One of the great joys of my work reviewing books on natural history subjects is that, while many times the books arriving for review are expected, occasionally one appears that I otherwise may have quite possibly missed. In some cases this may be just as well; however in others, such as with the recently arrived “A Sustainable Future; 12 Key Areas of Global Concern,” not having the opportunity to discover what their authors had to say would be most regrettable indeed.
On my recent travels in England, just before making the pilgrimage to the BirdFair, I had the great good fortune of exploring the area around Radley Lakes with Jo Cartmell in search of Water Voles – or at least signs thereof. As the day warmed, the butterflies and dragonflies became more active, culminating in the opportunity to snap a photo (with merely my mobile phone camera, no less) of this exquisite Common Darter, Sympetrum striolatum, male as it basked on a barbed wire fence along the path.
Of all the problems facing the United States that I have, as an American, over the course of my life seen to be the most trouble-inspiring, are a profound misunderstanding of history and an over-abundance of nostalgia for the imagined past that this misunderstanding creates. An insufficient, and commonly over-simplified, initial education in our own […]
While I held many delightful conversations at the recently concluded Birdfair with friends both old and new, one person I kept repeatedly missing was Mark Avery. Oh I had sightings – coming upon Mark and his friends from Birders Against Wildlife Crime as I was exiting the Authors’ Forum following the conclusion of Tessa Boase’s brilliant presentation of her new Mrs. Pankhurst’s Purple Feather, stumbling upon him meeting with a table-full of fellows outside the Celestron stand. Unfortunately, each time our paths crossed, one or the other of us lacked the available time for a nice cuppa and a sit-down.