Tues 6th November 2007. Seventeen hours after setting off from Darlington and 40 years after wanting to be “Daktari”, I was finally in Africa. On the journey I’d managed to doze for an hour and learn three words of Swahili. My son, Michael, had slept a little better but learnt less Swahili. We landed inContinue reading “Tales of a timid traveller – (Part 1. ) Into Africa”
Category Archives: Nature writing
Out for a duck!
You get those moments, those brief seconds of bafflement when your brain scrambles frantically to decipher input that makes no sense at all. As I scanned the Teesmouth foreshore the white shape in front of me didn’t resemble anything I knew, didn’t move like anything ought to move and yet moved frantically while at theContinue reading “Out for a duck!”
The Path of the Puma
If my Facebook page is anything to go by, there seems to be a clutter of alleged big cat sightings across the country at the moment. Although most of the accompanying pictures show moggies I’m convinced that there is, or at least has been, the odd big cat out there, so I thought I wouldContinue reading “The Path of the Puma”
Bridge over turbid water
A few years ago I watched an interview with Sting, where he talked about growing up on Tyneside, with the River Tyne and the ship yards right at the end of his street. This was the inspiration for his debut musical, “The Last Ship”. We had a river at the end of our street to. Continue reading “Bridge over turbid water”
To see a thousand things – a Northumbrian nature quest
This is an account of my quest to see 1,000 different species, in Northumbria, in 2021. Why? Well as an ecologist it might reasonably be assumed that I am quite good at identifying wildlife but while I may know “stuff” about wildlife, I’m not that great at “spot the difference” and with wildlife, spotting theContinue reading “To see a thousand things – a Northumbrian nature quest”
Tales of a timid traveller – (Part 3) Eden
I don’t know if elephant droppings are atheism’s ultimate proof but you have to admit, if God created the Garden of Eden he hadn’t thought elephants through properly. This particular Eden was the shore of Lake Nzelakela in the Selous, Tanzania. In early November the short rains had jump-started the trees and splashed the hippo-greyContinue reading “Tales of a timid traveller – (Part 3) Eden”
Raven on the Wing 