Jeremy Biggs
@jeremybiggs.bsky.social
CEO at Freshwater Habitats Trust and a Director of the Newt Conservation Partnership; co-author of Ponds, Pools and Puddles: https://www.harperreach.com/products/ponds-pools-and-puddles-collins-new-naturalist-library-jeremy-biggspenny-williams-978000870300
The pond in the pic above is right next to a very small quarry dug in that limestone, with a second, groundwater-fed, pond. That pond, in the pic below, is one of the two Oxfordshire Haliplus furcatus sites - so a very odd place! BTW Its all hooching with nitrogen.
October 28, 2025 at 7:15 PM
The pond in the pic above is right next to a very small quarry dug in that limestone, with a second, groundwater-fed, pond. That pond, in the pic below, is one of the two Oxfordshire Haliplus furcatus sites - so a very odd place! BTW Its all hooching with nitrogen.
Just echoing your point Martin - a very shallow pond with Agabus uliginosus in Oxfordshire on the edge of free draining arable desert on limestone. You'll probably recognise the recorder I was out with on a very wet January day a couple of years ago.
October 28, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Just echoing your point Martin - a very shallow pond with Agabus uliginosus in Oxfordshire on the edge of free draining arable desert on limestone. You'll probably recognise the recorder I was out with on a very wet January day a couple of years ago.
Mat of Common Frog (Rana temporaria) spawn in Bagley Wood, Oxon about 8 square metres ina area which is about 500 clumps (and therefore females) - see www.thebhs.org/publications...
March 15, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Mat of Common Frog (Rana temporaria) spawn in Bagley Wood, Oxon about 8 square metres ina area which is about 500 clumps (and therefore females) - see www.thebhs.org/publications...
My garden pond - awaiting frogs (and already with lots of Limnephilus lunatus - though you can't see them in this pic). Here in the surprisingly cold centre of England (this is Abingdon near Oxford) first dates have usually been March 1st-14th.
March 7, 2025 at 10:14 AM
My garden pond - awaiting frogs (and already with lots of Limnephilus lunatus - though you can't see them in this pic). Here in the surprisingly cold centre of England (this is Abingdon near Oxford) first dates have usually been March 1st-14th.
Question 169 in the Cunliffe Review: consult.defra.gov.uk/independent-...
February 28, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Question 169 in the Cunliffe Review: consult.defra.gov.uk/independent-...
This should be interesting - looking forward to it.
February 28, 2025 at 3:25 PM
This should be interesting - looking forward to it.
@ukceh.bsky.social are looking at national scale biodiversity - but looking taking a more focussed look at all freshwaters post-2010, the Water Friendly Farming project is seeing roughly 0.5% / year loss of wetland plant species richness in a typical lowland farmed landscape in England.
February 25, 2025 at 10:09 AM
@ukceh.bsky.social are looking at national scale biodiversity - but looking taking a more focussed look at all freshwaters post-2010, the Water Friendly Farming project is seeing roughly 0.5% / year loss of wetland plant species richness in a typical lowland farmed landscape in England.
And a couple of hours later - congratulations to Dr Fahy on the successful defence of her PhD.
February 15, 2025 at 9:19 AM
And a couple of hours later - congratulations to Dr Fahy on the successful defence of her PhD.
Julie Fahy’s PhD défense in Geneva is about to start.
February 12, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Julie Fahy’s PhD défense in Geneva is about to start.
February 7, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Thanks to Tony Juniper for some supportive remarks about newts and development www.linkedin.com/posts/tony-j....
The ponds were created by the NSP/NCP/FHT/ARC partnership with thanks also to our rewilding friends at Nattergal who made it possible on their land.
The ponds were created by the NSP/NCP/FHT/ARC partnership with thanks also to our rewilding friends at Nattergal who made it possible on their land.
February 6, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Thanks to Tony Juniper for some supportive remarks about newts and development www.linkedin.com/posts/tony-j....
The ponds were created by the NSP/NCP/FHT/ARC partnership with thanks also to our rewilding friends at Nattergal who made it possible on their land.
The ponds were created by the NSP/NCP/FHT/ARC partnership with thanks also to our rewilding friends at Nattergal who made it possible on their land.
We had a fun trip to the Lake District looking at little ponds (there are probably thousands like this, full of water beetles, caddis and Glyceria but not on any map), as well as some bigger rivers (this is the Borrow Beck which, oddly, is only Good - not High - status: anyone know why?)
February 4, 2025 at 8:54 PM
We had a fun trip to the Lake District looking at little ponds (there are probably thousands like this, full of water beetles, caddis and Glyceria but not on any map), as well as some bigger rivers (this is the Borrow Beck which, oddly, is only Good - not High - status: anyone know why?)
By now, everyone’s probably aware that the Government’s speech-writers love taking cheap shots at newts. Here's what we think about this at Freshwater Habitats Trust! freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/news/are-new...
January 31, 2025 at 5:36 PM
By now, everyone’s probably aware that the Government’s speech-writers love taking cheap shots at newts. Here's what we think about this at Freshwater Habitats Trust! freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/news/are-new...
And here's the Starfruit with its distinctive star-shaped fruits in 2023 in Jeremy pond; it didn't show last year.
January 25, 2025 at 7:54 PM
And here's the Starfruit with its distinctive star-shaped fruits in 2023 in Jeremy pond; it didn't show last year.
This SSSI in Bucks has two ponds we made for the critically endangered Starfruit. On the left is "Penny pond" (by a path) with no Starfruit. On the right, "Jeremy pond" which is hidden from the path and does have Starfruit (this is 2023 - Starfruit didn't show in 2024). Zoom in on the sign!
January 25, 2025 at 7:54 PM
This SSSI in Bucks has two ponds we made for the critically endangered Starfruit. On the left is "Penny pond" (by a path) with no Starfruit. On the right, "Jeremy pond" which is hidden from the path and does have Starfruit (this is 2023 - Starfruit didn't show in 2024). Zoom in on the sign!
One of my best pics of the effects of dog (p287 of harpercollins.co.uk/products/pon...)
January 25, 2025 at 5:55 PM
One of my best pics of the effects of dog (p287 of harpercollins.co.uk/products/pon...)
And here's another common effect of dogs: damage to ponds, one of the highest value freshwater ecosystems, in high quality sites like here in the New Forest.
Source: markavery.info/2024/05/12/s...
Source: markavery.info/2024/05/12/s...
January 24, 2025 at 5:47 PM
And here's another common effect of dogs: damage to ponds, one of the highest value freshwater ecosystems, in high quality sites like here in the New Forest.
Source: markavery.info/2024/05/12/s...
Source: markavery.info/2024/05/12/s...
It's taken a long time for T.T. "Kit" Macan's observation to begin to change - but that's really beginning to happen now. Despite this Government watchdog the OEP noted recently that "trends in small waters, which make up a significant proportion of the water environment, are poorly understood".
January 23, 2025 at 10:35 PM
It's taken a long time for T.T. "Kit" Macan's observation to begin to change - but that's really beginning to happen now. Despite this Government watchdog the OEP noted recently that "trends in small waters, which make up a significant proportion of the water environment, are poorly understood".
Welcome to a new kid on the R. Thames block - bsky.app/profile/frie... - lets help protect the special freshwater life of the Thames and its surroundings; help us protect the Important Freshwater Landscapes of the Oxford Area, the Thames Basin and the Thames Estuary: bit.ly/IFLThames
January 20, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Welcome to a new kid on the R. Thames block - bsky.app/profile/frie... - lets help protect the special freshwater life of the Thames and its surroundings; help us protect the Important Freshwater Landscapes of the Oxford Area, the Thames Basin and the Thames Estuary: bit.ly/IFLThames
Always good to see papers that start "Ponds are among the most biodiverse and abundant freshwater ecosystems in the world and provide a variety of socio-ecological values, including in urban areas" 😄😄https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11252-025-01674-x
January 20, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Always good to see papers that start "Ponds are among the most biodiverse and abundant freshwater ecosystems in the world and provide a variety of socio-ecological values, including in urban areas" 😄😄https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11252-025-01674-x
Reviewing results of our Pitsford Water Friendly Farming project funded by x.com/anglianwater... and Environment Agency x.com/EnvAgency. Interesting whole landscape plant results provide more support for central role of ponds in landscape level freshwater biodiversity, especially new ponds.
January 19, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Reviewing results of our Pitsford Water Friendly Farming project funded by x.com/anglianwater... and Environment Agency x.com/EnvAgency. Interesting whole landscape plant results provide more support for central role of ponds in landscape level freshwater biodiversity, especially new ponds.
Hunting in some very shallow Glyceria-dominated temporary ponds in south Gloucestershire yesterday. Obviously suiting Palmate Newts, along with temporary pond-loving Moss Bladder Snails and tons of caddis - ready for spring emergence.
January 19, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Hunting in some very shallow Glyceria-dominated temporary ponds in south Gloucestershire yesterday. Obviously suiting Palmate Newts, along with temporary pond-loving Moss Bladder Snails and tons of caddis - ready for spring emergence.
We've got some more jobs going! Come and work with us: freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/about-us/jobs/
January 14, 2025 at 7:20 PM
We've got some more jobs going! Come and work with us: freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/about-us/jobs/
Thanks to Countryfile for featuring Pinkhill Meadow, Oxfordshire, a really important place for understanding the importance of ponds for freshwater biodiversity. The work is the result of a partnership between Thames Water, Environment Agency and Freshwater Habitats Trust x.com/Freshwaterha...
January 8, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Thanks to Countryfile for featuring Pinkhill Meadow, Oxfordshire, a really important place for understanding the importance of ponds for freshwater biodiversity. The work is the result of a partnership between Thames Water, Environment Agency and Freshwater Habitats Trust x.com/Freshwaterha...
Fen Pondweed (Potamogeton coloratus) growing near a drained fen in Oxfordshire (pic from last Friday). Fen Pondweed is Nationally Scarce and declining post-1987. This site is about 10 km from its main site in the county in a calcium-rich ditch with severe N pollution but near-natural P levels.
January 7, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Fen Pondweed (Potamogeton coloratus) growing near a drained fen in Oxfordshire (pic from last Friday). Fen Pondweed is Nationally Scarce and declining post-1987. This site is about 10 km from its main site in the county in a calcium-rich ditch with severe N pollution but near-natural P levels.