Mediterranean islands now provide suitable wintering conditions, marking a major shift for this classic trans-Saharan migrant.

Once a classic trans-Saharan migrant, Spotted Flycatcher is beginning to rewrite its migratory map by wintering in Europe with greater regularity:

Dusky Warbler at South Landing this morning #yorkshirebirding

Pallas's Warbler just trapped in the Crown Estate Field

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) pair in tandem egg laying on the local canal today.

Comet Lemmon

A crystal clear sky tonight meant our first proper chance at observing Comet Lemmon. Best viewed through binoculars though my phone did a fairly decent job at capturing proceedings. #astrophotography #photography #nightsky

Nice photo! Every garden should have one. 😊

Here is another sample page from my forthcoming book THE PIED WOODPECKERS. Due out February 2026.

Sensitive Species in Winter #CornwallBirds #BirdsInCornwall #CBWPS #Bird #Birds #Birdwatching #ConnectWithNature #BeautyAndWonderOfNature #Nature #Wildlife #WildlifeMatters #WildIsles #BritishWildlife #WildCornwall #ILoveCornwall #Cornwall #Kernow #UK

Good morning from Exmoor 💛

“A lovely last lunch at Horner Vale Tea Room as Mike and Janet retire after 42 yrs, and close for their final time Sunday.”
Photos by Adrian Campbell.

UK is well on course for losing Willow Tit, Spotted Flycatcher & Wood Warbler as breeding species in our lifetime. Wood Warbler already virtually gone from England. I think Willow Tit would be first extinction of a resident bird since Capercaillie in 1700s or White-tailed Eagle in 1918. #ornithology

Large&leggy Wheatear Cheddar Res yesterday. Suggestive of Greenland but certainty impossible.
Good cluster of waders. among which Temmincks/Little Stint & Wood Sandpiper #somersetbirding

6 Whinchats West Moor Creech St Michael this morning. Pre-dawn drizzle likely helped. #somersetbirding

3+ Whinchat Grasshopper Warbler 9 Cattle Egrets and Clouded Yellow West Moor Creech St Michael this mng #somersetbirding

Britain has gained a new butterfly!

The long-anticipated arrival of Southern Small White (Pieris mannii) has been confirmed.

Female Brown Hairstreak found by a friend yesterday in his Monkton Heathfield garden.
First for year in Somerset I think.

Spotted Flycatcher catching moths well into twilight. Several bats. 2 Glowworms & Noctilucent Cloud. Must stay up late more often.

Brown Hawker Shapwick Heath. I rarely see them resting.

Fortunate to witness an astonishing spectacle at the beach tonight: tens of thousands of (mainly Small) white butterflies pouring in over the sea, as far as you could see. Pulses of butterflies swept in-off everywhere, an extraordinary sight.
@linnetincley.bsky.social
@norfolknats.bsky.social
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Smart male Purple Hairstreak in Creech just now @rogermusgrove.bsky.social