Winter is upon us. Many birds fly south to avoid the cold wet darkness, but migration isn’t an option for mammals. They have to make do with thicker coats and extra layers of body fat, writes Richard Collins

In the 1969 western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Paul Newman and Robert Redford are pursued by a posse of lawmen, among whom is a Native American tracker, writes Richard Collins. 

’RED Admiral thrives despite wet summer’ runs a headline on Butterfly Conservation’s website. This glamorous insect is doing well in the UK, writes Richard Collins.

Night herons have nested for the first time in Britain. A pair raised two chicks at Westhay Moor nature reserve in Somerset. 

‘And when white moths were on the wing, and moth-like stars were flickering out, I dropped the berry in a stream, And caught a little silver trout’

The moorhens and coots, of lakes and ponds, are easy to tell apart. Waterhens have bright red bills with yellow tips, and some white on their tail feathers, writes Richard Collins. 

The discovery of a bearded seal at Timoleague recently, prompts renewed interest in early records, writes Richard Collins

The huge North American ‘elk’ is also known as the ‘wapiti’ (‘white rump’ in the Cree language). It was treated as a race of the red deer until DNA analysis suggested that it be deemed a distinct species. The Japanese sika deer, introduced to Wicklow and Killarney, is a close relative.

According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Scotland’s capercaillies are in trouble; their numbers are falling relentlessly and, if effective measures aren’t taken, extinction looms, writes Richard Collins

TWO centuries ago, just 3% of the world’s population lived in cities, says Richard Collins.