Samantha Richardson

@JieGe2017 Just a bridge camera, good old Nikon P900. Now a discontinued model but they are really excellent for the price.

The most magical time spent in a private riverside garden in the Scottish Highlands, watching one of Britain’s rarest breeding birds up close and personal. Bloody love a black-throated diver!

2026 marks my 4th year of chasing a childhood dream. Never content with doing things by halves, always to the max 😆 Aurora hunting has taken me many miles in pursuit of clear skies, long nights and sleepy mornings at work 😆Today is my 45th UK aurora, should hit 50 this year. 💪🏻

@Nova_thebudgie_ This looks disgusting. Yes definitely throw out. Or throw up. Or both.

Hi guys I hate feathers and I hate taxidermy. I will be throwing away all my feathers and birds because they're UGLY and GROSS.

Wasn’t expecting that today! All ready to chill in my pjs and then up popped reports of a Leach’s Petrel at Misson! A wild, wet and windy day, a bit of a drive but well worth the effort to see this mystical bird so well and finally put myself out of years of bogey bird misery!

I haven’t done any drawing for a long time, but recently relented and took on a commission for a colleague. I also finished this slightly rubbish alpine swift I started ages ago. This is the last bit of artwork I’ll ever do! Grab it mounted for £30 plus postage.

@PhilWoollen Saw this post and momentarily thought Chiltern, Buckinghamshire, UK, and legit did a double take. 🤣

One of the big 24+ flock of White-throated Needletails over Bartleys Block, Chiltern today

@ColinBrazierTV You lost me at ‘most humane method of controlling foxes’. Bore off. Time for you fossils to get a new hobby.

A few months ago I met Jim Barrington. In the 1990s he’d been a hunt saboteur and director of the League Against Cruel Sports, which campaigned to stop fox hunting. Ahead of the ban - which came into law in 2004 - Jim was involved in a series of debates with the philosopher Roger Scruton who, later in life, rode to hounds and became a strong advocate for the merits of hunting as the most humane method of controlling fox populations in the countryside. Faced with the facts, with emotion removed, Jim very publicly changed his mind - coming out in favour of allowing fox hunting to continue - losing many friends in the process. But his sifting of the arguments about fox hunting remain an object lesson in how to put reason before dogma. I thought of Jim today as many Hunts headed out for what may be their final Boxing Day in the field. Labour’s proposed ban on trail hunting is another example of MPs who talk a lot about kindness, while failing to understand toleration. Another example of a government which finds it easy to destroy the work of generations in the name of what they think is progress, but which actually amounts to an ideological scorched-earth policy.

Thrilling Thursdays 💥 Lucked out on an early showing of the Needletail at Bempton, but got it at Filey at 6pm. Almost broke my ankle for it! A classic moment. Due to some recent bollox I’ve not been in the game for a few months, but this legendary bird was too good to miss🔥

"The Palestine Sunbird was declared the national bird of Palestine in 2015 after the Israeli occupation authorities tried to change its name in their efforts to erase Palestinian identity."

@Rueben_George @JeremyClarkson He already has culled all the badgers on his farm some time ago, you absolute nugget. It’s not badgers this time.

@JeremyClarkson Cull the bloody badgers.

Bad news from Diddly Squat. We’ve gone down with TB. Everyone here is absolutely devastated.

@WingsScotland @Kerfufflenob I’m sure you can pop round to help your mum with her lawn or if not, arrange for a gardener to help. I think the cost to wildlife, such as hedgehogs, is far greater than the cost to your mum to get a little help with garden maintenance, so that doesn’t wash I’m afraid .

@Kerfufflenob But I'll pass your message on to my 83-year-old mum, who's no longer capable of maintaining real turf. I'll let you know what she says, but I'll tell you now you won't like it.

Fuck's it got to do with you what people put in their own gardens?

@VictoriaCoren Bum Bum is my cat. He does get around a fair bit but this is the first time I’ve seen him pop up on X.

Life advice: never leave your phone microphone on while writing a work email in case you discover AFTER HAVING SENT IT that it took note of a conversation one of your children was having in the background.

Watch @_OliviaBlake's brutal takedown of driven grouse shooting in just 90 seconds from last weeks debate in Parliament. @wildjustice_org

@birdering @otleybirder Yay congratulations!! 🥳 I’m the same, a combination of circumstances means I’m unable to get out birding much at the moment which is really pants. I’ve missed loads of juicy things 🫠 but I’m hoping to go for the ortolan at Wykeham this weekend (if I don’t melt in the heat 🤣)

We've barely been able to bird further than our garden this year thanks to a horrible run of bad luck with our health. But today we finally got to tick our 300th species! Collared Pratincole at St Aidan's thanks to our pal @otleybirder who found it this morning 🥳

Very smart Woodchat Shrike in Cheshire today - thanks to the other half for suggesting it and even being taxi! Lots going on lately and haven’t been birding much at all this spring 😕 but this has got me buzzing again (and is a long overdue U.K. ✅ !!)

Woodcock at RSPB Geltsdale yesterday. One of the many ground nesting birds here that are co-existing well alongside a healthy population of predators. Fancy that. If you want to see what a normal balanced ecosystem looks like, instead of a zoo for red grouse, come to Geltsdale

Two hen harriers vanish from RSPB's Geltsdale Reserve - suspected illegally killed on surrounding grouse moors. RSPB staff providing food at nest in desperate attempt to save chicks. Press release ⬇️ raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/05/20/two…

After a tense wait the Booted eagle finally did the right thing & performed like a celeb during a break in the torrential rain, giving super prolonged views for about 30 mins as it flew around the pines and farm being mobbed by crows!! @WayneGlossop2 @AnthonyAreed &MagicMike 💥💪🏻

In my FB memories on this day two years ago: a super sexy Sabine’s, in Havant. Not sure the same can be said about the mad bobble-hatted bint in the pics 🤣🤣🤣