Standing up for Nature
Social Distancing Week 12. White Ermine Moth Paul writes: I don’t have to travel far to find moths. It’s at this time of year that, in the evening, I start to leave lights on in rooms, with the curtains and blinds not drawn. Many moths are drawn to light and on calm warm nights, especially…
I’ve been catching up with John Riutta’s recent book reviews on The Well-read Naturalist. I read all of his book reviews even those that are rather local to his part of the world, of northern Oregon. I read them because they are so thoughtful and so well written. I think of John, who I will…
This is as much an exploration of how we, people, interact or not with nature as it is about nature. The author talks to people and observes them as he watches nature and visits places associated with former greats such as Peter Scott, Gilbert White, John Clare, Etta Lemon, Thomas Bewick and the tangled bank…
Tim writes: Cirl Buntings are one of Britain’s most localised breeding species. In the 1930s it bred on farmland in North Wales and much of the south Midlands of England. But in the second half of the twentieth century the population started to collapse. Even at the time of the first Breeding Atlas (1968-72) they…
Many of you were very enthusiastic about the idea of a GCSE in Natural History – and some were less enthusiastic. Whichever you are, then you have the opportunity to add your views to the consultation, and it looks like rain this weekend so maybe now is a good time (although you have until 19…
The Blue Tits fledged from the nestbox in our garden last week – I miss watching the adults them rushing in and out. It was partly watching the adults take feathers into the nest that made me think about feathers (see here and here). For a few days I could occasionally see the face of…
A Guardian article has led me to find some new-to-me sources of information. But the story was about the fact that the UK is on a record run of coal-free power days – 56 days and counting. That is quite a transformation, but let’s not get too cocky as there are plenty of European countries…
Check out the Saving Asia’a Vultures from Extinction website for information on the movements of released captive-bred and captive -reared White-rumped Vultures from Nepal, how COVID-19 is affecting fieldwork and the discovery of a breeding colony of White-rumped Vultures in Laos.
. Sophie Yeo is a freelance journalist based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She has written for publications including the Guardian, the Washington Post, and National Geographic. She tweets at @some_yeo. Four weeks ago, I set up a newsletter. It is called Inkcap, and it focuses on nature and conservation in the UK. It was an idea I…