Category: Notes from the sticks

WE have a bird feeder which gives us endless enjoyment. It is like having a small theatre in the garden (though thankfully without the luvvies). We have a range of … Continue readingDivided loyalties

IN MY piece on skylarks last week I said that they are in decline and that the RSPB and British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) attribute this to changes in farming … Continue readingThe great badger debate

A NUMBER of people have remarked that the reduction in traffic noise during the lockdown has meant that they can hear birdsong more clearly. There are lots of beautiful singers … Continue readingWhat larks

TWO weeks ago a man of 82 was killed by a herd of cows in a field not far from here. The man and his wife were walking their two … Continue readingA battle with cattle

IT has always seemed a shame to me that the wonders of nature are taught only to small children, then taken for granted ever after. I don’t know if schools … Continue readingFroggy goes a-courtin’

THE midge season is in full swing. I wondered when we moved to a house beside a stream if they would be a problem. As it turns out, they aren’t. … Continue readingMidge over troubled water

THERE is a former limestone quarry near us, disused since the early 1900s, which is now a nature reserve. It is a haven for all sorts of wildflowers including orchids, … Continue readingUncommon orchids

I’VE been reading a rather disturbing book, called The Hidden Life of Trees. The subtitle, What They Feel, How They Communicate, made me particularly uneasy. It’s by Peter Wohlleben, who manages a large … Continue readingTalking trees

WE saw the first swifts of the year on Tuesday evening, May 5, when they arrived from their winter quarters in sub-Saharan Africa. It is always a joy to see … Continue readingSuperlative swifts

IN these achingly politically correct times, it seems hard to imagine a proudly men-only dance group capering through the streets with their faces blacked up, exchanging jokes and insults with … Continue readingBacup, land of the Nutters