A response to Mark Avery’s blog An everyday tale of country folk. Thanks Mark (!) for throwing down another gauntlet, for one of us in ‘Dame Fiona’s team” to pick up. I’m a relative newcomer to the Trust, but let me pick up this one, and tell you how I’ve found things on this highly…
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Sometimes it all works out
Yesterday was a cold morning but the air was still and so it didn’t feel bitter on my regular walk around Stanwick Lakes. Great tits, dunnocks, chaffinches and robins were singing in the cold morning air. The lakes in the ex-gravel pits were partly frozen but most had small open areas of water in which…
Have a look at these three short films
26 seconds worth of the Earth heating up 2 minutes of We miss you – I won’t say anything otherwise I might spoil it for you 33 minutes but you get the gist from the first few moments and then it’s up to you whether you stay with it – US farmers talking about local…
Book review and readers’ offer: Wildlife photographer – a course in creative photography by Chris Gomersall
I think I was put off photography at an early age by my father. He was a keen photographer, and I remember spending what must have been minutes but seemed like hours, hanging around or reading a book in the car whilst we all waited for the sun to come out or go in, or…
We like it when it’s personal
We cope much better, in a way, when we can identify a villain and deal with them, than we do when a problem has many contributors, particularly if we ourselves are part of the problem. The furore over Fred Goodwin’s knighthood which has led to him being ‘stripped’ of his ‘Sir’ title is a case…
Guest blog – Mark Infield – Feeling for nature
Mark Infield is the Director of Cultural Values and Conservation Programme, Fauna & Flora International. As a child I grew up exploring the fields and woodlands, ponds and streams where I lived. This was the starting point for a life-long engagement with nature and its conservation. My interest in nature and commitment to its conservation…
Fun, and well worth the effort
It was more of a challenge than usual to fit doing the Big Garden Birdwatch into a busy weekend but I am glad that I did. Looking out the window and eating crumpets and Marmite whilst drinking tea isn’t the most arduous form of field work I have known – and there is always the…
An everyday story of country folk
Last week, a scene in a long-running play was acted to a conclusion. The play is a bit of a ‘whodunnit’ with heroes and villains – but since we haven’t yet seen the ending there is time for villains to repent. Sometimes it’s difficult to know on which side some people are until the final…
Pieces and bits
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Yesterday was a lovely day to pass through the Cotswolds on the way to and from Cheltenham racecourse – four short-eared owls, raven and red kite. No winners, but Big Buck’s ran up his 15th successive win. I did the Big Garden Birdwatch – I’ll blog about it next week – have you, yet? I…
Newts
Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina primary last week which made me wonder whether the habitues of Lou and Perry’s diner were all voting for him – maybe they are all Democrats anyway. Newts are tricky things though aren’t they? There are three species of newts in the UK; smooth, palmate and great crested, and…