Author: James Common
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Yesterday I experienced something new and otherworldly: discovering a new side to my home county – Northumberland, for those who haven’t yet guessed – on…
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European Hornets really are fearsome looking beasts: significantly larger than their more abundant cousin, the wasp, and boasting both a menacing set of mandibles –…
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It was uplifting to learn that Black-tailed Godwits, the elegant wading birds at the heart of the outstanding Project Godwit initiative, have enjoyed a bumper…
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The Yorkshire village of Malham was basking in the mid-morning sunshine when we set off for a circular walk up over the hills via Gordale…
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This week, the depths of social media have been filled with grumblings of discontent aimed at the RSPB for their use of lethal control as…
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If you live in the North East, doubtless you have noted the recent, and entirely justified, outcry surrounding the unfortunate deaths of a number of…
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As a nation, we have been conditioned to view our cemeteries as dark, macabre places. And, to a certain extent, they are – each and…
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After weeks of hot, dry weather, the River Mole meandering gently through its wooded valley looked particularly welcoming. Dogs were splashing about in the water…
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With Britain half-baked as a result of the recent heatwave, there has never been a better time to hunker down in a shady spot, surround…
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Have you heard of Chris Packham’s UK Bioblitz? If not, it’s essentially a ten-day tour of 50 wildlife sites scattered across Scotland, Northern Ireland, England…
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Walking at Weetslade Country Park this past weekend, the rolling grasslands of the former colliery site appeared almost Mediterranean. Parched grasses, sapped by what seems…
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Traversing the dappled woodland of Gosforth Park Nature Reserve earlier today, I had only one thing in mind: hairstreaks. Purple hairstreaks, to be precicse, Neozephyrus quercus,…
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This year appears to have been a good one for the Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris). All around the local area at present, these energetic, golden,…
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Rising particularly early one morning and feeling it was a good time to get outdoors, I set off for Brompton Cemetery in West London. I…