Note: The INDEX is with Rocky Mountains, USA. You will have a list of nearly 90 posts about wildlife. Information free of adverts. Photographs by John Solomon, 2020. Dragonflies are aquatic during their immature stages. Locally, they live in fairly still freshwater. The immatures, like the adults, are fiercely carnivorous and in garden ponds canContinue reading “The Natural World in Photographs – 4, Dragonflies.”
Author Archives: johnanddavid
Rocky Mountains, USA and Index
David Beeson We have been fortunate in having visited this area twice – once via Denver and again via Seattle. If you have the opportunity, go! The USA is easy to explore and booking hotels or AirB&B in advance is possible but not vital. A few images to catch your imagination as the world mayContinue reading “Rocky Mountains, USA and Index”
The Natural World in Photographs – 3
Images by John Solomon NOTE: over 90 articles available, free of adverts. See: nwhwildlife.org – Rocky Mountains, USA and Index. The legs bear many spiky hairs, seen beautifully in this image. The venation of the wings shows clearly here, as does the metallic colour that seems to occur across all the odonata. A leopard ofContinue reading “The Natural World in Photographs – 3”
Signs of Spring?
David Beeson With the cold snap having evaporated, and our local temperature hitting the mid-teens, our wildlife is waking up … slightly. NOTE: over 90 articles available, free of adverts. See: nwhwildlife.org – Rocky Mountains, USA and Index.
The Natural World in Photographs – 2
NOTE: over 90 articles available, free of adverts. See: nwhwildlife.org – Rocky Mountains, USA and Index. John Solomon’s images from 2020. We can all look at a damselfly and say to ourselves, “Sure, it is only another damselfly.” Today, you have the chance to take a second look at these British species, and to enjoyContinue reading “The Natural World in Photographs – 2”
Inside Plant Roots
Inside plant roots – an introduction David Beeson, February 2021 You would be advised to see the articles on stems and leaves first. Seldom seen, but roots are useful plant components! Most people first come across in the form of carrots, parsnips and swedes. These are food-storing tap roots, while most roots are fine andContinue reading “Inside Plant Roots”
Feeling sleepy? How about being awake for only a few weeks each year … and it is a European mammal!
Adverse conditions David Beeson, January 2021 The weather changes in the UK from day to day and with the seasons. With the Earth at a moving orientation to the Sun throughout the year, the input of energy in a particular spot changes. In the UK winter, the constant energy output from our Sun is spreadContinue reading “Feeling sleepy? How about being awake for only a few weeks each year … and it is a European mammal!”
The Natural World in Photographs
The odonata John Solomon Sometimes it is just lovely to see the organism in all its glory … not long now until the UK’s wildlife opens up again! NOTE: over 90 articles available, free of adverts. See: nwhwildlife.org – Rocky Mountains, USA and Index.
Photo essay – a frosty 1st January
David Beeson Bet you are as fed up with 2020 as I am. I want some sunshine and non-muddy trackways … and a tasty vaccination. Most of the plants are in hibernation – hiding their resources away from herbivores. Only the fruits, with the plant’s seeds inside, are being offered – and there is anContinue reading “Photo essay – a frosty 1st January”
Photo Essay – Winter and Summer in our Eco-garden
December 2020 Forest Edge is an eco-garden, in that we attempt to optimise the wildlife, whilst still delivering a beautiful garden AND a play area for the grandchildren. We cannot do everything in the area we have, so there are limits. We have had herds of fallow deer (30+) in the garden – that hasContinue reading “Photo Essay – Winter and Summer in our Eco-garden”
Wildlife Encounters
Encounters David Beeson, 15 /12 /20 It was in my early days of wildlife watching and I had a brand-new telephoto-lens. And I needed mammal photographs for a lecture course I was about to teach. So, I drove out to a stream just outside Salisbury – near Odstock, where watervoles had been spotted. Now, myContinue reading “Wildlife Encounters”
A Trip to South-east USA
Like nowhere I had seen before – The Florida and Georgia Wetlands Everyone seems to rave about Florida. Not me, and I’ve been there too. Now, I admit to no longer being a youngster, so I am not ‘into’ theme parks, over-crowded beaches or built environments. Yup, I am an old grouchy! But, give meContinue reading “A Trip to South-east USA”
Plants are Clever, 3
Plant metabolism David Beeson, 24th November 2020 Posh words, like metabolism, frighten some folks. Not you, I’m certain. This word just means the total chemistry inside an organism. And we, plants and even our friend Covid-19 are bundles of chemicals, and they all work via chemical reactions. Yup, you and me are bags of chemistry.Continue reading “Plants are Clever, 3”
What is inside a plant? Stems.
Inside plants – the stem Let us face it, the stem must provide multiple functions for the plant. It supports the leaves in suitable positions to allow them to photosynthesise, carries water and possibly nutrients up to the leaves or flowers and sugars down to the roots, it may store useful materials such as carbohydrates,Continue reading “What is inside a plant? Stems.”
An English Oak Woodland in November – textures and colours
David Beeson, 7th November And, yes, as it was a dull day, and I wished to raise your spirits, so the images have been enhanced a bit.
Dormice
David Beeson 4th November Muscardinus avellanarius As I have mentioned before, dormice are declining and generally rare or uncommon in the UK. They are southern in distribution and have been one of the mammals I look out for more than most. Less than a month ago I found what I thought were dormouse nests inContinue reading “Dormice”
Harewood Forest
A Walk through an Ancient Forest, 1. RE-posted 1st November 2020 A walk from the B3400, south along the footpath from Andover Down to the Middleway. SU403463. Pisa Cottage stop on the 76 bus route from Andover to Whitchurch and Basingstoke. Harewood Forest has been woodland forever. It is in north-west Hampshire near the marketContinue reading “Harewood Forest”
A Win for UK Conservation
Wild Justice statement on gamebird licensing 30th October 2020 12:23 pm Wild Justice secures an historic environmental legal victory Just days away from facing a barrage of legal arguments in court (on 3 and 4 November) DEFRA has agreed to license the release of Pheasants and Red-legged Partridges to control ecological damage to wildlife sites. WildContinue reading “A Win for UK Conservation”
A Brilliant Day!!!
Dormice David Beeson Hazel dormice are not common in the UK, but they are slowly being reintroduced, with some success. My area is a comparative ‘hot spot’ for the species and I have found live animals and nests in the past. The nearest nests have been within 1Km, but species-specific nest boxes and searching forContinue reading “A Brilliant Day!!!”
Wildlife and Ecology, the Wildlife Encyclopaedia 