Natural Selection

On the Marinelife ferry survey I did in December I spent the time docked in Dublin and some of the journey back to Heysham reading ‘Nightwalking’. This is the first John Lewis-Stempel book I’ve read. It’s not a particularly long book, being an account of four nocturnal walks he undertakes, but there’s no doubt it’s […]

This blog’s original purpose was to include some of my nature writing. That hasn’t really happened unless you count book reviews and some thought pieces on birding. I’ve been asked and am pleased however to publicise some events this year where you get the chance to see acclaimed nature writers in Lancaster University’s Future Places […]

I had been able to do a bit of birding today and seen some things to enjoy. A couple of Ravens cronked as they headed south over Fleetwood Promenade whilst I took part in the parkrun. A Cetti’s Warbler sang at Fleetwood Nature Park. Whilst Jane visited a shop on Poulton Industrial Estate I scanned […]

I will hold my hand up at the outset to the fact that I still do too much car based birding, and will fly to Shetland as it’s cheaper than getting a cabin to yourself on the overnight ferry. But reducing carbon emissions is something all birders need to think about, as otherwise we are […]

Picture copyright Alex Dacre Thursday was my birthday. Jane and I had gone up to Barrow the night before and stayed at the Abbey House Hotel, taking in the Barrow-Tranmere football match. I nipped to the Holker Street ground to pick up Jane’s ticket for the match. It was blowing a hooley and getting a […]

It’s well known that there is, or perhaps was, a wildfowl collection on Grange ‘Duck Pond’. The wildfowlers who maintained it may have given up on it now, as the clipped birds were literally sitting ducks for an unusual line of theft before the pandemic and were stolen. But either way the Bar-headed Geese thrived […]

After a spell of bleak weather it was nice to be volunteering at parkrun in Stanley Park on Christmas Eve. A bonus was that the park had reopened following the avian flu outbreak and I was able to get a WeBS count in. The highlights of this included over 100 Gadwall and a Little Grebe. […]

In February I wrote about the withering on the vine of birding humour. I was talking about this subject yesterday with a long standing birding friend, and we agreed there was still a dearth of good comic writing about contemporary birding. https://wordpress.com/post/natural-selection.uk/850 Today Birdwatch magazine dropped through the letterbox. I instinctively turned to the inside […]

No I haven’t been deceiving or betraying anyone. Rather over the last week I’ve done a couple of contrasting but equally enjoyable Marinelife surveys in the Irish Sea. This blogpost will hopefully convey some of the experiences. Ten years ago Marinelife started operating in the Irish Sea on the former Fleetwood-Larne route, and needed local […]

Snow Bunting from my archives taken on Out Skerries After yesterday’s unseasonal Swallow I decided to try and see some birds more appropriate to December on the Fylde Coast this morning. I was tail walking at Fleetwood Promenade parkrun and got there early to have a look for the Snow Buntings, which have increased to […]