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tichodrome.bsky.social
Into birding and most aspects of natural history. Divide my time between France, Scotland's Outer Hebrides and anywhere exotic I can afford to visit. Abandoning the dark side for Bluesky and hoping for a better experience
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This is the nearest I'll ever get to seeing a Gurney's Pitta. Thailand's KNC, once a global mecca for the species, is littered with images and other references - even sculptures - though the bird itself is gone. Plenty of other exciting birds in the forest here, but seeing them is hard work.

submitted 6 days ago • 1 comment

My Swarovskis went on holiday to Austria and came back 6 weeks later with new rubber armour. I hope it lasts more than 2 yrs this time.

submitted 16 days ago • 1 comment

Enjoy intimate vid of Spoon-billed Sandpiper, 1 of 10+ wintering Fangchenggang, Guangxi, South China, near Vietnam, feeding on polychaete worms in its typical habitat, pools on upper tidal flats (much of which, across range, destroyed in recent decades) by local Huasheng. #BirdsSeenIn2025 #Birds 1/2

submitted 26 days ago • 3 comments

Nowadays Siskins can be found year-round in Stornoway (Outer Hebrides), with numbers predictably peaking in autumn. Eight individuals at this feeder were more than usual for the month of February.

submitted 18 days ago • 0 comments

Nature is not a blocker to growth. The UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves has claimed that 'The balance has gone too far in the direction of always protecting every bat and every newt.' But how can this statement be true when the UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world?🌍

submitted 31 days ago • 12 comments

Some excellent views of two Spoon-billed Sandpipers at Khok Kham (just 45 minutes from home!) early on Sunday morning. #birding

submitted 34 days ago • 3 comments

Here's the long-staying Ring-necked Duck at Tiumpan Loch, Isle of Lewis, this morning, showing off his striking bill pattern. Other birds in the area included an adult Iceland Gull and a Hen Harrier.

submitted 42 days ago • 0 comments

Cold north wind and snow showers for my Jan 1st walk around Stornoway. A measly 32 species, enlivened by an adult Iceland Gull and a couple of Great Northern Divers. #birdingScotland #UKbirding

submitted 60 days ago • 0 comments

Thank you, Santa! #birdingScotland #ukbirding

submitted 68 days ago • 2 comments

The world's smallest transmitter has helped discover a previously unknown breeding ground of the Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper:

submitted 69 days ago • 0 comments

Over much of Britain, the lichen Lobaria pulmonaria (lungwort) is an ancient woodland indicator. Not so in the humid climate of NW Scotland, where it even occurs on treeless St Kilda. It's very common in Stornoway Castle Grounds, Lewis (where this photo was taken yesterday).

submitted 71 days ago • 0 comments

#ornithology

submitted 77 days ago • 1 comment

An amazing encounter with a Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo in Panama today, as army ants swarmed around us. Taken on iPhone. #ornithology

submitted 80 days ago • 2 comments

Newly published research has provided insight into the status of two Siberian Phylloscopus warblers in Europe:

submitted 80 days ago • 0 comments

The Butt of Lewis lighthouse at sunrise today. A lovely calm morning after two solid days of northerlies - surely promising conditions for finding an interesting bird, but no such luck.

submitted 83 days ago • 0 comments

Time was when I would willingly have driven a couple of hundred miles to see 2 egret species at the same UK site. But this morning, neither Little Egret (several) nor Great White Egret (2) were flagged up as rarities on my eBird list for Porthmadog Cob, North Wales. #birdingwales #ukbirding

submitted 100 days ago • 0 comments

This hybrid Hooded x Carrion Crow was on the beach at Llanddwyn, Ynys Môn / Anglesey today, paired with a Carrion Crow. Does anyone know what the status of Hooded Crow is in this part of Wales? #birdingwales #ukbirding

submitted 101 days ago • 2 comments

This preening individual was one of about 40 Black-tailed Godwits seen along Porthmadog Cob, North Wales, this morning. #birdingwales #ukbirding

submitted 102 days ago • 0 comments

Good to see and hear a few Choughs on the North Wales coast this morning. A very different habitat to the high Pyrenees where I last encountered this species. #birdingwales #ukbirding

submitted 103 days ago • 0 comments

After just 2 years, my Swarovskis are going on a wee holiday to Austria. Rubber armour split on both sides🙁 #ukbirding (with my old Zeiss for the next few weeks)

submitted 109 days ago • 4 comments

Oops, I forgot hashtags the first time round. Juv Pallid Swift, Tiumpan Head, Isle of Lewis, this afternoon. Still present just before dusk. #BirdingScotland #UKbirding

submitted 118 days ago • 3 comments

A dark, gloomy afternoon on the Isle of Lewis took a turn for the better today when the 1st bird I saw on getting out of my car at Tiumpan Head was a swift. Not any old swift, either...

submitted 118 days ago • 1 comment

A dark, gloomy afternoon on the Isle of Lewis took a turn for the better today when the 1st bird I saw on getting out of my car at Tiumpan Head was a swift. Not any old swift, either...

submitted 118 days ago • 1 comment

I rarely see a Little Gull here on the Isle of Lewis, so 3 together yesterday at Tong were quite a treat. #BirdingScotland

submitted 119 days ago • 1 comment

Dipped out (for the 2nd time) on Little Crake at my local reserve in central France, but still a good day with White-winged Black Tern, 2 Bluethroats, Turnstone plus the usual Cattle Egret confetti. Any (polite) suggestions for a suitable hashtag for this post?

submitted 180 days ago • 2 comments

France has a lot of fritillaries, some of which look very similar to one another. This one, Weaver's Fritillary (Boloria dia, la Petite Violette), has a pretty distinctive underwing pattern and is a regular visitor to my garden at the moment. #Butterflies #Papillons

submitted 182 days ago • 1 comment

"The rumblings have reached social media, with gardeners voicing their alarm and posting photos of quiet, insect-free gardens." 'This year has been dead': where have Britain's insects gone? www.theguardian.com/environment/... #insects #climate #conservation 🌎

submitted 199 days ago • 5 comments

A Queen-of-Spain Fritillary (Issoria lathonia, le Petit Nacré) on buddleia in my garden in central France. Numbers in 2023 and 2024 have been tiny compared to previous years. Is this just year-to-year variation, or is the local population in free fall? I don't know. #butterflies #papillons

submitted 188 days ago • 1 comment

A blue butterfly seemed an appropriate subject for my 1st Bluesky post. This one, photographed today, looks brown but is a Long-tailed Blue (Lampides boeticus, l'Azuré porte-queue), the 1st I've ever seen in my garden. Now 47 butterfly spp on my garden list (central France). #butterflies #papillons

submitted 192 days ago • 0 comments