Dr Andy Marriott

A beeutiful lady resting after a hard day buzzing #Bumblebee 🐝🌺🌷🌼 #BumblebeeConservationTrust @DaveGoulson @B_Strawbridge @Nottswildlife She could have chosen a larger crocus ☺️ @The_Buzz_Club

Bumblebees, solitary bees, wildflowers & the hidden magic of pollination 🐝 A rare chance to join me in #Stirlingshire for a bee talk & guided walk as part of a beautiful Summer Solstice Arts weekend Do come if you can! Or share with friends in the area #location" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-other-be…

Make your voice heard on pesticides…tell the Government you don’t want glyphosate in your gardens, parks, playgrounds and public spaces. ✋ Add your name to their #GrowersAgainstGlyphosate petition gardenorganic.org.uk/glyphosate-cam….

@magsLancashire @LFi48347 😂😂😂😂

At over 4 feet the Dracunculus vulgaris is coming along nicely 🪴. A beautiful Dragon Arum with a large purple-maroon spathe, but I'm not looking forward to the aroma which emanates from the spadix ! 🤥 #RottenMeat

🌿 Show us your pond 🌿 PondWatch is back! Whether you’ve just created a pond, are building one, or have wildlife sightings from an established pond, we’d love to hear from you. Share your photos & stories with us! british-dragonflies.org.uk/get-involved/p… #PondWatch #Dragonflies #WildlifeGarden

@mrs_walker214 Beautiful views and you can't beat an early start 🐾😃

Caw Fell and Haycock this morning. Out early to beat the heat and get parked.

@PhilSipocz Coffee and toast this morning at 07:15 Phil. Well worth it 🤓🌸🌼🐝🐾

Lunch on the lawn. Very English. Posh us lot you know. 🤣

This post is mainly to help other rescues, but I know a lot of you will be interested as well. This sweet boy is Merlin. Merlin self admitted, but aside from his scabby nose from a bit of ringworm, he appeared fine. But I knew by his behaviour that he was sick. Healthy hedgehogs don't self admit to a hospital pen. Especially boys at this time of year - they are out chasing girls.🥰 I tested his poo in the lodge, where he booked himself into an open pen, and it was clear. I admitted him into hospital where he stayed overnight and left me 6 lovely poo samples. Every single one was clear. And yet his behaviour, his aggitation, the way he dug the corners of the pen, even his smell, told me through years of experience that he was sick. So I started treatment anyway. And as his condition improved, as he became hydrated and nourished, and the first antiparasitic administered, just like magic the confirmation appeared! A diagnosis needs to be made on observed behaviour and history (either your own or of the finders); the poo sample is *confirmation of the diagnosis*. So a hedgehog making unhealthy breathing sounds but producing clear poo samples is still unhealthy. You can't always rely on a sick hedgehog to produce parasite larvae or eggs in their poo sample, for several reasons, but the main reason is: Parasites, like all living organisms, have to preserve energy in order to stay alive and thrive. So when they find themselves in a hostile environment - a host who has become starving and dehydrated - they reduce their energy expenditure by temporarily shutting down systems that are not neccessary for life, like reproduction. They stop laying eggs and go into a sort of stasis, until conditions become welcoming again. Also of course, parasites don't constantly churn out eggs. They have a reproduction cycle. So not every sample will contain eggs. It's so frustrating when people contact me saying they have been sent home with a hedgehog who is clearly in audible respiratory distress, because the poo sample the rescue took was clear. As for sweet Merlin - at first it was a trickle; his poo showed just a few parasites, so microscope samples had to be very carefully scrutinised. But very quickly it became apparent that this poor boy was in fact full of deadly fluke, lungworm, and roundworm. He's only on day 3 of his treatment, so is still very sick, but clever Merlin got himself the help he needed just in time.

CANAL BOAT DIARIES Series 7 now filming. WATERWAYS explorer Robbie Cumming will be back on the small screen in 2026 as the star of Canal Boat Diaries series seven. towpathtalk.co.uk/canal-boat-dia…

@brenda_lakeland Wow B, just wow 😲. I'd picked up some information on UK growth but hadn't delved deeper into it's Geological spread. Always good to learn 📚🤓

@Muttley1968A has established itself in the wild in rough grasslands, hedgerows, and on waste grounds, particularly around London and other areas in southern England. plantatlas2020.org/atlas/2cd4p9h.…

Just wow! Will the heat intensify the 🤔 aroma Andy?

@brenda_lakeland Wild growth ?? 😲

@Muttley1968A 🤣🤣🤣🤣 It seems that they are growing wild now 😳

@brenda_lakeland We grew it from a corm purchased form a plant grower in Lincolnshire. So this is the 3rd season, so approx.. 2.5 years B. Well worth the wait. As for the neighbours, one popped round and moved somewhat swiftly to safer distance (and they work at a vet school 😂)..

@Muttley1968A How long have you had it Andy and what do you neighbours think

@martgathercole What a beauty Mart, never had the chance of seeing one, let alone filming it 😃

🤗 Look what Mrs G has just found in the garden, a massive Stag Beetle - a fearsome beast, she's locked and bolted all of the doors and windows 🤣

@BDSdragonflies @Nottswildlife Thanks again for your confirmation. 😃

@Muttley1968A @Nottswildlife Yes, definitely female. The female is much broader than the male and you can really see how rounded her abdomen is in this photo.

Well a beautiful surprise this evening with a visit from a 'Libellula depressa' the Broad-Bodied Chaser (♂) if I'm not mistaken 🤔 #Dragonfly @Nottswildlife . I'm sure the team at the @BDSdragonflies will help if I'm incorrect 🤓📓📚

@KeiraSoleore @brenda_lakeland Thank you Keira, it was sat so perfectly for the photo. The wings are so delicate 😃

@Muttley1968A @brenda_lakeland That is an incredible photograph. All those details of the gossamer wings…

Never a frown with golden brown

Amazing light in the garden this afternoon. Self-seeded wild poppy. #WonderfulNature #Garden 🌼 @Muttley1968A @Nottswildlife @B_Strawbridge