We might think of night in a similar way to the way we think about winter – something to be endured to get out the other side to better times. Leigh Ann Henion might just persuade you that it’s worth doing a few all-nighters to enjoy nocturnal wildlife as her book celebrates the night and…
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A book I read recently…
I like this book which we bought recently in the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens for our Edinburgh grandson. He likes books with animals in them, and he likes books with flaps that he can turn over. I like books with those characteristics too. This one caught my attention by having a realistic Grey Squirrel in it,…
Trees for Life press release – Unique Highland Juniper forest given special European status in UK first
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Unique Highland juniper forest given special European status in UK first In a UK-first, a genetically unique juniper forest at Trees for Life’s Dundreggan rewilding estate in the Scottish Highlands has been awarded a special European designation to protect and enhance its globally significant diversity. The 10,000-acre estate in Glemoriston near Loch Ness now joins…
A daft quote from Defra – and an August challenge for anyone who fancies it.
This Defra quote, “Britain is a proud nation of nature lovers, and this government is committed to turning the tide on its decline after years of neglect. We are progressing plans to designate nine new national river walks, one in each region of England.” (see here) might win a prize for stupidity if only the…
Guest blog – Walshaw Turbine 20 by Nick MacKinnon
Nick MacKinnon is a freelance teacher of Maths, English and Medieval History, and lives above Haworth, in the last inhabited house before Top Withens = Wuthering Heights. In 1992 he founded the successful Campaign to Save Radio 4 Long Wave while in plaster following a rock-climbing accident on Skye. His poem ‘The metric system’ won…
RSPB press release – Montagu’s Harriers nest successfully in England after 6-year absence
Britain’s rarest breeding bird raised four youngsters at secret location A pair of Montagu’s Harriers, Britain’s rarest breeding bird, have successfully raised four youngsters at a secret location in England The pair of birds which arrived in May have been closely monitored by the RSPB who, working closely with a farmer, installed a protection fence…
More Hen Harrier killing
RSPB press release: Chicks fledge with RSPB support after suspicious loss of parent Hen Harriers. In May 2025, over a period of eight days, four breeding male Hen Harriers suspiciously disappeared from their nests in northern England – two from RSPB Geltsdale Nature Reserve in Cumbria, and a further two from the Forest of Bowland…
Sunday book review – Neurodivergent, by Nature by Joe Harkness
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This book is about the relationship between neurodivergent people and the natural world. I found it interesting and probably more interesting than I thought it might be. The author is neurodivergent (diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and does a very good job in explaining, from the start of the book, what are the…
Sunday book review – Exmoor by Flemming Ulf-Hansen
This New Naturalist of 530 pages is about one of the three upland National Parks in southwest England – you get a better view of the sea (and, on a clear day, of Wales) from this one than from the other two and it has the distinct advantage, from my biased point of view, of…
Guest blog – Walshaw Turbine 29 by John Page
John Page was born in the West Riding, a proud Yorkshireman and was taught to play cricket left-handed “ ’cos it flummoxes t’ bowler, and buggers up t’ field.” He went to university in London and Leeds, and enjoyed (most of the time) attempting to teach young people that there’s a big wide world beyond…