Rob Knell
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robknell.bsky.social
Rob Knell
@robknell.bsky.social
1.7K followers 870 following 450 posts
Evolutionary ecologist working on, amongst other things, mating systems and adaptation. Knows enough stats to be dangerous and inflicts R on the innocent. Takes photos of animals. Also running/triathlon/technical diving.
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robknell.bsky.social
Marsh harriers from Blacktoft Sands on Sunday. It was absolutely bloody freezing in the hide. #birds #ukbirds #ukwildlife #wildlifephotography.
Two marsh harriers in the sky, one is flying upwards towards the other with its talons forward as though it wants to grab it. A male and female marsh harrier in the sky with the clouds as background. The male is on its side with wings outstretched. A female marsh harrier dropping into a sea of reeds (Phragmites).
January 6, 2026 at 10:28 PM
robknell.bsky.social
7) OK it was a top 26 not 25. More wild dogs @danirabaiotti.bsky.social #wildlife #SouthAfrica #KrugerNationalPark
An african wild dog looking alert with ears up against a background of green vegetation Close up of the face of an African wild dog, resting its chin on its leg and lookinh directly at the camera.
December 27, 2025 at 3:13 PM
robknell.bsky.social
6) More from SA: Wahlberg's eagle chasing swifts at the Olifants high water bridge, some wild dog pups, baboon mother and baby and a composite image of swifts over the Olifants river #birds #wildlife #mammals #SouthAfrica #KrugerNationalPark
Composit image of swifts in flight with the sun setting behind them, reflecred off the river A wahlberg's eagle chases swifts from the left of the image Three wild dog pups looking attentive A baboon mother looks soulful while holding her young, pink-faced baby
December 27, 2025 at 3:10 PM
robknell.bsky.social
5) Back to South Africa: a grumpy old male elephant, hunting cheetah teenagers, vultures on an elephant carcass and a couple of male buffalo #wildlife #mammals #SouthAfrica #KrugerNationalPark
Black and white image of an elephant's head with short, thick, eroded tusks, his trunk folded back to the left of the frame. Chiarascuro -style image of two male buffalo, one looking at the camera and one looking right. A group of white-backed vultures on the remains of an elephant. Many of the vultures are looking at the camera. Two subadult cheetahs running across the frame from left to right and kicking up dust. They were chasing a steenbok but I don't know if they caught it.
December 27, 2025 at 3:06 PM
robknell.bsky.social
Two diving gannets, a swallow feeding a fledgling and a pair of gannets in an entirely un-clichéd image. #wildlife #ukbirds #birds
A plunge diving gannet seen from the front, wings folded back, just about to enter the blue sea A pluge diving gannet seen from the side with the very tip of its beack just entering the water. The heads of two gannets "necking" with the out-of-focus sparkling sea behind them An adult swallow on a fence, wings back, with its head in a recent fledgling's mouth, feeding it.
December 27, 2025 at 3:02 PM
robknell.bsky.social
3) Back to the birds: male marsh harriers from @tophilllow.bsky.social and puffins from Bempton Cliffs #wildlife #birds #ukbirds
male marsh harrier seen turning with his white wings and black wingtips. He is carrying a prey item to feed his chicks with Male marsh harrier flying left to right across the image. He has a dead chick of another bird species held in his yellow feet. Puffin head and shoulders looking left across the photo. A puffin flying with the sea out-of-focus behind it, with blurred-out sunlight shining off the sea.
December 27, 2025 at 2:59 PM
robknell.bsky.social
2) Some from South Africa including a birthday cheetah and an oxpecker being hassled for snacks by fledglings #wildlife #wildlifephotography #Krugernationalpark
A red-billed oxpecker adult being yelled at by two fledgelings on the mud-covered back of a buffalo A hippo yawning, mouth open very wide and many yellow teeth and tusks on view. Adult cheetah looking over its shoulder at the camera, mouth slightly open exposing its fangs A female lion looking past some green grass. The sunrise is reflected in her eyes.
December 27, 2025 at 2:54 PM
robknell.bsky.social
I took a lot of photos in 2025. I tried to get it down to a top 10 but that was a bit too difficult so I have a top 25. All taken in the UK or South Africa. #wildlife #wildlifephotgraphy #birds #ukbirds 1) Some birds from Tophill Low
Male marsh harrier flying with a large branch for nesting material against a blue sky. Female marsh harrier stooping, claws extended. Tawny owl in a tree looking at the viewer through some branches with a blue sky behind
December 27, 2025 at 2:50 PM
robknell.bsky.social
One of the techniques the students learn to use on our #Wildlife #Conservation #MSc field course in #SouthAfrica is camera trapping to estimate mammal biodiversity. Sometimes the videos are more interesting than other times #leopard @uniofhull.bsky.social
December 15, 2025 at 7:03 AM
robknell.bsky.social
Students on our ur #MSc #Wildlife #Conservation fieldcourse in the #KrugerNationalPark met these two fine fellows within about 10 minutes of each other @uniofhull.bsky.social #Wilddog #Lion #WildlifePhotography
An African Wild Dog looking left of the camera, background is green vegetation The head of a young male lion seen through some grass. It is raining and the lion's mane has a lot of water beaded up on it.
December 13, 2025 at 4:49 AM
robknell.bsky.social
A bit of scorpion hunting with a UV torch is always a good way to spend an evening. #HullWildlifeConservation #MSc #Wildlife #Conservation #Arachnid
A photo of a scorpion taken under UV light. The background is dark blue but the scorpion is flourescing bright turquiose
December 13, 2025 at 4:44 AM
robknell.bsky.social
Onthophagus rangifer, one of the most extraordinary horned dung beetles you might ever see. From a baited pitfall trap near Skukuza on our #MSc #Wildlife #Conservation field course in the #Kruger park. #HullWildlifeConservation #insects #coleoptera #wildlifephotography @uniofhull.bsky.social
A photo of a beetle standing in front of a green background. The beetle's head and thorax are bright metallic green and he has two horns, almost as long as his body, arising from his head and sloping backwards.
December 10, 2025 at 5:10 AM
robknell.bsky.social
Students on our #Msc #Wildlife #Conservation learning how elephants alter biodiversity and tree cover in the #krugernationalpark #HullWildlifeConservation. Exclusion experiments tell us how herbivores affect ecological comunities. When the herbivores are 🐘 you need serious gear to keep 'em out.
A group of students standing in front of a large electrified fence. A SANParks scientist holding a rifle is talking to them. The vegetation behind the fence is visibly higher than that in front.
December 9, 2025 at 5:20 AM
robknell.bsky.social
Black cat in front of a hot fire through a thermal scope.
A false colour thermal image of a cat lying on its side. The cat’s front, head and paws are all showing as very hot
November 27, 2025 at 8:00 AM
robknell.bsky.social
Homage to Xavier Bou: little swifts at the Olifants River high-water bridge, Kruger National Park. Unstacked from video taken with an Iphone 14. #birds #photography #SouthAfrica #iPhone
A view of a river at sunset. By combining many exposures I have multiple images for single birds flying through the scene, making the appearance of trails. One bird flies in an arc across the scene close to the camera and the sunlight can be seen shining through its tail feathers.
October 26, 2025 at 5:39 PM
robknell.bsky.social
A couple of really skanky hyaenas from the Kruger Park. #wildlife #photography #kruger #hyaena #filthhound
A black and white image of a spotted hyaena. It has sat in something disgusting and generally looks extremely disreputable. A spotted hyaena's head and neck. It has got something encrusting the fur on the back of its neck and there are a lot of flies following it.
October 22, 2025 at 5:28 PM
robknell.bsky.social
Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrica
A braai (S African barbecue) alight at night
September 9, 2025 at 5:02 PM
robknell.bsky.social
#Bloodmoon #Lunareclipse as seen from Shingwedzi, Kruger National Park, South Africa 🧪 #astrophotography
The moon, but red. Lit more from the bottom right.
September 7, 2025 at 8:17 PM
robknell.bsky.social
Baby aukses precious: a puffling and a razorbill father / chick combo, both taken in the North Sea off the E. Yorks coast. Check out the goth eye makeup on the puffling, I bet it loves a bit of Evanescence. #birds #ukbirds #wildlife #ukwildlife
A puffling (puffin chick) with a reddish bill and black colouration around its eyes on the dark blue sea with waves around it A razorbill father close by its chick with the blue sea around them. The chick has a thinner beak and patchy feathers compared to the father.
August 8, 2025 at 7:40 PM
robknell.bsky.social
Plunge-diving gannets in the North Sea off Bempton Cliffs #birds #ukwildlife #ukbirds from an @rspb.bsky.social boat trip
July 27, 2025 at 2:51 PM
robknell.bsky.social
Very impressed that VW put such a well designed conical flask holder in my car 🧪
The cup holder in the middle console of a car with a conical flask sitting in it.
July 16, 2025 at 4:50 PM
robknell.bsky.social
Gannets, their chicks and a really depressing amount of discarded fishing gear at Staple Newk, Bempton, UK. #birds #conservation #pollution #conservation #wildlife
A group of gannets nexting on a cliff face. Many of them have fluffy white chicks with them. The nests are partly constructed from rope from abandoned fishing gear: the blue-green colour of polypropylene line as used in lots of nets etc. is very visible.
July 9, 2025 at 5:30 PM
robknell.bsky.social
Some puffins and a very dapper razorbill. Bempton cliffs on Tuesday #birds #ukbirds #ukwildlife #seabirds #auks
A razorbill—white chest, very dark brown to black head, white stripe from the beak to the eye—against a blue-grey background. Puffin in flight, wings spread and orange feet trailing, looking at the camera. In the background are the pale chalk rocks that make up the cliffs at Bempton. A puffin seen from the side with the large and colourful beak on show. A puffin in flight seen from the side. The bird is looking down and the pale chalk rocks of of the cliffs at Bempton are out of focus in the background.
July 4, 2025 at 11:32 AM
robknell.bsky.social
It's been known for a while now that gannets that survive HPAIV flu tend to have black eyes: I guess it blows the pupil somehow or something like that. www.rspb.org.uk/media-centre.... Anyway, here's a gannet from Bempton with only one eye blown and the other normal. #birds 🧪
Gennet seen from the front, wings at an angle. The bird's right eye is all black but the left eye is normal.
July 3, 2025 at 6:34 PM
robknell.bsky.social
Marsh Harrier chicks have fledged at my local nest in the latest 24 hours. Here's one with some fuzz still present on its head. Now I need to find something else to obsess about. #birds #ukwilldlife #ukbirds #wildlifephotography
A marsh harrier flying towards the camera. There is an area of juvenile white feathers visible on its head
June 29, 2025 at 10:33 PM