Judy Webb
@judywebb.bsky.social
Ecologist, Palynologist (pollen expert) quite good at Botany, Entomology & Mycology. Conservationist. Ex School Teacher, Ex Forensic Scientist.
Reposted by Judy Webb
It's remarkable how much #FenRestoration (and other #conservation work) comes down to the repetition of these two simple tasks. Scything and raking. Maybe not glamorous (especially the raking!), but vital to controlling rank vegetation and letting other plants thrive.
#OxfordshireFens #GreenSpaces 🌍
#OxfordshireFens #GreenSpaces 🌍
November 25, 2025 at 11:52 AM
It's remarkable how much #FenRestoration (and other #conservation work) comes down to the repetition of these two simple tasks. Scything and raking. Maybe not glamorous (especially the raking!), but vital to controlling rank vegetation and letting other plants thrive.
#OxfordshireFens #GreenSpaces 🌍
#OxfordshireFens #GreenSpaces 🌍
Reposted by Judy Webb
Autumn in the Lye Valley.
Our scything team have done a great job in cutting large parts of both the east and west SSSI. Lots still to do though, and we've now got a huge backlog of cut material waiting to be taken off the fen.
#OxfordshireFens #FenRestoration #OX3 🌍
Our scything team have done a great job in cutting large parts of both the east and west SSSI. Lots still to do though, and we've now got a huge backlog of cut material waiting to be taken off the fen.
#OxfordshireFens #FenRestoration #OX3 🌍
November 20, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Autumn in the Lye Valley.
Our scything team have done a great job in cutting large parts of both the east and west SSSI. Lots still to do though, and we've now got a huge backlog of cut material waiting to be taken off the fen.
#OxfordshireFens #FenRestoration #OX3 🌍
Our scything team have done a great job in cutting large parts of both the east and west SSSI. Lots still to do though, and we've now got a huge backlog of cut material waiting to be taken off the fen.
#OxfordshireFens #FenRestoration #OX3 🌍
I do love a slimy toadstool..
Cortinarius vanduzerensis
The most impressive slime veil of any mushroom that I am familiar with in California. Why invest so much energy in a slimy cap? Could be the ability to trap arthropods attempting to eat the gills or just a way to deal with rain.
#mushrooms #fungi #mendocino #california
The most impressive slime veil of any mushroom that I am familiar with in California. Why invest so much energy in a slimy cap? Could be the ability to trap arthropods attempting to eat the gills or just a way to deal with rain.
#mushrooms #fungi #mendocino #california
November 23, 2025 at 2:09 PM
I do love a slimy toadstool..
The stripyest of pretty little fungus gnats! Flies that breed mostly in fungi, harmless - don't bite (they may not even have mouth parts or feed, correct me if I'm wrong). I've reared lots of sorts from fungi. Important in recycling, vital food for insectivores @dipteristsforum.bsky.social
Legs, wings, spines abound!
Fungus gnat fornication.
Making more lil' flies.
#Mycetophilidae
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Fungus gnat fornication.
Making more lil' flies.
#Mycetophilidae
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
November 23, 2025 at 7:17 AM
The stripyest of pretty little fungus gnats! Flies that breed mostly in fungi, harmless - don't bite (they may not even have mouth parts or feed, correct me if I'm wrong). I've reared lots of sorts from fungi. Important in recycling, vital food for insectivores @dipteristsforum.bsky.social
Fungi aren't always beautiful! Ugly, grey-black, scaly, bruises red - but I just love the weirdness! #fungifriends
Waxcap 40 - Blushing Waxcap (Neohygrocybe ovina). This one's my favourite! A chunky species, often early fruiting and restricted to the best sites. Cap is grey to black and often splitting, resembling cowpats. The gills and stipe are a beautiful grey and the gills bruise red!!
November 22, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Fungi aren't always beautiful! Ugly, grey-black, scaly, bruises red - but I just love the weirdness! #fungifriends
Reposted by Judy Webb
Pretty #fungi . A troop of fragile, hairy inkcaps that might be Hare's foot inkcaps, some rather pale Scarlet Bonnets and just look how attractive (like flowers) the gills on the undersides of small oysterlings, Crepidotus sp can be. #fungifriends
November 20, 2025 at 6:48 AM
Pretty #fungi . A troop of fragile, hairy inkcaps that might be Hare's foot inkcaps, some rather pale Scarlet Bonnets and just look how attractive (like flowers) the gills on the undersides of small oysterlings, Crepidotus sp can be. #fungifriends
The Environment Agency needs proper funding to investigate, prosecute criminals, clear waste and prevent further such abuse of illegal waste dumping on land, especially near rivers such as the Cherwell.
🚨 SHOCKING 🚨
A HUGE illegal waste dump has appeared between the A34 and River Cherwell, linked to organised crime.
Every rainfall risks toxins washing into the river.
We’re calling on the Environment Agency & Cherwell Council to act NOW.
Our rivers cannot wait. 👇👇
A HUGE illegal waste dump has appeared between the A34 and River Cherwell, linked to organised crime.
Every rainfall risks toxins washing into the river.
We’re calling on the Environment Agency & Cherwell Council to act NOW.
Our rivers cannot wait. 👇👇
November 17, 2025 at 9:42 PM
The Environment Agency needs proper funding to investigate, prosecute criminals, clear waste and prevent further such abuse of illegal waste dumping on land, especially near rivers such as the Cherwell.
Luscious Guelder Rose berries for birds & attractive coloured leaves on Wild Service trees & Turkey tail fungi in Lye Valley. I love autumn! @friendlyevalley.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Luscious Guelder Rose berries for birds & attractive coloured leaves on Wild Service trees & Turkey tail fungi in Lye Valley. I love autumn! @friendlyevalley.bsky.social
Turkey tail bracket #fungi looking just like...Turkey tails & very pleased to find one delightfully icky Slimy Waxcap Gliophorus irrigatus waxcap in low nutrient grassland on limestone at Dunstan Park, Oxford. Slimy cap and slimy stipe - hard to get hold of it was so slime covered! #fungifriends
November 14, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Turkey tail bracket #fungi looking just like...Turkey tails & very pleased to find one delightfully icky Slimy Waxcap Gliophorus irrigatus waxcap in low nutrient grassland on limestone at Dunstan Park, Oxford. Slimy cap and slimy stipe - hard to get hold of it was so slime covered! #fungifriends
If only all Labour MPs would listen to this young man and support the Lords amendments to the Planning and Infrastructure bill.
'We’re here asking you to listen to the children, to fight for our planet, and our future.’ 🌎 The Planning and Infrastructure Bill is in parliament tomorrow, and it could be devastating for wildlife and wild places 💔
Please help 🙏 ask your MP to support Amendment 130 for nature 🙏💚
Please help 🙏 ask your MP to support Amendment 130 for nature 🙏💚
November 13, 2025 at 2:32 PM
If only all Labour MPs would listen to this young man and support the Lords amendments to the Planning and Infrastructure bill.
Good news; the section of Lye Valley fen boardwalk destroyed by arson in the summer has been repaired by Oxford City Council Parks staff- thanks! @friendlyevalley.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Good news; the section of Lye Valley fen boardwalk destroyed by arson in the summer has been repaired by Oxford City Council Parks staff- thanks! @friendlyevalley.bsky.social
Reposted by Judy Webb
It's an interesting question! Some colourful pigments have functions like being antibiotics, so in some cases it might be an unintended effect of a useful chemical www.frontiersin.org/journals/eco...
Frontiers | The unresolved ecological and evolutionary role of fungal fruit body coloration
Fruit body-forming fungi are hyperdiverse and of central importance for the functioning of ecosystems worldwide. They provide habitat and resources for other...
www.frontiersin.org
November 12, 2025 at 8:16 AM
It's an interesting question! Some colourful pigments have functions like being antibiotics, so in some cases it might be an unintended effect of a useful chemical www.frontiersin.org/journals/eco...
A big mystery of autumn. Why are certain #fungi fruiting bodies spectacular colours? Yes a lot are white buff /brown, but bright yellow, red, green, blue -just why? L -Parrot waxcaps here from @rowantnnr.bsky.social. Green (look hard) & yellow, go pink later. R- Orange cup Melastiza cornubiensis
November 12, 2025 at 7:38 AM
A big mystery of autumn. Why are certain #fungi fruiting bodies spectacular colours? Yes a lot are white buff /brown, but bright yellow, red, green, blue -just why? L -Parrot waxcaps here from @rowantnnr.bsky.social. Green (look hard) & yellow, go pink later. R- Orange cup Melastiza cornubiensis
Reposted by Judy Webb
November 10, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Grassland #fungi time Excellent finds at Aston Rowant NNR included earthtongues, yellow spindles, beige coral, parrot waxcaps & the rare tiny brown toadstools called Fanvaults -the Hodophilus (Camarophyllopsis) species (last 2) some of which smell of mothballs! #fungifriends @rowantnnr.bsky.social
November 10, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Grassland #fungi time Excellent finds at Aston Rowant NNR included earthtongues, yellow spindles, beige coral, parrot waxcaps & the rare tiny brown toadstools called Fanvaults -the Hodophilus (Camarophyllopsis) species (last 2) some of which smell of mothballs! #fungifriends @rowantnnr.bsky.social
Reposted by Judy Webb
Introducing... The League of Unlikely Ocean Heroes! 🦸 Seagrass, mussels, kelp and native oysters filter pollutants, capture carbon and protect habitats. But they’re facing challenges from dredging to climate change.
Help them thrive again by donating today 👉 https://actmcs.org/oyster-hero-bsky
Help them thrive again by donating today 👉 https://actmcs.org/oyster-hero-bsky
November 6, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Introducing... The League of Unlikely Ocean Heroes! 🦸 Seagrass, mussels, kelp and native oysters filter pollutants, capture carbon and protect habitats. But they’re facing challenges from dredging to climate change.
Help them thrive again by donating today 👉 https://actmcs.org/oyster-hero-bsky
Help them thrive again by donating today 👉 https://actmcs.org/oyster-hero-bsky
I grew up in Thanet, visiting the wildlife of Minster Marshes. Partly they made me who I am. They deserve protection.
‘I was proud to be asked to paint the beautiful Minster Marshes, for an incredible film by young filmmaker Connor Carruthers.🍃
This land provides a habitat for so much wildlife, but it’s under threat from development. 💔
Please share, spread the word, and help us to protect this important place’ 🙏🧡
This land provides a habitat for so much wildlife, but it’s under threat from development. 💔
Please share, spread the word, and help us to protect this important place’ 🙏🧡
November 10, 2025 at 12:58 PM
I grew up in Thanet, visiting the wildlife of Minster Marshes. Partly they made me who I am. They deserve protection.
Reposted by Judy Webb
Decades ago, part of the Lye Brook was deepened and widened, with peat piled on the banks. One side effect was to block the flow of spring water here. We've made a start on reprofiling this part of the fen, with a view to rewetting this currently dry area. 🌍
#OxfordshireFens #FenRestoration
#OxfordshireFens #FenRestoration
November 8, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Decades ago, part of the Lye Brook was deepened and widened, with peat piled on the banks. One side effect was to block the flow of spring water here. We've made a start on reprofiling this part of the fen, with a view to rewetting this currently dry area. 🌍
#OxfordshireFens #FenRestoration
#OxfordshireFens #FenRestoration
A most spectacular growth of the common Candle snuff fungus Xylaria polymorpha, on a log uncovered by scything at Rivermead Nature Park in Oxford #fungi #fungifriends
November 8, 2025 at 10:34 AM
A most spectacular growth of the common Candle snuff fungus Xylaria polymorpha, on a log uncovered by scything at Rivermead Nature Park in Oxford #fungi #fungifriends
The Holy Grail for all fascinated by fungi. How I would love to find a Pepperpot Earthstar!
Pepperpot Earthstar Myriostoma coliforme at one of its very few GB locations. Pleasingly the scientific name means ‘like a colander with many holes’. Note also the columns that hold the sac aloft.
November 6, 2025 at 9:37 PM
The Holy Grail for all fascinated by fungi. How I would love to find a Pepperpot Earthstar!
Reposted by Judy Webb
Delighted to spot this Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) in the Valley this morning. An occasional visitor here, they love fishing in our ponds. 😍
#birds #UKWildlife #OX3 #OxfordshireFens 📷
@everyheron.bsky.social @judywebb.bsky.social @tverc1.bsky.social
#birds #UKWildlife #OX3 #OxfordshireFens 📷
@everyheron.bsky.social @judywebb.bsky.social @tverc1.bsky.social
November 5, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Delighted to spot this Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) in the Valley this morning. An occasional visitor here, they love fishing in our ponds. 😍
#birds #UKWildlife #OX3 #OxfordshireFens 📷
@everyheron.bsky.social @judywebb.bsky.social @tverc1.bsky.social
#birds #UKWildlife #OX3 #OxfordshireFens 📷
@everyheron.bsky.social @judywebb.bsky.social @tverc1.bsky.social
Reposted by Judy Webb
Finally caught up with the Kingfisher that has been visiting the Lye Valley top ponds. Also a Blackcap and a couple of Chiffchaffs are still hanging on into November in the Lye Valley woods.
@friendlyevalley.bsky.social
#ukbirding
#OxonBirding
@friendlyevalley.bsky.social
#ukbirding
#OxonBirding
November 3, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Finally caught up with the Kingfisher that has been visiting the Lye Valley top ponds. Also a Blackcap and a couple of Chiffchaffs are still hanging on into November in the Lye Valley woods.
@friendlyevalley.bsky.social
#ukbirding
#OxonBirding
@friendlyevalley.bsky.social
#ukbirding
#OxonBirding
Reposted by Judy Webb
New #GBRedList for vascular plants is out now as a special issue of #BritishandIrishBotany, the @bsbibotany.bsky.social's Open Access scientific journal: britishandirishbotany.org/index.php/bi...
Also available (cost £10) as an eBook: bsbi.org/publications...
Press release: bsbi.org/wp-content/u...
Also available (cost £10) as an eBook: bsbi.org/publications...
Press release: bsbi.org/wp-content/u...
November 5, 2025 at 9:30 AM
New #GBRedList for vascular plants is out now as a special issue of #BritishandIrishBotany, the @bsbibotany.bsky.social's Open Access scientific journal: britishandirishbotany.org/index.php/bi...
Also available (cost £10) as an eBook: bsbi.org/publications...
Press release: bsbi.org/wp-content/u...
Also available (cost £10) as an eBook: bsbi.org/publications...
Press release: bsbi.org/wp-content/u...
Great talks about flies and you can join and watch remotely,-
Saturday 15th Nov in Cambridge Museum for more detail -
go to dipterists.org.uk/events/dipte...
Saturday 15th Nov in Cambridge Museum for more detail -
go to dipterists.org.uk/events/dipte...
November 4, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Great talks about flies and you can join and watch remotely,-
Saturday 15th Nov in Cambridge Museum for more detail -
go to dipterists.org.uk/events/dipte...
Saturday 15th Nov in Cambridge Museum for more detail -
go to dipterists.org.uk/events/dipte...