Blue-blooded squirrels in Cornwall?

Everyone likes red squirrels – I know I do.  And everyone would like to see red squirrels return to their widespread former distribution, even if that meant seeing the back of the non-native grey squirrel – I know I would. I’ve said this before, and it momentarily caused a stir, ‘If I could click my…

Just a thought for Caroline Spelman

The political life is a somewhat harsh one.  One moment you can be at the top of the tree and the next you are almost nowhere.  If you lose your ministerial job then suddenly your views don’t count and your successor’s ears are the ones into which everyone seeks to whisper. I always used to…

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…