When I was growing up in the UK, my dad was my default bird identifier and his general knowledge about natural history, wildlife and birdlife was something else. So I don't remember often searching for information about birds since Dad taught us to recognise most local birds from an early age and those I didn't … Continue reading My approach to identifying Brazilian birds
Tag: Nature writing
Engaging with nature – the challenge of finding resources online
In my post On danger in nature, I mentioned some factors that I think affect engagement with the natural world. One of these is the ease of finding sources of information about nature which are both reliable and pitched at the appropriate level. This is very broad but examples might be seeing a butterfly and … Continue reading Engaging with nature – the challenge of finding resources online
Run-ins with reptiles
I never had much contact with reptiles growing up. When I was volunteering in a church in Nicaragua with a team from the UK who were mostly also late teens, one of the lads bought at iguana from the market. It was being sold to eat and he bought it to surprise a team-mate. Its … Continue reading Run-ins with reptiles
Danger in nature – all snakes and no ladders
Spot the snake (answer at the end) "There's danger everywhere!" exclaimed the twelve-year-old, after her little sister told her that scorpions like to nest in dry railway sleepers of the kind they were both standing on in the backyard. The twelve-year-old retreated to the security of the house and her phone, the three-year-old found a … Continue reading Danger in nature – all snakes and no ladders
On danger in nature
I've had a note on my phone for months now called 'Dangerous nature post'. It was a reminder to me to attempt to get some coherent thoughts down about nature, danger and the unknown. In February I read a fascinating article in Inkcap Journal. 'A dark miracle in the Forest of Dean' shows how the … Continue reading On danger in nature
Birds, bins and Brazil
My obsession with Brazilian birds has definitely been growing over the last year and a half. My husband actually introduced me to the iconic Sabiá-laranjeira (Rufous-bellied Thrush) in the few weeks after we first met, but since I was in the UK for most of our relationship, and then living in favelas after we got … Continue reading Birds, bins and Brazil
Carrapateiros and capybaras
The gavião carrapateiro is an astounding bird. It goes by the name 'Yellow-headed caracara' in English but I much prefer the literal translation 'tick hawk'. Gavião carrapateiro - @juliano.fabricante Brazil being extremely large, and the gavião carrapateiro appearing everywhere, it has a long list of aliases: caracará-branco, caracaraí, caracaratinga, carapinhé, gavião-pinhé, pinhé, pinhém, papa-bicheira, chimango, … Continue reading Carrapateiros and capybaras
Celebrating with TunaFish Journal
I first came across TunaFish Journal a few months ago and found their focus refreshing and uplifting. At the time all I could see were poetry magazines looking for intense first-person narratives and bleak, raw or nightmarish poems, so it was lovely to find 'a journal for the tender-hearted readers and writers out there'. 'We … Continue reading Celebrating with TunaFish Journal
Getting minimal with The Minison Project
I was overjoyed to have my first ever poems published by The Minison Project. Both are minimal sonnets (14 characters and variations on the theme). One is a celebration of Brazilian birds (surprise surprise!) and the other is about some of our welcome and less welcome house guests. You can find both poems and the … Continue reading Getting minimal with The Minison Project
Brazil from the outside in 