Allen Stuart Holmes

Bombus lucorum agg. Burnley, East Lancs. From a site where B. cryptarum have been confirmed by DNA.

Bombus monticola queen. Burnley, East Lancs. 2 were seen. My earliest by a long way.

Siskin, female. Hurstwood, East Lancs.

I always love to show my love to them anytime because we should show them the right and the wrong also good and bad. Children are always nice when you makes them smiles and it’s a blessings.

Always a good day when I get prolonged views of Song Thrush, one of my favourite British birds. Victoria park, Nelson.

@DanielBranch94 Coincidentally, one seen at Hurstwood reservoir on EL Calderdale border today, Feb 17th. My second this winter, a scarce bird here.

Great Black-backed Gull!!! For just the second time in my 19 years watching Soil Hill! It's been a steady February on Soil Hill for my first visits of 2026, but I certainly enjoyed this brute heading north this morning! #SoilHillBirding

Never give up! Took four visits but finally clapped eyes on a Norfolk Lesser spotted woodpecker in 2026. Hopefully one of several birds still surviving in the brecks.

Pendle Hill taken from Cant Clough res, Burnley. Feb 14th 2026.

@macro_action Thanks Paul. I photograph many Amegilla species in The Gambia but I struggle to put a name to them.

@AllenStuartHol2 Sure, Amegilla quadrifasciata in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote, Canary Islands

White banded digger bees in flight. The These are my favourite and let’s be honest probably the easiest bees to catch in flight because of their colour and the fact that they hover once in a while.

Hume's Warbler at Lowestoft, Suffolk this morning. A very active bird which showed well. A very pale individual with a call similar to a Pied Wagtail.

@LizaRosen0000 You freakin heathen! Men are meant to protect women & children. Try a little self-control you medieval retard!

@TonyJuniper We are already noticing big, ongoing changes in our insect assemblages Tony, one of the most powerful outputs of citizen science (amateur insect recorders). We've been adding new bee species at the rate of 1.5 per year recently, but many long-established bees are also declining.

Brilliant BoP watching today ~ 2 Goshawks the absolute highlight, could have watched them for ages (one young ♀️ was up & around for close on 45 minutes or so). Still such a buzz to see this species ~ they were *so* rare back in the day (w/hushed tales of Derwent & Acres Down).

The much improved weather @spurnbirdobs this morning kicked-off an incredible movement of White-fronted Geese with no fewer than 168 passing south, many of which stopped off at the wetlands before continuing on their way. The Black Brant also paid us a visit. What a goose fair!

The movement against #FGM is gaining ground in 🇬🇲 @MoWcsw , @UNFPA & @aics_it are turning #ZeroTolerance into action⬇️ 🟠130+ regional leaders uniting across borders 🟠174 officers trained to stop cross-border FGM 🟠 1,774 community voices saying 👎 🙏@aics_it

“As long as I am alive, I will wake up every single day and scream to the world that FGM is wrong and child marriage is not different from rape.” Jaha Dukureh #WorldFGMDay #EndFGM

Water Pipits are always great birds to watch closely as they go about their business. This one at Cley today was picking small red worms from the muddy fringes.

4.5 million is an alarming figure😔 We must step up to end this practice once and for all. Join the movement 💪 @GPtoEndFGM

Grey Alder. Alnus incana. Rowley, Burnley.