Phil Saunders
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beardybirder.bsky.social
Phil Saunders
@beardybirder.bsky.social
1.2K followers 1.1K following 600 posts
Professional bird botherer & bug chaser (not like that), based in Dorset. Freelance ecologist / leader for Wildlife Travel #LGBTQinSTEM. Mainly birds, inverts, & plants, with the occasional arty photo. All views my own.
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beardybirder.bsky.social
Just back from two weeks guiding on the 2026 @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social Costa Rica wildlife tour, with a few of the avian highlights pictured below. Just some of the 260+ bird species we encountered, including 23 species of hummingbird(!), in this fantastically diverse & welcoming country
A male White-necked Jacobin perches on a twit against a blurred green background. A Lesson's Motmot perches on a bare branch in front of several banana leaves. A calling Prong-billed Barbet perches on a bare branch, against a backdrop of green leaves. A sleepy Boat-biiled Heron perches on a riverside branch, amongst large green leaves.
January 31, 2026 at 8:49 PM
Reposted by Phil Saunders
wild-beijing.bsky.social
There are few Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa 花脸鸭 Huāliǎn yā) wintering at the Yellow River estuary in Shandong Province. Photo by "菜小hua". #birds #china #yellowriver
January 30, 2026 at 6:35 AM
Reposted by Phil Saunders
mikemoths.bsky.social
CALL FOR 2025 RECORDS!
The moth traps are quiet, so it's the ideal time to submit your 2025 Dorset (VC9) moth records. More info about this at dorsetmoths.co.uk/help.php.
To be included in the 2025 Annual Report, records should be received by Saturday 28 February 2026.
@dorsetmoths.bsky.social
Canary-shouldered Thorn moth
January 9, 2026 at 9:37 AM
Reposted by Phil Saunders
sarahlambert7.bsky.social
Lot of wonderful photos from @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social holidays now available at www.flickr.com/photos/wildl..., including mine from the joy-filled Cyprus Christmas 2025 trip and some amazing bird images from @wildlifeprecey.bsky.social in Bhutan…

Ideal to banish the winter blues!
January 11, 2026 at 6:00 AM
beardybirder.bsky.social
The first Upton garden session of the 2026 moth year produced single Ypsolopha ustella & Scrobipalpa costella this morning (2/2), albeit with both ultimately being chased around the kitchen for a photograph after escaping from an absolutely sodden trap #TeamMoth @dorsetmoths.bsky.social
An elongated & brown-marked Varied Ochre moth (Ypsolopha ustella) rests horizontally on a dark brown wooden skirting board, set against a paler brown door frame. A brown-marked Bittersweet Moth (Scrobipalpa costella) rests vertically on a painted white coping.
January 13, 2026 at 9:43 AM
Reposted by Phil Saunders
markwright12002.bsky.social
Goldeneye (m)
Weymouth, Dorset
@dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social
January 12, 2026 at 9:37 PM
beardybirder.bsky.social
My 1st opportunity to get out locally this yr & my inaugural visit to St Aldhelm's Head, with 160 Skylark & 120 Linnet the highlights, followed by a wild goose chase around Purbeck (somehow managing to dip both WFG & Bean) & a final dip of YBW @ a feline-filled Hatch Pond @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social
The sun shines in a blue sky above green grassy fields at St Aldhelm's Head, with a fenced track visible on the left and the Chapel in the distance off to the right.
January 10, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Reposted by Phil Saunders
wildlifetraveller.bsky.social
back to the beginning...

I started my #Bhutan trip with a roadside Ibisbill just outside Paro, and 10 days later I'm back, just a stone's throw away from a male Wallcreeper: two monotypic families within sight of each other.

Winter in Bhutan... beats Storm Goretti any day!

#Ibidorhynchidae
January 8, 2026 at 11:32 AM
beardybirder.bsky.social
Lovely to see at least 13 Tundra Bean Geese in fields between Sandwich and Deal just now, amongst 70+White-fronts and several commoner goose species @kentishplover.bsky.social
January 7, 2026 at 11:37 AM
beardybirder.bsky.social
There were far fewer large gulls in Pegwell Bay over high tide today, compared to my last survey visit in December, but I still managed to eke out three Caspian Gulls amongst the loafing flock, comprising a boldly patterned 2nd winter bird & two 3rd winters @kentishplover.bsky.social
Digiscope photo of a second winter Caspian Gull standing in front of two Oystercatcher on a shell-strewn beach, with grey sea visible in the background. Distance digiscope photo of a 3rd winter/subadult Caspian Gull standing in front of several sleeping gulls (of various species) on a shell strewn beach, with grey sea visible in the background.
January 5, 2026 at 2:55 PM
beardybirder.bsky.social
Apochima flabellaria - thanks to @swaystevek.bsky.social for the ID. An absolutely bizarre looking Geometrid!
beardybirder.bsky.social Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · Jan 1
I attracted multiple examples of this amazing looking moth to my lit balcony in western Cyprus last week, but am still failing to come up with a species ID based on limited online resources. If anyone has an idea then do please let me know #TeamMoth
A cryptically patterned grey moth, with extremely plumose antennae, sits in profile on a speckled grey wall top, holding one pair of tightly furled wings upright in a V shape (similar to Saltmarsh Plume) with the other pair held flat and parallel to the abdomen. A cryptically patterned grey moth, with extremely plumose antennae, perches in oblique profile on a white door frame, holding one pair of tightly furled wings upright in a V shape (similar to Saltmarsh Plume) with the other pair held flat and parallel to the abdomen.
January 1, 2026 at 10:14 AM
beardybirder.bsky.social
I attracted multiple examples of this amazing looking moth to my lit balcony in western Cyprus last week, but am still failing to come up with a species ID based on limited online resources. If anyone has an idea then do please let me know #TeamMoth
A cryptically patterned grey moth, with extremely plumose antennae, sits in profile on a speckled grey wall top, holding one pair of tightly furled wings upright in a V shape (similar to Saltmarsh Plume) with the other pair held flat and parallel to the abdomen. A cryptically patterned grey moth, with extremely plumose antennae, perches in oblique profile on a white door frame, holding one pair of tightly furled wings upright in a V shape (similar to Saltmarsh Plume) with the other pair held flat and parallel to the abdomen.
January 1, 2026 at 9:27 AM
beardybirder.bsky.social
Happy New Year everyone! The 2026 mothing season still seems a long way off, so here's a selection of the species attracted to my balcony light in Cyprus last week that would definitely get my juices flowing over here: Cosmopolitan, (presumed) Marigold Shark, Bordered Straw & Winter Pearl #TeamMoth
A Cosmopolitan moth, with a slightly worn thorax, rests on a grey floor tile, against the bottom of a white wall. A Bordered Straw moth rests on a grey floor. A (presumed) Marigold Shark moth rests on a grey floor tile. A Winter Pearl moth rests vertically on a white wall.
January 1, 2026 at 9:19 AM
beardybirder.bsky.social
An unexpected, but greatly appreciated, New Year's gift from Phil Bentley & Peter Moore when they found this exquisite pair of Smew off Studland this morning. The 1st Dorset record in almost a decade & a welcome county tick - seeing this spp annually at Dunge' in my teens now seems a distant memory.
December 31, 2025 at 6:15 PM
beardybirder.bsky.social
A belated Xmas visit to my folks in Kent allowed for a brief foray to Dunge' today, taking in a fantastic mixed goose flock on Walland Marsh (containing 30+ Tundra Beans, 6 WF Geese, & 28 Bewick's Swans, amongst 5 other goose spp) & getting my customary festive Casp' fix on the #RSPB Reserve.
Poor quality digivid still of 5 Tundra Bean Geese and a single Bewick's Swan feeding in a bright green field, with a leafless hedgerow visible in the background. Poor quality digivid still of a large goose flock containing Tundra Bean, Greylag, & Canada Geese and a single Bewick's Swan, all feeding in a bright green field, with a leafless hedgerow visible in the background. A 1st winter Caspian Gull rests amongst a mixed age flock of Herring Gulls on a sparsely vegetated island, set against a backdrop of blurred reeds.
December 29, 2025 at 3:36 PM
beardybirder.bsky.social
Boxing Day saw our @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social Cyprus group ascend the Akamas Peninsula, with highlights incl'g the 1st flowering Ophrys omegaifera subsp. israelitica of the season, a cranky Sun Spider, & a fabulously spiny female Drilus (False Firefly) beetle on the hunt for snails in Neo Chorio
A single green, brown, and pale blue flower of an Ophrys omegaifera subsp. israelitica orchid set against a blurred background of brown pine needles. A brown and orange Sun Spider, sporting huge chelicerae and scorpion-like forelegs, is viewed from above within a transparent plastic pot resting on the pale pink palm of my hand. A black and orange patterned, caterpillar-like, female False Firefly (Drilus sp.), sporting paired black spots on each body segment and a dense array of spikes across the latter two thirds of its body, rests on a grey concrete path. View across the Akamas Peninsula, from the edge of Neo Chorio village, with a swing emblazoned with the phrase " I ❤️ Neo Chorio" across it's top span in the foreground. The background consists of rolling hillsides densely covered in olive green Mediterranean scrub and darker green pine forest, set against a bright blue sky with towering white clouds.
December 26, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Reposted by Phil Saunders
sarahlambert7.bsky.social
A feast of botanical treats from Christmas Day in Cyprus including intensely fragrant Narcissus tazetta, beautifully patterned Cyclamen persicum leaves and architectural seed heads of the endemic Onopordum cyprium…

Merry Christmas to all!

@wildlifetraveller.bsky.social
@beardybirder.bsky.social
The multi-headed Narcissus tazetta, each flower with white tepals and a short orange trumpet The stunningly marked leaves of Cyclamen persicum The architectural seed herd of Onopordum cyprium
December 25, 2025 at 10:55 PM
beardybirder.bsky.social
Merry Christmas from Cyprus! Our @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social festive group enjoyed a range of botanical treats as we explored the Latsi hillsides today, including carpets of the beautiful (& delicately scented) Narcissus tazetta & the very first few flowering Fan-lipped Orchids of the season.
Four white and yellow Narcissus tazetta flowers stand clear of a single dark green stem, set against a blurred background of greyish grass and dead stems. A single cream and greenish Fan-lipped Orchid flower lies against a brighter green stem and leaves, with a blurred background of green and brown.
December 25, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Reposted by Phil Saunders
sarahlambert7.bsky.social
Botanical highlights from Day 2 of the @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social Cyprus trip - tiny spikes of Autumn Grape-Hyacinth, the diminutive Narcissus deficiens, an early-flowering Crown Anemone and autumn flowering Ranunculus cyathaerus -all at Tombs of the Kings, Paphos.
@beardybirder.bsky.social
December 24, 2025 at 8:52 PM
beardybirder.bsky.social
If you go down to the woods today you could be in for a big surprise... Our @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social Cyprus group were lucky to discover several wonderfully large & hairy European Tarantulas hiding beneath carefully tipped rocks in Peyia Forest this afternoon. Absolutely fabulous spiders.
A grey and densely hairy European Tarantula (Chaetopelma olivaceum) sits amongst a silken chamber within a depression in sandy soil - viewed from above.
December 24, 2025 at 7:50 PM
beardybirder.bsky.social
Christmas came early for our Cyprus @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social group in Peyia Forest today, as we encountered a wonderful array of flowering bulb species, including the tiny but statuesque Hyacinthella millingenii, the ephereal Colchicum pusillum, & the absolutely stunning Romulea tempskyana
The long white petals of the autumn-flowering crocus Colchicum pusillum lie amongst lanceolate green leaves, on a bed of ochre-coloured gravel. Two blue-white spikes of the Cypriot endemic Hyacinthella millingenii grow alongside their fleshy green leaves, amongst a carpet of twigs and brown pine needles. The deeply purple-blue petals of a single flower of the sand crocus Romulea tempskyana contrast with its bright yellow stamens and white stigma, allmset against a blurred backdrop of grey pine needles. The view from a rocky cliff edge in Peyia Forest, looking down towards Peyia and onwards south to Pafos, with the sea visible in the distance and white clouds building in a blue sky.
December 24, 2025 at 7:40 PM
beardybirder.bsky.social
A wonderful day spent exploring some of my old haunts east of Pafos whilst co-leading the @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social group, taking in some great birds (incl'g Pallid Harrier, Long-legged Buzzard, & Spur-winged Lapwing), a diminutive Kotschy's Gecko, & the SW Cypriot endemic Aphrodite's Dandelion
The yellow flowers and succulent green leaves of Aphrodite's Dandelion (Taraxacum aphrogenes) growing amongst grey seaside pebbles, with a single Lassioglossum-type bee resting on one of the flowerheads. A cryptically coloured Kotschy's Gecko, facing right, rests on a pale brown stone, with scattered grass stems and soil also visible. A scattered huddle of nine starkly patterned Spur-winged Lapwing are silhouetted against a clear evening sky, as they perch on a concrete rooftop.
December 23, 2025 at 7:33 PM
beardybirder.bsky.social
The 2nd full day of the @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social Cyprus trip was a fab mix of culture & wildlife, taking in Agios Neophytos, Tomb of the Kings, & Kato Pafos Archeological Park, plus the glorious Narcissus deficiens, Crown Anemone, Cone-headed Grasshopper, & several sublime Red-throated Pipits
A Locust Blowfly (Stomorhina lunata) rests on the delicate white petals of a Narcissus deficiens daffodil, with the short yellow corolla of the flower visible to the right of the image, all against a blurred brown and grey background. A streaky adult Red-throated Pipit, complete with orange suffused face and throat and an obvious yellow bill base, stands facing left on a sparsely vegetated gravel trackway. Close up of the pale pink flower of a Crown Anemone (Anemone coronaria), with its repeatedly split, dark green, leaves visible below. An elongate Cyprus Cone-headed Grasshopper (Truxalis eximia cypria), viewed from above, rests on green vegetation, set against a blurred brown and green backdrop.
December 22, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Reposted by Phil Saunders
sarahlambert7.bsky.social
Stormy weather couldn’t dampen the spirits of the group currently spending Christmas in Cyprus with @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social

Fascinating plants, birds, invertebrates and geology - something for everyone… Details of species in ALT

Great to be co-leading again with @beardybirder.bsky.social
A beautifully marked snail Monacha syriaca, a species restricted to the eastern Mediterranean The pink flowers of Henbit Dead-nettle, the lower lip marked with dark pink spots The dangling bauble-like red fruit of Eastern Strawberry-tree. The bizarrely shaped flowers of Friar’s Cowl striped in green and white
December 21, 2025 at 8:17 PM
beardybirder.bsky.social
This is all manner of wonderful
nickpetrichowe.bsky.social Nick Petrić Howe @nickpetrichowe.bsky.social · Dec 18
'Tis the season for some festive science songs.

If you've ever wanted to hear someone sing about a dimunitive tyranosaur then now is your chance
December 21, 2025 at 3:22 PM