Darryl
@darrylspittle
#birding #ecology #ornithology
Image of a Knot taken with a 60mm macro lens. It had just narrowly evaded the sweep of Death’s whetted scythe (in the form of a Peregrine) and had concluded sitting alongside humans might provide refuge from the falcon which made repeated passes at an altitude of 10-20m before heading off.
Yesterday’s catch of the day, an ickle Long-spined sea scorpion (Taurulus bubalis),… aaaaand away. #rockpooling #fish
A moment of syrphing excitement this afternoon before it slowly dawned on me what it was,… Scaeva pyrastri, female, variation unicolor. #syrphingUK
220,000 people in Spain and France evacuated due to climate change amplified wildfires but, yeah, policies to fight climate change are the problem. The Times is not a serious newspaper. Rupert Murdoch and Tony Gallagher are irrelevant clowns.
Yesterday, a little post-work syrphing along a trackside flowery margin amidst forestry/clearfell produced Melangyna arctica. According to the Hoverfly Recording Scheme map, it’s the first confirmed Welsh record in the 2020s(!). #syrphing #uksyrphing #syrphingWales
Long-tailed Shrike showing close to the road when I arrived, slowly became more distant as the crowd grew. It’s found a nice little spot, wide weedy field margins, seemed to be plenty of macro invertebrates. #dirtytwitching #glosbirds #rarebirdsUK
Our Golden Doodle, having previously been stung by wasps, is now afraid of Volucella inanis. Batesian mimicry for the win!
Well that was a fun day out. The Wye Divide 2026. Some #speedbirding occurred (Kingfisher, Tawny Owl chicks, Red Kite, Firecrest, etc.) but mostly just #cycling.
Life-threatening temperatures in Western Asia, Europe and the UK. Next time a politician says climate change isn’t a priority, let’s force them to eat the money they get from the oil companies. £50 notes. Live on TV. #climatecrisis
A couple of loops of the eastern levels in the, frankly outlandish, hope that I might stumble onto a Quail singing in the rain. Zero Quail. Might have to stick the lights on and have a nocturnal effort. #moist #birdingbybike #gwentbirding #lowcarbonbirding
Ynysyfro WeBS: not much in the way of waterbirds but Red Kite flopping about and 2 male Red-veined Darter at Fourteen Locks on the walk over. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera, fortunately, one showed down to doughnut distance. #gwentbirding #lowcarbonbirding #gwentdragonflies
Second significant upgrade to the hardtail: RockShox SID SL 3P 100mm fork and Shimano XT rotors (180/160mm). Just tinkering from here on. #shiny #birdingbybike #speedbirding
Perfect day out: Western Reef Heron, a very impressive castle, an impromptu meeting of the early 1990s Hants/Surrey Border Twitching Team, a 160kW charger in the middle of nowhere, and three Osprey. #dirtytwitching #EVbirding #rarebirdsUK
Had a few days on Dartmoor, mostly just pottering around mires and rush pasture. Looked at *a lot* of Bogbean. Did not see Eristalis cryptarum. Did find a good few Microdon myrmicae/mutabilis (myrmicae on location/habitat). #syrphing #hoverflies #Dartmoor
Large Red Damselfly exuvia and teneral in my experimental (all native plant) pond tubs. Must have bred in the first season of the tub’s existence. Two seen ‘in cop.’ earlier too. #win #gardensafari
Send help! I’m trapped in a bleak absurdist landscape draped in a shroud of existential uncertainty. #VisitWales
Over to Northwick and Aust ferry via Caldicot Moor, the Nedern, etc. Highlights: Red Kite at Caldicot Moor, some nice street art, and a bloke in Newport puking his guts up while his dog looked on with an expression of profound resignation. Lowlight: Bob’s gone! 😭 #birdingbybike #lowcarbonbirding
