Nikola
@greasyboiler
Local oaf
Decided to check in on a local colony of Chalk Hill Blues and managed to pester some of the males into actually opening up for me. @upperthames.bsky.social @ukbutterflies.bsky.social
As many have noticed this has been a good year for Painted Lady butterflies but thanks to their fidgety nature & powerful flight getting a decent picture of one is easier said than done. This week I finally got one I'm happy with. @upperthames.bsky.social @ukbutterflies.bsky.social
I've tried and failed for years to get a half decent photo of an Emperor dragonfly but today I go to a local wood with no particular aim in mind and there's one chilling out right next to the car.
Unless Andy Burham & his people have the guts to point out that welfare spending as a percentage of GDP has barely shifted in 30 years and is on the low side by European standards I predict hyper-Starmerisation, and frankly the early signs are not good.
Thank you posting an On This Day Simpsons bit that doesn't make me feel old as shit
Since they're fairly common around here and not as eye-catching as some of their flashier relatives I tend to overlook White helleborine but this year I decided to give them a bit more attention and it's given me a new appreciation for their elegance. @ukorchids.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social
Late for #wildflowerhour - I spent a long time going through a couple of week's worth of pictures to find some of my favourite Fly Orchid snaps. Why? Because I really like them! @ukorchids.bsky.social
If being the world's pre-eminent oil producer isn't enough to insulate you from the consequences of Trump's idiotic war I'd love to know how "maxing out" the UK's relatively piddling reserves would meaningfully bring down prices here. www.ft.com/content/ce60...
Visited a lovely little nature reserve a couple of days ago to catch up on this year's Green-winged orchids; I was a little surprised to see them so far advanced but there were still a fair few looking good.
Late for #wildflowerhour - Even though their season is coming to an end I decided to take a trip to Sussex to see the last of the Early Spider Orchids. Glad I made the effort, don't always get to see these.
Last week (or the week before last?) the OECD released its annual report about wage & tax and every media outlet ran with "UK sees highest tax rise on workers of OECD countries" which was true for 2025 but if you actually look at the report is missing some context
I agree it probably would be a good thing if the UK had more air defenses & all that: too bad George here decided what really we needed was a bunch of aircraft carriers to patrol the South China Sea.
Caught an interesting bit of bird ethology earlier: a male Robin "courtship feeding" its mate - in truth their courtship is over, the extra nutrition supports the female while her eggs develop.
Common Toothwort (Lathraea squamaria) still only just coming out around here #wildflowerhour
Earlier in the week I came across a clump of roadside Butcher's-broom I hadn't noticed before; not a common plant in these parts so I braved the crazy wood ant jamboree and took a few photos. #wildflowerhour
When the sun came out this week I thought I'd check in on one of the local colonies of Green Hellebore, the way I usually start the botanical year. #wildflowerhour