Appreciating the dawn chorus in spring on my local woodland patch

📷 Mark Searle

Habitat generalist butterflies tend to be faring better in the UK. Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) had its 4th best yr at @ukbms.bsky.social sites in 2025. It also had its best yr on record in Scotland. In the UK, its numbers are up 87% since 1976, but in Scotland abundance is 566% up this century

So true!

50 years of data reveal specialist butterflies disappearing across the UK, but the good news is that conservation efforts are making a real difference - helping butterflies isn’t complicated, we can all be part of the solution by making places butterfly-friendly 🦋 @savebutterflies.bsky.social

BBC Radio 4 - Illuminated, Harrier Angels Robert Macfarlane on C16th carvings of angels based on the wings of hen and marsh harriers

Thrilled to feature on BBC Radio 4’s 'Harrier Angels' with Robert Macfarlane. From carved angels to harriers roosting on Wicken Fen, it’s a story of persecution, recovery and sky-dancing wings. I hope you enjoy: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

A black Highland cow with large horns stood looking towards the camera, in the background is green grass, blue sky, a few birch trees and a red Highland cow sat down

Happy 20th birthday to Wicken Fen's oldest Highland cow, Speedwell (named after the wildflower) who has spent her whole life on the Cambridgeshire nature reserve: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/cambri...

Sun setting behind a shingle beach with crashing waves

Took a walk this afternoon to blow away the cobwebs - crunching on shingle beneath the North Norfolk sky

Some feathery facts and foot folklore: taking a look at the grey heron - a symbol of #spring and good luck

Finding the Tundra Swan | Podcast YouTube video by National Trust

I'm excited to share the latest Wild Tales episode, made at @wwtworldwide.bsky.social Welney, exploring the lives of our wild winter swans, delving into their behaviour, epic migrations and the people who study and protect them 🦢 www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zKN...

Yes that’s right - not far from Spalding, that area

A long-eared owl perched in a tree, surrounded by leaves and branches

A bittern (brown and gold water bird) perched on reeds by the edge of open water

Some great birdwatching moments in The Fens this week: Long-eared Owl by the Nene Washes and Bittern at Deeping Lakes

It was a pleasure to report on the winter weather, here in The Cambridgeshire Fens, for the BBC Radio 4 Today programme

A close encounter with a flock of starlings that decided they quite liked the tarmac road!

"The falling leaves drift by the window - the autumn leaves of red and gold" (Nat King Cole) Dodging the wintery showers and blustery winds, our go-ahead SWAMP team wrapped up warm, donned their gloves and wellingtons and hauled green bags filled with dried Crassula to the edge of Morston pon...

Latest #blog post from #Morston #pond www.morstonpondswamp.org/post/the-fal... how as #community #volunteers we continue to try to rid our pond of invasive #crassula @themarshtit.bsky.social @ajaytegala.bsky.social @bramblebotanist.bsky.social @avalanchechris.bsky.social @steffanaquarone.bsky.social

Our showreel has landed! If you love nature, folklore and seasonal stories, book Witching the Wild Year for your venue, event or festival - perfect for seasonal celebrations, theatres, museums, nature reserves, gardens, heritage sites...

Email WitchingTheWildYear@gmail.com or message me ✨

Four people sat on chairs on stage, with a large National Trust logo (blue oak leaf on red background) behind and a live screen (showing the four people) behind. Left to right there is a man with short white hair, a young lady with long dark hair, a middle-aged may with short black hair (Ajay) and chair Charlotte Smith (long pale hair) wearing a floral blouse. Charlotte is gesticulating with her right hand and the three panellists are smiling

This weekend, I had the great pleasure of speaking on a panel at the National Trust's Annual General Meeting, chaired by the brilliant Charlotte Smith (of BBC Countryfile and Farming Today) - it was genuinely great fun and a real honour to be asked!

This sounds like a fascinating evening talk!

Ajay and Zoe in black sat on old wooden chairs either side of a fireplace with pumpkins and lights between them and a screen saying Witching the Wild Year - a cosy, fireside ambience

Ajay and Zoe smiling - a selfie in front of a chandelier and a wooden staircase with an old window behind

So much fun Witching The Wild Year at the historic Talbot Hotel in Oundle with my lovely, celestial collaborator Zoë Howe ✨ Thank you to our lovely audience for making it a magical evening

Absolutely! 💯

Dan in black shirt and cream jacket holding up thumb, Ajay in middle in earthy-coloured shirt and jacket, and Phil with black hoodie, stand in the Wicken Fen visitor centre with shelves of books and photos of the reserve in the background - all three men are smiling

So exciting to get a visit from YouTube superstars Dan and Phil ...and get to appear in their latest spooky video!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFD4Isfa-tA
(I pop up about 4 mins in)

Amazing work 👏🏽 not an easy job getting rid of crassula!

Ajay and Dara stood next to each other, Ajay wearing a black National Trust fleece and shirt, Dara wearing a black T-shirt saying 'Worms Worms Worms', green reeds and vegetation behind and the boardwalk they are stood on, extending into the distance where the Wicken Fen windpump is located, with trees behind it (their leaves autumnal shades of brown and yellow)

Fantastic to finally meet Dara McAnulty on Wicken Fen and chat nature in celebration of his new book 'A Wild Child’s Guide to Nature at Night'. Dara’s enthusiasm made the conversation a real joy; the children in the audience were captivated — and it was wonderful to hear how much he loves the Fen!

A diary of Deeping Lakes with Ajay Tegala YouTube video by Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust

I spent a nostalgic morning at Deeping Lakes with Melvyn Prior, chatting about my teen years volunteering on the reserve and how those early experiences shaped my career! Our chat is available on the @lincswildlife.bsky.social Wilder Lincolnshire podcast: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bdv...

Cartoon of Ajay, Zoé and a pumpkin surrounded by bats, cats, a dog, owl, butterfly and vegetation against an orange background - Zoë is wearing a black witches hat and a black-and-white scarf; Ajay is wearing a blue hat with stars on it and holding a wooden staff

Ajay and Zoe stood side by side, in black and white

Zoë Howe and I are bringing 'Witching the Wild Year' to Oundle's Talbot Hotel – an evening of ghost stories, folklore, foraging tips, nature notes and a folk song or two.

Thu 30 Oct, 7pm - Talbot Hotel, Oundle

Join us if you dare — tickets are vanishing fast!

talbothotel.co.uk/upcoming-eve...

Morning crane fly-by - a flock of 55 cranes flying past our house in the light fog this morning!

Sound on for whooper swans fresh from Iceland, back in the Fens for the winter - welcoming these beautiful birds is a highlight of October here in Cambs/Norfolk!

a moth that looks like a wasp

a moth with light and dark brown markings sat on a green reed

a brown water vole eating a green stalk at the waters edge

sunset behind the windmill at Wicken Fen

📣Good news!
Wicken Fen Nature Reserve has recorded 10,000 species of wildlife making it the first known UK site to do so. Records date back 200 years, in the 20th century 13 species new to science were discovered, and in the last 25 years records have surged as the reserve expanded.
buff.ly/EEmfTjc

After six years of home-working and book-writing on makeshift setups — from the kitchen table to a camping table — I finally have a proper desk!

This beautiful piece belonged to Norfolk boatbuilder Harry Last (1900–98). After a bit of polishing, it has a new lease of life as my home office desk.

What a beautiful sunrise this morning on Blakeney Point! Always great to catch up with the NT wardens and UCL academics

Always great to see, Tim! Happy NT-UCL times on Blakeney Point 🙂