Bramley Golf Club December Nature Guide

December 2022

For December I thought I’d suggest some books for those of you interested in exploring nature in more detail.

For field guides the best books are ones with information and photographs. Whilst the photos can be a tad misleading, they are often excellent for helping narrow down birds/ trees and insects. I prefer guides that also provide a clear description and a key to help me, which is especially useful for flowering plants.

For the most part I would recommend Collins Field Guides. These can be found on Waterstones, Amazon or other book sellers online and are available for just about every subject, British Wildlife, Insects, Butterflies, Animals, Birds, Fungi, Flowering Plants and Trees. You can get bundled packages if you want more than one, and they are also available in pocket guide size, so useful if you are out and about

If you like to get anoraky, and like a good read as well, I have some suggestions from books I’ve read this year.

 With thanks to Janette Hall for recommending this one, have a look at Wilding by Isabella Tree. This book explores the process of Re-wilding an agricultural farm, allowing nature to take over and some rare species to return. It is really fascinating reading about the challenges presented by this process and the ways in which they are overcome.

Entangled by Melvin Sheldrake. A well written and thought provoking book about the wonderful world of Fungi. It explains and explores how fungi work to provide us with enriched soil, beer, alcohol and live saving medicines.  A truly fascinating world lies beneath our feet and this book helps enlighten us and allows us to think differently about the ecosystems around us, looking particularly at the Wood Wide Web!

In tandem with Entangled, the Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohllenben explores how trees communicate with one another and help support one another in times of stress and attack. 

A recent present from my daughters was A World on the Wing by Charles Scott Weidensaul. This is another thought provoking book describing the many challenges facing migratory birds in the modern world. It looks at several individual species and examines how changes in our land use can cause loss of staging posts, which are crucial stops enabling birds to achieve successful migration. Happily, it also examines what has been done to balance the needs of the birds with our use of their environment.

My final suggestion is Extraordinary Insects by Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson. This very well written book by a Norwegian Life Sciences Professor will have you interested in insects for life! She really brings the insect world alive and although the information is backed by research, it’s put over in laypersons terms that ensure it is simply fascinating. This would also work as a gift for any youngsters who’d like to understand more about the world around them. 

With best wishes for the festive season. Do let me know if you have any books to add to my reading list for 2023.  If there are any birds, insects or animals that you’d like to see featured in future Nature Guides please send suggestions to sarah@bramleygolfclub.co.uk , Sarah has kindly agreed to pass these onto me and all will be answered.