Standing up for Nature
Stories of ‘Big Years’ where the storyteller tries to see as many [some aspect of wildlife] as possible in [a defined area] in a year, usually a calendar year, are great fun. You do have to question the carbon emissions but if you can put them to the back of your mind then accounts of…
We are taken to conservation projects intent on saving endangered species – 10 from the northern and and nine from the southern hemispheres (18 animals and one plant). Which 19 would you have picked? We meet those who are engaged in preventing these species from being driven to extinction and hear their stories of success…
I like Green Woodpeckers, I always have, and was keen to find out more about them from the pen (keyboard I guess) of an acknowledged world woodpecker expert (see here for a review of the same author’s Wryneck). The book comprises 17 chapters which run from the taxonomy of the species through its anatomy, morphology,…
This is the bible for rewilders, and a solid tome it is too. The authors are, of course, the very best people in the UK to write such a book as they have ‘done it’ themselves at their estate of Knepp in Sussex. Knepp is a fantastic wildlife success story with rewilded habitats producing impressive…
Rare bird of prey found mutilated as 20 other individuals go missing One of the UK’s rarest birds of prey, a Hen Harrier, has been found dead with its body mutilated A post-mortem examination concluded that the bird was killed by having its head pulled off whilst still alive. Twenty more Hen Harriers, including…
Black eyes in seabirds indicates bird flu survival Scientists have discovered evidence that Northern Gannets can recover from bird flu and that unusual black iris coloration is linked to a previous HPAIV infection The study also assessed the impact of HPAI on adult gannet survival at the largest gannet colony in the world – the…
I received the email in blue below a few days ago, but since I was looking at gentians on The Burren (I think that’s what they were) and seeing hundreds and hundreds of Whimbrel in Galway Bay (I’m sure about them), hearing my first Cuckoo of the year in Connemara (yep, that’s a positive identification)…
This book is a series of stories which explore our relationship with animals. But what a series of stories! From a Barn Owl perching on someone’s head to the furore about letting a few White-tailed Eagles go on the Isle of Wight, by way of the DMZ between the Koreas, Palaeolithic cave paintings in Spain,…
Hedgehogs have declined very dramatically in numbers – to the point of being unknown, now, in many places where they snuffled in living memory. The declines in Hedgehog populations are of a similar scale to many of our largest declines in bird populations. It’s a bit surprising that even more hasn’t been made of the…
Mark writes: Brian sent me this super photo of a super bird and it took me back to various places where I have seen Barn Owls regularly in my life – from the Somerset Levels to the North Norfolk coastal marshes. The Barn Owl is a ‘stand and watch’ bird. I find it difficult to…