Prof Duncan Westbury
@duncanwestbury.bsky.social
Professor of Sustainable Agriculture. Nature-based Solutions; Grassland Specialist; Expert Wildlife Gardener, as seen on BBC’s ‘Gardeners’ World’. Views are my own.
Had fun comparing a non-coppiced versus coppiced Hazel with a chlorophyll meter earlier.
October 4, 2026 at 12:57 PM
Had fun comparing a non-coppiced versus coppiced Hazel with a chlorophyll meter earlier.
This year I’ve really seen the importance of this patch of devil‘s bit scabious so I’ve been collecting seed regularly and throwing over my recently scarified meadow strip in the hope of getting more in the future!
October 3, 2026 at 8:28 AM
This year I’ve really seen the importance of this patch of devil‘s bit scabious so I’ve been collecting seed regularly and throwing over my recently scarified meadow strip in the hope of getting more in the future!
Reposted by Prof Duncan Westbury
Is your ivy flowering? Please don't cut it back if you can avoid it! At this time of year in the UK, ivy flowers are a brilliant late season pit-stop for hard-pressed pollinators like bees, butterflies, hoverflies and moths 🐝
#gardening #wildlife #nature
#gardening #wildlife #nature
September 30, 2026 at 9:08 PM
Is your ivy flowering? Please don't cut it back if you can avoid it! At this time of year in the UK, ivy flowers are a brilliant late season pit-stop for hard-pressed pollinators like bees, butterflies, hoverflies and moths 🐝
#gardening #wildlife #nature
#gardening #wildlife #nature
The meadow has been cut, but this rogue field scabious continues to deliver! 
September 30, 2026 at 5:31 PM
The meadow has been cut, but this rogue field scabious continues to deliver! 
Reposted by Prof Duncan Westbury
A request! We can't grow this account fast enough. So please follow us if you aren't already, and please share this post to spread the word. Help us do our bit to share positive solutions to the nature & climate emergencies, and bring more nature into people's lives. Thank you 😊🐝
September 23, 2026 at 8:40 PM
A request! We can't grow this account fast enough. So please follow us if you aren't already, and please share this post to spread the word. Help us do our bit to share positive solutions to the nature & climate emergencies, and bring more nature into people's lives. Thank you 😊🐝
Scarifying perennial wildflower strips & meadows every 4-5 yrs is a great way to rejuvenate the sward in the absence of large herbivores. Look how this has encouraged new seedlings whilst retaining much of the original plants. Yes it bounces back!
September 28, 2026 at 7:01 PM
Scarifying perennial wildflower strips & meadows every 4-5 yrs is a great way to rejuvenate the sward in the absence of large herbivores. Look how this has encouraged new seedlings whilst retaining much of the original plants. Yes it bounces back!
Reposted by Prof Duncan Westbury
New paper 👇 (my last PhD chapter!) 🍇🐦🧪🌍️
Bird damage in English vineyards is modest & mostly at field edges — and doesn't affect yield. Management & weather matter more. Biodiversity ≠ production trade-off.
@simon-butler.bsky.social et al.
@ueaceec.bsky.social @dice-kent.bsky.social #Ornithology
Bird damage in English vineyards is modest & mostly at field edges — and doesn't affect yield. Management & weather matter more. Biodiversity ≠ production trade-off.
@simon-butler.bsky.social et al.
@ueaceec.bsky.social @dice-kent.bsky.social #Ornithology
September 8, 2026 at 4:43 PM
New paper 👇 (my last PhD chapter!) 🍇🐦🧪🌍️
Bird damage in English vineyards is modest & mostly at field edges — and doesn't affect yield. Management & weather matter more. Biodiversity ≠ production trade-off.
@simon-butler.bsky.social et al.
@ueaceec.bsky.social @dice-kent.bsky.social #Ornithology
Bird damage in English vineyards is modest & mostly at field edges — and doesn't affect yield. Management & weather matter more. Biodiversity ≠ production trade-off.
@simon-butler.bsky.social et al.
@ueaceec.bsky.social @dice-kent.bsky.social #Ornithology
Reposted by Prof Duncan Westbury
Thanks for your advice on this meadow a couple of years ago. Much appreciated @duncanwestbury.bsky.social
September 22, 2026 at 2:23 PM
Thanks for your advice on this meadow a couple of years ago. Much appreciated @duncanwestbury.bsky.social
Thoroughly enjoyed delivering this research seminar at Qingdao Agricultural University. With a UK focus I related the content to what I have observed travelling around China & shared my ideas on what both countries could be doing.
September 23, 2026 at 1:35 AM
Thoroughly enjoyed delivering this research seminar at Qingdao Agricultural University. With a UK focus I related the content to what I have observed travelling around China & shared my ideas on what both countries could be doing.
A neighbour up the road called this evening worried about a wasp problem! I went to investigate and managed to get a photo when one settled. In flight they did look like small wasps. Turns out they are ivy bees!
September 14, 2026 at 7:01 PM
A neighbour up the road called this evening worried about a wasp problem! I went to investigate and managed to get a photo when one settled. In flight they did look like small wasps. Turns out they are ivy bees!
If only I knew how to make wine! I have 3x this amount.
September 13, 2026 at 3:46 PM
If only I knew how to make wine! I have 3x this amount.
I have now listened to the whole book via Audible whilst commuting. I found it thoroughly interesting & I fully recommend. I have thought about much of what Mark writes & we share many of the same views. There is hope for wildlife, but more is needed sooner rather than later. @markavery.bsky.social
September 12, 2026 at 6:53 PM
I have now listened to the whole book via Audible whilst commuting. I found it thoroughly interesting & I fully recommend. I have thought about much of what Mark writes & we share many of the same views. There is hope for wildlife, but more is needed sooner rather than later. @markavery.bsky.social
115g (27k seeds) of wild parsnip seed harvested along with dozens of shield bugs!
September 12, 2026 at 4:00 PM
115g (27k seeds) of wild parsnip seed harvested along with dozens of shield bugs!
This came to me when driving home from work:
September 8, 2026 at 8:30 PM
This came to me when driving home from work:
If you are creating your own perennial wild flower meadow in the next couple of weeks, please do not include yellow rattle! Next year, the establishment year, is when you have to cut regularly to a height of 5-8 cm and collect the cuttings. This will eliminate the rattle!
September 6, 2026 at 6:04 PM
If you are creating your own perennial wild flower meadow in the next couple of weeks, please do not include yellow rattle! Next year, the establishment year, is when you have to cut regularly to a height of 5-8 cm and collect the cuttings. This will eliminate the rattle!
This perennial wildflower strip is now over 14 yrs old. Over the years I have staggered cutting & scarification to give more species a chance to survive. This year after the late hay cut I’ve scarified hard to remove a lot of moss build up. Don’t worry it will look great again!
September 6, 2026 at 12:15 PM
This perennial wildflower strip is now over 14 yrs old. Over the years I have staggered cutting & scarification to give more species a chance to survive. This year after the late hay cut I’ve scarified hard to remove a lot of moss build up. Don’t worry it will look great again!
Cut, scarified, and sown! Malvern Hills Trust road verge set to be beautiful in 2028! Next year I will cut & collect every 4-5 weeks to boost establishment. A massive thank you to the Trust for their permission.
September 5, 2026 at 4:28 PM
Cut, scarified, and sown! Malvern Hills Trust road verge set to be beautiful in 2028! Next year I will cut & collect every 4-5 weeks to boost establishment. A massive thank you to the Trust for their permission.
I continue to be impressed with what my patch of devil’s bit scabious is delivering for bees and butterflies. I’m especially pleased there isn’t a single honeybee in sight!
September 5, 2026 at 10:48 AM
I continue to be impressed with what my patch of devil’s bit scabious is delivering for bees and butterflies. I’m especially pleased there isn’t a single honeybee in sight!
Reposted by Prof Duncan Westbury
I am sat having breakfast with the Ravens reflecting on what an unusual & special thing it is to have such a relationship with wild animals. I call it a relationship as that is what it feels like. I get joy and companionship from them and they get food and companionship from me
August 30, 2026 at 6:01 AM
I am sat having breakfast with the Ravens reflecting on what an unusual & special thing it is to have such a relationship with wild animals. I call it a relationship as that is what it feels like. I get joy and companionship from them and they get food and companionship from me
Reposted by Prof Duncan Westbury
"Catastrophic decline" in giant cuttlefish
Algal bloom "caused by ocean warming, marine heatwaves & nutrient pollution, exacerbated by climate change"
#PlanetaryBoundaries are all interrelated. #Biodiversity collapse is visible side
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Algal bloom "caused by ocean warming, marine heatwaves & nutrient pollution, exacerbated by climate change"
#PlanetaryBoundaries are all interrelated. #Biodiversity collapse is visible side
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Why Australia's giant cuttlefish mating season has gone silent
According to official figures only 1,811 cuttlefish turned up to mate this year, down 97% on last year.
www.bbc.co.uk
August 30, 2026 at 9:24 AM
"Catastrophic decline" in giant cuttlefish
Algal bloom "caused by ocean warming, marine heatwaves & nutrient pollution, exacerbated by climate change"
#PlanetaryBoundaries are all interrelated. #Biodiversity collapse is visible side
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Algal bloom "caused by ocean warming, marine heatwaves & nutrient pollution, exacerbated by climate change"
#PlanetaryBoundaries are all interrelated. #Biodiversity collapse is visible side
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The sun is out once again in Malvern! Time to warm up & feed! @savebutterflies.bsky.social
August 29, 2026 at 5:09 PM
The sun is out once again in Malvern! Time to warm up & feed! @savebutterflies.bsky.social
Fantastic to see red hemp nettle doing so well at Salzburg train station. A rare non-native (Archeophyte) in the UK, but native to Austria.
August 29, 2026 at 4:03 PM
Fantastic to see red hemp nettle doing so well at Salzburg train station. A rare non-native (Archeophyte) in the UK, but native to Austria.
What a lovely surprise @bayernmunicheng.bsky.social We visited the stadium & I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, bladder campion, meadow clary etc by bins, large swathes of wildflowers. Well done Bayern Munich!! @plantlifeuk.bsky.social
August 29, 2026 at 3:44 PM
What a lovely surprise @bayernmunicheng.bsky.social We visited the stadium & I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, bladder campion, meadow clary etc by bins, large swathes of wildflowers. Well done Bayern Munich!! @plantlifeuk.bsky.social
Reposted by Prof Duncan Westbury
"Some of the most important pollinators for South Africa’s mango industry aren’t bees at all – they’re houseflies and blowflies, according to a recently published study in Frontiers of Biogeography by scientists at University College London (UCL)."
#SouthAfrica #Mangos #Pollinators #Flies #Biology
#SouthAfrica #Mangos #Pollinators #Flies #Biology
Houseflies and Blowflies – Not Bees – Are Among South Africa’s Best Mango Pollinators, But Climate Change Threatens Future Harvests | Blog
Study introduces a new way to measure pollinator "effectiveness," not just presence, revealing that climate change could shrink suitable habitat for key mango pollinators by more than 40% in coming de...
blog.pensoft.net
August 25, 2026 at 11:52 AM
