The first wild plum to flower in SE London is this one - Cherry or Myrobalan Plum (Prunus cerasifera) - native of the Balkan Peninsula but now widely naturalised in Britain. #blossom #pavementplants #urbanplants #WildPavements #streettrees

It's in the carrot family and will have flowers similar to Cow Parsley in a few months' time. #wildflowers #urbanbotany #Londonplants #grasses. @bsbibotany.bsky.social My book, #WildPavements, is published 5 Mar 2026

So, so, so exciting and I'm totally overwhelmed. My box of author copies has arrived, ahead of publication day next week on March 5th. & they are ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL 💚. #WildPavements #urbannature #naturewriting #unboxing

I love #gulls! They're astonishingly beautiful & intelligent birds but they do need better PR. Living in a UK town or city, you could see several species, but would you recognise them? There are 4 in this pic of an urban wetland. #urbanbirds #WildPavements is out 5 March.

Still time to sign up for my 26 Feb 7pm webinar for
@nhm-london.bsky.social's the-urban-nature-network.mn.co in which I'll be sharing my fascination with the wild in our cities. The network's free to join to access this event & many others #WildPavements is out 5 March. #urbannature #urbanecology

& another #urbanbird for @dunnjons.bsky.social's #BirdoftheDay on the theme of #BranchBirds. 1 of the 5 glorious Goshawks I saw in the centre of Berlin last Feb, which feature in #WildPavements out 5 Mar.

One of the prettiest early-flowering pavement grasses in SE London is Fern Grass (Catapodium rigidum). This one's fl head is 3D so a candidate for subspecies majus rather than ssp. rigidum? #wildflowers #urbanbotany #pavementplants #Londonplants #grasses. #WildPavements is published 5 Mar 2026

The Norwich pigeon wars: how birds are dividing a UK city To the local people feeding the growing flock every day, they are ‘perfect’ creatures with beautiful plumage. To others, they are creating a Hitchcockian nightmare – defecating, stealing and spreading...

This brilliantly illustrates the contradictions in our relationships with urban wild animals. There's increasing evidence that feeding wild birds has a net negative impact on biodiversity &, here, exacerbates human/bird conflict. #WildPavements out 5 Mar 2026. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

My pal Geoff & I visit some urban Bee Orchids in local housing estate lawn. We count 17 leaf rosettes nestled in the turf & will be back to see how many have flowered come late spring/early summer #wildflowers #urbanbotany #pavementplants #Londonplants - #WildPavements is published 5 Mar 2026

The Urban Nature Network The Urban Nature Network is hosted by The Natural History Museum's Urban Nature Project. It brings together community groups, individuals, researchers, conservation organisations and many others acros...

I'm delighted to be leading a #WildPavements webinar at 7pm on 26 Feb for the Natural History Museum @nhm-london.bsky.social's fab Urban Nature Network. Join the free network here the-urban-nature-network.mn.co/share/OZILcH... & then sign up for the webinar for free too. 💚

Pavement plants are getting going in SE London. Here's Henbit Deadnettle, doing its thing on a verge. It can self-fertilise so the tiny pink flowers don't always open properly #wildflowers #botany @bsbibotany.bsky.social #WildPavements is published 5 Mar 2026

The Urban Nature Network The Urban Nature Network is hosted by The Natural History Museum's Urban Nature Project. It brings together community groups, individuals, researchers, conservation organisations and many others acros...

I had such a fun time at the Centre for UK Nature @nhm-london.bsky.social yesterday planning a collaboration with the team at NHM's Urban Nature Network for a #WildPavements event in spring 2026. www.the-urban-nature-network.mn.co/ These #urbannature champions are my kind of people. 💚

Inspired by @concretebotany.bsky.social's fab #bloomscrolling, here are some #pavementplant finds. Undeniably attractive but alarming to see (v invasive in wetlands) Himalayan Balsam growing here on the edge of a dryish pavement in S London. #WildPavements

Lovely photo 💚 #WildPavements #pavementplants #urbanbotany

Delighted to have contributed, albeit in a minor way, to inspiring my birder-acquaintance @markavery.bsky.social to rejoin @bsbibotany.bsky.social. Us urban botanists love a good S American fleabane discussion! #UrbanBotany #WildPavements #PavementPlants

We should all be eating 30 different plants a week. I can’t even name that many | Zoe Williams There have been times when I have eaten virtually no fruit or vegetables, but at least five-a-day felt achievable. The new ideal seems impossible, writes Zoe Williams

Hey @zoesqwilliams.bsky.social. If you fancy a South London pavement-plant walk, please get in touch. What we find won't all be edible, but I'd anticipate that there'll be many more plants than you'd expect. #urbanplants #pavementplants #WildPavements www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

For the ultimate #UrbanBirding, it's hard to beat nesting Kittiwakes. As well as enjoying these charismatic gulls at their most inland breeding site, I explore where to birdwatch in Newcastle for my latest column in the Sep issue of Bird Watching Mag. #WildPavements

I had the pleasure of interviewing Kate about this beautifully-written and bittersweet book at an event back in July last year, & was pleased to hear that Kate's a fellow urban 'guller'. #WildPavements 2/3

During my workshop at The Grove skatepark & gardens SE22 8LF we’ll be trying out tools and techniques to help you explore, enjoy & care for the nature on our #WildPavements. & an optional photo/vid comp for budding urban naturalists.

I'm chuffed to be collaborating with the S London skating community this Thurs 7 Aug at 6pm as part of a 2-week programme of events in SE22 8LF. #WildPavements #skateboarding #urbannature #urbanbirds #urbanplants #pavementplants

In the August issue of Bird Watching Mag, I investigate the impact of us feeding wild birds in urban woodland... and it's not looking good for species like this gorgeous Marsh Tit in S London #30MinuteBirder #WildPavements. A 🧵...

Research won't necessarily lead you to the best sites for urban nature in a new city, but a local guide might. Highlight in Berlin was the day with Rolf, & the 5 urban #Goshawks we watched establishing their territories… Read in July Bird Watching Mag www.the-urban-naturalist.com #WildPavements

What a hoot! Owl sightings increase in London – and not just in the leafy suburbs Chances are, wherever you live, if there’s greenery around there will be owls there too

Great to see my urban birding acquaintance Tomos Brangwyn featured in this @pgreenfielduk.bsky.social news story. Tomos is a fantastic urban nature champion #WildPavements www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Had a great time last night in the company of #urbanbotany enthusiasts at Trevor Dines' book launch in this fab venue on Pall Mall. I'm looking forward to curling up with my copy. & makes a nice change to be glammed up 💚@chiffchat.bsky.social #WildPavements

My 50th 30-minute birder column was published in BirdWatchingMag Jun 25, & still have oodles more things to write about. Here, what started as a consideration of London as a coastal city became a musing on the different and mostly entertaining ways birders interact on social media. #WildPavements

Last week, I was delighted to see my first Goshawk in an urban park at the heart of a European capital. In fact we saw 5 different Goshawks that day, busily establishing territories. But was I in a) London? b) Paris? c) Berlin? or d) Madrid? #birds #urbannature #30MinuteBirder #WildPavements

So, we've gained a strange appendage on the outside of our house. It's not pretty, but will it do the job? For my Feb column in Bird Watching Mag, I try out some nocturnal recording. #birds #urbannature #30MinuteBirder #WildPavements

My 1st contribution to BTO's Winter Gull Survey yesterday, reccying here - River Roding/Beckton Sewage Plant, E. London. Still processing data but c400 Black-headeds w/ a sprinkling of Common, Herring, Lesser Black-backed & Great Black-backed. #birds #lovegulls #urbannature #WildPavements

A picture of a Hobby bird perched in a tree.

So there l was last summer, having a quiet coffee in the back garden, when some new neighbours moved in. & oh boy were they noisy... See the Feb issue of Bird Watching Magazine to read out about my wonderful summer of Hobby-watching. #birds #Hobby #urbannature #30MinuteBirder #WildPavements