Male linnet, Scout Scar 9 May 2016 Time out of mind, spring comes with a chorus of birdsong. A fanfare for renewal and rebirth with tree-flowers and fresh leaves, insects on the wing and birds loud and jubilant. This spring, I'm seeking to turn up the volume. How do we tell the story of our times? Somewhere between rejoicing and lament, lament at Climate Change, loss of habitat, loss of species.
On Cunswick Fell we try to shut out traffic on the Kendal Bypass and listen to skylark. Numbers are not what they were. Beside the Church of St John Helsington, linnet sing in the tree tops. At last. They are hard to find and I know their traditional breeding grounds.
On Cunswick Fell we try to shut out traffic on the Kendal Bypass and listen to skylark. Numbers are not what they were. Beside the Church of St John Helsington, linnet sing in the tree tops. At last. They are hard to find and I know their traditional breeding grounds.
Easter 2019 saw record temperatures with ground tinder-dry and moorland fires in April! As in the heat-wave summer of 2018 man is the cause, arson or negligence. The National Trust begs visitors to take care with portable barbecues. Why are they on sale when they pose a known risk to the environment? Already, moorland fires have wrecked work to regenerate and restore moorland habitat after the fires of last summer. And again it's the breeding season for moorland birds.
Fire alarms at Booths supermarket. The doors are closed to customers as the fire brigade investigates. Ironically, the porch is stacked high with portable barbecues. I have not forgotten finding one burnt out at a viewpoint on Scout Scar escarpment, dismantling it and carrying home someone else's garbage to dispose of it.
Let Nature Sing. That afternoon to Leighton Moss where oystercatcher proclaimed the joys of spring as they mated in full view of Tim Jackson hide where sand-martin are invited to nest. Lapwing tumbled in display flight and the rosiest most peachy wheatear I've ever seen sat on a muddy bank as we all admired him.
The RSPB encourage us all to celebrate birdsong and to bring Let Nature Sing to the top of the charts. Their recording is a wonderful celebration of birdsong. Here comes snipe drumming from the strings section of the orchestra. From some 500 feet it plunges, fanning its outer tail feathers in display. The audio-editing to create Let Nature Sing must have been intricate and fun. The on-line critique of birdsong that accompanies it is superb.
Fire alarms at Booths supermarket. The doors are closed to customers as the fire brigade investigates. Ironically, the porch is stacked high with portable barbecues. I have not forgotten finding one burnt out at a viewpoint on Scout Scar escarpment, dismantling it and carrying home someone else's garbage to dispose of it.
Let Nature Sing. That afternoon to Leighton Moss where oystercatcher proclaimed the joys of spring as they mated in full view of Tim Jackson hide where sand-martin are invited to nest. Lapwing tumbled in display flight and the rosiest most peachy wheatear I've ever seen sat on a muddy bank as we all admired him.
The RSPB encourage us all to celebrate birdsong and to bring Let Nature Sing to the top of the charts. Their recording is a wonderful celebration of birdsong. Here comes snipe drumming from the strings section of the orchestra. From some 500 feet it plunges, fanning its outer tail feathers in display. The audio-editing to create Let Nature Sing must have been intricate and fun. The on-line critique of birdsong that accompanies it is superb.
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