Winter Reflection: Fellowship of the flock
The pied wagtails delight in urban environments, and display a communality during the darkest, hardest months of the year.
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Helen Macdonald
Helen Macdonald is a writer and naturalist. Her books include "H is for Hawk" and "Vesper Flights" (Jonathan Cape).
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What do magpies want?
I am left feeling unnerved by the sudden presence of a bird wreathed in superstition and legend at my kitchen window.
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Summer reflection: Call of the flycatcher
These are not eye-catching creatures. Field guides often describe them as “undistinguished”. But, in this unfamiliar and far from…
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Spring reflection: Learning from the birds
An exotic, acquisitive bird-watching trip on the other side of the world already feels like an artefact of another age.…
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Winter reflection: Berries from heaven
The humble berry can bring festive magic – and rare winter visitors.
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Summer Reflection: A revelation in the teeming sky
What I’m witnessing is the nuptial flight of a species called Lasius niger, the common black ant
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Spring Reflection: A birdhouse makes a home
Author and naturalist Helen Macdonald reflects on creating homes for nesting birds, and the joy she gets in return
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Time travel on a winter’s woodland walk
A winter wood reveals the bones of the landscape it grows upon, the geographical contours of slopes, gullies and…
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Glimpses of the elusive nightjar
Imagine a slim bird like a big swift, one as long as your hand from wrist to fingertip, and…
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