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Professional bird botherer & bug chaser (not like that), based in Dorset. Freelance ecologist / leader for Wildlife Travel #LGBTQinSTEM. Mainly birds, inverts, & plants, with the occasional arty photo. All views my own.

Phil Saunders

Some absolute chonks of Knapweed Broomrape (plus a couple of singing Quail) enlivened an otherwise mizzly & miserable breeding bird survey on a Wiltshire Farm this morning.

Springwatch are featuring a LIVE Honey-buzzard nest camera we installed for Sussex Ornithological Society and the Conservators of Ashdown Forest (10th June 8pm). This is/will be a UK first! The nest camera will be live streamed on WW YouTube channel (+ partners websites) from Friday 12th June 0400.

A trip further afield today to see the Western Reef Heron in Foryd Bay - a really instructive (& attractive) bird, obviously smaller than the accompanying Little Egrets & with a near identical structure to my eye (being nowhere near as hefty-billed/gangly as those I've seen in the east of the range)

The garden buttercups appear to be popular roosting spots for a range of invertebrates, including this Sicus ferrugineus bee-grabber (found at first light this morning).

An excellent 5hr seawatch (by local standards) from Durlston this morning, with a whopping 1,225 Manx past the Dolphin Hut (often ridiculously close in), plus 18 Balearics (as well as a few I missed), a summer plumaged GN Diver, & 135 Common Tern - almost all going west @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

another year, another profile pic... I'm not sure the perfect Scarce Swallowtail* photo exists, but that doesn't stop me trying to take it, time and again... (*Iberian Scarce Swallowtail on this occasion...) #WildlifeTravelling in the #Pyrenees #NewProfilePic #ThirstTrap

Fabulously furry Pantaloon Bees have returned to the Upton garden for another year - this individual was dozing in a buttercup whilst I went through the moth traps this morning #bees #hymenoptera

A few migrants still hanging on in Upton, with the 2nd Ni Moth of the week (apparently different to Tues night's ind'l) welcome amongst 98/39 across the two garden traps this morning, plus another Small Mottled Willow, RDP, & Rush Veneer #TeamMoth @dorsetmoths.bsky.social @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

Fireworks and subtlety... #TeamMoth

10h

Have you seen that we are running our annual moth event again this July?! Last year's event, over two hundred species of moth were seen! Why not come along? We already have people booked on for both the evening and morning sessions of this year's event!