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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

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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

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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…

RSPB press release: Drought adding to challenge of caring for Sherwood Forest’s iconic Major Oak

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Drought stress adding to challenge of caring for Sherwood Forest’s iconic Major Oak Pioneering techniques and technology are being used by Britain’s largest conservation charity to deliver bespoke care to one of the nation’s most famous and beloved trees. But the recent heatwave is bringing an additional challenge as attempts continue to address complex issues…

Good news on lead ammunition

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Yesterday’s news that a ban (almost total) on lead ammunition use is coming is welcome. Assuming that it all goes smoothly (I believe it will) then it will bring to a happy conclusion decades of campaigning. But why has it taken so long? So very long? Lead is a poison and it has gradually been…

Guest blog – Reintroductions by Alick Simmons

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Alick Simmons spent most of his career in public service serving as the UK Food Standards Agency’s Veterinary Director (2004-2007) and the UK Government’s Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer (2007-2015). He is the current chair of the Zoological Society of London’s Ethics Committee on Animal Research and a member of the Wild Animal Welfare Committee.  He…

Tony Marr 1939-2025

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Tony Marr was born in Glasgow but he will always be associated with Sussex where he was one of a small group of birders in 1962 who founded the Sussex Ornithological Society (other leading lights being Richard Porter, Chris Mead, Bill Bourne and Mike Shrubb). He attended Steyning Grammar School and was encouraged in his…

Press release – AFFRIC HIGHLANDS

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Highland red deer tracked by GPS in innovative landscape-scale study of behaviour and habitat use A pioneering scientific research project using GPS collars has been launched to track red deer movement and behaviour in the west Highlands to help land managers take informed decisions about how to manage deer health, numbers and habitats. The study…

Press release SCOTLAND The Big Picture – drone-seeding takes off

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Rewilding takes off: drone-seeding success offers hope for expanding remote woodlands An innovative rewilding experiment on a hillside on Scotland’s west coast has yielded promising results, raising hopes for faster, more cost-effective reforestation of the country’s wild and rugged uplands. At Dubh Allt, a 780-acre landholding near Roshven on the Moidart peninsula, forester and landowner,…

RSPB press release – Singing success for one of the UK’s rarest insects

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Singing success for one of the UK’s rarest insects   The Field Cricket was previously threatened with extinction in the UK but has since made an incredible comeback following successful conservation efforts by a range of organisations including the RSPB.  The males are known for their singing, using specially adapted veins on their wings to…