Phil Saunders

@beardybirder.bsky.social

1378 Followers 1204 Following

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.

A cream coloured & arrowhead shaped Bordered Straw moth rests, facing left, on a speckled grey concrete step. The moth has large black eyes and an obvious brown "kidney mark" on each wing.
The front end of a large white ship (the Scillonian III) is moored alongside a grey dock, with a cloud spattered blue sky visible behind.
A pair of Red-veined Dartwr dragonflies in cop perch on a sparsely vegetated lakeside. The male is bright red whilst the female is mainly greeny-yellow, & both insects have obvious sky blue undersides to their eyes.
A man, wearing a salmon shirt and grey trousers & gesticulating with his hands, stands at a wooden lectern alongside a white projector screen depicting inages of bicycles.
An Acanthiophilus helianthi (Knapweed Ghost) fly reste, facing right, on the white plastic wall of a moth trap. The fly has bright green eyes and the outer half of its transparent wings are delicately etched with black.
A grey & 'Y' shaped Plume moth (probably Cliff Plume, but TBC) rests, facing right, inside a glass specimen tube.
A Cynaeda dentalis (Starry Pearl) micrmoth, decorated in zigzags of white, buff, & black, & closely resembling a dead grass head, rests facing upwards & viewed from the side on a yellow grass stem, against a blurred yellow & brown background.
A densely black and grey stippled/banded Annulet moth rests, wings spread, on a blue egg box.
A pink and yellow, triangular shaped, Beautiful Marbled moth rests, facing upwards, on a grey slate.
A delta winged Striped Hawkmoth rests vertically on the pale wooden inner wall of a moth trap, showing its white legs and antennae tips & boldly cream and white-striped brown wings and abdomen.
A male Tabanus sudeticus (Dark Giant Horsefly), with huge buff-brown compound eyes, backswept brownish wings, and a dark brown abdomen decorated with buff triangles down the midline, rests, facing upwards, on textured black matting.
A brightly coloured female Ectophasia crassipennis fly faces right on a white panicle. She shows the twisted wings typical of the species, large red eyes, and a pair of large orange spots at the base of the abdomen & a large white patch at the end of it.
An apparent Helcystogramma lutatella (Scarce Zebra Moth) rests, facing upwards, on a blue egg box. The moth is elongate and largely buff-brown in colour, with six small black dots visible on its upperwings
A largely brown coloured Hummingbird Hawkmoth, viewed obliquely from behind hovers as it nectars on white Buddleia flowers, shows off it's orange underwings and black and white tufted abdomen.
Awful handheld smartphone record shot of a furtive Pied Flycatcher at St Aldhelm's Head, showing its greyish-brown upperparts and white underparts. The bird is facing left, perched amongst dense greenery and stout branches, and shows an interesting small white wing bar in addition to the large white wing blaze on its black wing.
A Celypha rosaceana (Roseate Marble) micromoth rests, facing right, in that pale wooden floor of a moth trap. The moth is broadly triangular shaped and has subtle pinkish shading across its wings and a contrast in greenish-yellow eye colour.
A pair of tiny, black, Urophora quadrifasciata gall flies rest on the frayed buff and lilac seedhead of a Knapweed plant. One of the flies, on the right of the image, has spread its wings in display, showing off the four bold brown stripes on each wing that give the species its scientific name.
A sandy coloured Salt marsh Plume micromoth characteristically raises it's wings in a "Y" shape as it perches, facing left, on the rim of a clear plastic pot, all against a grey backdrop.
A small and rotund Green-eyed Flower Bee, facing right & missing most of its hair (but still showing the attractive green eyes & large yellow pollen baskets), nectars on a purple Knapweed flower, set against a blurred green and yellow backdrop.
A blood red male Ruddy Darter dragonfly rests at an oblique angle, facing right, on a dried brown Plantain flowerhead, against a blurred backdrop of yellow grass stems.
A slender Long-tailed Shrike perches "belly on" in a hazy green Bramble hedge. The bird lives up to its name structurally & also shows a hefty (pale based) dark bill. A bold black mask wraps across its eyes and bill top, below a grey cap, whilst the underparts are off white with an obvious rufous tinge visible on the flanks
A elongate Chilo phragmitella (Reed Veneer) micromoth rests, facing right, on top of the pale wooden wall side panel of a moth trap. The moth is sandy brown in colour, with numerous black speckles and a bushy conic 'nose' formed from its forward pointing palps.
An Olive moth, viewed from above and facing upward, rests on a grey tabletop. The moth is grey-brown in colour with two thin yellowish cross lines and several large brown spots on its forewings.
A golden coloured female/teneral Keeled Skimmer dragonfly rests, facing right, on a coarsely granular, brown coloured, Plantain flowerhead, against a blurred backdrop for yellow and green vegetation. The dragonfly has numerous thin black lines banding its abdomen and two obvious pale antehumetal stripes on the top of its thorax.
A round-shaped Diaperis boleti beetle, its shiny black elytra decorated with broad, wavy edged, orange bands, rests on a grey egg box.
A Y-shaped & cream-coloured Saltmarsh Plume micromoth rests on a red brick wall, casting a black y-shaprd shadow.
A y-shaped & beige-coloured Saltmarsh Plume micromoth, viewed from above, rests on a grey egg box. The y-shape is formed from the moth characteristically holding its furled wings pointing forward from its abdomen.
A broadly arrowhead shaped Dark Crimson Underwing moth rests facing upwards on a buff and grey slate. The moth's grey-brown wings are intricately patterned with lighter brown patches and wavy black lines.
Video of a brown and white patterned juvenile Yellow-legged Gull preening itself on a grassy bank amongst other large gulls, with open water visible behind.
A largely brown-coloured and rhomboid shaped Denticulate Leatherbug rests, facing upward, on a bright yellow Ragwort flower. The bug has long and thickly segmented antennae, and dense white or black bristles are obvious across the antennae and the edge of the pronotum.
A boldly black and white spotted Leopard Moth stretches its elongated form along a pale wooden beam, with blurred buff and orange brickwork visible in the background.
A richly buff coloured Blair's Mocha moth, showing single black-ringed white spots in the centre of each of its spread wings, rests on a grey egg box.
A tiny Grapholita compositella (Meadow Tortrix) micromoth rests, facing right, on a bright green clover leaf. The moth is largely grey and black with numerous pale bars running along the upper and lower edges of its wings.
A worn Small Copper butterfly, with raggedy winger edges, faces right on a bright yellow Ragwort flower, with more Ragwort visible behind. The underside of the butterfly's hind wing is a warm brown colour whilst the underside of the upperwing is richly orange studded with large black spots.
A Sparganothis pilleriana (Bog Snout) micromoth rests, facing upward, on the white plastic inner wall of a moth trap. The moth is a nondescript yellowish colour, and its arrowhead shape is accentuated by a pair of extremely long palps.
A tiny Small Marbled moth, sporting bands of white and cream on its arrowhead shaped wings, rests facing left on the pale pink thumbnail of a man's had - evidence of just how small these "macro" moths can be!
Close up of the green rounded basal leaf of a Bog Orchid, growing amongst glossy brown Sphagnum moss. Several tiny green bulbils can be seen growing at the terminal point of the leaf.
A bright yellow-green Large Marsh Grasshopper rests side on at a 45 degree angle, facing right, on a brown rush stem, set against a blurred green backdrop. The grasshopper has a black bandit mask & banded legs, with a bright red stripe running along the length of its hind femur.
A chunky golden-brown bodied and pink-legged Hornet Robberfly rests, facing left, on a grey-brown dung pile, set against a blurred brown and yellow background.
A panoramic view onto Ramsey Island, with a white building visible on the cliffs on the left of the image, with the latter stretching across the image to the right, all under a clear blue sky and reflected in the sea below.
A vibrantly patterned Garden Tiger moth, with pibald black and white for wings & blue-spotted red hindwings, rests on pale pink fingers against a blurred grey-blue backdrop.
A caeruleopunctata varient Small Copper butterfly rests, wings spread, on a dark red and green serrated bramble leaf, with blurred green leaves visible in the background. The butterfly is vividly patterned, with the copper coloured forewings sporting large brown spots, and the largely brown hindwings having a narrow copper band and a line of pale blue spots that give the varient its name.
A black and white spotted Yponomeuta plumbella micromoth, viewed through a clear glass tube.
Side view of a skinny blue and black Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly,. facing right as it clasps a bright green rush stem, set against a blurred backdrop of other rush stems.
A slim, black and white striped/spotted Speckled Footman moth rests vertically on a dead Heather stem after dark, with blurred green vegetation visible in the background.
A chunky Wool Carder Bee, showing extensive yellow on its otherwise light brown "face" and legs, faces the camera as it rests on the edge of pale grey decking, with out of focus, yellow and green, Bird's-foot Trefoil plants visible in the fore and background.
A bright red-pink & white tentacled Dahlia Anemone sits at a right facing angle on a sandy rock pool ledge.
A bright orange Discodoris rosi nudibranch, decorated with thin white circles, viewed side on amongst thin strands of green seaweed.
A long winged Ethmia dodecea (Gromwell Ermine) micromoth faces left on a green bracken leaf. The moth is mostly white, with several large black spots.
A yellow banded, mainly black, Sallow Clearwing moth, closely resembling a small wasp, viewed from above as it rests on a pale wooden panel.
A buff and brown Bordered Straw moth, viewed from above, rests at a slight angle on a red brick and grey mortar wall.
A Selania leplastriana (Coast Piercer) micromoth (viewed from the side) rests facing left on a densely fractured surface of white and cream lichen. The moth has long narrow wings and is densely patterned with brown, cream, & buff blotch s and stripes.
Side view of a skinny, blue and black, male Small Red-eyed Damselfly, perched facing round ght on a brown rush stem and showing off his tomato red eyes.
Close up of a Ledra aurita (Eared Leafhopper), facing right on a pale grey surface & cryptically patterned in shades of black, brown, cream, & buff. The insect has a large shovel shaped "nose" and two large rounded "ears" behind it.
A roughly triangular Fig Leaf Skeletoniser micromoth, banded in shades of brown, cream, & grey, faces left on a grey egg box.
An orange-coloured Oak Hook-tip moth rests, facing downwards, on the pale wooden inner wall of a moth trap.
A slender Caloptilia honoratella (Pale Maple Stilt) micromoth, patterned in shades of light and dark brown and yellow, faces left on a grey-green egg box.
A chunky white Mullein moth caterpillar, sporting bright yellow stripes and numerous small black dots, feeds, head downward, on the non-flowering light green spike of its namesake plant.
A robust Scaeva pyrastri hoverfly, showing its characteristic inflated frons and hooked white lununes on a glossy black abdomen, rests facing obliquely to the right on a grey-green cereal leaf.
A cream and grey chequered Marbled White butterfly rests, head downward, on a dry, bristly, grass head, against a blurred green backdrop.