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.

I got an email the other day, from a reader who carried out interesting experiments with his bird table.

THE list of wild mammals in Ireland has grown by an astonishing amount over the past 100 years. Some of the new additions have here all along but they were animals we never noticed and includes several species of bat.

I HAD an unusual visitor to the bird table the other day — a grey wagtail. This has to qualify as the bird with the most inappropriate English name.

A DECIDUOUS tree is really a tree that has learned to hibernate, going through profound metabolic changes in order to survive the winter.

QUIS enim, verbi gratia, lupos cervos, et sylvaticos porcos, et vulpes,taxones, et lepusculos, et sesquivolos in Hiberniam deveheret?

I’M starting with a request — well, really it’s a heartfelt plea. I put an email address at the end of my column.

WHEN we bought our country cottage and its bit of land, many years ago now, even the most creative of estate agents would have found it hard to find flattering words to describe it. “With potential” might have been the best they could manage.

THE latest news from the bird table is that the goldfinches are back. In accordance with the latest theories, I kept on feeding the birds all through the summer.