Storytelling to create a sustainable world

Image of dehorned rhinoceros shedding tear with young girl holding out her hand
Advertising artwork depicting a dehorned rhinoceros by Alan Dobson from Pixabay

Keeping up with global news has never been easier with round-the-clock internet and more social media platforms than are good for us. But with so much information and misinformation, digital media can be a curse as well as a blessing for conservation communications. So, how much notice are people taking of the climate and nature crises and can storytelling reach people who have switched off?

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Sustainable farming: making sure people and nature thrive

Wildflower meadow by Richard Croft on Wikimedia

Across the world, extreme weather is causing devastation as wildfires destroy natural habitats, leaving any surviving animals homeless and hungry. In the UK, raging storms erode coastal cliffs, while inland, rainwater gushes down sheep-grazed hillsides and rivers burst their banks, putting animals and people in danger. Climate change also impacts animals’ migratory, feeding and breeding strategies, in positive ways for some species and negative ways for others. There are various drivers of the climate and nature crises, but one contributor often downplayed is food production.

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Feeding garden birds: for better or worse?

Blue tit and great tit eating peanuts from garden feeder
Image by Kev from Pixabay

Every January, I spend a blissful hour watching birds in the garden, joining over half a million people in the UK for the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch. Feeding garden birds is now a popular activity worldwide, with public interest in feeding wild birds soaring during the Covid pandemic. Indeed, scientific research shows a surge in Google searches for bird food and feeders across 115 countries in the northern and southern hemispheres during the general lockdown. In the UK alone, we spend an estimated £200-300 million on bird feeding products each year (2019), providing enough food for 196 million birds. This far exceeds the energy needs of the combined total population of many common garden species.

Like many people who feed birds, I want to help them through the winter. But even the breeding season is a challenge for birds now as agricultural intensification, climate change and urbanisation impact natural food sources, prompting us to feed birds year-round. But are we doing more harm than good?

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Is Right to Roam the best way to go?

Walking the coast path in North Norfolk


Nature conservation is an uphill challenge as human-induced climate change and the way we manage land degrades wild habitats and disrupts wildlife migration, breeding and feeding patterns. Now nature conservation could face another human activity issue in terms of the Right to Roam campaign. Their goal of “free, fair and informed access to nature throughout England” came a step closer when the Labour Party pledged to introduce a Scottish-style right-to-roam law in England. But while we might welcome the freedom to access nature regardless of wealth, how do we balance people’s health and recreational needs with nature’s health and survival?

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Look skywards for swifts back from Africa

Photo credit: Julian Thomas, North East Norfolk Bird Club

Swifts are back for the summer and Aylsham Swift Group is helping these extraordinary birds

Our special swifts are back from Africa, heralding summer and the time we can enjoy their short stay. Swifts have travelled from central Africa, crossing the Sahara and navigating storms to reunite with lifelong partners. Swifts tagged in Eastern England travelled an astonishing 14,000 miles after leaving the UK in the summer of 2010 and arriving back the following spring. You may have seen swifts already this year, skimming rooftops in joyful ‘screaming parties’ or soaring above our town.   

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Is biodiversity net gain the way to stop nature loss?

Human survival depends on nature yet economic growth is destroying ecosystems and biodiversity. Should we put a price on nature?

Putting a price on nature isn’t a new idea. In Natural Capital: Valuing the Planet, Sir Dieter Helm measures and values natural capital in terms of nature’s renewable and non-renewable resources. Helm acknowledges that human survival and wellbeing depend on protecting and restoring biodiversity and ecosystems, and proposes a framework for sustainable economic growth that is politically and economically viable. It makes no sense to judge a thriving economy on GDP alone and ignore the impact of economic growth on natural assets. The Dasgupta Review: The Economics of Biodiversity says we need to account fully for our interactions with nature if we want to stop the overexploitation of natural resources, the decline in biodiversity, and the destruction of ecosystems we depend on.

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Swifts need help now in villages, towns and cities

Walking by the lake on the Blickling National Trust estate, I was spellbound by a flock of seventy or so swifts. In the distance, lightning flashed while at the lake’s edge, these agile birds feasted on clouds of insects. Watching silhouettes of scythe wings and fork tails whirling over my head, I wondered if these long-distance migrants were passing through or nesting nearby. Other times, I’ve seen swifts swoop across the lake and dip their head in the water before pitching upwards and shivering to shake droplets from their feathers.

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Little terns nesting bonanza at Winterton Beach

Each summer, I head out to Winterton to see the little terns nesting. On a warm afternoon in July, I’m heading across the heath to the beach, excited about seeing these remarkable birds again. One year, I arrived too late and most of the birds had left. Another year, the terns were mostly breeding at Eccles. Once, I decided to go after the breeding season, but the beach felt so empty. Winterton is best when the electric fence is up and the terns are back from Africa!

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Kestrel chicks: from fluffballs to fledglings

A fortunate encounter with a friendly birder on my local patch one evening pointed me in the direction of a nest of raptor chicks. I often walk past the old oak tree he described but had never thought to scan its tall trunk for nests. Packing away the long lens I had borrowed to photograph a reed bunting, I hurried off to the copse of oaks.

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Iconic curlew evicted from our changing countryside

Having grown up on a council estate with tiny gardens and a father who thought birds were best eaten, it wasn’t until I had my own family that I started walking in the countryside and watching birds.

It was only recently though, having moved to Norfolk, that I had the pleasure of seeing a pair of curlews. I wondered how I could have missed this enchanting bird in the past.

I wanted to find out more about curlews and what better way than to read a nature memoir! Unlike me, nature writer and campaigner Mary Colwell is no stranger to the curlew call, nor why they may be hard to see. Continue reading

Can we justify culling some animals to save others? 

Bellbird on Tiritiri Matangi Island, New Zealand

Humans have a complex relationship with animals, ranking them in a hierarchy of utilisation and affection according to human cultures and values. While some animals are saved, others are slaughtered.

Depending on where you live in the world, elephants, rhinos and lions might be seen as endangered species to be protected or they might be used for pseudo-medicine, trinkets and trophies. Cats are beloved pets for some but for others, they are bird killers or meat. It can be difficult to balance cultural differences, species conservation status and ethics to find the best outcome.

But questionable cultural practices aside, even evidence-based conservation science faces an ethical dilemma.     Continue reading

Have you seen the latest Wildlife Blog Collection?

The Wildlife Blog Collection ebook front cover

 

Terra Incognita Travel’s first Wildlife Blogger of the Year competition was a resounding success with stories from nature writers around the world. I’m delighted to have my story included in their new wildlife blog eBook alongside other personal stories of wildlife encounters and conservation insights. The team at Terra Incognita describe below the idea behind the collection and what the judges—renowned conservationists, scientists, nature writers and filmmakers—said about the top stories. Continue reading

Remembering a blackbird fledgling

I lift the blinds on the back door and there he is. Every morning, the garden birds arrive for breakfast but while other birds wait in the pine trees or gather on the fence, this fledgling sits between the flower pots. As I open the door, he hurries forward to be first in line for the soaked mealworms I sprinkle on the patio and then under the table where he will be safe. I have grown fond of this blackbird fledgling, although I know he is sick. He can no longer fly like his sibling. Continue reading

Jewel in the crown: New Zealand’s yellow-eyed penguin

New Zealand yellow-eyed penguin feeding its chick

Huddled behind the hide at the far end of Sandfly Bay, we shelter from winds whipping sand across the dunes. The sun is yet to break as we wait for yellow-eyed penguins to make their way from the headland to the rocks below. It’s a perilous journey from forest nests to ocean feeding grounds, and I wonder why a penguin makes this long trek across farmland each day. Continue reading

Terra Incognita Wildlife Blogger of the Year 2018

Yellow-Eyed Penguin, native to New Zealand. Credit: David Brighten

Sponsored by Swarovski Optik, ecotourism social enterprise Terra Incognita Travel have organised a competition (details below) to find the wildlife blogger of the year. How exciting is that!

Thank you to James Common, Director of New Nature Magazine, for sharing his red squirrel encounter on social media that led me to Terra Incognita. Reading the variety of wildlife experiences and stories, I was inspired to enter my own: ‘Jewel in the Crown: New Zealand’s Yellow-Eyed Penguin‘. What an opportunity to be read by judges that include highly regarded nature writers, wildlife filmmakers, conservation scientists and environmental campaigners—that’s a prize in itself! Continue reading

Ocean plastic waste: be part of the solution not the problem

Our love for plastic and our throwaway culture is choking our oceans and wildlife, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

Plastic waste washes up on beaches and injures ocean wildlife

Covering 71 per cent of the Earth’s surface and deeper in places than Mount Everest is tall, oceans have long been a source of fascination. Since Captain Cook charted the Pacific Ocean in the 18th century, returning with zoological specimens and botanical artwork that set the mark for scientific exploration, we have been learning about the natural world. Scientists are still discovering new species. Researchers and filmmakers travel to the most inhospitable places revealing the ocean’s mysteries in documentaries such as Blue Planet.

But sadly, today’s naturalists are faced with the impact of ocean plastic waste. Watching albatross parents feed plastic to chicks has been one of the lows of David Attenborough’s natural history career. But how did we reach this point and what can we do to help regenerate our oceans? Continue reading

Why there should be no black and white in veganism

Black and white cows

How can veganism not be a black-and-white philosophy? After all, causing pain and suffering to animals is black and white – you either do or you don’t. You’re either vegan or you’re not.

This all-or-nothing premise was used by TV host Piers Morgan to attack environmental journalist, author and recent vegan advocate George Monbiot on ITV’s Good Morning Britain. Monbiot was under the impression he had been invited to discuss the ethics and impact of animal farming. But Morgan clearly had other ideas. Continue reading

Pollution from pipes beached in Norfolk puts wildlife at risk

By Tracy Brighten

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency says pipes washed ashore in Norfolk pose no danger of pollution. Are they unaware of, or simply ignoring plastic fragments scattered along the coast?

The MCA’s announcement on the pollution risk from four gigantic plastic bore pipes washed up on Norfolk’s east coach beaches was reported by The Guardian. Twelve pipes were being tugged from Norway to Algeria when they came loose after a collision with a container ship. While there are reports that the recovery operation is underway, no-one is talking about the plastic fall out on pristine beaches used by seals and rare seabirds. Continue reading

Little terns brave tides, dogs and falcons in Norfolk

The second rarest seabird in the UK, little terns face a bleak future without our help

EULife Little Tern Recovery Project

At a colony along Norfolk’s east coast where I’ve been helping as a volunteer, RSPB wardens are providing dedicated round-the-clock protection for endangered beach-nesting birds. The RSPB’s conservation work is part of the EU Life + Nature Little Tern Recovery Project involving eleven partner organisations, including the RSPB, Natural England, The National Trust, Cumbria Wildlife Trust and Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust. The recovery project has been crucial in monitoring, protecting and increasing little tern populations across the UK. Continue reading

Pasture Promise: Asda leads the way for free-range cows and fair deal for farmers

A major supermarket chain supporting farmers and animal welfare is welcome news, especially in light of past price wars

Asda will be the first supermarket to stock Free Range Dairy Network milk carrying the Pasture Promise, which is encouraging news for animal welfare advocates. To be awarded Pasture Promise certification, free-range dairy herds must be grazed outside for a minimum of six months each year and farmers aren’t permitted to shoot calves at birth. Continue reading

Licence and lunacy in driven grouse shooting

By Tracy Brighten

Conservationists call time on a blood sport damaging the environment 

grouse-1107406_1920

Social media has provided an important platform for raising awareness of the wide-reaching implications of driven grouse shooting in the UK. Birders Against Wildlife Crime, League Against Cruel Sports and Raptor Persecution have been highly effective on social media and it was through Twitter that I first heard about hen harrier persecution.

Since conservationists Mark Avery and Chris Packham organised the first official ‘Hen Harrier Day’ in 2014, the campaign to ban driven grouse shooting has been gathering momentum. Continue reading

Create a cafe for hungry garden birds and feel good

Help garden birds through the winter and feel the warmth of nature

Garden birds robin

The rental property we moved to recently was built on land where an old bungalow used to be. Except for three conifers, the garden was cleared and laid to lawn except for an empty flower bed which I turned over the other week hoping to attract robins and blackbirds with worms.

The garden may be neat, but it isn’t bird-friendly. Continue reading

World’s rarest penguin suffers disease, starvation and selfies

By Tracy Brighten
Human settlement pushes New Zealand’s yellow-eyed penguin to the brink

Yellow-eyed penguin and chick

Yellow-eyed penguin feeding chick at Penguin Place, Otago. Image credit: David Brighten

The Emperor penguin is arguably the most familiar penguin in the world, the poster penguin for climate change as global warming melts the Antarctic ice they depend on. Indeed, this magnificent penguin’s survival in such an inhospitable environment is well-reported in films and documentaries such as March with the Penguins and the BBC’s Dynasties.

But not all penguins live in sub-zero temperatures. The yellow-eyed penguin is challenged by temperatures at the other extreme, yet the plight of this ‘Endangered’ IUCN Red List Threatened Species is less widely known.  Continue reading

Malta set to slaughter 5000 turtle doves in spring hunt

By Tracy Brighten

Migrating turtle doves will be shot down as they fly over Malta.

European turtle dove

The Maltese government has sanctioned the slaughter of 5,000 European turtle doves as they fly over Malta in the last stages of their 5,600 km journey from wintering grounds in West Africa to breeding grounds in Europe.

No other European country allows spring hunting of turtle doves. Continue reading

Pet trade spurs poaching of African grey parrot

By Tracy Brighten

Our fascination with intelligent parrots has a catastrophic impact on wild populations

African grey parrot head    

When we’re looking for an animal to keep as a pet, we think about food, exercise and affordability. But how much thought do we give to where the animal comes from? When we buy exotic birds through online ads or breeders, we may unknowingly support the plunder of wild species. The African grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) is one such species. Continue reading

Blind love for cats is killing our songbirds

By Tracy Brighten

As cat ownership soars, we need a radical change in attitude to save mammals and songbirds from cats’ claws

Cat whiskers

Despite evidence from camera traps and Cat Tracker devices showing predatory behaviour, cat owners tend to describe their pets as too slow or too gentle to harm wildlife.

But Kitty is equally at home stalking wildlife as she is sleeping on our lap.

As human populations and domestic cat ownership explode, especially in urban areas, more small mammals and birds fall prey. When breeding can’t keep pace with predation, species numbers decline. Well-fed domestic cats might even be compared to trophy hunters in the sense they aren’t hunting for food. Continue reading

Catios and collars cool for cats and wildlife

By Tracy Brighten

Cat predation is wreaking havoc on wildlife, but an open-air safe haven for domestic cats and a collar that warns birds could be the purr-fect solution

Cat wearing Birdsbesafe collar

I’ve written in the past about the threat to wildlife from domestic cats and owners’ reluctance to accept their cat might be involved. While exact prey numbers are difficult to determine, camera traps show that small mammal and bird populations are threatened in areas with high-density cat populations.  Continue reading

Spreading the word on New Zealand’s birds

Sylvia Durrant

A profile of volunteer Sylvia Durrant who has been caring for sick and injured birds on Auckland’s North Shore for over twenty years

Sylvia Durrant found her calling when she replied to an advert for an SPCA bird rescue volunteer. Sylvia’s previous career as a nurse had prepared her for this life-saving work with birds and educating the community. She is an inspiration, as I found out when I had the pleasure of meeting her. Continue reading

Let’s put the pure back in New Zealand

New Zealand owl

Imagine British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had been invited to give a speech at a university conference on sustainability. Imagine her topic was the discrepancy between the clean, green image created by the ‘100% Pure New Zealand’ campaign and the environmental reality. Imagine she wanted to inform the audience of this discrepancy; to persuade them it is economically damaging as well as morally unacceptable; and to motivate them to take action. As a scientist and politician, she knew the importance of commerce, government and environmental groups working together, and as an effective public speaker, she knew the power of words. Imagine this was her speech. Continue reading

‘Fast Food Nation’: how a destructive culture takes over

By Tracy Brighten

Eric Schlosser’s investigative journalism in Fast Food Nation uncovers a greedy, corrupt meat industry that threatens people and animals worldwide

Fast Food Nation

I was first introduced to Eric Schlosser by John Pilger in his book Tell Me No Lies, a “celebration of the very best investigative journalism.” Continue reading

Taiji fishermen dump Risso’s dolphins at sea

By Tracy Brighten

Marine conservationists claim that dolphin hunters may be dumping slaughtered calves and juveniles at sea to avoid quota counts

Risso's dolphin on rocks

Young Risso’s dolphin washed up on rocks in Taiji

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s Cove Guardians are on the ground in Taiji, documenting the dolphin hunt season from September through March. Operation Henkaku is reporting the drive hunts to the world through live stream, press releases and social media.

This season, Cove Guardians have documented small boats covered by tarpaulin leaving Taiji cove after the slaughter of Risso’s dolphin pods. Continue reading

Chinese ‘ivory queen’ arrested in Tanzania for ivory trafficking

By Tracy Brighten

The alleged notorious leader of an ivory trafficking syndicate operating between East Africa and China has been arrested in Tanzania

Tanzania’s National and Transnational Serious Crimes Investigation Unit (NTSCIU) had been surveilling Yang Feng Glan for over a year, before arresting the 66-year-old for her 14 year involvement in ivory trafficking Continue reading

Elephant orphans find comfort in wool blankets

By Tracy Brighten

When baby elephants lose their mother, soft blankets give comfort and protect them from wind, rain and sun at an elephant nursery in Nairobi

DSWT elephant orphan

When elephants become victims of habitat destruction, human-elephant conflict and ivory poaching, their young calves can’t survive without help. Fortunately, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, in collaboration with the Kenyan Wildlife Service, provides a lifeline for elephant and rhino orphans.

Set up in 1977, the Trust is an anti-poaching, rescue and rehabilitation charity. With decades of experience on the front line, the Trust warns of the devastating consequences of elephant poaching. Continue reading

Offshore wind farms threaten northern gannets at Bass Rock

By Tracy Brighten

Northern gannets around the UK are at much greater risk from wind turbine blades than previously thought, according to new scientific research  

northern gannet

Several wind farms are due to be built in the next five years at locations within 50 kilometres of Bass Rock, the world’s largest gannet colony, located in the Firth of Forth off the east coast of Scotland.

The northern gannet is amber listed according to a UK national assessment of Birds of Conservation Concern. This new study, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, highlights the urgent need for further research to inform wind turbine specifications and locations.  Continue reading

Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary to protect unique marine habitat

By Tracy Brighten

New Zealand initiative to protect a region of unique fauna diversity shows world leadership in sustainable marine environment management

white-capped albatross

At the United Nations General Assembly in New York, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key announced the creation of the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary that will protect a vast area of pristine ocean habitat covering 620,000 km² within New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone. Continue reading

Kiwi-killing dogs euthanised after rampage

By Tracy Brighten

New Zealand’s endangered national bird suffered another blow in Northland where dog owners thwart conservation efforts

Kiwis for kiwi

The New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) recovered eight kiwi killed in a conservation area in North Island’s Northland region over a ten week period from May to August. Post mortem examinations revealed they were mauled to death by dogs. Continue reading

Operation Henkaku exposes Japan’s dolphin slave trade

By Tracy Brighten

Hunters chase profit as they drive bottlenose pod into Taiji Cove; dolphins sold from this single dolphin hunt could bag over US$7 million

Taiji dolphins trapped 

Each year from September through March, hundreds of dolphins are caught in one small cove along Japan’s Pacific coast and either traded as a live commodity, or slaughtered and sold as meat. Continue reading

Beehive fence protects crops from African elephant raids

By Tracy Brighten

An innovative project is using the elephant’s innate fear of honey bees to protect subsistence farmers and elephants from injury and death

Beehive fence

Whether elephants are afraid of mice, or simply surprised by their movement, has long been debated, but there is science-based evidence that elephants are afraid of honey bees.

Oxford University researcher Dr Lucy King started a project in 2007 born out of local knowledge that suggested African elephants are scared of honey bees. Dr King carried out scientific studies using playback experiments where honey bee recordings are played to unsuspecting elephants.  Continue reading