The tyres on our four-wheel-drive buggy dig into the wet ground as we climb through the tangled forests of Tāwharanui. Caked in mud, we emerge onto a clifftop and onshore winds buffet our vehicle from the swollen seas below. I grin as we lurch from side to side, excitement building in my belly. Little do … Continue reading Calling seabirds from the sky
Society has gone into underdrive, universities have become glorified call centres, and your colleagues are confined to Zoom’s prison blocks. In this dystopia, how on earth do you work on a PhD? From one postgrad to another, a PhD regularly feels dystopian. We are often disconnected from the world, hunched over a desk, trying to … Continue reading How to PhD in a pandemic
I awoke on my first morning in Auckland at 05:55am, alert as I’ve ever been in my life. The main perk of this jetlag-induced zest was that I was up at sunrise on the balcony of my new digs (flatshare/flatting in New Zealand speak), joyfully watching a string of new bird species introduce themselves. The … Continue reading Putting the ‘new’ in New Zealand
In the run up to CMS COP 12 I thought it relevant to provide a refresher on ‘the big five’ of international nature treaties. While these treaties may not appear as glamorous as the actual ‘big five’, their continued existence is fundamental to biodiversity conservation at a global scale. The need for these treaties is … Continue reading The Big Five: Global Nature Treaties
I recently wrote a piece, based on the findings of my Master's thesis, for the environmental e-magazine New Nature (Ed. 3) about the effects of urbanisation on breeding birds. Here I've reproduced the article, embellished with a few figures from my thesis. For those who wish to dive deeper than the popular science presented here, feel … Continue reading Urban birds – city slickers or sufferers?
Mallorca. The island of parties; home of drunken Brits and their equally drunken Germans compatriots; “that Spanish island with the clubs, right?” Right. But, how about we imagine an alternate island. One with no noise and no crowds. Let's throw in some stunning blue seas, winding mountain roads, quiet forests of proud pine, and probably the most … Continue reading Mallorca: a climber’s paradise | Photo blog
Reflecting on my eight month internship on the German island of Sylt brings back a wealth of fond memories. I lived in a wonderful old house just a minute’s walk from a 42km long beach strewn with shells. In my free time I could wander for hours up and down this coast, looking for rarities … Continue reading An intern’s life on Sylt
One of Belgium’s hidden treasures is a charming 5.5 square kilometre patch of forest called the Hallerbos. It derives much of its charm from the fabulous transformation it undertakes during spring as thousands of bluebells carpet the forest floor. In fact, it can look so surreal that there’s even a boredpanda article about its fairy-like character. … Continue reading Hallerbos: Belgium’s blue forest
Flat, squelching, brown mud stretches out as far as the eye can see. Intermittently, spurts of water squirt from thousands of small mounds that dot the surface. Battered banks of mussels and oysters lie scattered around, barraged by hungry gulls and oyster-catchers who leave shell graveyards in their wake. In 6 hours, this obscure scene … Continue reading The Wadden Sea: beneath the surface
The word ‘Heligoland*’ sounds like a fictional place from a children’s story. It is in fact an island 46km off the German coastline, and undoubtedly one of the most unexpected highlights of my travels. For it is not only in name that Heligoland seems fictional. This 1 square kilometer piece of rock juts out of the … Continue reading Helgoland: the magic island
Jacques de Satgé 