Stephanie Mocroft My topic for this month is the garden bird-box. Over the past twelve months I’ve been asked a number of times how to site different types of bird-box, so I’ve put together some information, mainly from RSPB and Wildlife Trust leaflets, to try and guide people who have either made or bought a bird-box and …
At the beginning of last year we were blessed with a series of sunny, bright days; just the thing for an early start to visiting The National Garden Scheme’s open gardens. The draw in January and February is that familiar, shy, winter favourite, the snowdrop. Not a native of these shores, it seems at home …
December signals the close of the year and I have spent some time looking back over 2019. It began with my sixtieth birthday and has been dotted with visits to gardens and wildlife habitats in places as diverse as Dartmoor, Kent, North Wales and the Cotswolds. Sunny weather and blue skies have brightened every month, …
This month my topics are habitat loss and biodiversity. They go hand in hand because of the adaptation plants and animals have had to make to live in different habitats. It is worth remembering that many of the special habitats, hay meadows, hedgerows and heathland for example, are man-made, and that those adaptations have taken …
Last month I wrote about climate change and this month I thought I would follow with the theme of species extinction. The interplay between global warming, habitat loss and species extinction is still imperfectly understood but has certainly been brought to the fore recently. We know that many species are in danger and some are …
At Easter the potential risks of global warming were brought into sharp focus when climate change protesters took to the streets to raise their concerns. They called for less carbon dioxide to be emitted into the earth’s atmosphere and for Britain to lead the way in bringing about world-wide change. The Government passed legislation to …
Back in February I enjoyed a circular walk up and around the Brown Clee hill. At 540 metres above sea-level, this is the highest point in the whole of the Midlands.It was a gloriously sunny day, and approaching from Abdon on the north side of the summit, the walk was a particularly fine one. Along …
The Woodland Trust is a national charity dedicated to conserving existing trees and planting new woods. The Trust encourages everyone to get out and about communing with nature and has released a list of ten lesser-known woodland inhabitants for people to look out for when they visit their local wood. Two species on the list …
It seems incongruous for someone who lives in the lee of the weather-forecasting Clee Hills to be counted in Worcestershire’s administrative district of Malvern Hills. It is true that I do not need to go far to see The Malvern’s north-south spine, but I rarely get to explore the distant hills on foot.A recent visit …
Worms! What are they for? When were they in the news? Why am I writing about them? Well, back in February, just as I was helping with a local farmland bird survey, another farmland wildlife survey hit the news. My survey involved a quiet stroll with a pair of binoculars and a pencil, but the …