In about two months’ time this blog will downsize considerably, for at least several months but quite possibly for ever. I’ve said this several times but, perfectly reasonably, not everyone reads every post here every day! I’ve been told I won’t do this, that I shouldn’t do this and that I mustn’t do this, but…
BLOG POSTS
Guest book review – European Breeding Bird Atlas 2
This review is by Roderick Leslie Weighing in at over 5 kilos EBBA2 is stupendous at every level, a spectacular achievement ranging from a continental overview of a crucial element of our environment to the best guide to where to find breeding birds. The big change since EBBA1, published in 1997, is the near complete…
The Well-read Naturalist has reviewed…
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 sometimes feel I’d rather read John’s…
Sunday book review – Skylarks with Rosie by Stephen Moss
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This is a book about lockdown and the fact that it has appeared well within a year of the start of UK lockdown last spring is quite an achievement by the author and the publisher – so, well done both! This is essentially a diary of how Stephen Moss, author, broadcaster and naturalist (particularly birder)…
Tim Melling – Jack Snipe
Tim writes: here is my best Jack Snipe photograph to date. I spotted this one sat right in the open and it froze completely while I watched it for about 20 minutes. I crept as close as I dared then squatted to get a low camera angle and took a series of shots. I then…
Sometimes it’s difficult to tell
Sometimes it’s difficult to tell why something happens. Back in summer 2019 I was up in Scotland for a few days and I wrote about buying some biscuits – yes, all human life is here! Going back and reading it again I’m not ashamed of it – it has some biology in it as well…
Saturday cartoon by Ralph Underhill
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Time to brush up on bird song (1)
Last spring I wrote series of blog posts, 50 in all, about bird song – we were all in lockdown and people were listening more. The blogs went down very well. Well, now is a good time to revise, or simply start, listening to bird song and getting to recognise the species involved. Of course,…
What are the odds?
I’m a fan of Ed Balls – I had a bit to do with him in the distant past when he was Gordon Brown’s SpAd in the Treasury and use to hold regular meetings with a bunch of NGOs, and through the time when he was an MP and a minister. I also reviewed his…
Giving the Ivy a haircut
I really need a haircut – my last was in July – but at least the Ivy to the right of the archway has had one. This is a tiny proportion of the Ivy in the garden (which is a joy) but the management plan now includes a timetable for cutting each year.