Author Archives: Amanda Tuke
30-Minute Birder column – Time to clean up our act
There’s no doubt in my mind that sorting water pollution should be a national priority – and it’s one which does seem to bridge the political spectrum. In my May column I investigate the impact which river pollution is having on birds and have a fascinating chat with Professor Steve Ormerod about his research on […]
30-minute birder column – Fighting for Nature
London might be heralded as one of the greenest cities but we can’t take our green spaces for granted. If, like me, you find the subject of this month’s column – the threat to Crossness Nature Reserve – really worrying, then please do offer your support to the Save Crossness Nature Reserve campaign.
30-minute birder column – New Year fireworks
I can’t think of a better way to start a new year bird list than to spend the first week of the year urban birding. And what a bird I found.
30-minute birder column – Win some, lose some
Cardiff is one of my favourite cities and a fantastic place for a couple of days of urban birding. It was great to catch up with my birder friend Cindy, and to meet Phil Bristow, BTO county bird recorder for East Glamorgan.
Feature for The RSPB Magazine
Every so often I leave the safety of the M25 orbital and travel further afield in search of interesting wildlife. This time it was wonderful wintry trip to write about fabulous and fascinating RSPB Medmerry and Pagham Harbour reserves on the Sussex coast.
Thirty-minute birder column: Viva vismigging
I confess that before I wrote this feature, I didn’t realise that ‘vismigging’ or watching visible migration as a particular specialism in birdwatching was a thing. What’s not to love – the ultimate combination of a incentive to get out in the autumn and early winter, and the chance to see some surprising birds flying over […]
Urban botany in the snow – Deptford, SE London
For nearly a decade, Nick Bertrand, has been leading a walk on the first day of winter – 1st December – in search of wild plants in flower in Deptford. I first joined one of these urban botany walks two years ago and really enjoyed the plant hunting and sociability. Last Friday we met as […]
Thirty-minute birder column: Seawatching for starters
What an extraordinary place Dungeness is… and a great place to have a first proper go at seawatching in the expert company of David Walker, warden at Dungeness Bird Observatory. Oh, and have a mentioned I saw a pallid harrier that day too??
Thirty-minute birder column: from rushing water to rumbling traffic
I’m fascinated by the ways urban birds adapt to their surroundings, and in particular the noise pollution… but it was a visit to a river valley in north Wales which inspired this feature…
Thirty-minute birder column: Saying Farewell in Belfast
What an eye-opener my visit to Belfast was back in August. This is a city which really “gets” its birds… and has some of nicest most generous birders I’ve met on any of my city birding trips. But did I get to see a Black Guillemot? You’ll really need to read it to find out…
The Urban Naturalist 