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simonwood42.bsky.social
Simon
@simonwood42.bsky.social
87 followers 78 following 36 posts
EBwS President. ID Panel member and author Birds of Essex. Essex Lepidoptera ID Panel - fascinated by anything that flies, crawls, hops, runs, wiggles, swims….
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simonwood42.bsky.social
Grey Phalarope west at the Bill at 10:50 @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social Also five Arctic Skua, plenty of auk but all rather distant
September 25, 2025 at 9:54 AM
simonwood42.bsky.social
And my final Estonian offering @swallowbirding.bsky.social @birdinghaapsalu.bsky.social
Penduline Tit Spotted Flycatcher Common Crane Blyth’s Reed Warbler - an active bird with a lovely song
June 6, 2025 at 7:31 PM
simonwood42.bsky.social
A few of the birds from Rannapark in the middle of Parnu, Estonia @swallowbirding.bsky.social @birdinghaapsalu.bsky.social
Middle-spotted Woodpecker - pleased to find a nest a few hundred metres from our hotel. Pied Flycatcher - often heard, more difficult to find! Icterine Warbler has a very distinctive song Tree Sparrow - the urban sparrow which outnumbers House Sparrow
June 5, 2025 at 5:59 PM
simonwood42.bsky.social
And a few more from Estonia @swallowbirding.bsky.social @birdinghaapsalu.bsky.social
Booted Warbler - not common at all in Estonia so a good find. Carefully placed leaf hiding end of bill! Red-breasted Flycatcher- a common forest bird White-backed Woodpecker Marsh Sandpipers - two of five present at one site
June 5, 2025 at 5:36 PM
simonwood42.bsky.social
A fantastic few days in Estonia with @swallowbirding.bsky.social and @birdinghaapsalu.bsky.social - over 180 species in a fantastic country which I would love to return to. So many highlights…
Ural Owl - a huge and charismatic owl Slavoniqn Grebe - very showy close to our first hotel Common Rosefinch - common being correct! Lesser Spotted Eagle - several seen - this one was going to roost so photo shot in twilight
June 5, 2025 at 12:56 PM
simonwood42.bsky.social
Unsurprisingly, fairly quiet around Maldon but Little Ringed Plover is still hanging about whilst Common Buzzards remain vocal. Good numbers of dragons including Scarce Chaser (needs a name change…) and good to see both Common Blue and Small Tortoiseshells as been almost absent in recent years.
Little Ringed Plover - an uncommon visitor to Maldon Common Buzzard still vociferous in their display flights Scarce Chaser - Common Chaser would be a better name locally! Common Blue - several males already this year. Together with several Small Tortoiseshell, an encouraging start to the year as in recent years, one of each annually has been the norm
June 5, 2025 at 11:21 AM
simonwood42.bsky.social
A hybrid Salsify x Goats Beard at Heybridge GP, Maldon VC 19 today. Plenty of both species present nearby @bsbibotany.bsky.social
May 22, 2025 at 8:18 PM
simonwood42.bsky.social
By Maldon Patch standards it’s been an excellent few days with Adrian Dally finding 2 Dotterel a km east of Mundon Hall on 18th which stayed just long enough for my 1st patch tick of 2025. Then today bought a Spotted Flycatcher at Lofts Farm. Plenty of dragonflies, also Wall and Painted Lady too.
Spotted Flycatcher- delighted to find this individual at Lofts Farm this morning but not very easy to photograph. Once a summer visitor, the species is now a rare migrant locally. Female Yellow Wagtail out east of Mundon Hall. Two Dotterel. Last time I saw one of these was up on the tops in Cairngorm when we bumped into a male with two chicks. Wall Brown - good to see one butterfly that appears to be doing well. I’ve now seen three locally this year already something that I haven’t done for a couple of decades I suspect.
May 20, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Reposted by Simon
savebutterflies.bsky.social
Meet your friendly neigbourhood micro moth, Alabonia geoffrella AKA Geoff 🤩

Geoff is a tiny day-flying moth with a wingspan of just 17-21mm!

Look out for these intricately patterned moths in woodlands, hedgerows and marshy areas between May and June.

📷: Patrick Clement
#MothMonday #MothsMatter
A micro moth with gold, white and metallic blue markings on its wings and large labial palps, resting on tree bark
May 19, 2025 at 9:00 AM
simonwood42.bsky.social
Essex Field Club visit to Hazeleigh Wood yesterday. Tad chilly for insects but plenty found. Ironically, I found a long overdue NFS just 5 mins after arriving - Coleophora anatipennella. Other highlights were the bagworm Proutia betulina, the now rare locally Bullfinch, and Pogonocherus hispidulus.
Pogonotus hispidulus - recorded regularly from the wood together with the closely related and very similar Pogonotus hispidula Proutia betulina - this one rather lacking in larger bits of debris around the case or bag Coleophora anatipennella- a long overdue species for Hazeleigh Wood - I think the 917th species of Lepidoptera recorded since 2018 - on Hawthorn
May 16, 2025 at 5:44 PM
simonwood42.bsky.social
I’ve failed to find any Turtle Dove locally on Tuesday but I was encouraged by the number of House Martin still breeding west of Maldon. Three pairs of Yellowhammer, still hanging on in the area and my first Painted Lady of the year.
Some of the largest elms in the Maldon area Rural roads not far from Maldon House Martin. Virtually lost from the built up areas of Maldon and Heybridge, checking of the rural areas round the town have revealed the species is hanging on. However, around 5-10 pairs on a house west of Beeleigh is exceptional and barks back to when the species was far more numerous locally Modern farming and part of the reason why there are so few birds in farmland areas
May 15, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Reposted by Simon
martinswarren.bsky.social
Watch all those UK butterfly watchers in southern England, they are on their way!
May 12, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Reposted by Simon
migrantmothuk.bsky.social
Dorset Cream Wave (Stegania trimaculata), to light at Foulness, Essex on 10/5. C. Lewis #teammoth
May 12, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Reposted by Simon
bou.org.uk
Significant decline of a Common Buzzard Buteo buteo population during an outbreak of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) | www.tandfonline.com/... | Bird Study | #ornithology #RaptorResearch 🪶
May 12, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Reposted by Simon
markgolley.bsky.social
On the walk back to base, the star attraction of the day appeared as I looked on the hedgerow for micro moths. This stunning Longhorn beetle was definitely new to me & after some research, turns out it's a bit rare - Saperda scalaris (a rather restricted range in UK).
What a bobby-dazzler!
#buglife
May 12, 2025 at 12:57 PM
simonwood42.bsky.social
Pleased to catch a stunning Aproaerema polychromella in Hazeleigh Wood, Maldon VC18 last night- New to Essex and the only migrant in the trap. The 917th species for the Wood since trapping began in 2018 @migrantmothuk.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social
@stevenash71.bsky.social
Aproaerema polychromella - Pretty White-barred or African Sober. New for Essex and a wander from the Mediterranean I would assume. The only migrant in the traps as well.
May 12, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Reposted by Simon
bcyorkshire.bsky.social
Butterflies have thrived in the sunniest March and April on record, up nearly 50%. Record counts of Peacock, Speckled Wood and Brimstone, similar to summer, with odd sites with over 100; remarkable! Yorkshire has a record breaking 22 species on the wing and emergence is 13 days earlier in 20 yrs.
May 8, 2025 at 3:56 PM
simonwood42.bsky.social
An eclectic mix of the avian, hemipteran and coleopteran - male Cuckoo, Hairy Shieldbug and Rhyncites aurata - all from around the Heybridge area during the last couple of days.
May 8, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Reposted by Simon
profaliceroberts.bsky.social
Tracking down the Cassiterides - the ancient Tin Islands: A British-led group of archaeologists have analysed the composition of bronze artefacts from across Europe, tracing the tin in these objects dating to more than 3000 years ago to Cornwall and Devon...
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Cornish tin was sold all over Europe 3,000 years ago, say archaeologists
British team says new study ‘radically transforms’ understanding of bronze age trade networks
www.theguardian.com
May 7, 2025 at 4:01 PM
simonwood42.bsky.social
5th May Heybridge GP. Hard going in a cold NE. About 30 Swift feeding low over the Pit,, 110 Brent were still on the estuary and this lone, big billed and long legged Black-tailed Godwit looked a good candidate for a limosa…
May 7, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Reposted by Simon
chrisddarby.bsky.social
Based on plumage variation, we are confident there were 9+ red-footed falcons at Carlton Marshes over the last three days. 2 adult male 3 females seen hunting dragons together, with at least 4 sub-adult males.
May 4, 2025 at 9:06 PM
simonwood42.bsky.social
Managed a night’s mothing whilst in Holme-next-the-Sea, Norfolk - over 45 species (and counting) including Grass Rivulet and Cydia strobilella, Buttoned Snout and Grass Rivulet as well as more regular species such as Small Elephant Hawk
Cydia strobilella Small Elephant Hawk - one of four Hawkmoths overnight, the other being Eyed, Poplar and Pine Grass Rivulet - not a species I see down in Essex
May 4, 2025 at 6:06 PM
simonwood42.bsky.social
NW Norfolk was lacking in birds but there were reasonable numbers of butterflies about, in particular Wall which outnumbered all other species around Holme Dunes which also produced our first Green Hairstreak of the year as well as Small Copper amongst others.
Green Hairstreak Small Copper - one of my favourites… Wall - encouraging to see such good numbers on the wing.
May 4, 2025 at 5:55 PM
simonwood42.bsky.social
Just back from 3 days in Norfolk where weather was kind for a change. Birding was hard work with only find of note being a newly arrived, skittish flock of 4 (2m) Garganey on Broadwater, Holme Bird Obs on 2nd May which quickly moved on and 3 fledged Bearded Tit fresh out of the nest at Titchwell.
Two male and two female Garganey which were on the far east end of the Broadwater at Holme Bird Observatory. They were very skittish and soon moved on - they flew quickly west and dropped into the SW corner of Holme Dunes NR A very recently fledged Bearded Tit (one of three) which appeared in the reeds very close to us. Completely unafraid of us.
May 4, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Reposted by Simon
johnbuchanan.bsky.social
Our rooks are saved!!!
Maldon District Council has refused the Permission In Principle application to build houses within the strip of woodland alongside the car park at Morrisons.
Many thanks to all those who took the time to object to the application on the planning website- it all helped!
May 2, 2025 at 6:19 PM