Darren Veitch
@wildveitch.bsky.social
Lecturer and Course Director in UG Animal Science @ARU. Ecologist. Conservationist. Volunteer Warden at EWT Crowsheath Wood. STEM. Views are my own.
Pinned
Darren Veitch
@wildveitch.bsky.social
· Apr 21
Easter at Crowsheath (surprise ending)
YouTube video by Darren Veitch
youtube.com
I was asked if we still had rabbits on the reserve... youtube.com/watch?v=3tcM...
Reposted by Darren Veitch
Just seen something quite heart-breaking while walking with @wildveitch.bsky.social, a swift bouncing off of a building multiple times trying to enter a former nest, before giving up. The accuracy of it's attempt clearly demonstrated a nest used to be present. @hannahbournetaylor.bsky.social
June 12, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Just seen something quite heart-breaking while walking with @wildveitch.bsky.social, a swift bouncing off of a building multiple times trying to enter a former nest, before giving up. The accuracy of it's attempt clearly demonstrated a nest used to be present. @hannahbournetaylor.bsky.social
Here are a few of my favourite images from this week. #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social
June 1, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Here are a few of my favourite images from this week. #wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social
Forest cuckoo bees investigating an area close to a freshly dug rabbit hole.
May 26, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Forest cuckoo bees investigating an area close to a freshly dug rabbit hole.
These carder bees are loving the bugle 🐝
May 4, 2025 at 6:16 PM
These carder bees are loving the bugle 🐝
The water-crowfoot is looking spectacular on the wildlife pond.
April 30, 2025 at 7:06 AM
The water-crowfoot is looking spectacular on the wildlife pond.
I was asked if we still had rabbits on the reserve... youtube.com/watch?v=3tcM...
Easter at Crowsheath (surprise ending)
YouTube video by Darren Veitch
youtube.com
April 21, 2025 at 9:45 PM
I was asked if we still had rabbits on the reserve... youtube.com/watch?v=3tcM...
Great stitchwort starting to make an appearance.
April 16, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Great stitchwort starting to make an appearance.
The star of the camera trap show 🦉
@EssexWildlife #Springwatch @BBCSpringwatch
@EssexWildlife #Springwatch @BBCSpringwatch
April 14, 2025 at 7:52 PM
The star of the camera trap show 🦉
@EssexWildlife #Springwatch @BBCSpringwatch
@EssexWildlife #Springwatch @BBCSpringwatch
Wood anemones, lesser celandine, bluebell, and I believe floating arrowhead (Sagittaria natans Pall.)?
#WildflowerHour #WoodlandPlants
#WildflowerHour #WoodlandPlants
April 6, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Wood anemones, lesser celandine, bluebell, and I believe floating arrowhead (Sagittaria natans Pall.)?
#WildflowerHour #WoodlandPlants
#WildflowerHour #WoodlandPlants
Reposted by Darren Veitch
Churchyards found to be rich in biodiversity; all nature needs is a bit of peace and quiet!
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
UK churchyards are havens for rare wildlife, finds conservation charity
Caring for God’s Acre mapped out 20,000 cemeteries and recorded 10,000 species
www.theguardian.com
December 29, 2024 at 9:29 AM
Churchyards found to be rich in biodiversity; all nature needs is a bit of peace and quiet!
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Darren Veitch
Job Alert! New postdoc position in our lab investigating cognitive biases in wild bumblebees. Thanks to Wild Animal Initiative for the funding.
Position for 31 months. Deadline: December 9th. Please apply/boost
#PostdocJob #AcademicJobs #Bees
jobs.ncl.ac.uk/job/Newcastl...
Position for 31 months. Deadline: December 9th. Please apply/boost
#PostdocJob #AcademicJobs #Bees
jobs.ncl.ac.uk/job/Newcastl...
October 29, 2024 at 3:35 PM
Job Alert! New postdoc position in our lab investigating cognitive biases in wild bumblebees. Thanks to Wild Animal Initiative for the funding.
Position for 31 months. Deadline: December 9th. Please apply/boost
#PostdocJob #AcademicJobs #Bees
jobs.ncl.ac.uk/job/Newcastl...
Position for 31 months. Deadline: December 9th. Please apply/boost
#PostdocJob #AcademicJobs #Bees
jobs.ncl.ac.uk/job/Newcastl...
Feeling extra appreciated today. I got nominated twice for being a Good Egg at work. Grateful for the recognition and the awesome team I get to work with 🥚🥚
November 21, 2024 at 7:28 PM
Feeling extra appreciated today. I got nominated twice for being a Good Egg at work. Grateful for the recognition and the awesome team I get to work with 🥚🥚
Reposted by Darren Veitch
Published in 1960 (Ladybird book). Streams thick with eels. Now they're criticaally endangered. Shifting baseline.
“On a willow twig a kingfisher perches. It watches the eels with interest, but these are well-grown and too big for him to catch”
‘What to Look for in Autumn’
Artist: CF Tunnicliffe Writer:
EL Grant Watson
‘What to Look for in Autumn’
Artist: CF Tunnicliffe Writer:
EL Grant Watson
November 20, 2024 at 8:04 PM
Published in 1960 (Ladybird book). Streams thick with eels. Now they're criticaally endangered. Shifting baseline.
Reposted by Darren Veitch
If Britain still had bears, wolves & lots of eagles, many of these salmon would end up in surrounding forest, providing essential nutrients. But Britain's wiped out all its bears, wolves, and almost all of its eagles and forest. So the salmon just rot in the rivers, waiting to die, then washed away.
A lot of dying and dead kelts (spent salmon after spawning) in the River Tweed above Peebles today. Many of them showing a lot of fungal growth which I understand to be Saprolegnia. More info here ifm.org.uk/wp-content/u... #rivertweed #peebles
November 17, 2024 at 6:28 PM
If Britain still had bears, wolves & lots of eagles, many of these salmon would end up in surrounding forest, providing essential nutrients. But Britain's wiped out all its bears, wolves, and almost all of its eagles and forest. So the salmon just rot in the rivers, waiting to die, then washed away.
Reposted by Darren Veitch
Coelacanths are pregnant for five years, the longest gestation of any known animal, and do not reach maturity until they are around 55 years old.
November 13, 2024 at 5:26 PM
Coelacanths are pregnant for five years, the longest gestation of any known animal, and do not reach maturity until they are around 55 years old.
Reposted by Darren Veitch
This is worrying to see: birdfeeders on nature reserves in Willow Tit strongholds. Feeders boost competitors & predators, making life harder for Willow Tits (britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti...).
And dirty feeders: poor hygiene is main cause of disease currently wiping out Chaffinches & Greenfinches.
And dirty feeders: poor hygiene is main cause of disease currently wiping out Chaffinches & Greenfinches.
A bit video of a Willow Tit on the feeders at Boldon Flats today. Originally 8k but had to reduce to FHD to play on here. I have added a bit tinny soundtrack of a pair of Willow Tits calling, from a couple of days ago. #NEbirding #UKbirding
November 15, 2024 at 9:01 PM
This is worrying to see: birdfeeders on nature reserves in Willow Tit strongholds. Feeders boost competitors & predators, making life harder for Willow Tits (britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti...).
And dirty feeders: poor hygiene is main cause of disease currently wiping out Chaffinches & Greenfinches.
And dirty feeders: poor hygiene is main cause of disease currently wiping out Chaffinches & Greenfinches.
Reposted by Darren Veitch
Titbit: Willow Tits & Marsh Tits use their black throat patch like a status badge to intimidate rivals. They change posture to increase/reduce the size of the black patch as needed.
The Marsh Tit and the Willow Tit, published 5 Dec 2024: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/marsh-tit...
#ornithology #ukbirding
The Marsh Tit and the Willow Tit, published 5 Dec 2024: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/marsh-tit...
#ornithology #ukbirding
November 15, 2024 at 2:07 PM
Titbit: Willow Tits & Marsh Tits use their black throat patch like a status badge to intimidate rivals. They change posture to increase/reduce the size of the black patch as needed.
The Marsh Tit and the Willow Tit, published 5 Dec 2024: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/marsh-tit...
#ornithology #ukbirding
The Marsh Tit and the Willow Tit, published 5 Dec 2024: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/marsh-tit...
#ornithology #ukbirding
Reposted by Darren Veitch
Is messy the new beautiful? Why debates about what nature recovery looks like matter - new paper by Flurina Warrmann and @jlorimer.bsky.social
www.naturerecovery.ox.ac.uk/news/is-mess...
www.naturerecovery.ox.ac.uk/news/is-mess...
Is messy the new beautiful? Why debates about what nature recovery looks like matter
Current aspirations for nature recovery to address biodiversity loss and climate change involve changing what landscapes look like What is considered neat or messy impacts on action and policy changes...
www.naturerecovery.ox.ac.uk
November 14, 2024 at 8:25 AM
Is messy the new beautiful? Why debates about what nature recovery looks like matter - new paper by Flurina Warrmann and @jlorimer.bsky.social
www.naturerecovery.ox.ac.uk/news/is-mess...
www.naturerecovery.ox.ac.uk/news/is-mess...
Reposted by Darren Veitch
I tried to put a bit of order on my ideas on leadership, especially related to managing a research lab. This is mainly an internal document, but I thought it could be useful for someone else as inspiration. bartomeuslab.com/2024/11/14/o...
On Leadership
“Wise is the one who chooses the questions well, not the one who tries to solve them all” Securing a permanent position in science often implies you invest an increasing amount of time …
bartomeuslab.com
November 14, 2024 at 12:27 PM
I tried to put a bit of order on my ideas on leadership, especially related to managing a research lab. This is mainly an internal document, but I thought it could be useful for someone else as inspiration. bartomeuslab.com/2024/11/14/o...
Wild Bird Indicators...
- an overall shallow decline of 16%
- the steepest decline is farmland birds down 61%
- woodland birds have declined by 35%.
www.bto.org/our-science/...
- an overall shallow decline of 16%
- the steepest decline is farmland birds down 61%
- woodland birds have declined by 35%.
www.bto.org/our-science/...
Wild Bird Indicators
The latest updates to this official government report bring yet more sobering news about bird population trends across different landscapes.
www.bto.org
November 12, 2024 at 11:04 PM
Wild Bird Indicators...
- an overall shallow decline of 16%
- the steepest decline is farmland birds down 61%
- woodland birds have declined by 35%.
www.bto.org/our-science/...
- an overall shallow decline of 16%
- the steepest decline is farmland birds down 61%
- woodland birds have declined by 35%.
www.bto.org/our-science/...
Crowsheath Wood (November 2024).
youtube.com/watch?v=iB-v...
youtube.com/watch?v=iB-v...
youtube.com
November 12, 2024 at 10:37 PM
Crowsheath Wood (November 2024).
youtube.com/watch?v=iB-v...
youtube.com/watch?v=iB-v...
The issue of people not appropriately disposing of their dog 💩 is getting worse, and seems to have increased since putting up a sign 🤷🏼♂️ TBF, they have picked it up but put it down again somewhere else 🤦🏼♂️
November 11, 2024 at 9:38 AM
The issue of people not appropriately disposing of their dog 💩 is getting worse, and seems to have increased since putting up a sign 🤷🏼♂️ TBF, they have picked it up but put it down again somewhere else 🤦🏼♂️
I always forget to check the weekly theme for #wildflowerhour, so here's a single red campion plant from yesterday still going strong. When does the theme get announced? @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
November 11, 2024 at 9:21 AM
I always forget to check the weekly theme for #wildflowerhour, so here's a single red campion plant from yesterday still going strong. When does the theme get announced? @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social