🦔 Tell us if you HAVE or HAVEN'T seen a hedgehog this year. Help us understand where they’re living by completing our quick Hedgehog Survey. 👉 Let us know here: buff.ly/k8Lr6Yg 📷 Nick Upton

Steve Fletcher, of The Repair Shop fame, cut the ribbon at the opening of Newbury Men's Shed last weekend! 🔨 The Shed supports BBOWT by producing bird and bat boxes to encourage more nature in the area. Congratulations to Nigel and Steve who founded this branch of Men's Sheds in record time.

The magnificent red kite paid a visit to Waterstock Local Wildlife Site! Red kites were once hunted to near extinction in the UK. But thanks to reintroduction projects, these majestic birds are once again a common sight. 📸 Thank you to Henry for sharing his incredible trail cam footage with us.

⚠️ 'Farmland bird populations have decreased by 63% since 1970' We can help to turn this around, working with farmers to bring wildlife back to the countryside in Berks, Bucks & Oxon. 👉 Support our appeal: bbowt.org.uk/appeal

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 6d ago

‘Shocking and sobering’: UK bird populations fall to lowest level on record

Our Philanthropy Officer, Bianca, encountered a Devil's coach-horse beetle in the middle of the path! 🦂 They are well known for curling up their abdomens like the tail of a scorpion when threatened, and emitting a foul-smelling substance from their abdomens.

😮 A wall brown butterfly spotted at Sutton Courtenay Environmental Education Centre! While still a fairly common sight around the coast, it has declined significantly across many inland areas, and is very scarce in our three counties. This sighting is the first record for SCEEC! 📸 Charlotte Howe

We’re hiring! 📣 Assistant Reserves Officer (East Berks) Join our Reserves Team and help nature recover across East Berkshire! You’ll support the management of our nature reserves, working alongside volunteers to deliver practical conservation work. Apply now: www.bbowt.org.uk/jobs/assista...

👩‍🌾 Farmers can’t wait for systems and policies to change, and neither can farmland wildlife. Through our Nature Recovery Fund, we can support farmers and landowners across the three counties to create more space for nature. But we need your support too. 🐝

🐌 A snail living its best life! Snails don't get the best reputation, but they're key players in recycling nutrients, and they provide food for all sorts of mammals, birds and invertebrates. 📸 Jo Stephen

🦔 Have you spotted a hedgehog this year? Maybe in your garden, or perhaps dead on the road? Complete our quick survey so we can see where they’re living locally. 👉 Let us know here: buff.ly/k8Lr6Yg 📷 Tom Marshall

Ever stopped to think which fungi you resonate with the most?🍄 You might actually have more in common than you think, swipe to find out... Why not adventure out to spot your fungi twin this autumn? 🍄‍🟫

🦋 Three butterflies you may spot on sunnier days this month! However, as the weather starts to cool and the rain returns, we could be catching our last glimpses of butterflies until next spring. You can also look out for peacocks, brimstones and commas which all spend the winter as adults.

Just add water! What a transformation yesterday at @bbowt.bsky.social Dancersend Reserve after a night and most of a day of steady rain. Freshly emerged Fly Agaric and Freckled Dapperling, Porcelain Fungus and a Giant Polypore at the base of a Beech. This is more like Autumn!

Our wonderful band of Upper Ray Meadows volunteers were still smiling after a hard day's work coppicing at Meadow Farm! 🌳 At Meadow Farm we coppice the hedgerows on rotation to create a mosaic of age structures, providing a wider range of habitats for species. 📸 Chloe Bradford

The problem is clear - our water isn't. The UK's water system needs fundamental reform. As the UK Government develops a new Water Bill, we can take this opportunity to create a water system that works for both people and for nature. Email your MP today: buff.ly/9STWFmz

Ask your MP to back water system reform

Our water system is a mess. And that's putting it mildly! Your MP can fix this: tell them you want new reforms, and why clean water is necessary to you and to nature.

buff.ly

Does this count as ultra-processed food? 🤔 🦦 Incredible scenes from Waterstock Local Wildlife Site as this kingfisher takes a break from its fresh-fish diet and attempts to eat an otter spraint! Thank you to our friend Henry Manisty for sharing his wonderful trail cam footage with us.

Our Volunteering Project Officer, Chloe, attended the Oxford Brookes Volunteer Fair last week to speak to students and hear what volunteering opportunities they would like to see! This will inform our Wilder Futures project and help us create more opportunities for young people to act for nature 🍃

Excitement in the post today - the new book on The Glow-worm by my friend and long-time volunteer at @bbowt.bsky.social Dancersend Nature Reserve, John Tyler. It is a magnificent new version of the small book he self-published 30 years ago, now 168 pages with lots of new content and superb photos.

🐝 Have you ever seen an ivy bee 'mating ball'? As the female bee emerges, she's immediately met with a lot of male attention as they all compete to mate with her! Following the frenzy, the successful pair will often fly off together, leaving the remaining males buzzing around for the next female.

💛 Clouded yellow butterflies are still on the wing and brightening up our days, as Reserves Officer Chloe Bradford spotted them all over the Upper Ray Meadows earlier this week!

🍂 Join us for the BBOWT Celebration on Saturday 14 November at Didcot Civic Hall: buff.ly/C7QtFhj Look back over five years of nature recovery, discover our BIG vision for the future, and celebrate the achievements of our incredible volunteers.

🍂 Join BBOWT for half-price today: bbowt.org.uk/membership-o... We've extended our offer until Sunday, so that you can join the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust from as little as £2.25 per month for a whole year!

These blue tits are making the most of the water supply at Watts Bank! Can you spot the odd one out? 🤔 💧 As the UK remains in drought, it's important to provide water for wildlife. Find out how you can help: www.bbowt.org.uk/actions/how-... 📸 Zoë Huggins, Reserves Officer

🍄 October is the prime time of year to see fantastic fungi at BBOWT nature reserves. Some species boast vibrant colours - can you spot a full fungi rainbow this season? 👉 www.bbowt.org.uk/blog/logan-w...

🪺 Nature heroes, Paul and Lynn in Tilehurst, have made these incredible house martin cups and swift boxes!

🐑 Sheep on the run, summer scything and an encounter with a brown hairstreak butterfly. Read the latest blog from Finemere Wood by volunteer warden Charlotte Karmali 👇 bbowt.org.uk/blog/charlotte-karmali/ramblings-finemere-wood-81 📸 Tom Hibbert

Bat group members bat walk at @bbowt.bsky.social Nature Discovery Centre in Thatcham, West Berks, next Tuesday 29 September 6:45pm

We’re hiring! 🌻 Community Organiser Join our team and help nature recover by working with communities around shared issues and interests. You’ll support people to come together, take meaningful action for nature, and create positive change that lasts. Apply now: www.bbowt.org.uk/jobs/communi...

⚠️ We're screening The People's Emergency Briefing across our three counties. The People's Emergency Briefing is a film bringing together leading experts to explain what the latest science says about the climate and nature crisis and what can still be done.

🦋 Senior Ecologist Colin Williams spotted this aberrant form of the small copper butterfly (caeruleo-punctata) at Grangelands, which has a row of blue spots along its hindwing. Small coppers will soon be coming to the end of their flight season, but take a close look of any you see...