Moschatel (Adoxa moschatellina).
Moschatel (Adoxa moschatellina).
Moschatel (Adoxa moschatellina).
Moschatel (Adoxa moschatellina) growing in the Rivelin Valley, #Sheffield. This tiny plant is also known as Town Hall Clock due to the shape its flowerheads. It was first discovered at this location by Gerry Firkins.
Love the reference to "Calais Spaceport".
People seem to put an extraordinary amount of time, money and effort into making the world less interesting!
This morning I visited one of our local cemeteries to do a Birds in Greenspaces survey for the @btobirds.bsky.social. It looked as though the site had recently had a visit from Norbot and his "neat and tidy" crew: wood anemones, bluebells and violets all mown-down whilst in full bloom.
Just had a brief sighting of a Hummingbird Hawk-moth visiting the newly opened flowers of Lilac on Hammerton Road, Sheffield.
Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis) flowering in High Hazels Park, Sheffield. This distinctive wildflower has several other "folk names", including Lady's-smock and Milk Maids.
Green Tiger Beetle (Cicindela campestris). A large (15 mm) tiger beetle that is iridescent green with yellow markings. It is usually found in areas with bare ground or sparse vegetation such as gravelly or sandy hillsides and sandy heath. Both adults and larvae are predators on other invertebrates. The larvae dig a burrow in the ground, often on or near paths to pitfall-trap unwary insects. Source: https://www.naturespot.org/species/green-tiger-beetle
On Easter Monday I saw my first Green Tiger Beetles of the year at Wharncliffe Chase. First Willow Warbler and Common Lizard too.
Our outline programme of activities for April 2026 to March 2027 is now available on our website at www.sorby.org.uk/events/
Full details of each activity will be given in our monthly newsletter, which is distributed free to members.
A male Dark-edged Bee-fly (Bombylius major) basking on a fallen leaf.
Today I had my first two sightings of Dark-edged Bee-fly (Bombylius major) for 2026. Both males. One in Miller's Dale, the other on the Monsal Trail, near Hassop station.
Collecting nest material this morning...
My first Peacock butterfly of the year, on Clay Pits Lane near Stocksbridge. #springwatch
Just heard my first Chiffchaff of the year, singing on the Steel Valley Walk near Stocksbridge. #springwatch
Sitting on 70 Acre Hill, listening to the Skylarks singing.
Received my copy yesterday. It looks excellent!
Green Leaf-hopper, Cicadella viridis. Male left, female right.
Leafhoppers & Allies: identification, ecology and recording - Alan Stewart
Thursday 19/02/2026, 19:30, online via Zoom
Book here: www.naturespot.org/node/262956
#Bugs #Hemiptera #VC55 #Auchenorrhyncha
Please share!
One of the Lewis Chessmen - currently on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Found in 1831 on a beach at Uig on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, the Chessmen dates to the late 12th or early 13th century. 📸 My own. #FindsFriday #LewisChessmen #NMS
Photo by G. Solecki/A. Piętak of a small figurine of a bear carved out of amber between 9600 and 4100 BC. The amber is a deep translucent orange. The display lighting makes it glow in places. The bear's head is carved to show ears, mouth, nostrils and eyes. A hole runs through the bear’s torso, suggesting it was threaded onto a cord. Dimensions: Length 10.2 cm, Height 4.2 It was discovered in Słupsk during peat mining in 1887. According to the museum catalogue ‘’Shortly after its discovery, the figure underwent conservation work to restore its original appearance as it was covered with a layer of dull patina from the exposure to the minerals contained in the peat. Already at that time, at the end of the 19th century, it was assumed the restoration had gone too far. The figure was stripped entirely of patina, the anatomical features of the animal were emphasised, the eyes and nostrils were sharply drawn, and the amber was carefully polished”. In 2013, a competition was organised by the Education Department of the National Museum in Szczecin, for children to choose a name for the bear. The winning name was ‘Słupcio’,
A little bear figurine carved out of amber some 6,000 years ago 🐻❤️
A hole runs through the bear’s torso suggesting it was threaded on a cord, perhaps worn or carried as a protective charm.
Found in a peat bog near Słupsk, Poland, in 1887.
📷 National Museum in Szczecin
#FindsFriday
#Archaeology
3 weeks since launching our 'Save the Small Blue at Cwm Tips' #Crowdfunder and we’ve raised £915 - nearly halfway! 💙
Thank you for your support 💚
If you would like to donate, visit: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-the-s...
#SaveTheSmallBlue #GloiNatur #CoaltoNature #Nature #Wales #Cymru #Wildlife
Three weeks on and they are now definitely "an item".
The worst smelling place in the UK that I ever came across was a carcass rendering plant near Leeds. I couldn't get the smell out of my nostrils for days.
Screenshot from the iRecord website.
I've just passed the 90,000 records milestone on #iRecord: 54,939 of my own records and 35,061 records uploaded on behalf of colleagues at @sorbynathissoc.bsky.social (with their permission).
It's arrived! Pan-species Listing: How to Become a Super-Naturalist published by @pelagicpublishing. My first book.
I am so pleased with it. It looks amazing, all those photos of incredible British species really make this a very colourful book and a celebration of how fantastic our wildlife is.
The front cover of the Sorby Newsletter for March 2026, featuring a photo of a Northern Hairy Wood Ant nest mound on the Longshaw Estate.
The latest edition of our monthly newsletter is available now!
For details of how to join, please visit www.sorby.org.uk/about-us/membership
This morning I noticed the first signs that the two Robins which visit our garden may be about to pair off for the nesting season. They now seem to be tolerating each other's presence at the bird-feeder and are no longer trying to kill each other!
George wearing a black T-shirt that says "ENTOMOLOGIST - like a normal scientist, only cooler. See also awesome, exceptional."
Best Christmas present...
Our Christmas afternoon walk in the Rivelin Valley produced two Dippers and a Kingfisher.
Crimson Waxcap (Hygrocybe punicea).
Hurrah! My records of Hygrocybe punicea have been verified as correct by Steve Hindle. I'm particularly glad to receive his confirmation as this is a species that I haven't attempted to record in previous years.
There's nothing wrong with being "somewhat obsessed". Most of our #biodiversity data comes from people who others might describe as "obsessed"!
