Alan Knox
@alanknox
Aberdeenshire; mainly birds, mammals, herps & selected inverts; often sidetracked ...
Pondskaters making short work of Large Red #Damselfly the other day. There was another already dismembered nearby. @britishdragonflies.bsky.social
Someone please tell me this huge silo in a wood in Strathdon isn't just for holding grain for Pheasants! @raptorpersuk.bsky.social
2 dead Swallows inside window at remote bothy on #KingCharles' estate at Delnadamph today. Possibly trapped by person blocking broken windows who didn't check? Bad enough; but not many potential nest sites in these areas; shame a gap could not have been left. #birdingscotland
Always been a puzzle why the rare Northern #Damselfly was apparently completely absent in mid/upper Donside when it is common in Deeside. Turns out it isn't absent. Just not many suitable ponds along the Don. Found several NDs at one pond today nr Strathdon. @britishdragonflies.bsky.social
Do these things exist for any reason other than to make my skin crawl? #ticks #LymeDisease #countrydangers #scottishbirding
First Leisler's #Bat in the garden this year (last night). Still a rare occurrence here this far north (Aberdeen) - apart from in our garden where we get a few each year now! @nesmammals.bsky.social @batconservation.bsky.social
Gosh. Was not expecting that ... Mandarin Duck over an Aberdeenshire forest in the #nocmig at 0310 hrs on 29 June. @scottishbirding.bsky.social @btoscotland.bsky.social #birdingscotland @inchgarthbirding.bsky.social 📷John Toon (not the actual bird ...)
Young Moorhen @490m a.s.l. nr Loch Builg y'day. V rare nester in the uplands, tho previously reported breeding here by Adam Watson in 1945. Best birds of the day! Love those UTCs to distract me. @scottishbirding.bsky.social @btoscotland.bsky.social #birdingscotland @inchgarthbirding.bsky.social
Long-eared Owl and Tawny Owl last night in the forest in Aberdeenshire. Don't seem to be as many LEOs this year. #birdingscotland @scottishbirding.bsky.social @btoscotland.bsky.social @ukrbbp.bsky.social
Prob a bit late to the party this year, but first 4-spot Chaser and Green Grasshopper today, and pleased to see better nos of butterflies, esp Painted Ladies, also R Admiral & Ringlet.
There was a tiny moribund Field Mouse outside the back door this evening. It was even covered with fly eggs. We managed to revive it, but we don’t know if it’ll make it through the night. @nesmammals.bsky.social
3 dead Common Crossbills together at the roadside at Tillypronie today. Such a shame. @scottishbirding.bsky.social @btoscotland.bsky.social
Hi mothers - is this a Map-winged Swift (or a Gold Swift), in our garage this evening? Obsidentify seems unsure.
200 dead White-lipped #Snails on 150m of verge @ Loirsbank Road. Did ACC spray something #toxic? What else died? #Biodiversity?? I hope none were eaten by the Song Thrushes or Hedgehogs. This seems mindless. @aberdeencc.bsky.social
After last autumn's mega Nathusius' Pipistrelle #bat spike, they have been popping up in the garden through the winter which is most unusual, and have been *much* more common this spring. Graph shows comparison with more typical recs last year. @batconservation.bsky.social @nesmammals.bsky.social
Dozens of Sand Martins nesting between the granite blocks of the old bridge pier, mid-river at Crathes Bridge, Aberdeenshire. Similar to recent note in Scottish Birds 45: 255, but more watery. @scottishbirding.bsky.social @btoscotland.bsky.social #birdingscotland @nickpicozzi.bsky.social
Goosander nest update: not sure all this down on the ground under the nestbox in the garden is a good sign. Looks like probably the Magpies have been at it again. Will check later with the thermal but suspect the worst. @scottishbirding.bsky.social @btoscotland.bsky.social #birdingscotland
The female Goosander seems to be incubating at the moment. Thermal image from below the nest box in the garden in Aberdeen - note the hotspot! @scottishbirding.bsky.social @btoscotland.bsky.social #birdingscotland @inchgarthbirding.bsky.social
Today's surprise ... Goosander nest in decaying box in the garden in the Aberdeen 'burbs! Thanks to @inchgarthbirding.bsky.social for holding the ladder ... At least one egg already predated on ground so I thought the box would be empty. @scottishbirding.bsky.social @btoscotland.bsky.social
Also at Inchgarth today - my first Comma #Butterfly of the year, and quite an early one, presumably having overwintered locally, plus about 18 Peacocks. @inchgarthbirding.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social
Did you say Clark's Mining #Bee @inchgarthbirding.bsky.social ? This one at Inchgarth today, along with quite a few others. Did it just pee and turn round to drink it or rub it on its legs/body?? #buglife
Monday 7:30: Dr Mark Bolton talking about the changing fortunes of Scotland's 2 small breeding petrels. @scottishbirding.bsky.social MR1 in University Library, Bedford Road, Aberdeen AB24 3AA. All welcome. #petrelheads Added Bonus: (brief) branch AGM!!
Oooh! Just arrived! Brilliant *new* edition of the best introduction & handbook on bird sounds. Thanks, Mark, Magnus & Arnoud! #bioacoustics #ornithology #nocmig @scottishbirding.bsky.social @fatpaulscholes.bsky.social #birdingscotland
Just outside the window, eating peanuts like there's no tomorrow. @nesmammals.bsky.social @scotsquirrels.bsky.social
As if anyone in #Aberdeen needed confirmation that it's been wet recently. Grim if you wanted to go birding, and no sign of it letting up. #climatechange #birdingscotland
Field #Mouse and Bank #Voles in the garden in Aberdeen today. First voles seen here for many years. Dull day, and photographed through the window ... @nesmammals.bsky.social @mammalsociety.bsky.social
Orkney waders! Leah Gray talking about her work to help understand & conserve waders on the islands. Tonight @ 7:30 in University Library (top floor), Bedford Road All welcome. @scottishbirding.bsky.social