Bog Myrtle & Peat

After almost seven years of farming, I find myself in the novel position of having something to sell. A four-year-old bullock came off the hill in good condition two weeks ago, and he’s held his fat very well. Unhappily for him, I was busily admiring his sleekness and grace from my office window when I… Continue reading

There’s a rumour going round that pheasants kill curlews. It’s not a case of direct combat or predation, but rather a theory that because pheasants are released into the countryside for shooting, foxes have more to eat. So it follows that in a world where foxes are doing well, curlews will inevitably start to do… Continue reading

I’ve sometimes complained about badgers, particularly in relation to groundnesting birds. It’s clear that badgers are a problem for waders in my part of the country, but I have to concede that the issues are complex and they vary according to a range of issues. Badger numbers have risen sharply in Galloway over the last… Continue reading

Leaves are turning in the Tyne at Chollerford. At the weir, the salmon are thrusting themselves to the current like javelins; rills of water flare about them. Only a few big fish have broken the surface in the time I’ve been watching. Instead of jumping, most prefer to wriggle in the fizz and walk on… Continue reading

The 2022 capercailie survey results have been published, and it’s clear that things are even worse than anybody feared. News coverage this morning has emphasised a greater sense of urgency than ever before, and it’s clear that we’re potentially entering an endgame situation for the species. Having travelled north to meet and interview a range… Continue reading

All my hopes are pinned to the summer. Crouched in the perpetual darkness of February and March, I look forward to the promise of longer days. I hope they’ll bring me a chance to make up for all that gloom and wasted time; I tell myself that summer will free me to make peace with… Continue reading

They’re working on a plan to grow brassica crops for wading birds in Lanarkshire. It doesn’t immediately make sense, and it certainly doesn’t conform to any standard conservation technique you’ll find in the manual. Waders are said to prefer a grassland fringe, particularly in the uplands. That’s where you’ll find their greatest wader strongholds, so… Continue reading

My caravan creaked in the rising wind. Brambles smudged their fruit on the plastic walls, and it seemed like a storm was coming. But later when I woke in the darkness, the world had fallen deafeningly still. Fog had come to Holyhead, and as ferries came and went for Dublin, a foghorn warned them to… Continue reading

When rain came after many dry weeks, life exploded. For three nights, toads crowded onto the roads and made it impossible to drive a car. Walking with a torch along the quarter mile loaning to my house, I counted four hundred and seventy toads in the puddles and the wet grass around me. When I… Continue reading

Travelling around the British Isles with an eye on ecclesiastical artefacts, I’ve seen a lot to thrill me over the last year. Perhaps I’ve seemed easily pleased by small details, but I can’t help but wonder how far my delight is simply a response to novelty. I’m thrilled by religious “things” because my own culture… Continue reading