@brightonwildlife.bsky.social

Look what I spotted in the garden!

Vestal Cuckoo Bee or Southern Cuckoo Bumblebee (Bombus vestalis) seen in #Brighton by @pkster101.bsky.social

#Wildlife #Biodiversity #Nature #brightonwildlife

Sign the Petition Network Rail must remove bird netting under the bridges of New England Road, Brighton

#Bird #Netting used under rail bridge at New England Road #Brighton
Objections to this can be sent via #Change #Petition
#Wildlife #Biodiversity #Nature #brightonwildlife
www.change.org/p/network-ra...

Good to see my local colony of Coleophora lutarea (Stitchwort Flower Moth) is still going strong - at least a dozen of these little guys fluttering about in the sunshine on Sunday #teammoth

Speckled Wood at #OldLodgeNR at the weekend. Overwintering as either caterpillar or chrysalis, with females acting dead to avoid males, who resort to sparring with other males this is always a fascinating and appealing butterfly.
@savebutterflies.bsky.social
@sussexwildlife.bsky.social

We've seen our first #Swift in #Lewes! 20th April at 7.25 p.m., over Baxter's Field and heading towards Malling Down!

England wildlife watchdog ‘has stopped designating special sites for protection’ Exclusive: Report finds Natural England has created no new SSSIs, which protect areas from development, since 2023

Natural England failing to protect valuable sites. Our report for @wildjustice.bsky.social shows that nearly 2/3 of sites waiting to be designated as SSSIs were under threat from development. One site in Thurrock will be directly destroyed. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

A large plant with big, fleshy leaves and white and yellow flowers, growing on shingle near the sea. The River Rother can just be been in the background. It's sunny, but there are clouds in the sky.

The first Sea Kale flowers are out at Rye Harbour NR and soon a sweet honey aroma will hang over the shingle.
#UKwildlife
#Sussexwildlife
@bsbibotany.bsky.social
@sussexwildlife.bsky.social
#WildflowerHour

Two Black-tailed Godwits, long-billed shorebirds with mottled brown breasts, flying in close formation against a pale blue sky.

Stunning photo of a pair of Red Listed Black-tailed Godwits at Pett Level, as spotted recently by Barry Yates. This shows their black tails beautifully. Black-tailed Godwits form monogamous pairs that last for years.

Kidical Mass next Sunday! Less than a week to go until Kidical Mass - put it in your diaries and tell your friends! 😀

My first Holly Blue of the year in the garden yesterday. Sightings are normally just a blur in the sky so it was really nice to be able to get close to this female

From a Surrey oil well to the supreme court: how an activist changed UK climate law Sarah Finch’s fight against drilling led to a landmark ruling on fossil fuel emissions – and a leading environmental prize

From a Surrey oil well to the supreme court: how an activist changed UK climate law

Woman who won legal case over greenhouse emissions awarded top environmental prize Sarah Finch is among six recipients of the Goldman Environmental prize, awarded to honour grassroots activists around the world

Woman who won legal case over greenhouse emissions awarded top environmental prize

A close encounter with a pair of Teal this morning.

Graph showing dramatic decline in Grayling, Hipparchia semele, and equally dramatic increase of Dark Green Fritillary, Argynnis aglaja, over the last 50 years at Ballard Down in south Dorset, UK

Our review of fifty year butterfly trends at Ballard Down is out. An amazing record that shows some fascinating ups and downs. Diversity has held up well. Winners are Dark Green Frit, Marbled White and Speckled Wood. Losers: Grayling, Green Hairstreak and Chalk Hill Blue. dispar.org/reference.ph...

It's nesting season and our garden birds are working hard. Did you know that all wild birds, their nests and eggs are protected by law? Please don't disturb them - leave the hedge trimming until later in the year.

Thank you, so many of you have already emailed to object to Brighton Marina's licence application.  

If you haven't had a chance yet, there's still time. Consultation closes soon. Already objected? Share this post

👉 https://f.mtr.cool/vamhrwfumc for template email

March News from the Blue 📰 🌊

👉️Visit our Latest News (link in bio) to see what's been keeping us busy throughout March.

Best foot forward? A Treecreeper, Certhia familiaris, recently at #OldLodgeNR, a common resident in Sussex, though probably often unseen, reported in 34% of tetrads in 2024.
@sussexwildlife.bsky.social
@sussexornitholo.bsky.social
#ukbirding
#sussexbirding

An orangey-yellow, black and yellow bee on a dark green leaf.

Despite cold and wind there were several species of mining bee prettifying the scrub at Castle Water, Rye Harbour NR, including this Yellow-legged Mining Bee.
#UKwildlife
#Sussexwildlife
#bees
#insects
@sussexwildlife.bsky.social

Country diary: Taking the plunge – and marrying a river | Anita Roy Waterrow, Somerset: On World Water Day, I witness an act of devotion to a river that, like so many others, is in need of a little love

Don't miss @anitaroy1000.bsky.social's marvellous @theguardian.com country diary today on the state of our #rivers and some of the creative ways individuals and community groups are campaigning to protect them. #countrydiary #naturewriting

A map shows the migration of tagged Cuckoo Ashok from the UK to Africa and now back again, with the location pin showing him as in Spain. A headshot of Cuckoo Ashok features alongside the wording: First to arrive in Europe and the earliest ever date that one of our satellite-tagged birds has done so!

A new record Sahara crossing 🪶 Ashok is not only the first of our tagged Cuckoos to reach Europe this year but his arrival is also the earliest ever date that one of our satellite-tagged birds has done so! He crossed the Sahara, reached Algeria, then crossed the Med & arrived in Spain on 25 March!

Poster saying Don't dump on our reef; a Tompot Blenny peers from coral beside a QR code for Sussex Wildlife Trust.

Brighton Marina is applying — again — to dump dredged sediment at Beachy Head West Marine Conservation Zone. 
Dredging may be necessary. But dumping 1000s of tonnes of sediment in a protected area is not. 
Use our template email to object.
https://f.mtr.cool/tgghjihrta

1/2 #speciesaday no. 689 is Oxyopes heterophthalmus. Nationally Rare & Vulnerable. Found on mature heathland in Surrey where it is widespread. Not seen in the New Forest for over a 100 years. Oddly missing from the West Sussex heaths that are not that far away. A bit jumpy. Lots of leg spines.

Artist André Bonvalet makes giant dandelion clocks and I’ve not wanted to own an artwork more!

Wild About Cities Finding nature in unexpected places

Chuffed to see Wild Pavements reviewed in Chris Schuler's lovely substack newsletter. #urbannature #naturewriting #1stBookDiary cjschuler.substack.com/p/wild-about...

Nightjars make 'remarkable comeback' to South Downs National Park An ecological survey has found 109 nightjar territories in the lowland heaths of east Hampshire.

This is a great news story. But it's also an interesting access story; revealing of how we talk, and think, about access rights.

Nightjar are an 'amber' list species. They're ground nesters. And they roost in the sorts of habitats which often overlap with existing access land in England and Wales.

Sussex Wildlife Trust-themed £20 featuring a purple Round-headed Rampion and £50 featuring a red Great Crested Newt.

Have you heard the news? British wildlife is coming to our banknotes — and YOU get a vote in which species are featured! 💷

So tell us — which Sussex animals, birds or plants would you love to see on the next Bank of England notes? Leave your suggestions in the comments below

A mainly black insect, with yellow stripes, on a bright yellow flower.

Hoverfly, Eupeodes luniger, this afternoon on a beautiful dandelion flower, which is very good for wildlife and definitely NOT a 'weed'.
#wildflowerhour
@bsbibotany.bsky.social
@sussexwildlife.bsky.social
#UKwildlife
#Sussexwildlife
#insects
#hoverflies

Recurvirostra avocetta, the impossibly elegant Avocet, in Saturday sunshine at #RyeHarbourNR 14/3/26. Other waders there: Common & Spotted Redshank; Curlew; Dunlin; Golden Plover; Lapwing: Oystercatcher; Snipe.
@sussexornitholo.bsky.social
@sussexwildlife.bsky.social
#sussexbirding
#ukbirding