Peter Brash
peterbrash.bsky.social
Peter Brash
@peterbrash.bsky.social
Ecologist, birder, entomologist, botanist and bat botherer. Born in Liverpool and returned via circuitous route. I block dickheads on sight.
I thought that this was a hillside at first!
Lichenomphalia umbellifera on an algae-covered stick. This species of mushroom is a basidiolichen lichen. Fungal hyphae integrate with algal cells, using the food produced by the algae through photosynthesis.
Newfoundland. #lichen #fungi #fungifriends #mushroom #algae
Largest shroom ~ 4cm high.
February 10, 2026 at 9:23 PM
Reposted by Peter Brash
Some mudlarking finds survived for centuries in the muddy banks of the River Thames. Others are freshly baked tasty snacks. 🍪

This biscuit (cookie) set recreates ten of the 350+ mudlarked objects in London Museum's Secrets of the Thames exhibition.

The exhibition closes on 1 March. Don’t miss it!
February 9, 2026 at 2:16 PM
Delighted to hear this.
February 9, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Good for Finkelstein, letting Epstein know exactly what he thought of him.
Harvard professor Robert Trivers tried to get Jeffrey Epstein in touch with Norman Finkelstein. Instead of accepting, Norman sent a reply calling Alan Dershowitz a pedophile rapist and saying Trivers should be ashamed for defending them, and both should be strangled instead
February 2, 2026 at 8:32 PM
Reposted by Peter Brash
Reminder that of all the people complicit in Epstein's crimes, the only person actually held accountable and sentenced was a woman. No men involved have yet to face consequences.
February 2, 2026 at 1:26 AM
Rattled off a very hasty reply to a client earlier. Luckily I noticed the autocorrect in the sign off before I hit send! Would they have thought I was getting fruity or just very tired?
January 30, 2026 at 8:49 PM
Reposted by Peter Brash
There are few Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa 花脸鸭 Huāliǎn yā) wintering at the Yellow River estuary in Shandong Province. Photo by "菜小hua". #birds #china #yellowriver
January 30, 2026 at 6:35 AM
Reposted by Peter Brash
“I just saw a boat full of scouts go speeding past”

“How many knots were they doing?”

“All of them”.
January 27, 2026 at 9:15 PM
Been looking through lots of old photographs recently. This is me between 1986 and 1989 (16 to 18). This would pretty much the typical view of me at this time. #wildflowerhour
January 25, 2026 at 9:35 PM
Reposted by Peter Brash
Slightly random one...
Wondering if there might be a Manchester/Salford birder who might be thinking of heading over for the Speke grackle tomorrow (maybe the roost?), please drop us a DM 👍 (...and if you've got a spare pair of bins, even better 😉😂).
Thanks v much, Mark
#manchesterbirders
#grackle
January 25, 2026 at 7:58 PM
Four of my #winterten for #wildflowerhour Hazel, Cut-leaved Deadnettle, Lesser Celandine and Common Fumitory.
January 25, 2026 at 9:30 PM
Reposted by Peter Brash
Holy hell, what an obituary
Renfrew Christie Dies at 76; Sabotaged Racist Regime’s Nuclear Program
www.nytimes.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Looking at rhe disparity of skill sets here. We need an invertebrate equivalent of FISC!
Can you identify UK bumblebees and/or butterflies to a species level in the field?

Or do you have strong botanical survey skills (equivalent to FISC Level 4 or higher) with the ability to recognise broad and priority habitats?

See great opportunity below & please share!
🦋🌿Hiring 12 x Botanists or Entomologists for 2026 field surveys in England!

4-month, full-time roles from late April to early September.

Field sites in Yorkshire, Devon, Warwickshire, Kent/Sussex, Lincolnshire/Cambridge, Essex/Suffolk.

Apply now: ceh.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/CEH_Ca... 🧪
January 13, 2026 at 8:57 PM
The Mersey
January 12, 2026 at 11:18 PM
Reposted by Peter Brash
✂️ Yesterday I finally responded to @agakowalska.bsky.social’s challenge to make a collage from a single piece of packaging. I present to you a green (tea) woodpecker, made from a big Yorkshire Tea box. It was fun and I’ll be rooting through our recycling bin for more materials later on ♻️
January 12, 2026 at 8:13 PM
Reposted by Peter Brash
From Radio and Other Poems (Rockingham Press, 1999)
January 8, 2026 at 8:22 AM
Anybody confused about what to call full moons in any of the months. Here's a list.
January-Full Moon
February-Full Moon
March-Full Moon
April-Full Moon
May-Full Moon
June-Full Moon
July-Full Moon
August-Full Moon
September-Full Moon
October-Full Moon
November-Full Moon
December-Full Moon
January 6, 2026 at 9:50 AM
Labour need to get rid of Starmer right now. Install a leader with backbone and work from there. Whether there's anything worth saving is arguable, a handful of MPs maybe?
January 3, 2026 at 9:59 PM
Parasitism
Jim Ratcliffe’s company Ineos gets £120m govt subsidy to help save the UK’s last ethylene plant at Grangemouth.

Ratcliffe is worth $14.7bn (£11bn). Can he not invest? Will he be back for more?

Govt is not taking any equity stake. £120m is not repayable.
Government invests £120m to save UK’s last ethylene plant
Funding for billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos plant in Scotland will help safeguard 500 jobs
www.theguardian.com
December 17, 2025 at 9:08 AM
It really hasn't felt much like December over the last two days. Gloves abandoned, hat ( and nearly coat) at times too. Common Wasp, Mayflies and Buff-tailed Bumblebee on the wing, seven species of birds singing.
December 12, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Great views of this Common Pipistrelle this afternoon. Feeding just overhead for half an hour.
December 8, 2025 at 6:18 PM
#WinterTen for #Wildflowerhour Oxeye Daisy, Musk Mallow, Common Flax, Common Knapweed, Common Vetch, Cow Parsley, Cock's-foot, Sticky Mouse-ear, Spear Thistle and False Oat-grass.
November 23, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Anyone with a phone plan managed to leave O2 after recent price rises? Phone bought through Samsung but with O2 contract. O2 say that there's no way of telling me how much the phone costs vs Airtime (data, calls etc). I don't believe them.
November 18, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Second part of my dozen #winterten for #wildflowerhour White Campion, Ribbed Melilot, Hogweed, Pansy, Crimson Clover a d Wild Angelica.
November 16, 2025 at 9:16 PM
First six of my #winterten for #wildflowerhour Buckwheat, Chicory, Red Dead-nettle, Redshank, Meadowsweet and Holly.
November 16, 2025 at 9:11 PM