Author Archives: Debra
Lesser Yellowlegs: Lifer Number Two for the Day
The lesser yellowlegs has been frequenting the far side of Marshside, right next to Glencoyne Drive, so it should be an easy ‘tick’, and so it proves to be: I climb the short but muddy slope to the path along … Continue reading
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Tagged birding, birds, lesser yellowlegs, RSPB Marshside
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Hoopoe Hallowe’en at Ince Blundell
It’s Hallowe’en morning. I spent yesterday afternoon on a three-hour Zoom course, interested, participating, but with one eye on Twitter, monitoring the news about the hoopoe that had been discovered at the microlight airfield in Ince Blundell late that morning. … Continue reading
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Tagged birding, birds, hoopoe, Ince Blundell
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Autumn on the Allotment, Part 2
Two mornings later, as fog creeps across the river and envelops the plot, the boldest robin decides to try and compete with the fox for ‘nature-based encounter of the week’.
Autumn on the Allotment, Part 1
It’s mayhem in robin land: there are at least three individuals competing for the suet every time they see me; one even flies onto the shed door if the food isn’t served within a minute of me arriving. This bird … Continue reading
A Circular Walk around Hale: Late Swallows Lead to Musings on Nature’s Decline, Part 2
Having reached Carr Lan, I turn down it, prepared to play chicken with the cars as there are no pavements here, and both the road itself and the grass verges are very narrow. The road winds, too, so I zigzag … Continue reading
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Tagged #AttackonNature, Anthropocene, birding, birds, farmland, Hale, nature, walking
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A Circular Walk around Hale: Late Swallows Lead to Musings on Nature’s Decline, Part 1
On a mild October morning of blue skies and fluffy white clouds, I drive to Hale for a walk, but not to the estuary; today, I choose the Town Lane, footpath, Higher Road, Carr Lane loop, hoping to see the … Continue reading
Book Review: Shadows in the Sky (2007) by Pete Cross
Pete Cross, author of Shadows in the Sky, featured in a BBC Radio 4 programme, Palores the Bird of Cornwall (11/08/2020, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000lmfm), part of the New Storytellers series, where he read a short extract from the book. The extract featured … Continue reading
Learning about ‘Leech Craft: 10th Century Medicine’ – Presentation by Diana Goodier
Having been fascinated by Diana, her knowledge of Saxon and Viking herbalism and medicine, her artefacts and the tales she told at the Calderstones Nature Reserve Open Day in June, I couldn’t miss this presentation – and it was excellent.
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Tagged 10th century, Anglo-Saxon, Calderstones, herbalism, medicine, presentation, Viking
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Anticipating Autumn
Late summer is a slow time, a waiting time, a time of stillness. Birders especially kick their heels, chafe at the bit, anticipating autumn and the richness of returning species.
The Childe of Hale
This is a tall, tall tale About the Childe of Hale Who, a long time ago, To nine foot three did grow Actually, scratch that… This is a tale about the Childe of Hale and it did happen a long … Continue reading