Conservation

1970 the Peregrin Falcon

In 1970 the Peregrin falcon was essentially extinct in the Eastern US. The reason?

Peregrin Falcon in Flight - The fastest animal on Earth.

In 1970 the Peregrin falcon was essentially extinct in the Eastern US. The reason? A chemical DDT (used on crops) had caused their egg shells to become to thin to cope with their own body weight when incubating. As the apex predator the absorbed DDT interfered with their calcium metabolism.

DDT was banned in 1972 and breeding pairs recovered quickly. By 1999, the Peregrine was removed from the US endangered species list. Legislation changed the extinction course of the fastest animal on Earth.

Let's keep finding a way to give life a chance.

Portland Bill: The Long Patience of May

There is a particular kind of waiting that belongs to cliffs in spring. I'm off next week and the FOMO is real but when there I'll feel more settled. Come what may. Wind off the sea. The flask gone tepid. The kids whisper "over there&

The summer the Small Tortoiseshell went missing

There was a time when the Small Tortoiseshell was the butterfly you didn't have to look for. It kind of came to you. On our Buddleja in August. On windfall apples. On the inside of the kitchen window, in drowsy coma, waiting for spring. Most of us have

The Nightingale Comeback

For decades, the Nightingale has felt like a ghost of the British countryside. A bird more often spoken about than heard. I'd heard of it but never actual heard it. Its song once poured through spring hedgerows and tangled woodland edges across southern England. Then, slowly, the silence

Read more

Portland Bill: The Long Patience of May

The summer the Small Tortoiseshell went missing

The Nightingale Comeback