When the news of Owen Paterson’s sacking from the Cabinet was announced there was great cheering above and below ground by badgers and friends of badgers alike. It’s unseemly to take pleasure in another’s misfortune but… His term of office at Defra was short and undistinguished – 22 months dominated by floods (where he spoke…
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Pretending to be a botanist
I did the second visit to ‘my’ Wildflowers Count survey square recently. It was a nice walk on a hot sunny day with a pub at the far side of the square – what’s not to like about that? I am now much better acquainted with black horehound and marsh woundwort than previously. Because this…
Oscar Dewhurst – Great Thrush
Oscar writes: Great Thrush: I took this from just outside my room at Wayqecha Biological Research Station in Peru, just outside Manu National Park. Great Thrushes were one of the most common birds up there and were regularly seen around the buildings. I had been hoping that something would land on this lichen-encrusted branch, so…
Sunday books – more books than pigeons
This week I’m going to talk about three books – all about the extinct Passenger Pigeon. The first of these is a classic if you are interested in the story of the Passenger Pigeon – AW Schorger’s The Passenger Pigeon: its natural history and extinction. This time last year, I probably consulted Schorger every day…