Chequertree

Proof that we don't need to plant trees to get woodland in Kent. Formerly pasture, now rich wildlife habitat. Many species of native tree+more diverse structure than the gloomy rows of plastic tubes still favoured by some. Nightingale, Turtle Dove and Grizzled Skipper all here.

Hi @TrekBikes, are your chainstays supposed to do this?

@Quercus632511 That's going to be messy when a gull grabs the bait.

A first for me at Dungeness this morning ,watched a beach angler delivering his baited hooks,well beyond the standard casting distance..........by Drone ! better keep his eyes open for the local constabulary ! (No Drone flying zone !)

Aerial activity low over Pegwell Bay clears the entire bay of Bird life this morning (Saturday 9th Nov) @KentWildlife @BirdWiseEK #pegwellbaydisturbance

Fireworks are made of plastic and can contribute to plastic pollution in the environment

Alex Pastures / Orlestone forest environs: Small parties of Hawfinches appearing daily at the moment (first appeared 22/10). At Alexs feeding on Birch and Oak tips but predominantly on a bountiful crop of Sloes. 4 present today - long may they stay!

@jm0ses He's from the Adam Smith 'Institute' so we might expect to see this weird anti-environmental take being pushed out across the Tufton Street stable in the coming months on behalf of some of their mysterious funders.

@DeeWardRottal @swaledalebirds_ Is the answer to get a grant for rifle bullets then? Being slightly less facetious, Alder seems can establish thick stands on bare patches, do you have seed sources along the river upstream?

@swaledalebirds_ How much would 40 ha of willow and deer fencing cost do you think ?

Interesting - this bank has been eroding due to excessive flood events. We’ve been trying to get grants to plant this with native trees for 5 years to support bank and create shade but Scot Govt keeps cutting budgets for biodiversity and climate change so we can’t and I can’t see that changing anytime soon. Trying also to get BNG money from businesses who are trying to offset their developments. But it looks like the bank is trying to heal itself with collapsed banks regrowing and it’s reprofiling itself. Thoughts ?

@DaleVince Hoping to get some subsidies for an environmentally disastrous biogas scheme are we?

Rather than make people pay to replace their gas boilers with expensive heat pumps we should be looking at mixed solutions which are more affordable and work for more people.

The true Grey Belt

@billat_foxhill @basilthegreat Odds-on that that race-baiting 'patriotic' account is run from Russia. It's depressing that so many people fall for it.

@basilthegreat Where abouts was that filmed at? It could be anywhere in the world!

Seriously, where are they getting speedboats from?

@KayBurley You have a bright future ahead of you as a junior copywriter for in-house corporate magazines.

Analysis: Striding determinedly towards me, hand outstretched to offer a firm, eye-contact handshake, Lord Cameron cuts a powerful image as he arrives for our interview. I first met him as a friendly, fresh-faced MP when he was put forward by the government in the 2005 election campaign to hold the party line on myriad topics. He was calm, friendly and self-assured. When he left, I turned to the cameraman and said I bet you £20 he’s a future PM. A warm smile spread across Lord Cameron’s face as I shared the recollection with him. That faded into watery-eyed steel as we discussed the desperate loss of his son Ivan who died when he was just six-years-old. We touched on many other emotions too - considered politician when discussing Israel; polite stonewalling for who he wants to win the Tory leadership election; a useful lack of recall on whether he really did tell Boris Johnson ‘I will f*ck you up, forever’ over his stance on Brexit and a cheeky to-and-fro about SwiftGate. He may no longer be in frontline politics but Lord Cameron is unquestionably a safe pair of hands in the unpredictable world of politics. Full interview here news.sky.com/video/share-13…

@RosCoward @mikewporter @Ed_Miliband @Kier_Starmer @CPRE @nationaltrust That's quite a statement.

Simon Jenkins is spot on. This government hates the countryside and despises the millions of people who love its beauty and value it for their wellbeing @Ed_Miliband @Kier_Starmer @CPRE @nationaltrust theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

@fungi_flowers @NatureLark @CIEEMnet Have @CIEEMnet ever taken action against anyone for this sort of thing?

"According to development plans by the MoD’s property arm, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, acid grassland destroyed by the new homes can be replaced by adding sulphur to mitigation land to create “new” acid grassland." What the actual??????

This insect was in the moth trap last night, I think it is Metopius fuscipennis, could anyone confirm and advise UK status, thanks @StevenFalk1

Back in June, Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers bred successfully rearing 2 young in the Orlestone forest area. Sad to hear that just 9 LSW were able to be monitored by the LesserSpot network. Sorry my news is late, at least it gets the survey up to ten pairs. @lesserspotnet

If we can't have a German managing the football team then it goes without saying that all of our news organisations should be British owned

Thoroughly depressing stuff from the new Government. Weak & inadequate environmental regulation is a key reason why our nature is in such a dire state. We need a lot more of it, particularly in the most polluting sectors - water industry & agriculture gov.uk/government/new…

Pegwell Bay has restricted areas, this is to protect the precious wildlife in the area which already faces so many external pressures. With so many lovely paths and places to walk dogs on the site, please keep off the tiny percentage which is set aside to help our wildlife.

@SajadAlipour98 Thanks so much for sharing your incredible knowledge and beautiful pictures, following you on here has been such a pleasure.