This article is an update of the species account which I wrote for the book, Mammals, Amphibians and Reptiles of the North East, which was published by the Natural History Society of Northumbria in 2012. With one notable exception the situation, as far as I knew it, remained unchanged until 2022, when a search viaContinue reading “The Alpine Newt in North East England”
Author Archives: Ian Bond
Shades of Grey
Blame it on our island mentality, but this country seems always to have had a somewhat ambiguous relationship with foreigners. It is probably no surprise then to learn that for a sizeable number of people in this country there is a long-standing campaign to get rid of some unwelcome Americans. Not that this should riskContinue reading “Shades of Grey”
Run and become!
According to a Horizon programme that I watched entitled, “What makes us human”, our distinctiveness was unsurprisingly put down to the complex nature of our brains. Now, while I wouldn’t dream of disagreeing with the good doctor Alice Roberts, there are undoubtedly other things about us that define us as a species and one ofContinue reading “Run and become!”
To see a thousand things – December
Well that felt like the quickest year of my life; perhaps seeming even quicker for documenting it on a monthly basis. December was a good month for my list with the addition of over 50 species, though most of them were technically not new species. Instead they were ones that I had just got roundContinue reading “To see a thousand things – December”
Exotic and Evasive – Escaped Mammals in North East England
This article is an update of the “Escaped Mammals” chapter from the “Extinct and Evasive” section of the 2012 book, “Mammals, Amphibians and Reptiles of the North East”, in which I listed all of the records known to me, of species’ not normally found in Britain that had turned up locally. Since 2012, a fewContinue reading “Exotic and Evasive – Escaped Mammals in North East England”
My good friend the Water Vole
My good friend the Water Vole Is furry and round and cute. He seldom stops development Not like those pesky newts. My good friend the Water Vole Used to hang out by the beck. I haven’t seen him for a while I think I’d better check. My good friend the Water Vole Leaves signs forContinue reading “My good friend the Water Vole”
To see a thousand things – November
The poet Thomas Hood has beaten me to my blog this month. His poem, “No!”, ends with the stanza; “No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds, November!” That was pretty much it for November. I found two new plants, though neither was a flower, and added anotherContinue reading “To see a thousand things – November”
The Lost World
“Last Chance to See”, the Hartlepool countryside events programme said, shamelessly plagiarising Douglas Adams. It did the trick though, as some two dozen people turned up for the advertised five-mile walk, hoping for a glimpse, perhaps their first, or maybe their last, of a Red Squirrel. Hartlepool still surprises me with its contrasts and conflicts,Continue reading “The Lost World”
To see a thousand things – October
October started with great excitement. A Facebook friend posted a photo of a shrew that her cat had caught in the garage. The photo, just of its head, resembled a flattened Womble, which is exactly how I think White-toothed shrews look. I would have gone with that identification were it not for the fact thatContinue reading “To see a thousand things – October”
To see a thousand things – September
September sucked! I was thinking of leaving the entry for September at that, a sort of blogging equivalent of the Haiku, only for people who haven’t the patience to read a whole Haiku. I had envisaged August as being the month when nothing much happened, a brief pause before the next season started. I hadn’tContinue reading “To see a thousand things – September”
Raven on the Wing 