Mark Cocker
'It takes a whole universe to make the one small black bird'
Category: Uncategorized
Unofficial Bookclub No 7
Bees of the World: A Guide to Every Family, Laurence Packer, Princeton University Press, 240pp, £25. Bees of the World is a beautiful, fascinating and truly welcome book, partly because it so graphically dispels a myth promoted in some greenwash media. You will have… Continue Reading “Unofficial Bookclub No 7”
Unofficial Book Club no 6
The Peregrine Falcon by Richard Sale and Steve Watson, Snowfinch Publishing, 528 pages. I have finally laid hands on The Peregrine Falcon by Richard Sale and Steve Watson, 2022. It’s available at £49.99 from Raptor Aid. For once the book is part of a… Continue Reading “Unofficial Book Club no 6”
The Unofficial Book Club no 5
Trees, Peter A Thomas, New Naturalist 145, HarperCollins, 505 pp, £65 hbk I’m ashamed it’s taken so long to review this fabulous title by Peter Thomas. My excuse was that I have a small library of books on trees. I’ve even reviewed a modest… Continue Reading “The Unofficial Book Club no 5”
Spurn Revisited
This month I began a exciting old-new adventure, when I was asked to be the official Patron at Spurn Bird Observatory. It is a place that looms large in my whole development as a naturalist. Strange to relate, but Spurn returned to me this… Continue Reading “Spurn Revisited”
Danes Moss
A Letter to Cllr Sam Corcoran Dear Sam Corcoran I write to you about your support for a proposed 950-house development on the Danes Moss raised mire that interpenetrates Macclesfield town. Everyone says you are a conscientious, listening councillor, well respected and devoted to… Continue Reading “Danes Moss”
Zagori through 360 Degrees
Monday 16-23 May 2022 STOP PRESS This tour has two last-minute places. Please email me here or go straight to booking here. Zagori is a distinct area of the northern Pindos mountains in Greece close to the western city of Ioannina, the regional capital.… Continue Reading “Zagori through 360 Degrees”
The Unofficial Bookclub no 4
Accidental Flowers by Lily Peters, Arachne Press, £9.99 and Words from the Brink, editor Cherry Potts, Arachne Press, £9.99. This intermittent series of blog posts is intended to profile new but sometimes lesser-known works on environmental themes. Arachne Press is definitely a micro-publisher whose… Continue Reading “The Unofficial Bookclub no 4”
Derbyshire Break 1
with Mark Cocker Mon 25 April – Thurs 28 April 2022 A four-day all-inclusive break to experience the hills and dales of north Derbyshire with multi-award-winning naturalist and author in his home patch. This tour is now full but we will run other breaks soon.… Continue Reading “Derbyshire Break 1”
Derbyshire Break 2
with Mark Cocker Mon 4 July – Thurs 7 July 2022 A four-day all-inclusive summer break to experience the hills and dales of north Derbyshire with multi-award-winning naturalist and author in his home patch. If you would like to go straight to the booking… Continue Reading “Derbyshire Break 2”
The unofficial book club no 3
Looking at those extraordinary anatomical drawings by Leonardo da Vinci from 510 years ago, which feature a stillborn child plucked from the womb of its deceased mother, you realise that one of the world’s most celebrated artists seldom felt a demarcation between his aesthetic… Continue Reading “The unofficial book club no 3”
Mark Cocker 