A few Pasqueflowers (Pulsatilla vulgaris) were in flower deep in the Downs nr Blewbury in Oxfordshire. This pair were flowering on a steep slope just outside a fenced patch
@bbowt.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @tverc1.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social
Did you know that in the UK, hedgehog numbers have declined by between a third and three quarters over the last twenty years? 🤔
If you've seen one recently, log it on the Big Hedgehog Map 🦔
#NationalMammalWeek
Win a £50 gift voucher and support your community to build climate resilience!
Take our annual 10 minute survey to help our WISH Partnership understand how to better support you and how to best help our community to reduce waste and respond to the climate crisis
➡️ https://tinyurl.com/WISHsurvey26
Just one week to go until #CityNatureChallenge 2026 🎉
Take part in a worldwide challenge to record as many species as possible.
Can we beat the 3.3 million observations made in 2025?
Find out where events are happening near you:
We’re looking forward to joining this Thames21 #MendTheGap event next Wednesday 22nd April 🌊
Come along, meet others who care about the river, and help shape the next steps for a healthier, thriving Thames.
www.thames21.org.uk/event/thames...
Not the best news for our butterflies but this also highlights just how wildlife recording is essential for tracking and monitoring populations. With this data, we can take informed decision to expand conservation efforts.
Do you have your tickets yet? It's less than a month until our brilliant #NFBRConference2026, full of fabulous and knowledgeable speakers, ample tea and lunch! What more do you need for a fantastic few days?! We can't wait to see you there! 🔗 Book your place: bit.ly/4sZO4iz #BiologicalRecording
GB hectad distribution map for Argiope bruennichi from the new SRS Atlas
GB hectad distribution map for Erigone welchi from the new SRS Atlas
Our new Atlas of UK spider, harvestmen and pseudoscorpion records is now online at britishspiders.org.uk/atlas. It gives access to 1.6 million records and is constantly updated with data submitted and verified via irecord.org.uk/enter-srs-records.
There’s still time to submit your records for PondNet Spawn Survey! 🐸
Freshwater Habitats Trust are collecting data on breeding frogs and toads. You can submit records of spawn spotted until 31st May:
freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/advice-resou...
📷 Common frog spawn found by Clare, Hassacarr LNR
Join @theriverstrust.bsky.social Big River Watch survey between 24th and 30th April 2026! Help monitor the health of rivers and streams across Ireland and the U.K. Join the survey here: theriverstrust.org/take-action/the-big-rive...
#BigRiverWatch
We’re also running Noticing Nature sessions at Iffley Meadows and Aston’s Eyot & the Kidneys, so come along, explore these special sites and record what you discover.
Find out more: tverc.org/recorders/are-you-notici...
#CityNatureChallenge
City Nature Challenge is back! 🐝🌿
From 24–27 April 2026, join thousands of people around the world recording wildlife where they live using the free iNaturalist app.
A small lizard is emerging from the bark of an old log. Its tail and feet aren't visible. It's facing right and pointing slightly down. It's looking up as though at the camera, and its right eye is visible. There are some old bits of dead reed stems resting on the bark as well as a couple of thin pieces of dead stalk. To the left there are a few green leaves.
The unseasonably warm weather brought our Common Lizards (Zootoca vivipara) out this morning. The first we've seen so far this year! 🦎 😍
#reptiles #UKWildlife @arc-trust.bsky.social @judywebb.bsky.social @tverc1.bsky.social
🦦Local Wildlife Sites are crucial for habitat and species protection, aiding resilience against modern pressures and climate change. Waterstock Mill in Oxon, featured in BBC's "Secret Garden" with Sir David Attenborough, highlights this.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
🎥Captured by Henry Manisty
Out on a lunchbreak walk today at BBOWT's Bowdown Woods, nr Newbury – the Bluebells, Wood Anemones and Lesser Celandines were looking gorgeous in the sunshine
@bbowt.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @tverc1.bsky.social @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social
A thin pale shiny coloured reptile (actually a legless lizard) is emerging from the cover of some grass into a bare stony area. It's moving from left to right, and its small eye is clearly visible.
Despite the low temperatures, one of our volunteers counted 16 Slow worms (Anguis fragilis) sheltering under our reptile mats yesterday. Four adults and twelve juveniles. Seems like a good start to the year!
#reptiles 🐍 [archive pic]
@arc-trust.bsky.social @judywebb.bsky.social
📢 We’re excited to be speaking at the @biologicalrecording.co.uk 's Biological Recording Symposium on Wed 15 Apr!
Dr Laura Doughty and Nicolette Bell will share how TVERC data has been used to map Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs) for Berks and Oxon, supporting evidence‑based nature recovery
🔎 Find out more about last year’s survey highlights:
Berkshire LWS highlights 👉 www.tverc.org/tverc-news/2025/highligh...
Oxfordshire LWS highlights 👉
Over recent months we’ve been running our Local Wildlife Site (LWS) panels across Berks and Oxon, reviewing sites surveyed in 2025.
LWS are non‑statutory sites of local importance for biodiversity. They are selected against locally agreed criteria and play a vital role in planning and conservation.
The Big Eight return in April🎱
Of the UK’s 24 bumblebee species, these eight are the most common. This month, some queens will emerge from hibernation. Already active queens will produce their first daughters, the workers💼
Have you spotted your first bumblebee of 2026?
🔎🐝https://ow.ly/SFIl50YAzUL
The delightful little green flowers of Moschatel (Adoxa moscatellina) are starting to flower in our woodlands. Its many other names include Town-hall-clock, but look out for it on Good Friday as it's also known as Good Friday Plant
@wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bbowt.bsky.social @tverc1.bsky.social
🌿 Noticing Nature events are back for year two! 🌿
Our free, relaxed events help you slow down, spot wildlife, and build confidence recording what you see.
Starting in Oxford for #CityNatureChallenge and running across Oxon, we hope you can join us!
tverc.org/tverc-news/2...
Know a group which is regularly recording wildlife and encouraging others to do the same? Is it making a difference to our understanding of nature? If so, nominate for NBN Group Award #NBNawards26 Deadline 18 May bit.ly/NBNawards26n... Thanks to @fieldstudiesc.bsky.social @habitataid.bsky.social
Sand Martin over Oxford
Sand Martin over Oxford
Sand Martin over Oxford
4 Sand Martin over Warneford Meadow, Oxford, this morning were only the 3rd Lye Valley area record & the first in 7 years! This is a rare bird in urban areas with no open water. A memorable way to mark my 900th patch visit to the Lye Valley!
@friendlyevalley.bsky.social
@patchbirding.bsky.social
🦇🦋 Our equipment loan scheme now includes moth trap and bat detectors!
On the right a man in neutral coloured clothing is holding a large white "sweep net" with a short silver handle. He's surrounded by knee-high vegetation.
Headington Action kindly funded a survey of spiders and other invertebrates in the Valley. 506 invertebrate species in total, 83 species of spiders, one Nationally rare beetle, and seven Nationally Scarce other invertebrates. Link to report below.
#inverts @tverc1.bsky.social @judywebb.bsky.social
Join @oxfordswiftcity.bsky.social surveying swifts in Oxford!👇
Crimson catkins of the male Black Poplar tree for #thicktrunktuesday Black Poplars are dioecious with male and female flowers on separate trees. Black Poplar, the UK’s rarest native hardwood tree, is a priority species in the Oxfordshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy @tverc1.bsky.social
An illustrated artwork of a Woodpigeon by Will Rose on a pale background. Wording alongside reads: Birds in Greenspaces. Tell BTO what birds you encounter in your local greenspace. www.bto.org/greenspaces
Have you signed up for our Birds in Greenspaces project yet? ➡️ www.bto.org/greenspaces
Starting 1 April, we'd love to know the birds that use your local greenspaces, whether it’s a single species record or complete list, so we can discover their importance for nature and people. 🌳 🪶
A huge thank you to all the recorders, representatives, volunteers, and students for joining us in Cholsey today! It was great to hear your messages about hope, efforts for nature recovery, and opportunities for involvement. See you at the next #TVERCConf !
