Stephen Lowe Watson
@stephenlowewatson
Ex-NHS IT guy. Wildlife, trees, Sussex downs, climate. Environmental fantasy novel: 'Root Rage'. I amuse myself by twiddling on a concertina. Born at 316ppm
A marmalade hoverfly on bog asphodel - taken back in 2017 at Chailey Common, Sussex
A comparison of binoculars versus a cullender for partial eclipse viewing.
Lewes Castle photographed during this evening's partial solar eclipse. You can just about see the people eclipse-watching at the top of Mount Caburn behind it. #Sussex #SouthDowns
A little mist drapes the Ashdown Forest ridges in the Sussex Weald at dawn
The old moon rose before sunrise this morning. Taken from the parched South Downs above Lewes looking towards Ashdown Forest. A late bat was still flitting around.
Rhapsody in Blue: a Holly Blue butterfly feeding on borage. The bees kept buzzing it away but it persisted. We watched it land on top of the flower and then climb round to the underneath to get the nectar. Photos: Zoë Watson @savebutterflies.bsky.social @sussexwildlife.bsky.social
Now reading: King Arthur's Place in Prehistory by W. A. Cummins (1992). His thesis: Arthur & Merlin were folk memories of a Bronze Age king and his architect, responsible for the final phase of Stonehenge. #books #legends #archeology #prehistory
Up at 5am to admire sunrise over the Sussex weald before watering the allotment, harvesting courgettes and picking blackberries for breakfast in the cool of the day
Sunrise over the Sussex Weald this morning, looking northeast from Landport Bottom, Lewes @southdownsnp.bsky.social @southdownsfans.bsky.social
Today is #ShowYourStripes day - a day to show your climate stripes to raise awareness. These are for Brighton, the nearest available to use here in Lewes. You can get your stripes here: showyourstripes.info
A male Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) for #WorldEnvironmentDay
Here's a Maigold rose for you - though this year she was blooming from early April
I don't think I've ever seen a nasturtium flower this early #gardening #climate
A woodpigeon's May morning bathing ritual: "First I stretch my right wing, and then I stretch my left wing, and then I have to see off the jackdaw, and then I just sits in the water and thinks for a while...." #birds
Zoë Watson's sharp eyes spotted this Green Hairstreak #butterfly feeding from forget-me-knots today, otherwise I'd not have got a photo. @sussexwildlife.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social
I couldn't resist a blue tit amongst the apple buds #birds
A dunnock keeping an eye on our local allotments #birds
This morning, a small charm of goldfinches were still enjoying seeds on a lavender we didn't cut back after flowering (like you're supposed to!) #birds @rspb.bsky.social @sussexwildlife.bsky.social
Just as Zoë and I were having a go at the old time Music Hall number "When the Summer Comes Again", this brimstone butterfly flutters past the window in the sunshine and poses on some ivy for Zoë. Magic! @savebutterflies.bsky.social @sussexwildlife.bsky.social #ukwildlife
Male house sparrow snapped this morning stealing the jute twine I use to tie in roses. It'll make good nesting material. If he's not careful, the branch will spring up taking him with it... #birds
It's that time of year when even ornamental tortoises feel the sunshine, smell the violets and dream of love
A polar anti-vortex is centred on the UK right now. These are stratospheric winds; image from earth.nullschool.net#current/wind...