David Downes
@davidjd.bsky.social
PhD student at UCL - farmland ponds and bats. Pond Restoration Research Group #bats #conservation #wildlife 🦇🐾🐸🦊
Studys of bat use of restored farm ponds in Norfolk, eastern England led by the brilliant @davidjd.bsky.social of our partner @uclgeography.bsky.social. Overgown ponds restored by scrub & mud removal are massive hot spots for bats in the farmed landscape. Water = life 🦇
Selbrigg Pond, North Norfolk, eastern England. A small shallow lake fed by woodland seepage & hence v. low nutrient concentrations. While many other lakes & ponds are murky due to the heat, Selbrigg is crystal clear & vibrant with life. Low nutrients = greater resilience to climate change & warming
No need to seed: restoring former arable land to species‐rich grassland by mowing & natural regeneration over 18 years. Paper published today by myself, with my amazing 86 year old father & farmer Derek Sayer. A visit to the meadow is like stepping back through time. doi.org/10.1111/rec.70487
#Ghostpond restoration is rocket fuelled conservation! Over 4-5 years we have seen 100s of wet-loving plants return to 30 resurrected ice age ponds in Norfolk, England. This year's surveys saw us find more scarce species: Marsh Pennywort, Marsh Speedwell & Fringed Heartwort. So Thrilled!!!
Fun to show @norfolknats.bsky.social some restored ancient #ghostponds today at East Harling with the fab @timholtwilson.bsky.social. At least 40 wetland plants in this pond resurrected 20 months ago. Most successful form of ecological restoration known? @billsutherland.bsky.social #ghostpond
Come and do our amazingly popular @uclgeography.bsky.social MSc Aquatic Conservation, Ecology & Restoration. Now in its 24th year, the course famously underpins practical aquatic conservation & restoration with the very best science @tonyjuniper.bsky.social @craigbennett3.bsky.social
Come & do this brilliant pond restoration training course run by myself & Helen Greaves of @norfolkponds.bsky.social. Pond Restoration Training: 25th & 26th June 2026 — Freshwater Biological Association share.google/YcHC0RT99yAj...
Pond Restoration Training: 25th & 26th June 2026 — Freshwater Biological Association
Ponds are increasingly being recognised as critical to biodiversity conservation in UK landscapes. This two-day course will introduce participants to pond restoration science and best practice. Hele...
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Come and do the mega popular & frankly brilliant @uclgeography.bsky.social MSc Aquatic Conservation, Ecology & Restoration. Now in its 24th year, the course underpins practical aquatic conservation & restoration with science
We are potty about pond life! If you, like us, feel passionately about the #freshwater power of ponds... please check out our #Pond #Restoration Training on 25 & 26 June with Helen Greaves & Carl Sayer of the @norfolkponds.bsky.social. Find out more & register today! www.fba.org.uk/shop/p/pond-...
Beginning to wonder whether this will be my toughest audience yet…. Persuading pest controllers to adopt a more wasp-positive approach in their work. #PestEx2026 #ExCel pestex.org/Agenda #waspLove #BPCA @uclcber.bsky.social @uclnews.bsky.social
Do #bats visit restored farm #ponds vs. overgrown farm ponds & the surrounding landscape preferentially in winter? Well @davidjd.bsky.social & @stephenmulvey.bsky.social of @uclgeography.bsky.social & Norfolk Ponds are working on this @batconservation.bsky.social @norfolknats.bsky.social
A flooded palaeochannel on a remote chalk stream #floodplain. As food builds in this habitat it will become very attractive to fishes as long as the water stays. Rivers with lots of off channel habitat can probably support a much bigger #fish biomass. We need more river-connected floodplain
A farm #pond we restored in 2014 showing multiple valuable habitats. Open water with submerged plants, a thick bed of Typha, lightly vegetated shallow shelving edge, bramble patch, woodland fringe, mini ancient woodland meadow (promontary on R) with early purple orchid. All this in a tiny footprint
We are managing previously restored farmland ponds in North Norfolk, eastern England over the next 3 days. Lots of volunteers coming in. Watch this space for top tips & wild #pond conservation action!!!
Happy NY!!! Since 2014 we have pioneered the restoration of overgrown ponds & lost infilled #ghostponds in the UK. Our methods, learnt from a wonderful farmer (Richard Waddingham), are mega successful & lead to massive biodiversity gains for aquatic & terrestrial species. Please support us in 2026 🎉
How do you get a 120% increase in wetland plants in the farmed landscape & massively increase water beetle diversity too? The answer is restore farm ponds by scrub & sediment removal - key is to go in hard & make a big impact. See new paper: share.google/VVowsJzqHdPT...
‘We’ve been able to resurrect some of the ancient life that shows what this wetland was like prior to urbanization.’ I didn’t have this Guardian article about Toronto on my bingo card yesterday: www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
Creatures buried in soil for over a century burst back to life in Toronto waterfront
A project to restore coastal wetland leads to astonishing discoveries of a host of life: seeds and plant scraps, as well as water fleas, worms, larvae and plankton
theguardian.com
Our work resurrecting ice age #ghostponds in the Guardian today @timholtwilson.bsky.social @hburningham.bsky.social @uclgeography.bsky.social ‘Just add water’: how to bring back ancient plants in a Norfolk ghost pond | Wildlife | The Guardian share.google/kO6HQaC4PAUJ...
‘Just add water’: how to bring back ancient plants in a Norfolk ghost pond
An expert team are resurrecting ice age ponds and finding rare species returning from a ‘perfect time capsule’
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We have been described as "THE BEST NGO THAT NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT" Please help by following us & reposting!!!
This week we are working with volunteers to restore around 6 farm #ponds by major scrub & mud removal. Today we got almost 2 ponds done through pure weight of numbers helping!!! A truly brilliant crazy team!!!
Very humbled today to receive the Peter Scott Memorial Award from the #BritishNaturalistsAssociation for having made an ‘outstanding contribution to our understanding of natural history and conservation’ I don’t feel worthy but do feel very honoured #TeamFlies @nhm-london.bsky.social
A day of 'ghostpingo' #pond resurrection in the Norfolk Brecklands with @timholtwilson.bsky.social & other wonderful experts. By the end of tomorrow Norfolk will have 2 more of its lost ancient ponds back
This is what we do. Since 2014 we have restored (& guided others to do the same in the UK) 100s of #ponds with **MASSIVE** measured benefits. See this mid-arable farm pond before & just 1 year after restoration by scrub & mud removal. A freshwater jewel in the landscape @davetickner.bsky.social
Deep clear mysterious waters of a restored farm pond. Deep down there are stoneworts & endless invertebrates that lift populations of bats & birds. All in the middle of an arable field.
Pond restoration & creation achieve the same result in the long term. They are vital *complimentary* approaches in freshwater biodiversity conservation - new paper on Norfolk & Suffolk farm ponds: doi.org/10.1016/j.bi...
Listen up! It is baby bat season! Please, please, please keep your cat indoors overnight for next few weeks. Seeing multiple cat-damaged or killed bats, some with babies attached.😪 Bats can live >20 years and have just 1 baby/year, so now's a critical time. # bats #cats #conservation #wildlife 🦇
The anti-bird infrastructure at Charles Darwin’s church in Downe, Bromley today. No wonder there are no Swifts screaming over the village any more. @btobirds.bsky.social @godsacre.bsky.social @rspbengland.bsky.social @chrisgpackham.bsky.social
