Dave Hemprich-Bennett
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davehb.bsky.social
Dave Hemprich-Bennett
@davehb.bsky.social
1.3K followers 530 following 1.8K posts
A bunch of stardust with ADHD. Scientist working on the ecology of bats, mosquitoes and malaria, based at Oxford Uni. Used to be @hammerheadbat on twitter. Runner, photographer, guitarist.
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davehb.bsky.social
*grumbles*
Screenshot from the app ‘Solstice’. Shows: 3 min, 19 secs less daylight today compared to yesterday Total daylight: 9 hrs, 5 min Remaining daylight 6:10:49 Sunrise: 07:16 Solar noon: 11:49 Sunset: 16:21
November 11, 2025 at 10:12 AM
davehb.bsky.social
Lots of the metrics from my Apple Watch feel like nonsense but this one definitely tracks
A graph showing monthly average ‘time in daylight’. The summer peak is roughly double the standard winter average
November 11, 2025 at 10:08 AM
davehb.bsky.social
Birders: why do you insist on describing any thicc piece of bird anatomy as being like a boat, and how many of you have described yourself as boat-butted? Be honest
A screenshot of the Wikipedia page for the boat-billed heron, showing the birds name and a photo of a heron with a voluptuous beak A screenshot of the Wikipedia page for the boat-tailed grackle, showing the birds name and a photo of a dark bird with a voluptuous tail
November 7, 2025 at 8:08 PM
davehb.bsky.social
Photography: playing with light and shadow
A black and white photo of a lightbulb in a lampshade, with a long shadow being cast on the ceiling behind it
October 29, 2025 at 9:10 PM
davehb.bsky.social
Psst, Abingdon said runnings gay now. Pass it on
A photo of a medal for Abingdon Marathon 2025. It has a nice pastel rainbow design on the medal itself, and the ribbon is a pastel rainbow too
October 19, 2025 at 2:07 PM
davehb.bsky.social
A meme of a kitten looking very small, captioned "damn this shit sucks. It's a good thing that I'm indomitable"
October 17, 2025 at 3:44 PM
davehb.bsky.social
Limping into the weekend after a busy workweek filled with too many germs and not enough sleep (toddlers eh)... and remembering I'm running a marathon on Sunday
a meme of a black cat hanging upside down from a branch looking like it has regrets, captioned "mentally I'm here"
October 17, 2025 at 3:42 PM
davehb.bsky.social
Big fan of spoonbills. Every pose they do looks utterly ridiculous and I respect that
A black and white photo of a Eurasian spoonbill tilting its head far back so that only the underside of it and the weird bill can be seen A black and white photo of a Eurasian spoonbill looking right at the camera, accentuating how weird the bill looks A black and white photo of a Eurasian spoonbill from the side, looking backwards. Bill looks weird again A black and white photo of a Eurasian spoonbill with its beak wide open, looking like a child’s bad drawing come to life
October 5, 2025 at 8:58 PM
davehb.bsky.social
Flu vaccinated! Yay for free immunity
A selfie of a man in a polo shirt and a hoodie
October 2, 2025 at 7:55 AM
davehb.bsky.social
Screenshot of a post from ‘Punish the Villains’ @internethippo.bsky.social “Guy who sells doo doo (squinting wisely and doing visionary voice): We believe within 10 years the world economy will be almost completely powered by doo doo”
October 1, 2025 at 1:26 PM
davehb.bsky.social
I too love the scientific method
Screenshot: "These are dodos, and I'm sure there will be some people who say, 'Oh, well, we don't like them. We're not going to call them dodos," Lamm said of the latest Colossal project. "Then don't. We just don't care, and the more you don't call them a dodo, the more controversy you drive, the more my numbers go up. So that's great. So whatever you want to call them, as long as you're calling them something."
September 17, 2025 at 2:46 PM
davehb.bsky.social
Taxonomists need to branch out with their naming a bit, it's getting ridiculous now.

One of these animals is in the order Dermaptera, one in the order Dermoptera, and I just got very confused which one I'd found in my insect trap data.
Photograph of a colugo, an obscure type of gliding mammal. By Kok Leng Yeo - originally posted to Flickr as Flying Lemur & Baby, Bohol, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9518784 Photograph of an earwig, a type of beetle. By I, ArtMechanic, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=187112
August 27, 2025 at 9:21 AM
davehb.bsky.social
…awkward

(From the official ‘Life in the UK’ citizenship test practice app)
Screenshot: Is the statement below TRUE or FALSE? There is no place in British society for extremism or intolerance. Explanation B - Incorrect. British society is founded on fundamental values and principles which all those living in the UK respect and support. There is no place for extremism or intolerance.
August 25, 2025 at 4:33 PM
davehb.bsky.social
Neat!
Screenshot of text from the app ‘Athlytic’: GOOD SLEEP, LOW RECOVERY Good Morning, while you slept 7 hours 43 minutes, Recovery is low, and the following metrics are much outside of your normal range: HRV, Resting Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate, which could indicate that your body might be working harder than usual to keep you healthy. Days like this are exactly why Rest Mode exists. Recovery is your priority today - and if it feels good, a light walk and some fresh air can help support that.
August 24, 2025 at 10:01 AM
davehb.bsky.social
Good morning from Oxford
A photo of a red post box with the words ‘free Gaza’ scratched into it
August 14, 2025 at 8:40 AM
davehb.bsky.social
…alright
A photo taken in a sunny garden, of a headless naked statue, from behind. A colourful children’s football lies on the edge of the shot
August 10, 2025 at 10:50 AM
davehb.bsky.social
Happy Sturgeon moon, one and all
A photo of the back of a camera balanced on a tripod. The screen on the camera shows a full moon rising between two trees. The moon is partly obscured by cloud, and there is yellow stubbly grass under the trees
August 8, 2025 at 9:29 PM
davehb.bsky.social
And playing with reflections #photography
A black and white photo of a blurred woman walking towards the photographer, but her image is actually a reflection. Through the window being shot at, there is a harsh metal shutter which permeates the image
July 28, 2025 at 9:10 PM
davehb.bsky.social
A bit of ICM today #photography
A photo looking up at the Radcliffe Camera in Oxford, but the top of the building appears smudged due to the photographer intentionally moving the camera
July 28, 2025 at 9:08 PM
davehb.bsky.social
It’s arrived! Loving my LGBTreeQ+ pin, this’ll be getting worn out a lot www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1...
A photo of a pin badge shaped like a tree, with the colours of the trans-inclusive pride flag on it. The badge is on a piece of card, which says “LGB Tree Q + by @CanopyRobin Did you know that only 5% of flowering plants are of a binary sex? Most plants have either multiple sexes of flowers on the same individual plant, or multiple sexes within a single flower!”
July 28, 2025 at 7:31 PM
davehb.bsky.social
I SEE YOU HAD A PRODUCTIVE DAY
A photo of a leopard gecko staring at the camera standing next to a water bowl, half-filled with dirt. All of the water has been soaked up by the substrate, she has nothing to drink
July 21, 2025 at 6:31 PM
davehb.bsky.social
I try to channel the energy of the guy on the left in all elements of my running
Meme of two Shiba Inu’s. One on the left is jacked, captioned ‘runners in the 1970s’, and is wearing running shorts and saying “i am fueled by spaghettii” The one in the right is wearing fancy expensive gear, captioned ‘runners now’ and saying “i need exactly 90 grams of carbs per hour, 900 mL of water mixed with electrolytes, and a salt pill after a two day carb load where I eat 5.2g of carbs per pound of my body weight”
July 20, 2025 at 8:21 AM
davehb.bsky.social
Kiddo excitably pointed out a baby blackbird in the garden being fed by its daddy, then sat with me for 10 minutes watching. 13/10 wholesome start to the day
A photo of the rear of a toddler’s head, watching a juvenile blackbird on the ground in front of it
July 13, 2025 at 7:42 AM
davehb.bsky.social
Creating my first academic poster in several years and this image sums it up so far
A photo of a crude sticker stuck onto a waste bin, black text on a bright orange background saying "GRAPHIC DESIGN IS SHIT, CODING IS SHIT, ALL I WANT IS REVENGE"
July 11, 2025 at 10:38 AM
davehb.bsky.social
*whispers* tall chicken
Screenshot of several news headlines in a DuckDuckGo news search: Sir Peter Jackson Joins Colossal Biosciences to Resurrect New Zealand's Giant Moa First They Brought Back Dire Wolves. Next Up Is the World's Tallest Bird Peter Jackson Wants to Bring This 400-Pound Flightless Bird Back From Extinction Peter Jackson, Maoris, Colossal To De-Extinct World's Largest Bird
July 8, 2025 at 5:53 PM