What I've Been Reading Online No.10: Nature

Meadow flowers, Strathspey, July 18

The second part of pieces I've enjoyed reading online recently covers nature. Next will be conservation.

Could we introduce lynx to Scotland?
A persuasive case from the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

The Lost Words: An Illustrated Dictionary of Poetic Spells Reclaiming the Language of Nature
A lovely review of Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris's wonderful The Lost Words by Maria Popova.

Storks are back in Britain - and they're a beacon of hope for us all
Isabella Tree welcomes the return of storks and the message it sends.

Ragwort: friend or foe?
Biologist and nature writer Paul Sterry shows how this common wildflower has a bad name for no good reason.

Fascinating Wolf Pictures Captured By Michigan Photographer Mark Graf
A wonderful set of photos.  

Wildflower Verge or Colourful Eyesore?
Paul Sterry makes the case for leaving roadside verges uncut. 

A Short History of Scotland's Lost Species 1: The Elk
First in a new and fascinating series byDavid Hetherington, author of the excellent 'The Lynx and Us' and Ecology Advisor at the Cairngorms National Park Authority.

Can camera trapping help capture predator ecology?
Studying predators and prey in the Cairngorms National Park.

A Short History of Scotland's Lost Species 2: The Bear
Second in David Hetherington's new series.

Bearded vultures soar again in Alps after breeding scheme
A successful wildlife comeback.

Can I take it home? Nature's collectibles and the law 
Mar Lodge ranger and nature writer Ben Dolphin looks at the complexities of the law regarding taking home bits of nature.

Where have all the pheasants gone?

A wet pheasant in the garden, June 2016

I saw a pheasant today. That would have been a commonplace statement six months ago, when I was seeing pheasants every day in the garden, as I had done for many years. But this pheasant, which burst out of the undergrowth on the edge of the woods as I was admiring the first touches of autumn in the leaves, was the first I've seen since late winter. I don't know the actual date of the last sighting as it took a few weeks before I began to notice their absence but it was sometime in March.

Pheasants are bred for shooting not far away and this time of year often sees dozens of released birds congregating on the roads looking confused and presumably wondering where the hell this big world has come from, if pheasants can wonder at all. Maybe these pheasants will appear soon.

But there have always been wild pheasants in the woods and fields anyway. On any walk I'd see several. And some of them just about lived in our garden, often nesting there, and feeding on seeds and nuts dropped from the bird feeders. Occasionally one would balance precariously on the mesh seed trays and manage to grab a few seeds from the feeder before falling off. The ground under the feeders was always bare dirt as the pheasants scratched up any plants. Now the ground is greening over.

The pheasants have gone. I have no idea why.