natural world

  • Feb192014

    Birding in The Gambia

    170 different species in just 10 days! Last week, just as the birds fly south to escape the British winter,…

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  • Dec272013

    Squonk

    Side 1 track 3 of Genesis’ 1977 album Trick of the Tail tells the tale of the squonk, a mythical…

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  • Jul032012

    The extinction of the Great Auk – 3 July 1844

    The Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis) was once a common and magnificent sight in the sparkling waters of the North Atlantic.…

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  • Dec082010
    audubon_carolina-parakeet-

    Audubon’s Birds of America

    “With the exception of the mockingbird, I know no species so gay and frolicksome” Audubon wrote of the red-headed woodpecker…

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  • Mar212010
    naivasha roses

    The terrible price of Kenyan flowers

    Not so long ago, roses were expensive. Now you can get six blooms for £4 at my local Tescos. The…

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  • Aug082009
    Making a drypoint

    Making a drypoint: Still life in Eynsham

    I’ve just finished making a picture, called Still life in Eynsham, a portrait of the village where I live. I’m…

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  • Mar072009

    Tikis at the edge of the world

    The French Polynesian islands of the Marquesas, make up the archipelago farthest from any continent in the world, lying more…

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  • Aug122008

    Quagga – a great striped hope

    One hundred and twenty-five years ago today, on 12 August 1883, the last quagga died in Amsterdam zoo. ...

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  • Jun012008

    The hills are alive with the sound of birdsong

    We got back from Sardinia at the end of last week after nine fascinating days. From my point of view…

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  • Feb202008
    David Attenborough

    A moment with David Attenborough

    Last night I dreamt me and Moth arrived in New Zealand and met David Attenborough, who was expecting us and…

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