A climate-friendly aproach to ornithology
By Finley Hutchinson What do you think of when I say 'nature'? Or 'biodiversity'? I reckon that most people in the UK would picture rainforests full of monkeys, birds and tree frogs. Or maybe a remote river bursting with kingfishers, multi-coloured fish and dragonflies. Granted, that may be largely the less 'wildlife-orientated' members of society …
Matt Phelps It’s barely light. The sky is gunmetal grey tinged with indigo, while a ribbon of fiery pink stretched across the eastern horizon warns of inclement weather ahead. For now, it’s dry and bitterly cold as I crunch my way along the frozen riverbank from home to my local patch, Pulborough Brooks. There’s a …
By Peter Moore My relationship with my local patch at Swineham in Dorset sometimes reminds me of the joke by the late comedian Sean Hughes about why he wasn’t into one night stands: ‘too much commitment’. In my defence, living within what has been claimed as the most biodiverse 10km square in England, it would …
By Joe Parham In October 2020 I was appointed a Youth Representative of the British Trust for Ornithology, with the goal of increasing access to and knowledge of birds among young people across the country. Pondering how I might initiate this, I thought that green patch birding would be worth promoting—it is an accessible form …
Fifty autumn postcards from forty birdwatchers—a fraction of the growing number of individuals who are thinking more carefully about why, where, and how they travel to watch birds. As these accounts show, there is no single or perfect way of understanding and doing low-carbon birding. Some of these birdwatchers live in bird-rich places, others in …
By Robert Fletcher, Bram Büscher, Kate Massarella and Stasja Koot Among the pandemic’s most significant effects has been its impact on the global tourism industry – an important source of conservation financing in many places. In some places, this is affecting wildlife directly. For instance, fears that endangered mountain gorillas might contract the virus from …
Continue reading "Time to rethink ecotourism and conservation"
By Tom Jordan The idea of the car as the default mode of transport is embedded in modern society and birding is no exception. Can this culture be changed? By questioning our defaults, many birders will be surprised at what can be achieved. Apart from birding, my other great love is Southampton Football Club. As …
By Steve Dudley There appears to be some debate among conservationists and environmentalists about what we should be prioritising—the climate or biodiversity. For me it’s clear. There will be no biodiversity without a planet, so climate change remains the biggest threat to all life on Earth. Our planet’s biodiversity is ultimately tied to the planet’s …
By Charlie Peverett Finding your own rarities close to home is often considered peak birding, but there’s another summit worth scaling and it’s coming closer into view. As many of us have found in 2020, local green spaces are precious and can be full of surprises. I live in the middle of a town in …
Continue reading "Bringing back the birds: the next level of patch gold"
By Jonnie Fisk Birding trips abroad are a high-carbon indulgence. But that can be cut down by quite some margin by ditching air travel. I spent two weeks on Europe’s winter rails to show that productive, fulfilling and affordable birding can be had without the need for a plane or car. In January 2019 I …
Low-Carbon Birding 