Rutting Fallow Deer (Dama dama).

It's always fun to spend an afternoon crawling around in the woods. Even better when you get to track down some rutting Fallow Deer 10 minutes from home.

It also has a nationally important invertebrate assemblage, the primary reason for its designation a an SSSI...

It was an exciting surprise to find a family of Water Voles (Arvicola amphibius) in the centre of Stamford earlier in the year. They were surprisingly un-bothered by nearby picknickers and dogs and were happy to pose for some photos.

More pollintor action, this time from @wildlifebcn.org Ring Haw NR - a flighty Painted Lady enjoying the abundant Wild Basil; a leafcutter bee on Woolly Thistle and the tiniest of weevils on a Carline Thistle flower, scarcely visible...

#wildflowerhour #pollinatorpals
@bsbibotany.bsky.social

Key plants for pollinators at Bedford Purlieus NNR this weekend were Wild Angelica, Wild Marjoram and various St John's-worts - more details of the pollinators in ALT

#wildflowerhour #pollinatorpals
@bsbibotany.bsky.social

No more Beewashing please! Why beekeeping doesn't help conserve bees. Pls RT if you agree.
youtu.be/fiBYBmlKSYU

Exciting to find the Heart Longhorn Beetle (Stictoleptura cordigera) at Langdon Hills, Basildon, during a recent invertebrate survey. A new species to me and a recent introduction to the UK. Most records are from a couple of E London sites but it seems to now be expanding E down the Thames.

An exceptional summer for many butterflies. A morning spent poking around three local NNRs, Castor Hanglands, Bedford Purlieus and Barnack Hills and Holes, produced 30 species - many in exceptionally good numbers. Chalkhill Blues were fresh but many species were surprisingly worn for early July!

Flowers of the Drakensberg

We are extremely excited to be visiting the Dragon Mountains of South Africa in January, in the company of expert botanist and award-winning photographer Mayur Prag.

mailchi.mp/e3944439750d...

Finally caught up with Northern Clade Pool Frog (Pelophylax lessonae) and Scarce Emerald Damselfly (Lestes dryas), two species I've wanted to see for a very long time, in the very special Pingo ponds at Thompson Common.

I’ve had some interesting (for which read, weird) identifications made by Merlin™️ but this mornings stab at ID by Obsidentify™️ takes the biscuit.

Suffolk’s first record of Narwhal.

48 hrs later it produced its 1st result:

Lymexylon navale ♀ today in Bengeo garden, nationally scarce ship-timber beetle that loves recently-cut Oak heartwood. It is really strange species unlike any other beetle here. @bugmanjones.bsky.social @nottscoleoptera.bsky.social #Lymexyloidea #saproxylic

Jewel Wasps (Chrysididae) have always been a favourite group of mine (even if they can be a pain to ID!), so it was great to find the scarce Chrysura radians on standing dead wood during a recent survey of Wicken Fen NNR. Even more exciting when I found out it was last recorded at Wicken in 1932!

Great to find Nationally Scarce Downland Robberfly (Machimus rusticus) at a new site near Peterborough, Southorpe Roughs SSSI. Restricted to unimproved calcareous grassland and chalk downland. Almost exclusively southern, there is an outlier population in old limestone quarries near Peterborough.

Incredible to see 1000s of aculeates nesting in the thatch of the @nationaltrust.org.uk Wicken Fen toilet block during a recent survey. Most were Heriades truncorum - still technically RDBK, but now v. common in places in the south-east. The scarce Hylaeus pictipes was a more exciting find!

Great day yesterday co-leading a Wildlife Trust BCN walk on along the very flooded Nene Washes with @sarahlambert7.bsky.social . Perfect weather, 45 spp. of bird seen + 2 heard, incl. 4 Cranes, Short-eared, Long-eared, Tawny and Barn Owl! Mostly a bit distant for photos! + a beautiful sunset finale.

A finished report, sunshine and the sound of birdsong lured me out for some late winter birding. Highlights were friendly suburban Waxwings and a large flock of Common Redpoll with following Coal Tits at Holme Fen NNR. The Waxwings and Redpoll will be heading north again soon!