Like you, I expect, I cannot imagine what the landscape will be like in, say, ten years’ time. My window on the world is in Ramsbury, in the upper valley of the Kennet in Wiltshire. We have long been used to dying trees. Death took all our mature elms long ago, and they have gradually…
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Haiku
Do you know the story of the Wake Island rail? It lived, guess where?, Yes! on Wake Island and nowhere else. Wake Island is a small Pacific island and the Wake Island rail was a small flightless rail. When Japanese soldiers arrived on Wake Island there were rails, after they left there were no rails. …
How many is best?
What is the best number of people to go birdwatching together? I’ve been pondering this question and discussing it with my birding companions and I have made up my mind – but what do you think? Now I expect you’ll ask what ‘best’ means and what ‘go birdwatching’ means – because you are that…
Desert Island Naturalists
I am a big fan of Desert Island Discs. As the theme tune comes on I have usually organised my late Sunday mornings so that I can listen in peace to the guest and their choice of music. Sometimes I get bored after a while but usually I love it! This programme has been a…
Ralph Underhill cartoon
Cley: past present and future
I’ll be at the Norfolk Wildlife Trust Cley Visitor Centre tomorrow morning signing copies of my book, Fighting for Birds, for anyone who wants a copy (or copies – remember Christmas isn’t that far away). I have many happy memories of Cley, but before we get on to them, and how you can help to…
Marsh Award for Ornithology 2012 – Professor Jeremy Wilson
Yesterday evening, at the Mall Galleries, surrounded by beautiful artwork, Professor Jeremy Wilson of the RSPB Conservation Science team received the Marsh Award for Ornithology. I’ve known Jeremy for many years and he is both a very nice and a very bright bloke. Here’s what he said to me: MIA: How do you feel…
leo terram propriam protegat – wouldn’t you agree?
I live in a big village in east Northants that thinks it’s a town, and maybe it is. We number about 8000 inhabitants and I don’t get the impression that the government is particularly worried about what we all think of what they are going to do (although the fact that we are having a…
Wildlife photographer of the year 2012
This exhibition is always worth a visit – even if it does cost £10 to get in. And nature looks as good as ever! There are some constant favourites – more polar bears and other bears, tigers and foxes, whales and penguins – all deserving of their places as they were striking images. But there…
Guest Blog – Mollusc of the Glen – by Peter Cosgrove
Peter Cosgrove’s passion for pearl mussels began in 1996. He carried out the first national pearl mussel survey and in one of those wonderful moments of happenstance, submitted his final report which recommended full legal protection during a periodic review of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. It had the desired effect and the law was…