David Hatton

After enjoying the birds of prey (‘hawks’) at Fowlmere RSPB yesterday, I slipped away shortly before 17.00 hrs. My target? The arrival of the incomparable BAE Hawks of the @RAFredarrows of the @RoyalAirForce, who gave a fine display at @IWMDuxford ! @canonUKandIE @SigmaImagingUK

@peediepuss Happy new year to you Martin!

Incredible scenes 😱

@HughHarrop @RareBirdAlertUK @ScottishBirding @BirdTrack @MarkAvery @RaptorPersUK @NLFerries @SunnysidePri @SaversSea @ShetlandWild @WildlifeMag Excellent & a really fine angle Hugh! I vaguely recall seeing one passing south through central Mainland in ~Oct. 2021 in bad weather - I think that one narrowly missed being 'ticked' perhaps by the 'yearlisting' goings-on that were then at their very peak that year! cheers dave

A migrant Honey Buzzard circling over our house here at Hillwell, Shetland last week after it flew out of the garden!

@CursonSimon @botolphsbirder @folkestonebirds Wow, that must have been a truly exciting, never-forgotten find... v well done!

@botolphsbirder @folkestonebirds That is certainly Willowherb Hawk - I should know, I caught the first in Newhaven in the 1980s. Mine was in as good a condition as yours is. Nice one Brian.

@sferguk V nice! What approx range was the grass snake BTW, ie was that a big crop? Asking as this stimulated memory – along with mum I used to keep an Indian Python at home while my bro was doing vet med uni for 5 yrs – it reached a length of over 3m (10+ feet) & ate just twice per yr!

I've had worse days out... belter of a day. I should leave Staines more often.

@JLowenWildlife Brings back v nice memories James! Great set all round. Cheers!

UPDATED NEW BLOG: Lesvos. Mothage added to last night's selection. jameslowen.com/blog-24-may-24… More to come when I get time.

@AdrianBrockless @HughHarrop @RareBirdAlertUK @ScottishBirding @BirdTrack @ShetlandWild Doubtless for you Hugh (& v lucky me too!) It's surely a rare case of: '...Least bitten, twice shy' [& come to think of it, I /we saw a Eurasian Bittern nearby at Loch of Spiggie many autumns ago, so have been 'bitten by the bird bug' & had 2 'shetland bitte(r)ns'...!] Cheers!

@HughHarrop @RareBirdAlertUK @ScottishBirding @BirdTrack @MarkAvery @Britnatureguide @SteelySeabirder @SaversSea @Shetnews @ShetlandWild @NLFerries Once Bittern, twice shy?

Why did the Little Bittern cross the road? Shetland's seventh-ever Little Bittern at Brow Marsh yesterday. Discovered by local crofter Shirley Leslie who watched it walk across the road, took a pic on her phone as it hid in the daffodils & sent it to me asking what it was. Boom!

@appleton_andy err in Cornwall even!? Even better, at say ...Cape Cornwall of course, this morning... ! Cheers DHH

After not travelling to Cornwall and having missed the Meare Heath bird by a couple of minutes a few days earlier I was very pleased to catch up with the Booted Eagle at Chew Valley Lake - 24 years ago today. Will there be another twitchable one?

@SteveBDunge Wonderful Steve! (& I think fellow Cyprus-phile, moth-man & author, James (@JLowenWildlife) refers to the females as 'swoonsome Empresses' !) [Here's the first I got in my garden in N Herts 5 yrs ago, which came to my wee WEM light. Had a few males since.] Have a gr8 May Steve!

Emperor is a common moth hereabouts but its nearly always day flying males, so its good to find a female in the Nethy trap now and again.

@cogie_s Oh dear, do hope that you return, if X ever sorts itself out in the future. Maybe by the end of the yr, when I guess it might even be renamed the 'Xmas xMusk' app or suchlike! Overall I like to think that the advantages outweigh (narrowly) the disadvantages...! All best David

Retirement Post. I'll close the door as I leave. Been a blast Thanks everyone. @elonmusk fucked it.

@sjb_astro Same here Steve, nothing in the way of an aurora in past hour or so from my Royston gdn, N Herts, UK. Skies look good, clearish. Was superb however last night over nearby SSSI heath. Bedtime beckons! Cheers D

Not seen any #aurora this evening from North Yorkshire. Activity seems low tonight and I have lots of cloud anyway.

@tw__astro Brilliant, have u checked the Shetland one from I think it was Oct.2021? I did. I'm a bit slow presently as on a dangerous medication owing to a certain unexpected illness, but I can send u link u the video I made of that one that twitched around for ~30 mins, ~ 1500km in length!

@davidhhatton Nice, and yes. Showed up in the next two frames - up to around 1 minute after.

That’ll do! There goes all my luck for the century #aurora

@JLowenWildlife V well done James!

The Neuroptera lace/threadwing provided arguably the trip’s champagne moment when it flew past at our quayside lunch, disappeared, only to be spotted floating in the harbour, inches from shoals of fish. we managed to mothnet it out, and it recovered quickly to fly off. perfect.

@JLowenWildlife Really nice James! Wld love to get back to Lesvos & its v friendly people, scenery & great wildlife again soon, lucky you! Cheers D PS really lucky to see yet another 'PS Pug' close by. Like u?, can't wait to get one in my gdn too. If only time, weather & other issues allowed...

A really enjoyable day in west Lesvos.

@peediepuss V nice shot of you all Martin! That's inspirational I'm sure for me & many of your numerous followers... BTW Hope you have a terrific late spring & many interesting visitors (and, who knows, maybe even a memorable YBB-type within sight of those legendary dialyt 7x42s ?!). ATB DHH

In Papay today for a bit of a beachcombing weekend. There's nowhere else I'd rather be, & nothing else I'd rather be doing today, on this the 14th anniversary of my cherished sobriety. Still with the upper hand in the struggle, it's never easy but it does get less hard.

@CamStu Ahh, what a beautie, lovely, how sad she's gone! [& if u ever try to replace her & need any expert advice, dont hesitate to send me a DM, as I have 3 great veterinary docs in my closest family, all freshly retired & happy to advise friends freely...]

To our beloved Luna, who we said goodbye to on Saturday just 4 weeks before her 15th Birthday. Thanks for the wonderful memories you've given us. Sleep well little girl. We miss you! 💔

@SteveBDunge Would love to see one of those beauties one day Steve! You are v lucky! (Here, away from my gdn, it was v nice yday to see 2 male Emperors emerging on my local heath (an SSSI), which was v cool indeed as 2 Natural England inspectors arrived unexpectedly to do the annual review!)

Kentish Glory. The best from the Nethy garden trap last night.

@JLowenWildlife @mcbuckland Excellent James... rubbing hands in anticipation! Cheers D

NEW BLOG: Cyprus moths. A photo-rich exploration of what was attracted to the pair of LED lights that @mcbuckland and I ran on our hotel balcony. Spoiler alert: the catches overall exceeded expectations... jameslowen.com/blog-26-apr-24…

@BBCLookEast Hi, in 1990s I did in Cambridge a PhD on Human Melanoma chemo-resistance. Sadly many results were 'suppressed' then, as lab was in huge rivalry with grps that later won 2015 Nobel Prize for DNA repair models that we worked on too in our cell lines. DM me to interview my heroes?

British man tests first personalised melanoma vaccine bbc.in/3xV4cLd

@JLowenWildlife @mcbuckland Owl-fly is a truly great insect, isn't it! Think this is a female. We had a pair a few mm apart nr the Paphos Airport in our final seconds. (BTW think it has lost a 'u' – specific name slightly different: Libelloides macaronius, i.e. not the plural of the pasta tubes!?) Cheers DH

A couple of special invertebrates from Cyprus last week, w/@mcbuckland: the stunning owl-fly Libelloides macaronis, which we found common at two sites, and the amazing orthopteran Nosey Cone-headed Grasshopper (Truxalis nasuta). More on the blog at jameslowen.com/blog-21-apr-24…