A quick little animation I made of a few things I saw over the @bsbibotany.bsky.social summer meeting weekend! #WildflowerHour
James Harding-Morris
@jameshardingmorris.bsky.social
BSBI Countries Manager. Supporting our network of recorders across Britain and Ireland and working to engage people with plants through education and recording.
Still a few spaces available on this FREE all-day event this Saturday at an "orchid-rich grassland" in Co. Kilkenny. The tutor, James Owens, aims to help you boost your #WildFlowerID skills & learn more about Ireland's beautiful grasslands. Book your space ASAP: www.tickettailor.com/events/botan...
Select tickets – Irish Grasslands Project: Gale's Hill, Kilkenny – Gale's Hill
Irish Grasslands Project: Gale's Hill, Kilkenny – Gale's Hill, Sat 18 Jul 2026 - This event is part of the Irish Grasslands Project funded by the National Parks and Wildlife Service to enhance botanic...
tickettailor.com
What better possible way to spend a sunny Saturday? Visit the gorgeous grassland at Gales Hill Nature Reserve, Co Kilkenny - described as 'a rare and precious gem' 💎 🌼🌸🌾 🦋 Sat July 18, info below. @npwsireland.bsky.social @zoedev.bsky.social @irishwildlifetrust.bsky.social @kiwibyrne.bsky.social
There's also still a few spaces left at our #IrishGrasslandsProject event exploring the unique grassland @ Gale's Hill, Co Kilkenny on Saturday 18 July (bsbi.org/take-part/ev...) @bsbibotany.bsky.social #GreatIrishGrasslands #GrasslandsTrail
Grasslands of Gale's Hill, Kilkenny
bsbi.org
The @bsbibotany.bsky.social #IrishGrasslandsProject has a fantastic summer programme of events across Ireland! Why not join our 'Grasslands of Tymon Park' event in Dublin @6pm this Thurs 16 July? To book this & other upcoming events: bsbi.org/take-part/pr... #GreatIrishGrasslands #GrasslandsTrail
Went on a short drive to see these gorgeous Maiden Pink (Dianthus deltoides) after work this evening!
More exciting news! Our 2nd #IrishGrasslandsProject event on 18 July is a walk exploring coastal and wet grassland habitats at the amazing Sheskinmore Nature Reserve in #Donegal, on the #GreatIrishGrasslands trail🌸 Booking (essential!) opens 11 July. More info: www.eventbrite.ie/e/wildflower...
Our fantastic #IrishGrasslandsProject kicks off on July 16 with a walk in Tymon Park, Dublin. And more events are to follow, all across Ireland, thanks to funding from @npwsireland.bsky.social! Watch our events page bsbi.org/take-part/ev... for info & (ESSENTIAL) booking. #GreatIrishGrasslands
I love learning about a plant from the botany community on BlueSky and then finding it and recognising it for myself. My first Cape-jewels, easily identified thanks to @trevorthebotanist.bsky.social and @nicwilson.bsky.social and a new dot on the map for Knaresborough.
I’ve spent the day with the wonderful @nicwilson.bsky.social chatting about books & writing and exploring the urban flora of Conwy, where we both have deep roots. I raised a challenge - to find a plant new to the town - and voilà! Cape-jewels (Nemesia strumosa) in a pavement crack. A fabulous day.
Please do consider treating yourself (or a friend) to a copy of Land Beneath the Waves. You will not regret it!
Singing along to 'Paperback Writer' 40 years ago on holiday in the back of my grandparents' old VW camper van, I honestly never thought I'd become one. But today, I am! Get your copy of Land Beneath the Waves from the wonderful Word on the Water London Bookbarge: uk.bookshop.org/p/books/land...
I (re)visited the type tree of Sorbus admonitor, No Parking Whitebeam, this past week. It's looking pretty decrepit, but is still putting forth new leaves and sprays of flowers. I wrote about this exact tree in my book, Endemic, which is currently on offer: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/endemic-9...
Have you ever wanted to know more about preserving plant specimens? Maybe for your own reference, or so you can share plants with experts for identification? The BSBI is here for you! We have a webinar next week - 28th April, 7pm, completely free! Book here: www.tickettailor.com/events/botan...
It's satisfying to see a species you've never heard of posted on here one day, and to find it yourself the next day! #RecordSubmitted Thanks @jeremybartlett.bsky.social
Urocystis eranthidis. Smut fungus on Winter Aconite, Eranthis hyemalis. Ketteringham church, Norfolk, seen on yesterday's bike ride with @vannabartlett.bsky.social. #Fungi #FungiFriends
I went for a very short walk this morning, and found two brand new hectad records! Portuguese Laurel and Fritillary, both non-native, but it's important to record them appearing in wild places. #RecordSubmitted
Nature-lovers across the globe will come together on 24 April for an international BioBlitz! Botanical Skills Northern Ireland Project has an event at Carnmoney Hill, Belfast & all you need to join in is a smartphone & the free @inaturalist.bsky.social app! www.tickettailor.com/events/botan...
Select tickets – City Nature Challenge: Bioblitz in Carnmoney Hill, Antrim – Carnmoney Hill Local Nature Reserve, Carnmoney Hill, Newtownabbey
City Nature Challenge: Bioblitz in Carnmoney Hill, Antrim – Carnmoney Hill Local Nature Reserve, Carnmoney Hill, Newtownabbey, Fri 24 Apr 2026 - Do you love nature? Want a good excuse to get outside? ...
tickettailor.com
This year the BSBI launched the 100 Plants in 2026 Challenge - a project encouraging brand new botanists and recorders to identify their first 100 plants this year and to submit the records. bsbi.org/take-part/ac... It's been about three months now, so how is it going?
The 100 Plants in 2026 Challenge
bsbi.org
I feel there's a good chance that this might be the first-flowering Honewort, Trinia glauca, seen in Britain this year 🤔 Honewort is monocarpic, meaning that it flowers once in its life and then dies, which adds a slight melancholic air to seeing one in bloom.
It's not often you see two new fish in a day, let alone two new new non-native invasive fish. Following on the from the Sunbleak netted earlier, I also saw Topmouth Gudgeon, Pseudorasbora parva, a species in the process of being eradicated from Britain.
I love a bit of pond dipping. You never know what you might find. I was still very surprised to net what appears to be a Sunbleak, Leucaspius delineatus. This species, also known by the great name 'Motherless Minnow', is a non-native in Britain.
Absolutely delighted to see a species new to to me - Wall Whitlowgrass, Drabella muralis. It was growing on the inside slopes of some bowl-shaped earthworks, amongst moss of scattered rocks #RecordSubmitted Read more about it on Plant Atlas: plantatlas2020.org/atlas/2cd4p9...
Tiny, adorable carpet of Rue-leaved Saxifrage. I adore miniature plants.
A white Red Dead-nettle seen today was an unusual treat, and also a great example of why capitalisation of species names is a good aid for clarity in writing. @graemelyons.bsky.social
I enjoyed the placement of this beautiful clump of Ivy-leaved Toadflax.
This is just over a week away, so if you're interested please do book a ticket and join us 🌿
On the 15th April, 7pm, I'm going to be joining David Lindo, aka @theurbanbirder.bsky.social for his In Conversation With... series. We'll be talking about our endemic species; the species unique to Britain and found nowhere else on Earth. Book here: theurbanbirderworld.com/live-webinars/
Some Wall Speedwell (accompanied by a hoard of Firebugs) seen in Thetford today.
I also, by complete chance, bumped into Muscari neglectum today whilst looking for Black Oil Beetles. A pair of dark-purplish stunners.
I've seen all of these species before, but today was the first time I saw all them in a single day; what I am calling 'completing the Breckland speedrun'. Breckland Speedwell, Fingered Speedwell and Spring Speedwell; Veronica praecox, triphyllos, and verna.
What a joy to celebrate the county #flower of #Hertfordshire in my @theguardian.com country diary today. #naturewriting #countrydiary
Country diary: The rise of the rare pasqueflower is my Easter miracle | Nic Wilson
Therfield Heath, Hertfordshire: Soft and felty beyond belief, these springtime tremblers are also highly scarce – yet here are tens of thousands of them
theguardian.com
I'm just applying a layer of clear snowflake crackle glaze to these gorgeous leaf-imprint tiles from my last workshop. Interested in making your own botanical tile, mug or vase? We have another session available to book on the 10th May: gabrielnichols.co.uk/courses-%26-...
On the 15th April, 7pm, I'm going to be joining David Lindo, aka @theurbanbirder.bsky.social for his In Conversation With... series. We'll be talking about our endemic species; the species unique to Britain and found nowhere else on Earth. Book here: theurbanbirderworld.com/live-webinars/
Another example of #BadNatureJournalism in this article where the author doesn't know how to correctly capitalise & italicise scientific names. If journalism about a subject I understand isn't up to scratch, what does that tell us about their other output? www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwywe3pgq1ro
Rare fungus found for the first time in UK forest
The blue-based earthtongue, also known as microglossum cyanobasis, was found by a walker in Sussex.
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Weirdly, I saw this exact bird in Hull the other week but couldn't get good enough pics to read the ring - glad someone else could!
Over 34,000 Shags colour ringed (inc >23,500 on Isle of May) in Scotland + Farne Islands since the 70s to understand their winter ecology, including the unusual locations during February's storms when many sadly died. Please send sightings to shags@ceh.ac.uk www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... #seabirds