Fiona Mathews

These greater horseshoe bats have two things on their minds at this time of year. Fattening up for winter and mating. Have fitted some with radiotags today to get insights into where they are going for both! @batconservation.bsky.social

Continuing my theme of "Why would a bat weighing 6g do this??" look what Mike did last night. 👀 (yellow highlight). At 18.40, he was holidaying in Prestatin. By half past midnight he was in Cardiff. In a straight line that's 130 miles in under 6 hours. #bats #wildlife #movementecology

I spent this week helping translocate some animals you have probably never heard of: Vodjvodina Blind Mole-Rats. There are fewer than 1,000 left: ploughing destroys their habitat. They are not moles, not rats, but are blind! They live 20+ years and need your help! gofund.me/ce3134007. Pls share.

Why would an animal weighing less than a teaspoon bother flying 150 miles in a night? We have fitted almost 100 with 'airtags for bats' to find out. When one flies near an iPhone, its position is pinged to us. Look what Mike and Mira did last night! @batconservation.bsky.social @sussex.ac.uk

This weekend we were also lucky to have with us @fionamathews.bsky.social! It rained bats! 😄🦇

The Flamingo Revolution is alive and kicking in Albania. Day 46, and the people are still on the streets protesting about the trashing of environmental protections to facilitate dodgy development proposals. 💪🦩. www.theguardian.com/music/2026/j...

Sticky traps for insects may be pesticide free but they are a death traps for bats and birds. There have been two separate incidents today (one involving a mother bat who will have a starving baby somewhere). Please share the message. Do not use these traps! #wildlife #bats #conservation

Stork! Auspicious start to my day at the European Congress of Conservation Biology. @eccb26leiden.bsky.social

Newt survey in Norway this morning. Mainly great crested, but a smooth newt for size comparison too! 300 cresties have been found in this tiny pond. #amphibians @arc-trust.bsky.social

Rare female Bechstein's bat found during woodland monitoring in Sussex. Site is rather denuded of old trees, but woodpeckers are still around, making holes that these bats love. Out again tonight, so watch this space! @greenbritain.bsky.social @batconservation.bsky.social

Love bananas! Quick snack for this fruit bat before release. #zambia @sussex.ac.uk #bats

Ring-side view! Impala battling at Kafue National Park, #Zambia with my @sussex.ac.uk Zoology field course.

Was lucky to spot a bumblebee nest entrance. They usually make use of existing holes e.g. small mammal burrows as their legs are too weedy to dig. #Bees @buzzclub.bsky.social

Gorgeous day out yesterday deploying bat detectors in Dorset. Hoping to pick up serotine migration or spring swarming. #bats Thanks @nationaltrust.org.uk

Glue traps should never be used outdoors or in and around bat roosts. They are very dangerous to bats, other wildlife and even pets, often leading to a cruel death. If you do find a bat in a sticky trap please follow the advice on our website www.bats.org.uk/advice/help-...

Another bat caught on fly-paper yesterday. The 2nd brought to me in 2 weeks. Dead on arrival: horrible lingering death. This stuff is not environmentally friendly (the manufacturer's photo of it hung from apple blossom is baffling). @davegoulson.bsky.social @batconservation.bsky.social #bats #nature

Today marks the Spring Equinox (from Puffin Picture Book Trees in Britain, 1948) Artist: SR Badmin

Just looked it up. Turns out there are loads of Pipistrelle Drives!

Well said James!

Please can we just ban the naming of housing developments after wildlife that used to live there? Real lapwings were in these fields when I was a kid. #conservation #wildlife 🦤

I thought the radiotags I use to track bats were small, but the technology used to study insect migrations is mind-blowing.https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2026/mar/18/butterflies-crossing-oceans-moths-navigating-stars-insect-migrations-aoe #butterflies #insects #ecology

This gorgeous and rare lesser horseshoe bat had just woken up from hibernation ready for spring. But she was caught this evening by a cat and died of stress. Please keep your cat in at dusk! #cats #bats @batconservation.bsky.social @batcon.org

The highest number of bat species identified in one mixed sample of droppings last year was perilously close to my house 🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇. I can't help living in one of the UK's best spots for bats! @ecotypegenetics.bsky.social #bats #dna @batconservation.bsky.social

Looking for a needle in a haystack? We have been working hard at EcotypeGenetics to develop new eDNA tests for bats and dormice that are super sensitive and specific. Chat to my brilliant colleagues Tom and Issy if you are at the event, or have a look at ecotypegenetics.co.uk #bats #dormice #eDNA

Wild daffodils in Devon. #spring @plantlifeuk.bsky.social

I love collecting pebbles from the beach. Here is today's prize! "The Scream".

The costs of Ecuador’s perfect roses also include a sudden rush to extract peat from the Paramo Highlands. I have been in greenhouses where people are spraying pesticides with no PPE at all. Very worrying. www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Ecuadorian poison-arrow frogs have been in the news recently. But did you know that Ecuador has around frog 700 species (and counting), and more than 50% are found nowhere else on earth? #frogs @wikiriki.bsky.social 🦤🌎🐸

Just hanging around! Hibernating greater horseshoe bats quite often like to perch on old wires. #bats #nature #wildlife @batconservation.bsky.social

Please take a few minutes to ask your Rep to vote NO on the Enhancing Safety for Animals Act (H.R.4255). The #Wolf Conservation Center makes it fast/easy with a letter you can personalize and they'll send for you: engage.nywolf.org/site/Advocac.... It takes minutes to save #wolves for generations. 🌎

Congratulations Dr @liselotterambonnet.nl! Was very happy to be part of the examination panel, and hear about your excellent research on #citizenscience @unileiden.bsky.social #birds #plasticpollution

Some of the fun, and frankly weird, stuff found during bats surveys this month with @wiltsbatgroup.bsky.social. #caving #bats 🦇

Huge news for Scotland’s nature! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🌳🦅🪱 🍄 The Natural Environment Bill has officially been voted into law, marking a landmark victory for people and nature. 🧵 (1/4)

❗LAST CHANCE TO APPLY❗ Tomorrow is the last chance to apply to join our team on Handa for the season. If you'd like to spend your summer supporting vital conservation work on this remote island then head over to our website. 👇 bit.ly/4bFytiH #vacancy #volunteering

Sharing the love of bats! Have trained 25 volunteers from the brilliant @wiltsbatgroup.bsky.social this January. #bats 🦇 #conservation #caving

"The question is not Can they reason? Nor, Can they talk?, but Can they suffer?" Wise word of Jeremy Bentham. Great blog reminds us why they need repeating almost 250 years later.

Despite monsoon rain and very strong wind in Sierra de Andujar, our perseverance finally paid off and we had some special views of two Lynx together late this afternoon. A well deserved result for a great team! #Mammals #IberianLynx #WiseBirding

Even MI5 and MI6 conclude that functioning ecosystems are in humanity's own self-interest and vital for security and food supply. So why are we doing so little? www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

I was lucky enough to see some of these frogs last month. Rights of Nature are still alive and kicking in Ecuador, despite government efforts to undermine them. 🌎🦤🐸

Meet the harlequin frogs that sued a state! In Ecuador, the Rights of Nature are recognised so a case in their name succesfully argued the government had failed in its duty of care by granting permission for a copper mine. Mining has stopped. #RightsofNature #frogs #nature #wildlife

Just a few of the microplastics we've been finding in the beetles and bugs eaten by hedgehogs. Great to be joined by almost 200 people for this morning's webinar about our research @emilyzoologist1.bsky.social @ptes-org.bsky.social @biologicalrecording.co.uk 🦔🌍 #plasticpollution #hedgehogs

Recommend reading this article, not just because of the careful by local activists, but because it highlights the need to consider the interests of wildlife and humans together from the outset.

Indeed. Yet one of the problems is that carbon markets, biodiversity credits, and many other funding streams specifically exclude conservation of existing forest.

Look at this beautiful bat! Delighted to be welcoming Fred Touzalin to talk to us about his amazing work on Greater Mouse-eared bats, from conservation to molecular biology and disease dynamics. Look at the photo too! 🦇🦇🦤

Thank you! If everyone reading this post does the same, it would send a powerful message.

In Functional Ecology, we integrate predator energy balance into functional responses to better understand tundra species interactions. This paper reflects major field and modelling efforts by our #UQAR team and colleagues. Read: bit.ly/49p6brL 🧪🌿🌎🦊 #wildlife #movementecology #arctic #fox #ecology

Wonderful news for Ecuador and the world. Voters have said no to: 🔸️Consolidating power in the hands of a few; 🔸️allowing US military bases 🔸️rewriting their inclusive constitution that values the rights of nature and indigenous groups. Democracy is alive and kicking! www.reuters.com/world/americ...