Almost without noticing, in the botanical relay, the pinkpurple baton has been passed from Red Campion in the late spring, to Foxgloves in early summer and now, as we enter the second half of...

I’d already given blackbird, Mr Raisins, his breakfast of sultanas. Then, as I mixed my own muesli, I glanced out of the kitchen window and saw him, just outside the door, feeding sultanas to...

Brambles are a mixed blessing. Their flowers are loved by bees, hoverflies and butterflies while the blackberries they produce in late summer are wonderful. However, we have sometimes speculated that, were we to abandon...

Early on the sunny morning of 2nd May I walked down through Wharfemeadows Park to Otley Wetland Nature Reserve, hoping to see summer visitors flown in from afar to complement the chiffchaffs and blackcaps...

These are strange times for any wildlife enthusiast. Shortly before the current lockdown came into effect I spent an evening along the River Washburn overlooking a badger sett in a field to which I...

On a recent Sunday afternoon my attention was distracted from the England – Ireland rugby by a real life and death drama being played out below the fence outside our lounge window. A male...

Now winter is well established so is a special part of my morning ritual. I enter the kitchen to assemble my breakfast and a small figure appears on the gutter of an adjacent roof....

Farnley Hall woods at the edge of Otley, which backs on to our garden, provides a rich source of wildlife, some of it more welcome than others. Top of the list of unwanted guests...

In our hallway hang two large frames each displaying several photographs of children’s artwork from West Riding schools collected about 30+ years ago. The works were in a number of different media – pastel,...

A sprinkling of snow lay on Ilkley Moor and Otley Chevin, an unusual sight these days, as my son and I headed for Staveley Nature Reserve, near Knaresborough. On arrival we had an immediate...