Tom Hibbert
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wildlifetom.bsky.social
Tom Hibbert
@wildlifetom.bsky.social
140 followers 53 following 140 posts
Obsessed with wildlife, particularly birds, bugs and beetles! Lucky enough to write about nature for The Wildlife Trusts.
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wildlifetom.bsky.social
A visit to Slimbridge wouldn’t be complete without spending some time with the beautiful Bewick’s Swans.
A Bewick’s Swan on a rippling pool. It has a black beak with a short yellow block at the base. A Bewick’s Swan on a rippling pool. It has a black beak with a short yellow block at the base.
February 16, 2026 at 7:29 PM
wildlifetom.bsky.social
Enjoyed a swan and goose extravaganza at Slimbridge yesterday. All three swans and seven species of goose. A few dainty White-fronted Geese even came close enough for photos!

#birds #birdwatching #Slimbrige
Two White-fronted Geese, one standing and one sitting, in a grassy field. They have a white blaze at the base of their dainty bill
February 15, 2026 at 5:15 PM
wildlifetom.bsky.social
The Coal Tits are getting feisty! Spotted these two squabbling in Sherwood Forest.
Two coal tits fighting as they cling to a branch. One is grabbing the leg of the other.
February 12, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Reposted by Tom Hibbert
lloyd9632.bsky.social
I went out to Crates Wood near Shaftesbury to see if I could find this, the Winter Scorpion Fly or Snow Flea. This is a winter specialist, when I see them I always think of the Greeks and Trojans with bronze armour. Only a single male today, Boreus hyemalis
February 12, 2026 at 12:25 AM
Reposted by Tom Hibbert
marburybirds.bsky.social
I know I am biased but Ravens have to be one of the most stunning and expressive of birds. Maybe that is why they occur so much in literature and mythology
February 12, 2026 at 8:54 AM
Reposted by Tom Hibbert
persmiseth.bsky.social
10 species of #ladybirds found yesterday on gravestones in Newington Cemetery, #Edinburgh. Surprisingly good haul (best of 2026 so far) despite the dreich weather. Part 1: Cream-streaked, Eyed & Larch Ladybirds … #CemeteryWildlifeWatch recording activity on #iRecord.
Newington Cemetery; many species found under this Austrian pine tree. Cream-streaked Ladybird. Eyed Ladybird. Larch Ladybird.
February 12, 2026 at 1:51 PM
Reposted by Tom Hibbert
vc40orthops.bsky.social
Made a trip to the moors north of Telford this morning thanks to a tip-off from @pilning.bsky.social to see the White-fronted Geese which have fetched up on the floods. They were showing well despite the continued murky weather.
Two brownish-grey geese, the left-hand one facing front/right, the other with its head down & its back to us. Distinguishing features are the white base to the pinkish beak, orange legs and prominent black barring on the underside.
February 12, 2026 at 1:52 PM
wildlifetom.bsky.social
Another day, another unexpected indoor beetle. I found this Sitona lineatus climbing up the inside of my window this evening.

#Beetle #Weevil #Coleoptera
Sitona lineatus standing on a wooden table. It’s a small, cigar-shaped weevil with a short broad snout and distinct dark and pale lines running the length of its body.
February 9, 2026 at 6:05 PM
wildlifetom.bsky.social
I won the ladybird lottery at the weekend, with 338 16-spot Ladybirds huddled up on a series of fence posts!

#beetle #Coleoptera
19 16-spot ladybirds huddle up on a wooden fence post. They are yellow ladybirds with a black line down the middle of their back and black spots. A number of 16-spot ladybirds huddled up in a crack in a wooden fence post. They are yellow ladybirds with a black line down the middle of their back and black spots.
February 4, 2026 at 7:42 PM
wildlifetom.bsky.social
It’s a shame springtails are so easily overlooked. I think people would love them if they could see them — they’re like little cartoon characters!

Dicyrtomina saundersi and Orchesella cincta from Sherwood Forest last weekend. #springtail
Dicyrtomina saundersi, a mottled brown springtail with bi-coloured antennae and long white hairs protruding from its bulbous abdomen, walking across a wooden fence Orchesella cincta, a long, thin dark springtail with yellow bands and striped antennae, resting on a wooden fence post
February 3, 2026 at 6:23 PM
wildlifetom.bsky.social
I found 7 male Spring Ushers on a short stretch of fence in Sherwood Forest, yesterday - no two were alike! Sadly couldn’t spot a female nearby.

#Moth #TeamMoth #Lepidoptera
A male Spring Usher moth resting on a fence. Its wings are mottled brown with pale bands running across them. A male Spring Usher moth resting on a fence. Its wings are mottled, sandy brown with paler bands running across them. A male Spring Usher moth resting on a fence. Its wings are mottled grey with pale bands running across them. A particularly dark Spring Usher moth resting on a fence, with trees viable in the background.
February 2, 2026 at 7:15 PM
wildlifetom.bsky.social
One of my strangest beetle sightings yet - Rhyzobius chrysomeloides crawling across my bed last night!

#ladybird #beetle
Rhyzobius chrysomeloides, a tiny ladybird with a dark red body and darker markings on the wing cases
January 29, 2026 at 5:42 PM
wildlifetom.bsky.social
Saturday brought my first moth of the year, a Pale Brindled Beauty clinging to the wall of my flat.
January 25, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Reposted by Tom Hibbert
vc40orthops.bsky.social
Wildlife group's trip to Morville yesterday was very wet indeed but we soldiered on... for a while. Finds included this splendid ground beetle, Anchomenus dorsalis.
A beetle on a green background, looking to the right. It is mostly black but with a strong metallic green sheen. Its wing-cases have large red areas on the 'shoulders'. Legs & antennae are yellowish at their bases, becoming black towards their ends.
January 22, 2026 at 6:22 PM
wildlifetom.bsky.social
This Dunnock was doing its best Marilyn Monroe impression in some glorious morning light.
A dunnock perched on a wooden fence post, its feathers blown up in the wind
January 13, 2026 at 7:32 PM
wildlifetom.bsky.social
I was photographing these magnificent Hoof Fungi, when a Robin insisted on being in the shot!
January 4, 2026 at 7:20 PM
wildlifetom.bsky.social
Happy New Year, everyone! I started 2026 with a 7-hour walk around Idle Valley, recording 71 species of bird. This handsome Pintail was a highlight.
A Pintail swimming on a lake. It’s a grey duck with a long black tail, a yellowish patch on the flanks and a white throat and chestnut head.
January 1, 2026 at 5:59 PM
wildlifetom.bsky.social
A fungus I’ve wanted to see for a while - the Scarlet Caterpillarclub, Cordyceps militaris. Glowing orange amongst the moss in Sherwood Forest.
Two bright orange club-shaped fungi rising from moss and soil
December 24, 2025 at 4:33 PM
wildlifetom.bsky.social
Great to get out to Norfolk recently and catch up with my first Hume’s Leaf Warbler. Tricky to see, but easy to hear! A lovely call
A Hume’s leaf warbler perched on a branch
December 20, 2025 at 7:24 PM
wildlifetom.bsky.social
I was photographing waders, when a fisherman dumped a box of crab shells onto the rocks in front of me. The waders suddenly came a lot closer!

#Nature #Bird #WildlifePhotography
A redshank standing on a rock, looking up with its head cocked A turnstone peeking around a rock
November 8, 2025 at 7:40 PM
wildlifetom.bsky.social
I spent a lovely late October week in Northumberland. I couldn’t find anything rarer than a Yellow-browed Warbler in the bushes of Holy Island, but there’s nowhere I’d rather be in autumn!

#birds #birding #migration
A meadow pipit perched on a fencepost, with long grass in the foreground A tiny wren clinging to the top of a stem in the sand dunes of Holy Island A stonechat hidden in long grass A female blackcap perched on a branch
November 3, 2025 at 9:16 PM
wildlifetom.bsky.social
A windswept walk around Retford Cemetery yielded six species of shieldbug and six species of ladybird, mostly clinging to metal railings. Eyed Ladybird was a nice surprise!

#Coleoptera #Hemiptera
An eyed ladybird, with pale rings around its black spots, clings to a metal railing A pine ladybird clinging to a railing. It’s an all black ladybird with red markings on the wing cases A parent bug on a laurel leaf. It’s a reddish-brown bug with a black and yellow chequered pattern around the edge of its body A green shieldbug clings to a metal railing, with a few 7-spot ladybirds nearby
October 4, 2025 at 12:57 PM
wildlifetom.bsky.social
Found a thriving colony of Bridge Orb-weavers, unsurprisingly under a bridge! They had been feasting on moths drawn to the lights.

#Spider #Wildlife
A bridge orb-weaver on her web under a bridge.
September 26, 2025 at 7:14 PM
wildlifetom.bsky.social
Delighted to spot this little lizard basking on a fencepost at Minsmere this weekend. Even happier I got to point it out to a young child with their own camera.

#Reptile #Lizard #Wildlife
A common lizard curled up on top of a wooden fencepost
August 27, 2025 at 6:28 PM
wildlifetom.bsky.social
Caught my first Dark Spectacle at the weekend. Handily also caught a Spectacle to see them side by side.

#TeamMoth #Lepidoptera #Moth
Dark Spectacle moth resting on a piece of bark Spectacle moth resting on a piece of bark.
August 13, 2025 at 6:40 PM