Guest blog – The Cost of Planting by Ian Parsons

Ian Parsons spent 20 years as a ranger. He now writes books and articles on wildlife. He has contributed many articles to this blog – click here and find his guest blogs (in an alphabetical list).   When it comes to establishing new woodland, it is fair to say that I would far prefer this…

This blog’s books of 2024.

I have reviewed 52 books on this blog this year – a wide-ranging varied selection including many high quality works. If you are looking for a Christmas present for a nature-loving naturalist then this list might give you some ideas and I’ve whittled it down to a shortlist of 10 books that most impressed me…

Sunday book review – Great Misconceptions edited by Ian Parsons

This is a collection of essays about rewilding. I wrote what has been placed as the last chapter so I am reviewing this book without considering the last chapter. I hadn’t seen any of the other dozen chapters until the book arrived in the post last week. The chapters have been brought together by Ian…

Guest blog – Times are a changing by Ian Parsons

Ian Parsons spent twenty years as a ranger. He now writes books and articles on wildlife. He has contributed many articles to this blog. His book A Vulture Landscape was published by Whittles Publishing in 2020, this was followed by Seasonality in 2022. His new book, Of the Trees and the Birds is now available…

Guest blog – Calling it for what it is by Ian Parsons

Ian Parsons spent twenty years as a ranger before running his own wildlife tour business. He now writes books and articles on wildlife.  He has contributed many articles to this blog (see here). His book A Vulture Landscape (reviewed here) was published by Whittles Publishing in 2020, this was followed by Seasonality in 2022 (reviewed…

This blog’s Books of the Year 2022

It seems that I have reviewed 55 books on this blog this year – and a cracking bunch they were. Here they are in alphabetical order by author:   When There Were Birds by Roy and Lesley Adkins – review Peak District by Penny Anderson – review Wild Green Wonders by Patrick Barkham – review The History of the World in 100…

Bank Holiday book review – Seasonality by Ian Parsons

Ian Parsons has contributed to this blog on numerous occasions (see here) and this is the third of his books reviewed here (see A Vulture Landscape, October 2020, and A Tree Miscellany, January 2017). I like Ian’s writing as it is clear, easy to understand, has some embedded wit and much embedded knowledge and an…

Sunday book review – A Vulture Landscape by Ian Parsons

Ian Parsons has written more than 20 guest blogs here and so is a fairly familiar name to this blog’s readers. But when not writing for this blog he is a nature tour leader in Extremadura and this blog is about that land, west of Madrid and stretching to the Portuguese border, its wildlife and…

Guest blog – Planting Trees (4) by Ian Parsons

Ian Parsons spent twenty years working as a Ranger with the Forestry Commission, where he not only worked with birds of prey and dormice, but where he developed his passion for trees. Now a freelance writer, Ian runs his own specialist bird tour company leading tours to Extremadura. For more details see www.griffonholidays.com This is…