Farming always plays the victim Guardian article www.theguardian.com/environment/... My take on it markavery.info/2026/08/05/f... #drought #food #wheat #land
Mark Avery
@markavery.bsky.social
Conservationist, campaigner, author, columnist, blogger, grandpa
A productive night Mon/Tues for moths: Gypsy, Scythris limbella and Cydia amplana all lifers. C. amplana probably 7th record for VC32 (although three weeks ago it would have been 4th!). #teammoth
I'm sad at the passing of Rod Liddle. Guardian obit www.theguardian.com/media/2026/a... My blog markavery.info/2026/08/05/r... @newstatesman1913.bsky.social @thespectator1828.bsky.social
July was driest month in southern England since records began
July was driest month in southern England since records began
England and Wales provisionally record driest July in nearly 200 years, Met Office says July 2026 was the driest month in southern England since records began nearly 200 years ago, the Met Office has said. England and Wales also provisionally recorded their driest July since records began in 1836. Wales had its joint warmest July on record for mean temperature, and England recorded its second warmest July. Continue reading...
theguardian.com
Would have to see the details and understand it better but first reaction is, of course, 'Won't support British jobs, skills and people in every postcode if it limits progress towards a more sustainable future'. I'd be surprised though if this is a very big deal.
The Guardian@theguardian.com · 21h agoGovernment contracts to require job creation instead of green targets under new rules
How many summers has his site witnessed? How many have been as dry as this one? (Possibility of a touch of damp incoming this evening). Arbor Low, Derbyshire.
The case for rewilding could not be more clear, on every conceivable level. Now it's time to put it into *action*.
The Conversation UK@uk.theconversation.com · 24h agoDone properly, rewilded landscapes are more fire-resistant.
Europe’s rivers are running dry, and the knock-on effects are disastrous | Yiannis Baboulias
Europe’s rivers are running dry, and the knock-on effects are disastrous | Yiannis Baboulias
Droughts that were once a century now happen every year, and the impact on wildlife, industrial output and culture itself is catastrophic, says Yiannis Baboulias, a Greek writer based in London
theguardian.com
Our solar panels, just over a year old, are contributing to that.
The Guardian@theguardian.com · 3d agoSolar powers record share of Britain’s electricity mix in July
And I was catching you up on BUBO - I'm only 4,110 species behind you now 😂 I had Coronets and a lifer Cydia amplana too.
James Emerson@norwichbirder.bsky.social · 22h agoI've seldom bothered putting out my moth trap in recent years as catches were always low (due to light pollution in my urban garden) but I did yesterday and was rewarded with my first Coronet, which according to BUBO was the 3rd commonest macro moth I'd not seen. Some new micros for the garden too.
An unexpected one from our inland garden last night, Agdistis bennetii, Saltmarsh Plume, blown in from the Spurn area probably. VC63, S.Yorks. #TeamMoth @bcyorkshire.bsky.social
Top night in Belper with 192/72 to the MV. NFG of Epinotia cruciana, significant record. NFY Twin-spotted Carpet, Six-striped Rustic & Agriphila latistria. Also Chocolate-tip, Small Ranunculus, Small Mottled Willow, Sallow Kitten, V-Pug, Coptotriche marginea, Rush Veneer & Rusty-dot Pearl #teammoth
Really good article about how peat restoration is helping farmers - a good counter to all the nonsense from the usual nonsense about "fuel load" and "rewilding" from the minority. www.walesfarmer.co.uk/news/2614875...?
Elan Valley farmer speaks out after devastation of terrifying wildfire
A farmer has spoken out after watching the land she calls home ‘burn’ and the restored peatland that helped save it.
walesfarmer.co.uk
Beavers create excellent firebreaks and their habitat also provides refuge for other animals when there's a fire or a drought. Their dams also help with flooding...
Go Green @ecowarriorss.bsky.social · 21h agoRewilding brings beaver boom to former dairy farm www.bbc.com/news/article...
The 4th of five episodes of the evolution of @chrisgpackham.bsky.social and his T-shirt markavery.info/2026/08/05/6...
Willow Emerald Damselfly - new to Bath! Prob spreading due to #climatechange. Also a Common Emerald, just a few metres away. The most obvious difference is the colour of the wing spots - pale in Willow Emerald, dark in Common Emerald #Nature #Wildlife #Insect #NaturePhotography #WildlifePhotography
Distant views of Yellow U7 (and rabbit friend) in the fields near the Glaslyn Marshes tonight. This Curlew is 20 years old and was first ringed in South Yorkshire. @birdsinwales.bsky.social
3 Caspian, Mediterranean and a Yellow-legged Gull at Cattlemere, 3 singing Quail near Old Fall, Cuckoo and Spotted Flycatcher. 4 Quail and Hobby at RSPB Bempton. Full details here flamboroughbirdobs.org.uk/sightings/2n...
2nd August 2026 - Flamborough Bird Observatory
Sunny throughout with temperatures only reaching 20 degrees C as an onshore easterly established. Three juvenile Caspian Gulls, a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull and a juvenile Mediteranean Gull were reco...
flamboroughbirdobs.org.uk
Little Gull (juv), Grafham Water, Aug 2020 Our smallest gull, a delightfully dainty scarce passage migrant from the E, mainly Apr-May and July-Sept. May be seen passing offshore or using coastal marshes & inland water bodies, with largest numbers often reported from Hornsea & the nearby coastline.
Jumped out of the truck to grab some rubbish on the side of the road at Lydd-on-sea (Dungeness) There on the pavement edge was several plants of Euphorbia maculata (Spotted Spurge) New for the wider Romney Marsh/Dungeness area and only a handful of East Kent records @bsbibotany.bsky.social
Morning from Marbury. Wonderful start to the day: a Hedgehog, a Hare and lots of Bats! Hope you can see a very close flyby by this Bat! The natural world is so beautiful and amazing. I hope we humans don’t ruin it which we seem hell bent on 😢
This is known to many cycling fans as the Côte de Cray - the first King of the Mountains climb in the 2014 Grand Départ. World class cycling returns to the the Côte de Cray on Saturday 5 September, as the Tour of Britain men rolls through the National Park 🚴 📸 Wendy McDonnell
‘Swifts, swallows and Canada geese’ Artist: CF Tunnicliffe What to Look for in Summer, 1960
UPDATE It has stopped raining in Raunds, Northants. 10min proper rain and 10min drizzle. People dancing in the streets, small children asking what it was, floods expected soon.
Mark Avery@markavery.bsky.social · 11h agoNEWS It is raining in Raunds, Northants!
Sunday book review: Drifting North by @dominicmhinde.bsky.social Publisher: @manchesterup.bsky.social Review: markavery.info/2026/08/02/s... 'A very good read' #carbon #climate #renewables #coal #Uist #Shetland #Orkney #Lanark @wainwrightprize.bsky.social
Sunday book review: Bitter Honey by @jenniedurant.bsky.social Publisher: @princetonupress.bsky.social @islandpress.bsky.social Review: markavery.info/2026/08/02/s... 'It's a cracker!' Bee hives are driven thousands of miles across USA to provide pollination services. Not all plain sailing.
Wasn't there once a sizeable colony at Dungeness? Or have I misremembered?
Ploddingbirder@ploddingbirder.bsky.social · 4d agoDungeness: This Common Gull is probably Kents rarest breeding bird, ignored by most birders.😐
