-
An Ode to the City
I’ve dedicated much of my time to urban wildlife watching of late, specifically in and around the city of Newcastle – my home patch for…
-
Initial steps taken to combat Puffin declines
The RSPB’s Project Puffin has taken the first steps towards solving the mystery of why some puffin colonies in the UK are in dramatic decline.…
-
Urban birding in Benidorm (and Calpe)
Another week, another adventure, this time to the tourist hotspot and renowned centre of debauchery that is Benidorm. A location I first visited on a…
-
Want to inspire more young naturalists? Then its time to celebrate those we already have
There is an awful lot of negativity in the environmental field. Little wonder really, given the sorry state of the wider countryside, the downward trends…
-
Enjoying this Autumn’s must see spectacle
Unless you have been living under a rock, or are simply disinterested in this sort of thing, you will surely have heard by now that…
-
When did you last see a hedgehog?
The once familiar hedgehog has declined dramatically over the past few decades, and surprisingly for such a well-loved creature, very little is known about why…
Current Fascinations
By my own admission, I am prone to falling down rabbit holes from time to time. Typically, this involves deep-diving into a particular subject and learning as much as possible before, inevitably, another topic comes along to take its place. Regardless, below you’ll find my current areas of interest…
Botanical Bits
Botany is my main interest, and whether it’s ferns, snowdrops, grasses, ancient woodland plants, or even humble pavement weeds, I try to spend as much time as possible seeking out our wild plants.
North East Botany
Here you’ll find musings on plant identification, trip reports, sightings from walks and courses and just about anything else relating to botany in North East England.
Urban Flora of Newcastle and North Tyneside
The Urban Flora of Newcastle and North Tyneside is the first comprehensive account of the wild plants growing across the Newcastle and North Tyneside conurbation, one of the largest in the UK.
Based on six years of fieldwork, the book documents more than 1,120 native and naturalised plants -around a third of Britain’s entire flora.
Meet James
Born and raised in North East England, James is a botanist, general naturalist and biological recorder with a passion for sharing the joys of North East nature with others.
He currently works as Senior Naturalist for the Natural History Society of Northumbria (NHSN) and volunteers as a vice-county recorder for the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI), both of which allow him to spend ample time outdoors leading trips, courses, surveys and guided walks.
