Alan Knox
@alanknox.bsky.social
Aberdeenshire; mainly birds, mammals, herps & selected inverts; often sidetracked ...
With almost all grey squirrels now removed from Aberdeen City, read our new blog to find out what day-to-day life looks like for our North East team, and how they stay motivated when there’s (hopefully!) nothing to find… scottishsquirrels.org.uk/2026/07/31/l... 📷 Raymond Leinster
Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Genetic analyses uncover a hybrid population between Brent Goose subspecies avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2024/05/29/g... #ornithology
Genetic analyses uncover a hybrid population between Brent Goose subspecies
A potential reservoir of genetic and behavioral diversity.
avianhybrids.wordpress.com
Back in August 2024 I found a Looped Flutter/Picture-winged #Fly Toxoneura muliebris in the house, and another yesterday (& today). Only 3 previous Scottish records - all in the Central Belt. I'm not really into tiny flies but this one's a cute character. @buglife.bsky.social
Another #nocmig surprise inland in Aberdeenshire this week: Egyptian Goose, heading north. Part of two long sequences as it passed over two recorders. #birdingscotland @scottishbirding.bsky.social @btoscotland.bsky.social @inchgarthbirding.bsky.social #bioacoustics @fatpaulscholes.bsky.social
Picking up several Little Ringed Plovers in #nocmig inland in Aberdeenshire. This from 16 July @ 01:07 hrs. We tend to think of a lot of wader migration as being coastal. It's not! #birdingscotland #bioacoustics @scottishbirding.bsky.social @btoscotland.bsky.social @inchgarthbirding.bsky.social
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
I have 5 static recorders in Aberdeenshire forests & have had Quail in all: 1. 4 nights 23/5-3/7 2. 5 nights 21/5-19/6 3. 1 night 10/6 4. 10 nights 21/5-4/7 5. 8 nights 21/5-3/7 On only 2 nights calling started <midnight. @markaeaton.bsky.social @ukrbbp.bsky.social @inchgarthbirding.bsky.social
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
Vagrant Yellow-browed Warblers don't come from near edge of range, but from ~2,000km east of the western limits. Suggests mass misorientation in near reverse direction. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #birdingscotland @alexanderlees.bsky.social @scottishbirding.bsky.social @btoscotland.bsky.social
The road to nowhere: geolocation-by-genotype traces large-scale yellow-browed warbler vagrancy to central Siberia
Vagrant animals – individuals found far outside their normal range – offer powerful natural experiments for understanding migratory mechanisms. The yellow-browed warbler ( Phylloscopus inornatus ) pro...
biorxiv.org
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.
Your daily Avian Hybrids story! An Italian Sparrow in the Netherlands turns out to be a House Sparrow avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2023/07/19/a... #ornithology
An Italian Sparrow in the Netherlands turns out to be a House Sparrow
Genomic analyses confirm that we are dealing with a weird House Sparrow.
avianhybrids.wordpress.com
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
Nightjars are increasing in Shetland. For example in 2024 there were 13, mainly May-June but also one in October. This male at Grutness today wasn’t well-concealed and moved its position twice for no obvious reason. #BirdingScotland
We have another event at Greyhope Bay on Saturday afternoon: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/explore-th...
Explore the Sounds of Greyhope Bay! A Listening and Creative Adventure
Create Sonic Postcards with us while we explore the outdoors!
eventbrite.co.uk
A quick plug for some sound workshops I'm involved with at Greyhope Bay and St Fittick's Park this week, together with the excellent Rebecca Macklin and Roxane Permar. The first workshop is tomorrow morning: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/greyhope-m...
Greyhope Morning: Exploring Local Heritage through Sound
Explore the Heritage of Greyhope Bay and the surrounding area through sound during this listening and art-making workshop
eventbrite.co.uk
Hi - @scottishbirding.bsky.social - the excellent Online Scottish Bird Report seems to be inaccessible at the moment. I used it yesterday but can't get at it today. www.the-soc.org.uk/pages/online...
Online Scottish Bird Report
Search Reports from all over Scotland Online Scottish Bird Report (oSBR) puts hundreds of local bird reports (and over 100,000 species accounts) at your fingertips. Want to know where to find Corn Bun...
the-soc.org.uk
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