Friday, May 3, 2013
NATURE NOTES THE landscape with which we are familiar today has probably seen more changes since the end of the last war than at any other time in history.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
NATURE NOTES Signs of spring are hard to find on the Island just now, but we do have primroses, daffodils and even frogspawn to remind us the seasons do move on, even if the weather doesn’t.
Friday, March 1, 2013
NATURE NOTES AS A member of the IW Natural History and Archaeological Society (IWNHAS), one of the events I look forward to is the annual bird report.
Friday, February 8, 2013
NATURE NOTES People often struggle to identify the many members of the umbellifer family (cow parsley, hogweeds, etc) but one of the easiest to spot confidently is the principal yellow-flowered one, commonly called Alexanders.
Friday, December 7, 2012
NATURE NOTES WHY, I wondered, is the inside of the lid of my Dalek-type compost bin thick with earthworms?
Friday, November 2, 2012
NATURE NOTES Driving back and forth along the Military Road this last week, I have been watching the last few swallows flying around and fattening up before setting off for warmer climes.
Friday, October 5, 2012
NATURE NOTES Left to its own devices the interior of deciduous woodland will grow darker and darker over the years.
Friday, August 3, 2012
NATURE NOTES The IWNHAS archaeology section was founded in 1927.
Friday, July 13, 2012
NATURE NOTES Clearly being an Island gives us a head start when it comes to coastal habitats but we are also lucky with the wide variety of different ones on offer here.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
THE TALENT of unpublished Isle of Wight writers was recognised at an awards ceremony at Newport Minster last night (Wednesday).
Friday, June 1, 2012
NATURE NOTESI SPOTTED this fearsome-looking insect in our garden recently, which I quickly discovered was not as alarming as it looked.
Friday, May 4, 2012
NATURE NOTESEveryone knows the cuckoo —or do they?
Certainly it is likely everyone thinks they know what a cuckoo sounds like, but I suspect few people would recognise the bubbling call of a female cuckoo, and they might even be surprised by the less familiar noise of a cuckoo ‘gowking’.
Friday, March 2, 2012
NATURE NOTESWHAT is a hedge? Well that depends what part of the country you are from to some extent.
Friday, January 6, 2012
NATURE NOTES“THE Island’s varied geology gives rise to a range of landscapes that is unique — a microcosm of southern England.”
Friday, November 4, 2011
NATURE NOTESDO you remember Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, the popular TV programme of the 1950s?
Friday, October 7, 2011
NATURE NOTESI HAVE received reports this year’s count of glow worm sightings has dropped considerably, which is cause for concern.
Friday, September 2, 2011
NATURE NOTESAT THIS time of the year many passions are aroused by the appearance of a number of invasive species of plants.
Friday, August 5, 2011
NATURE NOTESA WEEK or so ago, I went for a late afternoon walk along the revetment between Ventnor and Bonchurch.
The sea was fairly rough and the tide high, making it quite an exciting stroll.