Kate Littler

@palaeoclimate

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Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· 20d

Very much enjoying teaching and meeting students and fellow instructors at the USSP* in Urbino, Italy this week. And the views and gelato ain’t half bad either 😉 *urbino summer school in Paleoclimatology

A view of the northern Italian countryside near Urbino. The sky is blue and there are green trees and rolling fields and a few buildings in shot.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· Jul 13

Enjoy a very late #wildflowerhour (wildflower lunchbreak?) from me, courtesy of the coastal paths of the Roseland, Cornwall. Saw so many beautiful species yesterday, but have focused on the ones with ‘common’ in their name that are not so common around here!

Common restharrow. A lovely low growing pea family plant with delicate pink and white flowers, that likes coastal areas. Never seen it in Cornwall before.

Common centaury. A low growing little gem of a plant with five petalled pink flowers with a yellow centre.

Common agrimony (I think). A medium height flower stalk bearing many 5 petalled yellow flowers.

Tufted vetch. Gorgeous deep purple flowers on vines that scramble through the hedgerow. Blue sky and greenery behind.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· Jul 10

We got caught up in the N Spain wildfires last summer and it was v frightening not knowing if you’re going to get an evacuation order. Especially when you don’t fully understand what’s going on as a visitor who doesn’t speak fluent Spanish. 🔥 Solidarity to all caught up in and battling this one 🙏

A google map from August 2025 showing the northern Spain region with an overlay of active wildfires in red. Trying to plan our route through and stay out of danger from fire and smoke.

A google map from August 2025 showing the northern Spain region focusing on the pico de europa mountains with an overlay of active wildfires in red. Road closures shown on major roads.

Google map of SE Spain near Bedar showing the extent of the Los Gallardos fire that is currently burning.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· Jul 10

Terrible wildfires in southern Spain kill at least 11 people. Looks absolutely terrifying. This is exactly the beautiful area (near Bedar) where we took our geology students in May for their final year field course. See photo. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

The beautiful area around Bedar in SE Spain in May 2026. Steep topography and lots of green undergrowth. A view looking out towards the village with a curving road leading off into the distance. The sky is blue.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· Jul 5

The nice thing about building a pond and letting a little wild area grow up around it, is that within 18 months it looks like it’s always been there. There are newts and dragonflies, pond skaters and hover flies and a bunch of other things. 🪰🐸🌿💧

The pond and wildlife area in July 2026. Pond barely visible amid a sea of flowering native grasses.

The surface of the pond in July 2026, covered with floating and submerged pond plants. There is grass all around and it looks murky and cool.

The pond in summer 2025 only a few months after being created. Water looks clear and there are floating and submerged pond planes. There is greenery around it but you can still see the pond liner.

The pond and wildlife area on my allotment, in March 2025. Lots of bare soil and rocks visible, as is the pond liner. Looks rather barren.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· Jul 5

The fruits of my horticultural labour are starting to bear fruit ☺️

Ripe red strawberries in my garden growing out of a strawberry pot. Other flowers and pots are visible behind.

A metal bowl full of new potatoes. These are the first early ‘swift’ variety, which got slugged much more than last year but are still pretty good.

Two big bulbs of white coloured elephant garlic, with some wooden panelling behind. First time I’ve tried to grow these - fairly easy except the whole plot of garlic got pretty bad rust (fungal) attack so I’ve had to lift them earlier than planned.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· Jun 29

Extinction Rebellion have stormed the stage in protest at the sponsorship from Howden group (who underwrite fossil fuel developments). And outside is a growing group protesting the compulsory redundancies (in areas such as environmental sciences and renewable engineering of all subjects!!)

People on a stage with a banner protesting against climate change and howden sponsorship at the Exeter climate forum. The Vice chancellor is visible to the left of the stage looking unimpressed.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· Jun 28

This working week has been awful, so let’s all enjoy these wonderful pollinators swarming the wild carrot patch at my allotment for #wildflowerhour

My wildflower patch at the allotment, which looks like untidy chaos (if you are an allotment committee member..) but is actually a carefully planned meadow. It’s dominated by wild carrot at the moment with big white composite flower heads, but there is also knapweed in there and earlier in the year red campion and a cheeky poppy.

Some kind of interesting fly on the white wild carrot flowers. It has a golden body with a long dark brown stripe down the middle of its abdomen, spotted wings, and big chocolate brown eyes. I thought it was a type of hover fly but I can’t identify it.

My wild carrot flowers are THE place to be if you’re a red soldier beetle in Falmouth. Here there are two couples intent on making the next generation. Entertainingly I have just learned from Wikipedia that its common name in England is the ‘Hogweed bonking beetle’ which is just perfect.

A black fly of some description in the foreground with some soldier beetles in the background, all enjoying the wild carrot flowers.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· Jun 22

Oh yes I think you’re right. There was definitely stonecrop there, (with 5 petals and reddish tones and fleshy stems/leaves - see below) but the 6 petals threw me off… Looking online I see photos with both 5/6 petals… maybe it’s not consistent or there are sub-species?

White Stonecrop flowers on the heath at Helman Tor.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· Jun 21

Also, would you like to hear the soft churring of a male nightjar on the heath last night? Of course you would. (Saw them wheeling around in the twilight in and out of the trees. A lifer, baby!) 🐦

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· Jun 21

And a couple of wee beasties for the #PollinatorPals challenge for #wildflowerhour. (Not that I know what half of them are, but they are appreciated nonetheless). And the birds of course!

Two large shiny black beetles in the business of making baby beetles. I think they are bloody nosed beetles but not sure! Sitting on a green bracken frond.

A honeybee on a bramble flower. Saw lots of bumble bees on these too, and many brown butterflies, but only managed to snap the livestock!

So many birds on Helman Tor as picked up by the 7-strong bird list from the Merlin app. Linnets galore even in the heat of the midday sun. Didn’t manage to see any yellowhammers but I could hear them.

Some kind of jolly metallic fly (greenish head and thorax and brownish abdomen, with clear wings), sitting on a white flower head.. which I also can’t identify. Thought it was yarrow but the petals and the leaves are both wrong.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· Jun 21

A cracking sunny solstice for #wildflowerhour ☀️☀️☀️ Been snuffling around various Cornish heaths and moors this weekend looking at birds and plants.

Heath spotted orchid at Goonhilly downs. A pink and purple flower spike with spotted petals, emerging from a sea of green leaves. Soft evening light.

A purple foxglove flower spike poking up from the heath at Helman Tor. Lovely view over the surrounding green countryside at this rewilded nature reserve.

Yellow tormentil flowers with 4 petals and a sunny disposition, poking out from amid the greenery.

A cluster of delicate 6-petaled white flowers on the heath. I don’t know what these are - ideas?

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· Jun 13

Happy Pigeon Appreciation Day to all who celebrate. Marvellous birds. Smart, beautiful, adaptable. And always in the mood for love. 🐦

Some mighty fine pigeons hanging out on a rooftop over Falmouth. The cranes of Falmouth docks and wooded hills in the background.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· Jun 12

It’s been a loooong week (including 5 exam boards 🥴) with lots of computer and office time. But today I spent 2.5 hours showing year 5/6 kids cool fossils 🐚 for an outreach event, and then stopped to admire the gorgeous wildflower banks at campus on the way home. Happy weekend folks 😀

The wonderful wildflowers around campus. Ox eyed daisies and red clover and a bunch of grasses.

The wonderful wildflowers around campus. Ox eyed daisies, knapweed, and a bunch of grasses. Silver birch and a uni building in the background.

The wonderful wildflowers around campus. Ox eyed daisies, vetch, and some lady’s bedstraw in this shot. Blue skies in the background.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· Jun 8

Awwwww yeah it’s baby herring gull time in our local roof-top colony 🥰 Look at those little bundles of floof 😍

Little herring gull chick (maybe a week old?) camouflaged against the red roof tiles and grey lichen on a nearby roof. So cute!

A roof top with a herring gull nest just tucked out of view behind the chimney. There is an adult herring gull napping on the roof in the foreground, one napping on top of the chimney
, and two little grey chicks down by the base of the chimney very well camouflaged against the red tiles and lichen. The sky is blue.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· May 31

(And I know it’s not feeding on a wildflower per se but….) do enjoy this Painted Lady butterfly and bumblebee friend not far from the orchids!

An orangey butterfly with black and white markings feeding on a purple flower spike, with a bumble bee flying to the left.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· May 31

Didn’t have to look too far to bag the #orchidchallenge for #wildflowerhour. The grounds team on our @exeter.ac.uk / Falmouth Uni Penryn Campus do a fabulous job of managing it for wildflowers and nature. Loads of purple orchids this year in the margins near the car park. Southern marsh orchid?

A lovely patch of wildflowers near the car parks on campus. A sea of green with at least 13 purple orchids visible, mixed in with ox eye daisies and buttercups etc.

Two purple orchid flowers in the wildflower verge. Not sure of the species but maybe southern marsh orchid? Green leaves don’t have spots and the purple flowers have lots of little spots on the lowermost petal.

A purple coloured orchid spike in the wildflower verge. Not sure of the species but maybe southern marsh orchid? Green leaves don’t have spots and the purple flowers have lots of little spots on the lowermost petal.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· May 24

Absolutely! It’s such a lovely structural plant, I always leave some in the pots and borders.

A pot of plants in a garden, with some flowering ribwort plantain in the middle, along with chives and some other bits and bobs.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· May 24

My self-sown foxgloves are putting on a great show in honour of #wildflowerhour. I worried in the winter that I’d left too many in the flower bed and that they’d take over… worries dispelled this week! 😍

Close up of a wild foxglove flowering in my garden, with dozens of individual purple pink flowers on the tall flowering spike. Each flower has lots of little dark dots inside to guide the pollinators (mostly bumble bees) to the nectar. It is a sunny day and there is a rowan tree and some other foliage in the background.

A expanse of pink foxglove flowering spikes in my garden, with a rowan tree, a cherry and a palm tree and a brown fence panel behind.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· May 21

A bright May evening- perfect for sitting in the garden and watching the swifts go screaming by. 😍 I love to think that just last month these guys were tearing up the skies over central Africa.

A dark blue grey sky, with two swifts silhouetted.

A dark blue grey sky, with a silhouetted swift arcing through the sky. Some white clouds visible to the bottom right.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· May 15

Would you like 1 minute 20 seconds of peaceful allotment evening vibes? If so, please enjoy! (*Bonus Green Woodpecker cameo included at no extra charge*)

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· May 10

Bonus carrot family beauty is the hemlock water- dropwort. Graceful and abundant around water, with lovely white flowers… but a bit on the deadly side ☠️ #wildflowerhour #carrotsandpeas

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· May 10

Beautiful subtle flowers on the Lizard today including some #carrotsandpeas I always go in May hoping for heath spotted orchids, but no joy today. Did hear at least one lovely cuckoo singing his heart out though 🥰 #wildflowerhour

I think this is heath dog violet with its pale purple petals. Forms low clumps with lots of flowers in the heathland.

A very low growing plant with strange purple petals that look pea family. Common on heath today. Does anyone know what it is?

Great banks of graceful cow parsley around at the moment. My favourite carrot family plant.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· May 9

Heard the first screaming swifts over Falmouth today!! Summer is officially go 🥰

Leaden skies over Falmouth, which in no way convey my excitement at seeing and hearing the first swifts of the year this morning. If you can see some tiny black pixels… take my word for it, they’re swifts!

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· Apr 29

Wild irises! (And a little red beetle friend).

A purple and yellow iris flower blooming in the maquis. A red bug with black spots is visible on one petal looking like an elongate chunky labybird

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· Apr 29

On our final day we investigated the (very!) complex northern shear zone associated with the Carboneras Fault(s). Rainbow hues of multicoloured siltstones, phyllite, dolostones, volcanic… all sliced in next to one another. The word ‘fubarite’ was used liberally 😅 🧪⚒️🌍

Hiking through the maquis in the area near sopalmo. I definitely didn’t get the students lost once or twice with my expert navigating…

Beautiful stratified volcaniclastics in shades of green and grey, caught up in the fault zone.

students looking intently at the highly messed up fine grained ‘rainbow rocks’ exposed in the rambla near the main road bridge.

A view of the classic rainbow rocks outcrop, where dominantly NE-SW oriented strike slip faults have moved slices of radically different aged rocks into contact with one another. Rocks range from dark grey through yellow and into deep red.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· Apr 27

Los frailes is such a handsome volcano(es).

View from los frailes looking out to sea.

View of los frailes from los escullos at the coast.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· Apr 27

Day 6 - investigating the volcanics and interbedded sediments of the Cabo de Gata, focusing on the Los Frailes volcanic complex. Pyroclastic flow deposits, lavas, columnar jointing, feeder pipes… and some cheeky bivalves in the mix. 10/n 🧪⚒️🌍

The ever beautiful Los Escullos section. Lovely volcanic and sedimentary features… that I won’t elaborate on as it’s assessed!

Near-vertical flow banding in this dacitic outcrop- maybe a feeder pipe? Within the core of the los frailes volcanic complex. Has a chilled margin where it contacts the adjacent volcaniclastics.

Pumice-rich lapillistone, showing stratification and reverse grading in places. Likely a pyroclastic flow deposit.

A nice bit of columnar jointing in the (brownish) andesitic lava flow, sitting atop some dacitic volcaniclastics (the paler unit). Los frailes volcanic complex.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· Apr 26

And because they are fantastic and it will brighten your timeline, here is a Zygaena lavandulae (type of burnet moth I think).

A brightly coloured day-flying moth sitting on some gravel. Iridescent greenish wings with 5 red spots, each with a black ring around them and a white collar at the back of the head. Magic.

Kate Littler@palaeoclimate· Apr 26

Lots of beautiful flowers here in the SE Spanish maquis scrubland. Wild lavender, rosemary, vetch, and…50 other lovely plants I am clueless about (and have no time to look up!). Enjoy. #wildflowerhour