A bird’s life is never easy. There may be hard winters to endure, long journeys to make, feathers to replace and territories to defend. And, in addition to all this, there are a host of difficulties that arise, not from external forces, but from a bird’s relationships with other birds, of its own species or another. Whether it be the brutal hierarchies established in winter flocks, or the intense competition that every bird has to undertake to acquire a mate, it sometimes seems as though it would be a lot easier if other birds simply weren’t there!

This talk tells the story of a family mission – to see as many species of Britain’s mammals in a single year as possible. Truly, this is a hard task, because lots of Britain’s mammals are small, almost all are active mainly at night, and most of them are pretty keen to avoid being seen. And just to make the task even harder, this particular family is not especially well versed in the art of finding mammals. The children Brown Long-eared Bat (Carolyn Couzens)Emily and Samuel are only 5 years old and 3 years old respectively, and most animals are active well past their bedtime – so how on earth can they be persuaded to set eyes on the likes of Pine Martens and Yellow-necked Mice? It was far from easy, as you will find out during the talk.

This talk should appeal to the general public as well as natural history enthusiasts. And although there is plenty about how to show wild animals to young children, you will also find out about the mammals themselves, their lifestyles and habits. For example – do you know your voles from your mice, and did you know that Grey Squirrels will sometimes have sleepovers? You might prefer Red Squirrels, but their Grey relatives are in many ways just as fascinating.

No of images: 140
Type: Powerpoint
Length: 60-80 minutes
Audience: General

To make a booking, contact me here to discuss.

Migration has fascinated people for centuries. That’s long enough, indeed, not only to spawn a simply enormous amount of research on the subject, but also to allow some pretty hefty misconceptions to have crept in. For example, do you think migration is dangerous? It isn’t. And when you think of migration, you probably have a concept of some impressive transcontinental marathon – yet most migratory journeys are really quite short.

There is much about migration that isn’t yet explained. For example, how does a pigeon that has been transported to Germany, say, find its way back to a loft in Britain? Barnacle Geese (Dave Kjaer)Guess what, nobody knows. And while the scientists have worked out where Swallows go in our winter, the whereabouts of many millions of our wintering House Martins still remains a mystery.

Everybody should find something of interest in this unusual and slightly quirky beginner’s guide to the marvel of bird migration. It’s full of facts, surprises, marvels and the odd bit of humour, and has for long been one of my most popular lectures.

Number of images: 78
Type: Powerpoint
Duration: 60-120min
Audience: General, birdwatchers

To make a booking, contact me here to discuss.