A swarm of fungi has ascended. Shaggy inkcaps, yellow fieldcaps, waxcaps, fairy rings of powdercaps and even beefsteak. Amphibians can be found under every other log, rock and leaf pile and glimpses of brown hares in winter moult, moving into the woodland for refuge. This is one of my best-loved times of the year to be a ranger. As the summer months have drawn to a close, the early autumn season has dictated much pond management work and the building or preserving of hibernacula around the site, ready to coax in some overwintering amphibious beings. Recently I’ve had numerous chance-meetings ..read more

A land of complexity by its own decree With bountiful green and shimmering sea. A charm of ruggedness in places abound, The beast of burden still there to be found. Pastures grazed tell of the Irish hare And ancient chestnuts, forever rare. Giants traverse the rock and stone, O’Kelly’s orchid, pure and grown. Blackbird song greets the morn with acclaim, A cinnabar fleeting, redden with flame. Both robin and wren awaken the dawn, Low in the lands of the mountains of mourne. Natural mystique lies in the avenue of beech, Faeries there lurking the shadowy reach. Both red deer and wheatea ..read more

Spring vigour is almost at its burgeoning best up north, and my work has now moved away from the heavy lifting of winter and survey season is now upon us. The last month has been dotted with moth, otter, willow tit, newt, bat and badger fieldwork. It's always an exciting time of year for me and provides much motivation, especially when previous conservation work has dictated a species population increase within the survey data. Working with protected species like badgers, bats and great crested newts is a real honour and seeing them regularly is really something. Sometimes it takes the reacti ..read more

The greatest thing about being a ranger is the opportunity it gives you to work both in an amazing environment and for an environment. As varied as it is, wherever I am and whatever I am doing, I find myself encompassed by nature. Sights, sounds, aromas and touch always come in to play and this is never more evident than when it comes to springtime. But, we aren’t quite there yet. Or are we? The winter period is prime time for woodland management at work, or as someone once corrected me - woodland ‘care’ season. To be honest, I thoroughly agree. Whether it be coppicing Hazel, tree felling for ..read more

Following a visit by volunteers and student naturalists from the wonderful Natural History Society of Northumbria, this month I was asked to write a piece for a new blog series, Celebrating North East Nature. Founded in 1829 by a small group of passionate, North East naturalists, they have been carrying out incredibly important work in the region to aid North East nature for almost two centuries. NHSN is a community for those who study nature and enjoy wildlife in Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear. You can read on for my writing contribution or follow the link here direct to NHSN’s b ..read more

The word cornucopia seems a particularly apt description for the sheer magnitude of autumn diversity that has burst onto the scene in recent weeks. My writing this month will swerve the stereotypical adjectives of this glorious season, and will instead hone in on the assemblage of phenomenal fungi that I have found, along with a couple of real periodic treasures of the fall - both of which were entirely unexpected encounters. For the last month, the woods around our home have been alive at dusk with the folkloric calls of both male and female Tawny Owls. At this late stage in the. year, adult ..read more

We find ourselves at the crossroads of the seasons. Summer has peaked and disbanded. Autumn lies in wait. But what a peak this summer period was, especially in the garden as the wildlife activity reached new heights once more. Since my last blog entry on garden goings-on, the Foxes and Hedgehogs have continued to frequent, with cubs and hoglets stealing the limelight right up until August, with them now looking almost indistinguishable from their older counterparts. Fox cubs playing on the deadwood dotted around the garden and learning how to forage for invertebrates and small mammals was a r ..read more

Back in May I set sail from Oban to a small isle of Argyllshire in the Inner-Hebrides named Colonsay, bound for Scalasaig - the islands largest settlement. Whenever I mention this locale, very few people seem to have heard of it, and perhaps for good reason. It is roughly only ten by two miles in size, far smaller than the neighbouring Mull and Islay and is as remote as you could wish for. One pub, one brewery, one general store and a boat load of rugged coastland, rocky outcrops, machair and moorland. The name of the island derives from Old Norse and is translated as “Columba’s Island” or “K ..read more

This time around, I am fortunate enough to be writing from the rugged charm of Machrins on Colonsay, a small and remote island within the inner Hebrides of Scotland, just north of Islay and south of Mull. It is tempting to write about nothing else other than this very special little island, but more on that next time as this journey isn’t yet complete. The interim between ‘Newtopia’ and present kicked off with a trip to New York City in April and even in one of the largest metropolises in the world, nature and wildlife could still be found. In the wilder looking North Woods of Central Park, w ..read more

Local news has been dominated in recent days by the extraordinary sighting of Freya the Walrus at Seahouses in Northumberland. It is not often that you hear the tale of an arctic walrus rocking up on the Northumberland coast after relaxing for a few days on a Dutch submarine. Much to my grave disappointment I have had no time to venture up the coast this week as life is a little on the frantic side right now with our new home currently resembling a building site. I have on the other hand, still been able to squeeze in some autumn exploration these last few weeks and have come across some note ..read more