1979 saw the start of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ (RSPB) “Big Garden Birdwatch”, during which people are asked to devote one hour observing birds in their gardens during the last weekend January, record all species seen and report the maximum number of each seen at one time (to avoid counting the … More Big Garden Finchwatch
12 November saw Christine and me on the coast near Selsey, just south of Chichester, in brilliant sunshine but a fierce, northerly wind that emanated from the arctic. We had parked our car close to Earnley church to visit the western side of the RSPB’s Medmerry reserve and walked along the track, past the RSPB … More Managed retreat
In the 1970s, when undertaking research on Starlings with the then Ministry of Agriculture, most of my winter fieldwork took place near Winchester in Hampshire. During this period of my life I became familiar with the stretch of the River Itchen between New Alresford and Kings Worthy and liked, in particular, the river as it … More Autumn gold and other countryside change – a day by the River Itchen
On 27 October we drove down to Brighton in the hope that Christine could witness a murmuration of Starlings: this is the term used to describe the amazing pre-roosting behaviour of large flocks of Starlings just before they enter their roost sites in the late evening. On a good evening this can be one of … More To murmurate or not to murmurate
Wild Bird Conservation 