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darrylspittle.bsky.social
Darryl
@darrylspittle.bsky.social
490 followers 370 following 580 posts
#birding #ecology #ornithology
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darrylspittle.bsky.social
cc @ruthjoneslabour.bsky.social
ketanjoshi.co Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 1d
As we've been saying for a while: the "backlash" against climate policies has been wildly, absurdly overstated. This new survey shows how UK MPs badly understate support for climate policies

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
The UK MPs were asked in early 2025 to estimate the level of public support for green policies and their answers were compared with an Ipsos poll of the public that asked the same questions. When asked about a tax on frequent fliers and taxes to reflect how environmentally friendly products are, the MPs thought only a minority supported them, when a majority actually did: the MPs underestimated support by about 15%. They also underestimated public support for a tax on red meat and dairy products by 18% and for grants or loans to help people to make their homes more energy-efficient by 7%. Even when told that the m
January 5, 2026 at 5:28 PM
darrylspittle.bsky.social
Very quiet in the hills today, a Woodcock provided a moment of interest, otherwise just a lot of nival-gazing. ❄️ #seewhatIdidthere? ❄️ #snow ❄️
Distant view of the snow-covered Brecon Beacons/Bannau Brycheiniog. Small mammal (vole/mouse sp.) tracks in the snow. Fox tracks in the snow.
January 5, 2026 at 5:16 PM
darrylspittle.bsky.social
Ynysyfro: 3 male Pochard. #gwentbirding
January 4, 2026 at 12:41 PM
darrylspittle.bsky.social
Starting a ‘Books read in 2026’ thread to shame myself into reading an acceptable number of books for a reasonably well-educated adult human, so,…
January 3, 2026 at 9:24 PM
darrylspittle.bsky.social
A potter round produced a goody. Hawfinch(!) at Rhiwderin, initially flying around with a small flock of Chaffinch near the ‘swimming pond’ at c.ST263868 (adjacent to the Yellowthroat site), later sat up for high quality handheld phone-scoping shenanigans. #gwentbirding #lowcarbonbirding #footit
Handheld phone-scoped image of a Hawfinch at a distance of c.250m.
January 3, 2026 at 1:50 PM
darrylspittle.bsky.social
A light dusting of snow and a female Blackcap out back. ❄️ #gwentbirding #nippy
January 3, 2026 at 10:30 AM
darrylspittle.bsky.social
Female Blackcap in the garden. #gwentbirding #gardensafari
January 2, 2026 at 11:01 AM
darrylspittle.bsky.social
Uskmouth: every shade of dog shit bag plus Woodcock, Water Pipit, 8+ Snipe and a few Redpoll. Goldcliff Pools: 11 Whitefronts, 4 Golden Plover, Black Redstart, Pintail, Chiffchaff, Common Scoter feeding off the point, 28 Grey Plover and 16 Turnstone on the foreshore. #gwentbirding #birdingWales
January 1, 2026 at 4:55 PM
darrylspittle.bsky.social
Ynysyfro: Pochard. #gwentbirding #brevity
December 31, 2025 at 1:57 PM
darrylspittle.bsky.social
Quick spin round the local waterbodies, nowt much at Cwm Hedd or Pant-yr-Eos, 5 Pochard at Ynysyfro. #gwentbirding #lowcarbonbirding #birdingbybike
December 30, 2025 at 2:26 PM
darrylspittle.bsky.social
A gaping chasm in my graphic non-fiction collection was filled over Xmas. A stone cold classic of the genre. #Persepolis #comics #graphicnonfiction #sequentialart
Marji and Uncle Anoosh (detail from Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi). Marji floating in space (detail from Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi). Schoolgirls ‘mourning’ the war dead (detail from Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi).
December 30, 2025 at 11:03 AM
darrylspittle.bsky.social
Does anyone monitor the bycatch of shore netting? cc @rspbcymru.bsky.social @btocymru.bsky.social
supersequin.bsky.social W Griffith @supersequin.bsky.social · 8d
Quite how shore nets like these are legal is beyond me. Two turnstones were trapped this morning at Rhos Point. I untangled both and they were able to fly off unharmed before being drowned by the rising tide.
December 30, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Reposted by Darryl
edwinhayward.com
Brexit's going well...
December 29, 2025 at 10:03 PM
darrylspittle.bsky.social
Goldcliff Pools: 2 Whitefronts, 9 Golden Plover amongst c.1,600 Lapwing, Black Redstart at the ‘dump’, Common Scoter feeding off the point, 3 Grey Plover and 32 Turnstone on the pill. 1/2 #gwentbirding #birdingwales
European White-fronted Goose. Three Golden Plover amongst Lapwing flock. European White-fronted Goose.
December 29, 2025 at 3:37 PM
darrylspittle.bsky.social
Heads up! #gwentbirding
severnsidebirds.bsky.social Paul Bowerman @severnsidebirds.bsky.social · 10d
A mind blowing visit to Northwick Warth when the first Patch record of 8 Bean Geese circled Pilning Wetland at 12.05 then headed west towards Gwent. Presumably Tundras but will check pics later.
December 28, 2025 at 1:09 PM
darrylspittle.bsky.social
This is all *perfectly* normal. Happy Christmas everybody! 🎄🥵🎄
extremetemps.bsky.social Extreme Temperatures Around the World @extremetemps.bsky.social · 13d
ABSOLUTE INSANITY IN ICELAND
It s warmer than summer !
19.7C Bakkagerði in the middle of the night !
‼️nearly 10C above JULY average

MOST EXTREME EVENT EVER SEEN IN WORLD CLIMATIC HISTORY
Records brutalized allover the country
December 25, 2025 at 12:02 PM
darrylspittle.bsky.social
Oooh, looks like the Caerleon/Llandegfedd Whitefronts were part of a broader movement. Yay for nippy easterlies. #gwentbirding
alexanderlees.bsky.social Alexander Lees @alexanderlees.bsky.social · 13d
Amazing incursion of Russian White-fronted Geese - today's records from @birdguides.bsky.social #UKBirding 🪶
December 24, 2025 at 5:43 PM
darrylspittle.bsky.social
Yeah, we should definitely be handing Jim Ratcliffe £70M of government funding. This is the sort of development this country needs. #pollution #health #billionaire #taxdodging #Brexitclown
globalspark.news/world/enviro... cc @antoniabance.bsky.social
New Study Reveals INEOS Plastic Plant Causes More Deaths Than Jobs It Creates
Shocking new research exposes the human cost of INEOS's Antwerp plastic plant, with pollution-related deaths dramatically exceeding employment numbers. A deep dive into the environmental and health im...
globalspark.news
December 20, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Reposted by Darryl
raptorpersuk.bsky.social
More detail about the missing White-tailed Eagle in mid-Wales.

Not the first investigation into raptor persecution in this area.

Press release from Dyfed-Powys Police & commentary from me 🔽

#RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime @iolowilliams.bsky.social

raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/12/19/m...
More detail about the missing White-tailed Eagle in mid-Wales
Further to the news on Thursday (here) that three White-tailed Eagles have ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances, one in England, one in Wales and one in Scotland, Dyfed-Powys Police has issued…
raptorpersecutionuk.org
December 19, 2025 at 2:34 PM
darrylspittle.bsky.social
I’ve stayed there! The Wilderness Hotel near Inari is currently on ‘Amazing Hotels’ (BBC2). Three-toed Woodpecker, Pine Grosbeak, Siberian Tit, Siberian Jay, etc., etc., in the ‘garden’,… also aurora,… also -30 degrees. #Finland #nippy
December 18, 2025 at 8:50 PM
darrylspittle.bsky.social
“On 13 Sept, a satellite tag belonging to a white-tailed eagle was recovered near Gwgia Reservoir, Tregynon, … police … are asking anyone who was at or around the reservoir between 11am and 1pm or on access land near Bryn y Fawnog between noon and 3pm on 13 Sept to come forward.” #birdingWales
December 17, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Reposted by Darryl
peterstefanovic.bsky.social
Reform risk reviving Thatcher-style 'industrial destruction' in Wales, warns TUC

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...
Reform risk reviving Thatcher-style 'industrial destruction' in Wales, warns TUC
Ahead of crunch Senedd elections next year, analysis for the TUC found Nigel Farage's party poses the biggest threat to Welsh industry - risking thousands of jobs
www.mirror.co.uk
December 15, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Reposted by Darryl
berglundoscar.bsky.social
We (@crossdale.bsky.social, Christina Pantazis, @roxana-pessoa.bsky.social, Tiê Franco Brotto and I) present the first academic peer-reviewed article, studying the criminalisation and repression of climate and environmental protest as a global phenomenon. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
December 13, 2025 at 4:38 PM
darrylspittle.bsky.social
Scops Owl bagged. Didn’t exactly rush down to Copperopolis but seemed rude not to pop in and say ‘hello’. #birdingWales
December 11, 2025 at 7:53 PM
darrylspittle.bsky.social
Goldcliff Pools: Black Redstart briefly at ‘the dump’, little else of note. #gwentbirding
December 11, 2025 at 1:32 PM