Creatures of the broken contract
Many species depend on their camouflage to survive. But as seasons are disrupted by climate change, they are left mercilessly exposed.
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Helen Macdonald
Helen Macdonald is a writer and naturalist. Her books include H is for Hawk and Vesper Flights (Jonathan Cape).
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The secrets of frost
Frost doesn’t merely transform our surroundings – it alters the kind of attention we pay to the world.
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Spring reflection: What tadpoles taught me
When they turn to tiny tailed froglets and scramble into damp grass, we learn something about letting go.
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What the adder means
The attention you bring to bear on the landscape as you look for Britain’s only venomous snake is transformative.
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Summer reflection: the silence of the seabirds
In my lifetime, seabirds have symbolised one thing above all: pollution.
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In another pandemic winter, the lure of hibernation is stronger than ever
I thought that I could retreat from the world outside, like a hedgehog or ladybird. But after Covid we…
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Alone in the new world
This time last year I went for a very ordinary walk, unaware of the disruption, trauma and solitude that…
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What do magpies want?
I am left feeling unnerved by the sudden presence of a bird wreathed in superstition and legend at my kitchen window.
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Summer reflection: Call of the flycatcher
These are not eye-catching creatures. Field guides often describe them as “undistinguished”. But, in this unfamiliar and far from…
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