I’ve done a couple of visits to my regular BBS squares in order to collect information on wintering farmland birds for a survey funded by Natural England and Defra. Here are some of the highs and lows so far. Doing a bird survey is a good way to start the new year and that’s what…
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Paul Leyland – fruit fly
Paul writes: I found this tiny fly on a Tansy flower growing along the field path next to my house in North Yorkshire. It is only about 4mm long, not including the ovipositor, so I really needed a photograph to fully appreciate it. This picture shows how colourful and beautifully marked even the smallest insect…
Sunday book review – A Field Guide to the Carnivores of the World by Luke Hunter and Priscilla Barrett
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This is an updated edition of a book which covers many of the most charismatic speces on this planet. From Polar Bear to Least Weasel (that’s our Weasel Mustela nivalis) this book beautifully illustrates mammals with sharp teeth from the biggest to the smallest. The illustrations are very attractive and cover many subspecies and a…
Tim Melling – Golden Snub-nosed Monkey
Tim writes: The golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) is only found in China and is classified as endangered. It is found in forests at high altitude (1500-3400m) and feeds largely on lichens that grow on dead trees, but also on fresh leaves, buds and flowers. They occur in groups that range over a very wide…
Guest blog series, A Break from Humanity (6) by Ian Carter.
Continued from Monday My interest in wildlife is all-pervading. It’s something I’m aware of, or at least alert to, all the time. I’d describe it as a mindset or a way of life rather than a hobby. And yet I felt it was gradually being eroded, despite a concerted effort over the past two years…
Saturday cartoon by Ralph Underhill
Ralph is on holiday but I’ve recycled this cartoon as yesterday was Fat Cat day.
Listening
I’ve been enjoying the 15-minute series of programmes this week on Radio 4 called New Year Solutions which are about living more sustainably. They are non-preachy and seem to be pretty well-researched on the whole. There are five programmes as follows: Monday – meat – I thought this was very good. Tuesday – cars –…
My little monthly project – and a challenge
Last year I kept an eye open for Red Kites – and saw them very often through the year – over 200 days in 2018. I enjoyed keeping that eye open and wondered what to do this year. So, I’ve decided that I will keep a monthly list of species I see from my home…
Wuthering Moors 79 – are these some new grouse butts?
Photo: taken on 31 December 2018 I hear that there is a lot of activity on Walshaw Moor these days – and also these nights. Locals have heard that there are some more grouse butts going in to the moor. No doubt Natural England would be aware and would have consented this activity if it…
Waitrose playing an odd game
Waitrose has been selling game meat with inaccurate health warnings in their stores for over five weeks and has so far failed to correct their errors. But the supermarket has cooperated with a so-called news story in the Telegraph promoting game meat sales. It doesn’t look good when a large company is oh so slow…