Rob Winstone
@robwinstone.bsky.social
Horticulturalist, amateur naturalist, musician, woodland creature etc.
Reposted by Rob Winstone
Hooray! Sweet, beautiful rain!
July 14, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Hooray! Sweet, beautiful rain!
Reposted by Rob Winstone
An exciting new umbellifer for me today at Strumpshaw Fen - Cowbane, Cicuta virosa.
July 13, 2025 at 7:12 PM
An exciting new umbellifer for me today at Strumpshaw Fen - Cowbane, Cicuta virosa.
Reposted by Rob Winstone
At a time of climate and nature collapse, farmers are paid subsidies to maintain all of Ireland's uplands as ecological deadzones. For what?
For the production of wool that's then dumped.
You could NOT make it up.
www.agriland.ie/farming-news...
For the production of wool that's then dumped.
You could NOT make it up.
www.agriland.ie/farming-news...
Hill farmers are dumping wool because there is 'no money' for it - cllr
Fianna Fáil Cllr. Justin Warnock has called for the government to "come up with a plan" for the use of wool.
www.agriland.ie
June 25, 2025 at 9:18 PM
At a time of climate and nature collapse, farmers are paid subsidies to maintain all of Ireland's uplands as ecological deadzones. For what?
For the production of wool that's then dumped.
You could NOT make it up.
www.agriland.ie/farming-news...
For the production of wool that's then dumped.
You could NOT make it up.
www.agriland.ie/farming-news...
Another from Lamplighter’s Marsh. The marsh itself is dominated by sea-couch grass (Elymus arthericus) along with a patch of common reeds. I heard and spotted a reed warbler too but couldn’t snap a shot :/
#Bristol #plants #botanical #wildlife
#Bristol #plants #botanical #wildlife
June 23, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Another from Lamplighter’s Marsh. The marsh itself is dominated by sea-couch grass (Elymus arthericus) along with a patch of common reeds. I heard and spotted a reed warbler too but couldn’t snap a shot :/
#Bristol #plants #botanical #wildlife
#Bristol #plants #botanical #wildlife
Reposted by Rob Winstone
This is the equivalent of smuggling whole generations of preschoolers as they line up for the school bus
'Glass eels' aren't a species, they're the vulnerable young of European Eels, swimming up river to their freshwater adult homes after spending their infant nursery years at the sea.
'Glass eels' aren't a species, they're the vulnerable young of European Eels, swimming up river to their freshwater adult homes after spending their infant nursery years at the sea.
Glass eel smuggling booms despite bans, leaving species on the brink
Glass eel smuggling booms despite bans, leaving species on the brink
Tiny, translucent and no longer than a finger, juvenile European eels, also known as glass eels, might not look like much. But demand for these slippery creatures, particularly in East Asia, has made…
news.mongabay.com
June 23, 2025 at 5:33 PM
This is the equivalent of smuggling whole generations of preschoolers as they line up for the school bus
'Glass eels' aren't a species, they're the vulnerable young of European Eels, swimming up river to their freshwater adult homes after spending their infant nursery years at the sea.
'Glass eels' aren't a species, they're the vulnerable young of European Eels, swimming up river to their freshwater adult homes after spending their infant nursery years at the sea.
Reposted by Rob Winstone
Happy Solstice from Stonehenge. Trilithons, pyramidal orchids and dyer’s greenweed
June 21, 2025 at 6:23 AM
Happy Solstice from Stonehenge. Trilithons, pyramidal orchids and dyer’s greenweed
Expectation vs reality…
Think I may have missed them. Probably not the best time to visit in 30 degrees C weather either, but damn… will they make it through these droughts?
#badgeworthbuttercup #ranunculusophioglossifolius #wildlife #trust #plants #botany #nature
Think I may have missed them. Probably not the best time to visit in 30 degrees C weather either, but damn… will they make it through these droughts?
#badgeworthbuttercup #ranunculusophioglossifolius #wildlife #trust #plants #botany #nature
June 19, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Expectation vs reality…
Think I may have missed them. Probably not the best time to visit in 30 degrees C weather either, but damn… will they make it through these droughts?
#badgeworthbuttercup #ranunculusophioglossifolius #wildlife #trust #plants #botany #nature
Think I may have missed them. Probably not the best time to visit in 30 degrees C weather either, but damn… will they make it through these droughts?
#badgeworthbuttercup #ranunculusophioglossifolius #wildlife #trust #plants #botany #nature
Reposted by Rob Winstone
Today’s other highlight - Pheasant’s-eye Adonis annua. A tiny ruby jewel in a the most wonderful field margin
June 18, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Today’s other highlight - Pheasant’s-eye Adonis annua. A tiny ruby jewel in a the most wonderful field margin
Reposted by Rob Winstone
Reposted by Rob Winstone
Orange-horned Scabious Sawfly, Abia nitens. Adults approx. 1cm. Yellow clubbed antennae. Metallic bands on abdomen. Male has groove on last four abdomen segments. Fly May to August. Larvae feed on Devil’s-bit Scabious (shown) and Field Scabious.
June 11, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Orange-horned Scabious Sawfly, Abia nitens. Adults approx. 1cm. Yellow clubbed antennae. Metallic bands on abdomen. Male has groove on last four abdomen segments. Fly May to August. Larvae feed on Devil’s-bit Scabious (shown) and Field Scabious.
Reposted by Rob Winstone
Cross-leaved Heath, Erica tetralix. Up to 70cm. Greenish-grey foliage with leaves in whorls of 4. Dusty-pink, urn-shaped flowers. Hairy leaves up to 5mm, some hairs gland-tipped. Corolla up to 9mm, anthers don’t project beyond.
June 6, 2025 at 6:09 AM
Cross-leaved Heath, Erica tetralix. Up to 70cm. Greenish-grey foliage with leaves in whorls of 4. Dusty-pink, urn-shaped flowers. Hairy leaves up to 5mm, some hairs gland-tipped. Corolla up to 9mm, anthers don’t project beyond.
Echium vulgare, or Viper’s bugloss, growing in abundance at Lamplighter’s Marsh in #Bristol
#wildflower #urbanwildlife #purple #vipersbugloss #beauty #botany #nature #plants
#wildflower #urbanwildlife #purple #vipersbugloss #beauty #botany #nature #plants
June 18, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Echium vulgare, or Viper’s bugloss, growing in abundance at Lamplighter’s Marsh in #Bristol
#wildflower #urbanwildlife #purple #vipersbugloss #beauty #botany #nature #plants
#wildflower #urbanwildlife #purple #vipersbugloss #beauty #botany #nature #plants
Lathyrus sylvertris and Verbena officinalis at Lamplighter’s Marsh in Bristol.
June 18, 2025 at 6:25 AM
Lathyrus sylvertris and Verbena officinalis at Lamplighter’s Marsh in Bristol.
Anacamptis pyramidalis, Verbascum thapsus, Silene latifolia & Malva sylvestris all growing wild along Severn Beach this summer.
#botany #weed #wildflower #botanical #plants #native #wildlife
#botany #weed #wildflower #botanical #plants #native #wildlife
June 17, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Anacamptis pyramidalis, Verbascum thapsus, Silene latifolia & Malva sylvestris all growing wild along Severn Beach this summer.
#botany #weed #wildflower #botanical #plants #native #wildlife
#botany #weed #wildflower #botanical #plants #native #wildlife
Reposted by Rob Winstone
Top of my list of missing native species we should be looking at reintroducing to Ireland?
Lynx!!
• Never attack people
• Rarely attack livestock
• Aren't pack animals
• Help regulate deer
• Help regulate smaller predators, like fox
• Are a huge tourist draw
• Are just GORGEOUS!!
Lynx!!
• Never attack people
• Rarely attack livestock
• Aren't pack animals
• Help regulate deer
• Help regulate smaller predators, like fox
• Are a huge tourist draw
• Are just GORGEOUS!!
Happy #InternationalLynxDay 🐾
Today we’re celebrating the Eurasian lynx. This shy and elusive wild cat went extinct in Britain 1300 years ago, but now there’s hope for their return.
📹 1-3 kjekol, 2 Viktor Skalican, 4 James Shooter, 5 Sandra Dombrowski, 6 lookyfilm
1/2
Today we’re celebrating the Eurasian lynx. This shy and elusive wild cat went extinct in Britain 1300 years ago, but now there’s hope for their return.
📹 1-3 kjekol, 2 Viktor Skalican, 4 James Shooter, 5 Sandra Dombrowski, 6 lookyfilm
1/2
June 12, 2025 at 6:02 AM
Top of my list of missing native species we should be looking at reintroducing to Ireland?
Lynx!!
• Never attack people
• Rarely attack livestock
• Aren't pack animals
• Help regulate deer
• Help regulate smaller predators, like fox
• Are a huge tourist draw
• Are just GORGEOUS!!
Lynx!!
• Never attack people
• Rarely attack livestock
• Aren't pack animals
• Help regulate deer
• Help regulate smaller predators, like fox
• Are a huge tourist draw
• Are just GORGEOUS!!
Reposted by Rob Winstone
I've saved my favourite until last - the utterly gorgeous Viper's Bugloss, Echium vulgare. Just such a stunning plant. #Wildflowerhour
June 8, 2025 at 8:00 PM
I've saved my favourite until last - the utterly gorgeous Viper's Bugloss, Echium vulgare. Just such a stunning plant. #Wildflowerhour
Lathyrus nissolia, the grass vetchling. Almost indistinguishable from a grass until it flowers, due to its lack of true leaves, leaflets or tendrils. The leaf stalk is flattened out and resembles a leaf of grass, with stipules at the base.
June 3, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Lathyrus nissolia, the grass vetchling. Almost indistinguishable from a grass until it flowers, due to its lack of true leaves, leaflets or tendrils. The leaf stalk is flattened out and resembles a leaf of grass, with stipules at the base.
Reposted by Rob Winstone
24/5/25 Cumbria - Phwoar! The Sword-Leaved Helleborine (Cephalanthera longifolia) is a seriously sexy plant, and I reckon our Northern populations are the best examples of this awesome #orchid, as well as the finest #orchids I have seen so far this year #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social
May 25, 2025 at 7:07 PM
24/5/25 Cumbria - Phwoar! The Sword-Leaved Helleborine (Cephalanthera longifolia) is a seriously sexy plant, and I reckon our Northern populations are the best examples of this awesome #orchid, as well as the finest #orchids I have seen so far this year #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social
New job at a rare plant nursery 🌿 Pan Global Plants
May 11, 2025 at 5:17 PM
New job at a rare plant nursery 🌿 Pan Global Plants
Reposted by Rob Winstone
Just as deadwood is a vital component of ecosystems, so are the animal carcasses that large predators would naturally deliver to landscapes on a continual basis.
Their absence deprives a whole suite of species, from eagles down to many invertebrates.
Their absence deprives a whole suite of species, from eagles down to many invertebrates.
April 12, 2025 at 5:12 AM
Just as deadwood is a vital component of ecosystems, so are the animal carcasses that large predators would naturally deliver to landscapes on a continual basis.
Their absence deprives a whole suite of species, from eagles down to many invertebrates.
Their absence deprives a whole suite of species, from eagles down to many invertebrates.
Reposted by Rob Winstone
Some of the most beautiful trees in any wild, natural forest are 'snags': dead, but still standing trees, like this oak.
Deadwood is vital to around a fifth of all forest species, called saproxylics.
In death, there is life.
🌎
Deadwood is vital to around a fifth of all forest species, called saproxylics.
In death, there is life.
🌎
April 12, 2025 at 5:03 AM
Some of the most beautiful trees in any wild, natural forest are 'snags': dead, but still standing trees, like this oak.
Deadwood is vital to around a fifth of all forest species, called saproxylics.
In death, there is life.
🌎
Deadwood is vital to around a fifth of all forest species, called saproxylics.
In death, there is life.
🌎
Reposted by Rob Winstone
Bid to build Europe’s first research station on Atlantic temperate rainforest in Cornwall
A great project by Merlin Hanbury-Tenison’s Thousand Year Trust, of which I’m a trustee:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
A great project by Merlin Hanbury-Tenison’s Thousand Year Trust, of which I’m a trustee:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Bid to build Europe’s first research station on Atlantic temperate rainforest in Cornwall
Charity crowdfunding initial sum to build £750,000 facility on Bodmin Moor to study overlooked but biodiverse natural habitat
www.theguardian.com
April 7, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Bid to build Europe’s first research station on Atlantic temperate rainforest in Cornwall
A great project by Merlin Hanbury-Tenison’s Thousand Year Trust, of which I’m a trustee:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
A great project by Merlin Hanbury-Tenison’s Thousand Year Trust, of which I’m a trustee:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...