IT'S NOT THERE

I've recently been listening to an excellent podcast about an expedition to the Himalayas in search of the fabled Yeti, the Abominable Snowman. It's a great series but I don't think that I need a spoiler alert when I say that they don't come back with indisputable film, pelts or even a tame Yeti on a lead at the end of it. After all, that kind of thing would have been all over the media, don't you think…

LOCAL HEROES

Do not believe everything you read on the internet. I'm generally suspicious of any 'facts' I find on the 'net and I particularly always check online 'quotes' that are attributed to famous people. Case in point; I saw a meme this week quoting Benjamin Franklin as saying “If you fail to prepare, you are preparing to fail”.

As usual, I dug deep into this attribution and found…

ADMIRING VANESSA

I've recently noticed an increase in the number of Red Admiral butterflies around our Old Moor reserve and elsewhere on my walks. These easily-identified insects have suddenly seemed to spring up everywhere and a most welcome sight they are too. Quite large, mainly dark with a diagonal orange stripe across each wings and a series of symmetrical white blobs (that's a technical term) towards the outer upper…

I NEED A HOLIDAY

Have you been lucky enough to enjoy a Summer holiday this year? Two weeks abroad in the sun, maybe or perhaps enjoying travelling around our own beautiful island? My turn is yet to come. I'm sure I'll report about it in a later blog, though. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm not shy when it comes to talking about my travels.

I, and many others, often say, “I need a holiday”, but do…

THE WADERS ARE COMING! THE WADERS ARE COMING!

Imagine arriving at the swankiest restaurant in town. The Maître d' directs you to the dining area. “Here we are sir, madame, our finest table.” You settle down to eat and... stuff your face straight into the ankle-deep mud. Seafood surprise is on the menu.

That's the mealtime technique of a wading bird, and many of them are starting to move around the…

IT'S GETTING HOT IN HERE

In days of yore Spoonbills bred quite happily in Britain; so much so that they were on the menu of every King, Lord and minor nobleman in the land. Want a fancy meal to impress your friends? Go catch ye a Spoonbill. Hmmm, no thanks. As is so often the case though, it would seem that those posh folks of the day got too greedy for by the year 1700 or so the baby Spoonbills of our isles were…

EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE

If you read these blogs regularly you'll know that there are some funny ones, some serious ones and even some sad ones. There are some full of facts and some full of my own personal views (from the shed). Some are frivolous (because I do like a good frivol) and others are hard science that makes my head hurt. This week's is one of the latter. Make sure you read it somewhere nice and quiet because…

FAQs – FUNNY ACTUAL QUESTIONS

If you read these blogs regularly you'll know that they range wildly from serious scientific study to frivolous whimsy. One week I might be delving into the anatomy of a bird's eye, the next week I could be questioning how people expect to be well hidden in a deciduous forest when their camouflage gear depicts only coniferous trees. I do like to offer something for everybody, from ornithology…

HOW MUCH POO CAN A DINO DO?

Most children go through a Dinosaur phase, and why shouldn't they? Dinosaurs are fascinating creatures. Many adults would benefit from going through a rediscovery of these terrible lizards of their own. For some people their passion for dino's is just a passing fancy; others might find it leads to a lifetime of palaeontological research. I'd love to have seen some of these behemoths in the…

ONE FOR SORROW

Our ancestors had many different ways of trying to predict the future and telling other people's fortunes. They studied the bones, guts and other parts of dead animals – or even those of their slain opponents in battle. They stared deep into flames, waves and clouds for inspiration, and they did other things that I can't even mention in a family-friendly blog like this one. I bet that, even if they were…

WHO NEEDS CARROTS?

You and I are mostly diurnal by nature. That means that we do most of day-to-day living in the hours of sunlight. If we were mainly active at dawn and dusk and resting when our surroundings are fully light or dark we could be described as having a crepuscular lifestyle. For many of us, diurnal and crepuscular will be new terms, but I suspect that we've all heard of the third alternative; nocturnal.…

NOCTURNAL THRILLS

Here in South Yorkshire's Dearne Valley we've been lucky enough to witness visits by many Heron species over the years. Grey Herons, Little Egrets and our beloved Bitterns are year-long residents at our reserves and it's not unusual for us to give temporary home to Great Egrets and, increasingly, Spoonbills too. A Cattle Egret has been enjoying the company of the cows on our Adwick Washlands site recently…

ARE YOU A RESPONSIBLE ADULT?

When my nephew was very young I tried to take him into a shop but he paused at the doorway and would go no further. 'I can't go in there, Uncle Shaun', he said. When I asked why not he just raised his little arm and pointed at a sign on the shop doorway.

“Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult.”

Funny, for a six year old. Apparently I wasn't responsible…

THE HOKEY COKEY

Over the last few weeks we've had a lot of unusual visitors to our little patch of heaven here in Barnsley. Not the human visitors, they're always welcome, be they usual or otherwise. No, I mean the birds that have been to see us, the ones that we don't usually encounter in this part of the world. They've been here one minute, gone the next, then turning up at another stretch of water along the Valley…

CAN YOU HEAR ME AT THE BACK?

It's a weird fact that you cannot lick your own elbow. You're probably trying to disprove it right now. Don't bother. Unless you're a contortionist, you won't manage it. If you really want to find out how elbow skin tastes, ask a friend. Just don't expect them to stay friends with you afterwards.

Another strange biological fact is that no bird has visible ears. Even…

WHEN HARRY MET MARSHA

Marsh; (noun) a wet, boggy environment.

Harry; (verb) to annoy or pester.

Marsh Harrier; (noun) a large bird of prey that lives in a wet, boggy environment and annoys or pesters small creatures to death.

That last definition may be my own but it's fairly accurate and I'm pleased enough with it. Let's try again, only this time let's make things a bit more personal.

Marsha; from Mars…

5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

Whether it's the old-school puppet version or the more recent animated reboot, most of us will have enjoyed the classic 'Thunderbirds' TV show at some time in our lives. As I child (and a bigger man-child) I remember being thrilled when, after the suspenseful countdown, the huge ships would take off and slowly but surely power into the sky. I know I don't look it but I'm old enough to remember…

RINGO'S OUR STAR

Once upon a time there were Four Lads Who Shook the World. They were, in their day, the four most famous people on the planet. One of them took the name 'Ringo' as he famously sported unusual rings. If none of this means anything to you then I'm guessing that you're under forty. Get an old person to explain it to you.

Once upon a different time there was a drake Ring-Necked Duck with…

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

I love Chickadees. They're small, colourful and terribly inquisitive, always on the move and sticking their little beaks into everything. Here in Britain we have six (not eight – I'll come to that later) birds in this Paridae family. We don't call them Chickadees though, that's their American name. In other parts of the English speaking world they refer to them as Titmice. Here, they're simply Tits…

CAN YOU DIG IT?

I find it amazing that thousands of bird species have evolved in such a way that each fills a particular gap in the food chain. Their size, weight, colouration, feet, digestive system... these and every other part of their bodies, great and small, make every single one of them a perfect fit for the natural niche in which they live. And as the world around them changes, so they change with it. For example…

AN ANNUAL PILGRIMAGE

George Bernard Shaw (not Winston Churchill, to whom the quote is often attributed) was fond of saying that “England and America are two countries separated by a common language”. This is true, and their peoples often have different views too. For example, Americans generally see 100 years as being a long time, while their English counterparts sometimes think that 100 miles is a long way. Being English…

WAKEY, WAKEY!!!

All animals have a basic need to communicate with others of their species. Some communicate using colours, others make simple basic sounds. Some even talk to each other via the medium of interpretive dance. You've got to love a waggling bee.

We humans have developed a huge vocabulary of speech with more subtle nuances than you can shake a gesticulating stick insect at. Add our body language and facial…

Dragonfly report 20/4/2023

As you drive past woods around us, you'll notice that the bluebells are now in full swing. It's a beautiful time of year to be in England. It also usually means that there's only about one-to-two weeks until we start seeing Damselflies start to appear at Old Moor.

So to whet your appetite, let's look at my season highlights from 2022.

We kick-started the calendar with a pond…

Step into your Natural Calm with our Wellbeing Workshops

last years wellbeing workshop

This year we are delighted to bring you an exciting set of Wellbeing Workshops, in the beautiful setting of RSPB Old Moor. Each one will help you to tap into the wonders of the changing seasons, as well as teaching you how to stay calm, positive and happy throughout the ups and downs of the year.

The workshops are being guided by…

NEW SEASON, NEW LIFE

Have you finished all your Easter eggs yet? I know that this celebration of new life was only a couple of weeks ago so some of you might still have a chocolaty treat or two lying around but I bet most of you have snarfed them up long ago. There are certainly none left in my house.

Easter may now be a full calendar page behind us but most birds in the natural world are yet to move on to the business…