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New Nature Issue 11!
November is a month of rain and frost, of falling leaves and howling gales, the steady drip of birds coming to winter in Britain now…
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Top 10 Facts: Surprising UK Non-Natives
American Bullfrog Lithobates catesbeianus. Around twice the length of our native Common Frog, American Bullfrogs are most often identified by their loud, deep calls. Deemed a…
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Half-Penny: a woodland ablaze
Upon my latest visit to Half-Penny, it was not that birds that, as usual, occupied my undivided attention. Despite both the local Kingfishers and Dippers…
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Talking to Shooters, by Graham Appleton
Some of my bird watching friends don’t understand why I write for Shooting Times. I explain that, although there is a difference of views on…
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In Search of the Exotic – Ross Gardner
Aside from being an unlikely location in respect of such an evocative title, Wormwood Scrubs is a name which is familiar for all the…
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Can nature blogging make a difference?
I have written before about the virtues of blogging from a personal perspective and the ample benefits it brings in terms of personal development, networking…
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.
