The Second Ladybird book of British Birds #9 – The Nuthatch
Nuthatches in the 1950s and Nuthatches now.
Nuthatches in the 1950s and Nuthatches now.
One night in the Cairngorms means there’s a chance to see Red Squirrels, Pine Martens, Red Deer and yet it’s the fungi …
Here’s a Lapwing in a Ladybird book from 1955. Is what it says still true?
In London Zoo they keep penguins. There are regular talks where Humboldt Penguins are fed for entertainment. It’s a spectacle and the …
Have you heard of the Sumatran Tiger? The subspecies of Tiger than only lives on the Indonesian island of Sumatra? Yes? There …
In 1955 this is what my Ladybird book had to say about the Great Tit: Is it still true?: The Great Tit …
Killerton is an unusual National Trust property. Unlike many of the others its story doesn’t appear to involve slavery, death and exploitation …
If Jackdaws could talk, what would they say to us?
I see a dragonfly on a post at RSPB Old Moor: And then I see another dragonfly on a post at RSPB …
Here’s the page on The Greenfinch from The Ladybird book of British Birds and their Nests from 1955 from my continuing Ladybird …
There’s a flock of Long-Tailed Bushtits just passing through. They are just like fuzzy lollipops. I like the detail of the bright …
How are Chaffinches doing 60 years after this Ladybird book?
I loved having a magnifying glass as a child. I had one with a blue handle, with a false Parker pen clip …
Since this Ladybird book was published we’ve been to the moon, we’ve entered the computer age, there’s been huge urbanisation, the human population has more than doubled and we’ve caused mass destruction of habitat and extinction of species. What’s happened to Swallows in that time?
There are many huge Parasol Mushrooms in this upland grassland. They are growing in a faerie ring over 60 metres wide and …
What has changed since this Ladybird book was published in the 1950s?
Farming is a tough business. I often describe farmers as ‘scratching a living from the land’. There’s the weather, uncertain prices, problems …
There’s a Comma butterfly Polygonia c-album at the top of this Blackthorn tree. It’s bright orange against the still-green leaves and the …
There’s a sparrow with a chocolate-coloured head peering at me. There’s a clue to its identity in that I’m at Tree Sparrow …
At school I was taught that ‘carding’ wool is when you take the raw wool and tease it to straighten all the …
I’m at Crime Lake. Apparently no crime was committed here, but having seen the six lanes of motorway built through beautiful countryside, …
The traditional English word in England for this time of year was fall, not autumn. Fall isn’t a modern American import at …
When I first heard that a duck could have an eclipse I thought that it was a joke. A total eclipse of …
I’m walking on Orley Common and there are parrots in the grass. No, not these kinds of parrots.
Forty years ago, before I was even a teenager, I started keeping detailed nature notebooks. A lined notepad and a blue biro, …
Grey seals are very distinctive. This one was hauled out at Broughton in Pierowall. They have that famous Roman nose: I first …
There are a million pairs of Collared Doves in the UK, which is remarkable because there weren’t any in the country in …
Looking down from the top of the valley we can see the medieval hill town of Santo Stefano di Sessanio below. It’s …
I’m looking over the beautiful green treetops and palm-tops in Parco Villa Gregoriana in Tivoli: There’s a flock of Long Tailed Tits …