I HAVE a dog. He’s a playful, good-natured mutt of dubious ancestry, probably involving a liaison between a pointer and a spaniel. He does have one vice: a deep hatred of postmen. I met our postman the other day and apologised for the dog’s unwelcoming reception every time he made a delivery.

MANY of the wild mammals that live in our countryside are nocturnal and even species that are active in daylight, such as squirrels and deer, are extremely shy.

LAST week I was in England, visiting friends in a rural part of Devon.

IN the past amateur naturalists have contributed a huge amount to our knowledge of flora and fauna.

THERE’S no shortage of reasons for planting trees, though perhaps the most compelling one is the satisfaction from watching one of these great plants flourish and grow.

THEY say the best place to hide a book is in a library.

THE robin is the commonest bird recorded in Irish gardens, according to BirdWatch Ireland’s garden bird survey.

AS WE peer anxiously over the horizon into 2009, one of the few certainties seems to be that we will be in a recession.

THE story of biodiversity in our countryside is often a depressing one. Corncrakes, for example, did not do well in 2008. We have to confront the fact that, despite massive efforts, they may be close to extinction as an Irish breeding species.

THE beak of a bird is a wonderful thing. I was thinking this the other day when I was doing some waterside bird-watching.