Tony Gillie
LightNews LightNews
banner
drtonygillie.bsky.social
Tony Gillie
@drtonygillie.bsky.social
1K followers 940 following 1.7K posts
Mostly photos of wildlife, otherwise an eclectic mix of this and that, from here and there...
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Tony Gillie
tombedford.bsky.social
-3° in the Lye Valley, Oxford, this morning, but wintering warblers were the highlight. A record winter count of 6 Blackcaps, plus 2 Chiffchaffs, were present. Pyracantha berries were most popular with the Blackcaps.
@friendlyevalley.bsky.social
#patchbirding
#oxford #ukbirding
Two male Blackcaps Female type Blackcap Fox and Muntjac Deer A frozen Lye Valley boardwalk
November 20, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Reposted by Tony Gillie
friendlyevalley.bsky.social
It's remarkable how much #FenRestoration (and other #conservation work) comes down to the repetition of these two simple tasks. Scything and raking. Maybe not glamorous (especially the raking!), but vital to controlling rank vegetation and letting other plants thrive.
#OxfordshireFens #GreenSpaces 🌍
Roughly in the centre of the photo a man with wellies, light coloured trousers and shirt with a darker anorak is raking a large pile of cut reed down a slope towards him. In the background a large stand of reed waiting to be cut. Roughly in the centre of the photo a man facing to the left with dark trousers and wellies with a blue checked shirt is using a scythe to cut the reed in front of him. In the foreground a heap of material he has already cut, while on the left of the photo an area waiting to be cut. In the background is a mostly featureless area of short mostly greenish vegetation.
November 25, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Reposted by Tony Gillie
friendlyevalley.bsky.social
A very cold and frosty morning for our volunteers today, but at least we had sunshine!
#OxfordshireFens #FenRestoration #OX3 @judywebb.bsky.social
A landscape view down a shallow valley. Almost everything is covered with frost. Starting at the bottom right corner and snaking the full length of the valley is a boardwalk. Near bottom right a man in a hi-vis jacket and carrying a dark rucksack is walking away from the camera. At upper right and in the distance are a number of trees, some of which still have autumn coloured leaves. Low sunshine is hitting the right hand side and middle distance of the view. The sky is blue with a few low white clouds.
November 26, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Reposted by Tony Gillie
rutgerbregman.com
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.

They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Reposted by Tony Gillie
friendlyevalley.bsky.social
Autumn in the Lye Valley.
Our scything team have done a great job in cutting large parts of both the east and west SSSI. Lots still to do though, and we've now got a huge backlog of cut material waiting to be taken off the fen.
#OxfordshireFens #FenRestoration #OX3 🌍
A view looking south down a shallow valley. In the foreground scattered brownish cut material. Large parts of the Valley have short green vegetation, though some areas still have longer brown vegetation. On the right of the photo starting at the centre point and old Willow pollard with thin branches growing up. A brown boardwalk snakes through the centre of the Valley, while in the background are a number of trees, mostly without leaves, though a few have yellowish leaves still. The sky is grey with some darker clouds present.
November 20, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Reposted by Tony Gillie
ledbydonkeys.org
The real BBC bias story, narrated by Anna Ford
November 19, 2025 at 12:12 PM
drtonygillie.bsky.social
Another wonderful illustration of the difference between correlation and causation...
November 16, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Reposted by Tony Gillie
coldwarsteve.bsky.social
November 11, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Reposted by Tony Gillie
friendlyevalley.bsky.social
Delighted to spot this Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) in the Valley this morning. An occasional visitor here, they love fishing in our ponds. 😍
#birds #UKWildlife #OX3 #OxfordshireFens 📷
@everyheron.bsky.social @judywebb.bsky.social @tverc1.bsky.social
A medium sized all white bird with a black beak, black legs, and yellow feet is perched on a branch of an oak tree. To the left of the photo from top to bottom is the tree trunk. The Egret is surrounded by still mostly green leaves, while in the background are a number of fallen autumn-coloured leaves.
November 5, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Reposted by Tony Gillie
ledbydonkeys.org
Farage: epic grifter
October 27, 2025 at 12:45 PM
drtonygillie.bsky.social
Fabulous crop of large Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) at the @bbowt.bsky.social managed Snelsmore Common in Berkshire this Autumn.

#WildFungiHour #FungiFriends 🍄
Running diagonally from top left to bottom right a number of large red fungi with white spots on their tops and with white stalks are growing surrounded by yellow and golden leaves. On the left hand centre, roughly in the middle are fronds of bracken while near top right the base of a thin Birch tree trunk can be sen.
October 26, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Reposted by Tony Gillie
friendlyevalley.bsky.social
With four scythers on site this morning, we're making great progress with clearing the fen. We cut a block on the east side of the Valley, and a larger area on the west side (pictured below). Lots more work for our rakers though... 😀
#OxfordshireFens #Conservation #FenRestoration #OX3 #SSSI
🌍
In the foreground, and just to the right of centre a man in short sleeves wearing blue trousers and wellies is using a scythe. In the distance are a number of trees, while in the mid ground a gently sloping area of green, mostly short vegetation.
October 22, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Reposted by Tony Gillie
friendlyevalley.bsky.social
Our seed collection continues. This time from two of our commoner plants, Angelica and Purple Loosestrife. Both are firm favourites with bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. The seed will be spread in areas of the fen we're still restoring.
#OxfordshireFens #OX3
A woman with a light blue hat, blue top with white sleeves and light coloured trousers is facing to the right. She has a small bright red rucksack on her back. In her left hand is a large black plastic bag, and in her right, a pair of secateurs. She's surrounded by waist high vegetation which is mostly reddish brown. A woman in a bright red and dark blue anorak with a small black rucksack is standing on a boardwalk with two small plastic bags in her left hand and a pair of secateurs in her right. She has light blue jeans and green wellies. She's facing a mass of almost head height vegetation.
October 21, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Reposted by Tony Gillie
monkemma.bsky.social
🚨Small boat migrants getting “private health care” while the rest of us have to use the NHS?!🚨

That’s outrageous!

Or is it?

Might the reality be a little more mundane and a little less clickbait-worthy?

Let’s take a 👀

1/17
🧵
October 19, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Reposted by Tony Gillie
friendlyevalley.bsky.social
Scything Marsh Arrowgrass (Triglochin palustris). Near Threatened in England, it flourishes here. Once cut it will be used as "green hay" in areas of the fen we're restoring to reinforce its local population.
#FenRestoration #OxfordshireFens #RedList 🌍
@bsbibotany.bsky.social @tverc1.bsky.social
A man wearing a blue checked shirt, dark blue peaked cap, and light grey trousers is using a scythe to cut an area of brown vegetation in front of him. The background is a mix of green and yellowing shrubs.
October 19, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Reposted by Tony Gillie
friendlyevalley.bsky.social
Delighted to welcome two new volunteers to the Valley this week! They were quickly put to work raking the west fen and carrying the cut material to build up the eroded banks of the Lye Brook.
#OxfordshireFens #FenRestoration #OX3 #SSSI #LocalWildlifeSite @judywebb.bsky.social
🌰🌍
To the left of the photo a young man in dark blue clothing is holding a rake with yellow prongs above a pile of cut reed and rush. In the centre a young woman in bright red bobble hat, dark top and bright green leggings also has a rake. Immediately behind the cut reed is a dark green drag sheet, and running from left to right is a brown boardwalk. Behind that is an area of green vegetation. At the far left of the photo a young man in dark clothing with his sleeves rolled up is wearing dark gloves. In the centre of the photo a young woman in bright red bobble hat, dark top and yellow wellies is carrying a drag sheet stuffed with a roll of cut reed and rush. She's walking over an area of short green vegetation while in the background are carious mostly dark green shrubs and ivy plants.
October 17, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Reposted by Tony Gillie
joellegrogan.bsky.social
Looking for a really simple explainer?

The #ECHR and #HRA on post-it notes.
October 3, 2025 at 7:26 PM
drtonygillie.bsky.social
Delighted to spot this pristine Brown Hairstreak butterfly this morning in the Lye Valley, Oxford, the first adult I've ever seen there!
#Recorded #UKWildlife #WildlifePhotos #inverts #OX3
@friendlyevalley.bsky.social @tverc1.bsky.social @upperthames.bsky.social
A pale brown butterfly with white "streaks" through both its upper and hind wings. The edge of the hind wing is tinged orange and it has a small "tail" sticking out near the bottom. It's perched on a piece of dried brown grass, facing to the right of the photo. Its black eye is visible, as are its orange tipped black and white striped antennae. Its legs are also striped. The background is a messy mix of mostly green blades of grass.
August 15, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Reposted by Tony Gillie
friendlyevalley.bsky.social
Our Grass-of-Parnassus is now carpeting large areas of the west side of the Valley. Henry Taunt (1842–1922), an Oxford based photographer once described them as “like twinkling stars in the shadowy grass”. Seeing them now it's easy to understand what he meant!
#WildFlowerHour @judywebb.bsky.social
A photo of an area of fen with a mixture of green and brown shortish vegetation. Growing through this vegetation on thin stems are dozens of small white flowers.
August 15, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Reposted by Tony Gillie
friendlyevalley.bsky.social
We've got baby lizards! Likely lots of them! 😍
We spotted three juvenile Common Lizards (Zootoca vivipara) and one adult yesterday in a location in the Valley we've never seen them before. They seem to be doing well in the warm weather...
@arc-trust.bsky.social #reptiles #UKWildlife
Just above centre and slightly to the right the head of a lizard. It's facing right, with one eye visible. Its right front leg and foot are also visible. It's leaning on a light coloured piece of wood, and its body and tail are partially hidden by other pieces of wood. Although a little darker than most of the surrounding wood that makes up the rest of the photo, it's very low contrast, making it rather hard to see.
August 14, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Reposted by Tony Gillie
friendlyevalley.bsky.social
Rock Edge in Headington is one of the few areas of grassland chosen by @oxfordcitycouncil.bsky.social to benefit from their new "cut & collect" mowing regime. Over time this will reduce the nutrients in the soil, allowing more wild flowers to flourish here. Thanks to ODS for cutting this morning. 🌰🌍
Roughly centre is a large blue tractor with black and white wheels, with a large green hopper behind it. To the left a pile of cut grass. In the foreground mostly yellowing cut grassland, and in the background trees still in green leaf.
August 13, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Reposted by Tony Gillie
marcdavenant.bsky.social
Alice Clark, a doctor and volunteer for the medical charity Doctors Without Borders, waits to be arrested as a terrorist for holding up a sign opposing the genocide in Gaza and the proscription of Palestine Action.
It is strange with how little note a country may drift into authoritarianism.
A person with their eyes closed waits to be arrested
August 8, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Reposted by Tony Gillie
friendlyevalley.bsky.social
#PollinatorPals
With its false nectaries, Grass-of-Parnassus flowers must look very inviting to pollinators. However, the plant cheats, and offers very little in the way of nectar to the insects that pollinate it. Here a hoverfly is trying its luck...
#insects #OxfordshireFens
@judywebb.bsky.social
In roughly the centre of the photo a small white flower with its petals curved inward has a stripy yellow and black hoverfly in it. The large eyes of the hoverfly are facing the camera. It's surrounded by thin green stems with dark markings on them. At the extreme left of the photo is a Grass-of-Parnassus still in tight bud.
August 10, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Reposted by Tony Gillie
friendlyevalley.bsky.social
The "scrapes" we created and sowed with native plants in the amenity grassland at Rock Edge are proving popular with the last of the summer's butterflies. Here a Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) is nectaring on the copious Marjoram still in flower.
#UKButterflies @upperthames.bsky.social #Oxford
In roughly the centre of the photo a small blue butterfly is sitting on a purple flower with its wings closed. It's facing to the left of the photo, and its striped antenna and left eye is visible. The underwing has a number of small mostly black dots, while the hindwing has a row of orange heart shapes markings. Front left is another Marjoram flower, not fully in focus, while the background is a mix of diffuse greens and purples from other flowers.
August 8, 2025 at 1:05 PM
drtonygillie.bsky.social
My first post for #FlamingoFriday.
Here's a portrait of a Chilean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) preening at Slimbridge Wetland Centre. 😊
#Birds #WildlifePhotos
A closeup photo of the neck, head and beak of a flamingo. The feathers are a mixture of a rich and paler pink, while the top of the large beak is white, its tip is black. It's facing to the right of the photo with only its right eye visible. The background is dark.
August 8, 2025 at 7:38 AM