Wild words to welcome autumn
‘The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper name’
Willows stumped
Last month 26 cricket bat willows were felled on land close to Cornard riverside.
Bon voyage to our swifts
The sheer vitality of swifts is a wonder of the animal kingdom.
Out of Africa…
A family of Egyptian geese now call Sudbury home.
Love is in the air as the mayflies emerge
For mayflies, life is a glorious instant of prancing and passion
Orange-tips take to the wing
You may have seen a male with bright orange markings flit past you in recent weeks.
Blue is the colour
How lovely to have a run of sunny days and blue skies.
Flicking moorhens add a splash of colour
Now the reeds have died back, its easier to see just how many of these attractive birds there are on the riverside.
The collared dove has spirit
A family bereavement brings us closer to the delightful collared dove
Feel like hibernating?
At this time of freezing temperatures and food scarcity, it’s tempting for us to behave like some animal species and go to sleep.
Woodpecker adaptions
Woodpeckers have evolved a incredible adaptations that help protect their brain from injury.
The water vole and the mink
The story behind the return of the water vole is a tale of two semi-aquatic mammal species, not one.
The secret lives of bats
Bats’ use of echolocation to navigate, and hunt insects at night is simply mind-blowing in its sophistication.
Where are all the wasps?
This summer, wasps have been noticeable only by their absence.
Don’t call them seagulls
Recently, I have been waking up early, often to a cacophony of gull shrieks outside my window.
Blackbird saga better than TV
Who needs TV soap operas when you have wildlife in the garden?
Cowslip cornucopia
I have been struck by the wide proliferation of cowslips – it strikes me this is a bumper year for this spring flower.
Tireless brimstone lifts the spirits
The brimstone butterfly is typically the first butterfly of the year to emerge and widely regarded as the ‘harbinger of spring.’
Late night polecat encounter
Although there was something of the Pepé Le Pews about the animal, I was sure what we had seen was a polecat.
Imbolc is here
Imbolc is a pagan festival held to mark the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.
Stormy weather – what’s in a name?
There has been a lot of rain; there is standing water wherever you look; it has been a tad damp underfoot.
Hovering wonder
Is it possible to ‘tread air’? If it is, then the kestrel has it down to an art.
When the rains came
Each time the floodwaters arrive on the meadows, it is like a world transformed.
Mind the Sycamore Gap
Very rarely does flora make the headlines but the felling of a tree in Northumberland has been the main topic of conversation across the land.
Wayside flora on a summer’s walk
This month, my wanderings have taken me up and down the Valley Trail.
Take a leaf from Andrew’s book
Let’s get behind initiatives that look to protect and nurture our natural world.
Where have all the rabbits gone?
Only a generation ago there were so many rabbits they were seen as pests but these days you don’t see many at all.
Cow parsley’s time in the sun (and shade)
Throughout May the countryside is brimming with cow parsley flowers foaming on tall stalks along roadsides and shady woodland paths.
A nightingale sang in Cornard Park
An encounter with a nightingale is a reminder why this bird is regarded as the songster above all others.
Where wi-fi meets wildlife
Used wisely, mobile phones and apps can enhance your experience outdoors.
Look after hedges, not over them
Call me a man of simple tastes but I do love a good hedge.
Much to admire about mallards
The mallard is a stunning bird that is all too often taken for granted.
Ladybirds cluster in winter
Overwintering ladybirds are often found in clusters – a formation that offers a number of advantages to aid survival.
Time to pay attention to house sparrows
As the temperate autumn has shifted to an overcast winter, the sparrows in my garden have been a wonderful source of entertainment that brightens the day.
The fly agaric’s Christmas connections
I headed across Sudbury’s water meadows in search of toadstools and wild mushrooms – for this is the season of fungi.
Sad times on the meadows
Avian Flu has taken hold on Sudbury Common Lands.
A close-up view of waterside summer flowers
With nature, it is often the case that the closer you look, the more beauty you will find.
Kites above Suffolk are a good news story
After decades of persecution, raptors like the buzzard and red kite are now a common sight in Suffolk.
All hail the wagtail
The grey wagtail is a stunning creature, small and sleek with grey and black feathers on its back and a gorgeous yellow underbelly, and of course, a long dark tail that it wags constantly.
The watcher in the woods
The wood pigeon is widely despised and regarded as faintly ridiculous, but our countryside would be poorer without this under-appreciated bird.
Time to reflect on buttercups
One of the many gifts the Common Lands offer up to the people of Sudbury is the explosion of buttercups that appear each spring
In search of giants
A small colony of cranes are now established in Suffolk – the first time these majestic birds have lived in the county for 400 years.
The changing approach to river management
In years gone by fallen trees in rivers would have been removed by the EA but today the policy is to let nature take its course.
The blackcap heads north for winter
It was still and the sky was low with grey cloud. It seemed to me that everything else had stopped, so this solitary bird could let rip.
Where bough meets the briny
Take a walk among the magnificent maritime trees of the Shotley estuaries and you are strolling through a unique habitat.
Close encounters of the bird kind
Normally, there is not much to see at 4pm on a South Suffolk Sunday in early January but last weekend was an exception.
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