Prospects for the shooting season

When I first started asking contacts in the shooting industry about the prospects for shooting and how it would be affected by coronavirus they all sounded surprised to be asked and expressed no doubt that all would be much as normal. This round up on the William Powell site tells a very different story. Confidence…

Paul Leyland – Gooden’s Nomad Bee

Social Distancing Week 5. Gooden’s Nomad Bee. I love dandelions at this time of year. They are one of the main food sources for a huge variety of insects so a nice expanse of flowers in a sunny spot is an ideal place for watching and waiting. There is a grassy bank just along the…

Bird song (30) – Nightingale

This date is the earliest I have heard a Nightingale in Northants but I won’t be hearing one this evening in lockdown. In any case, for the last couple of years the regular haunts near my home have been bereft of Nightingales. My favourite Nightingale wood is Glapthorn Cow Pasture (a Beds, Cambs, Northants Wildlife…

Tim Melling – Tibetan Macaques

Tim writes: these are Tibetan Macaques, sometimes known as Milne-Edwards’ or Chinese Stump-tailed Macaques (Macaca thibetana). They are the largest species of Macaque and occur mainly in Eastern Tibet and Western China. They are classified by IUCN as near-threatened largely because of habitat destruction. They live in mixed sex groups of twenty to thirty with…

Bird song (29) – Goldfinch

There are lots of Goldfinches in my garden these days, and all other days of the year actually. They are much commoner now than they once were. Despite being delightful, gorgeous birds to look at, their song is an unimpressive twittering. Here are some examples, from Portugal; … and from Kensington Gardens, London, UK; ……