Category: Nature Notes

Nature Notes by Ian Brand An extended version can be found HERE. The mention of plants and railways might make you think of poorly maintained plant troughs or the usual autumn excuses of ‘leaves...

Nature Notes by Ian Brand An expanded edition of these Nature Notes can be found HERE. Is there a north-south divide? There is botanically. The south with its warmer temperatures has more flowering plants...

An extended version of this article can be downloaded HERE. Last week I spent a morning rummaging around our wardrobe in the spare bedroom. It is where we keep all our outdoor gear. I...

It happens every time. Whenever I’m stuck for a Nature Notes topic, a fellow naturalist – friend, family, WNS member – contacts me with an observation and a “perhaps you can use this.” It...

When I was a young medical student, I soon realised every person I met had an interesting story to tell. It was often the older members of society who had the best tales. Likewise...

Is it too late to wish you a very “Happy New Year?” I hope not, since it is the subject of this month’s Nature Notes. Why choose a date seven days after Christmas to...

A splatter of blood and bird poo on the glass, a heap of dusky feathers on the front lawn: all there was to show that a sparrow-hawk had chased a pigeon to its death...

Christmas dinner wouldn’t be the same without Brussels sprouts. Love them or loathe them, one thing you cannot say about the humble sprout is that it’s boring. At least not botanically speaking!    ...

Now more than ever we crave stories with a happy ending. Over the years I have collected a number of these – none long enough for a Nature Note but all ecologically interesting. Recently...

November is traditionally when I put our garden “to bed” for the winter, and this year is no different. The garden has been my sanctuary over the past eight months, where I often wander,...