Did you know there’s a seal colony in the Roseland? When a friend told me of their whereabouts three summers ago, I had little clue how great an impact this nugget of...
Last week I was persuaded to spend a morning discussing the finer points of birdwatching with a group of twenty or so 10-13 year old girl guides. They were on a week...
Turdus merula. Meaningless to many of you, I suspect, but not unfamiliar. Turdus merula is, after all, the blackbird. How many of us, whilst participating in the RSPB’s ‘Big Garden Birdwatch’ in...
What makes a house a home? Does it take more than the ‘welcome’ door mat to make us feel like we belong? What is the first thing we unpack to give a...
The peregrine falcon is one of the most remarkable wonders of evolution. It has acute eyesight, powerful wings, astonishing speed and a formidable beak. To watch these birds in action turns my...
I was struck, one early spring morning, by the sheer volume and variety of birdsong all around, hinting at the beginning of breeding activity now that the coldest weather seems finally to...
A visit to Portscatho isn’t complete without a quick check of the birds using the beach and rocks. A range of waders can often be seen and in recent weeks some fairly...
A series of events occurred yesterday which, upon reflection, demonstrate how far my birdwatching career has come. These events indicate to me a progressive evolution of my knowledge and enthusiasm for birds,...
Moths. They’re just grey, drab things that eat your clothes, right? It’s true that some of them can only be described as drab and grey, and this is reflected in their names:...
Responses to a warming world There is now credible evidence of the ecological impacts of climate change, from polar terrestrial to tropical marine environments. The responses of both flora and fauna span...