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guardian bats
Witnessing the evening flight of hundreds of greater horseshoe bats was my latest Guardian Country Diary (read here), with autumn 2019 Western Morning News features including the invasion of non-native Pacific oysters, work to save England's last colony of narrow-headed ants, finding the Westcountry's rare Vigur's eyebright flower, and the need for individual action to help save biodiversity and tackle climate change.
wmn vigurs eyebright
 
pacific oysters feature
bowden down feature
meadows WMN feature
narrow headed ant
climate action feature
 
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Recent features in the Western Morning News have included the return of bluefin tuna to South West waters, a pine marten sighting in Devon, adders on Dartmoor, the departure of cuckoos, and work to save rare moorland bats and insects.
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greta thunberg plymouth
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peacock butterfly
 
Blue ground beetle robbie phillips
blue ground beetle charlie elder
An after-dark visit to a Dartmoor wood in search of the rare tree-climbing, slug-eating blue ground beetle was my Guardian Country Diary in May 2019 - click here to read the piece.
blue ground beetle charlie elder
 
Golden plover charlie elder
Encountering a visiting flock of golden plover on west Dartmoor was the subject of my Guardian Country Diary in February. Click here to read.
plover guardian charlie elder
Guardian charlie elder
 
Brown hairstreak by Hectorichus
Brown hairstreak eggs
 A search for the tiny eggs of the scarce brown hairstreak butterfly near Exeter made for a fascinating morning with Devon Wildlife Trust and was the topic of my Guardian Country Diary in January 2019. Click here to read.
Guardian brown hairstreak
 
Guardian black redstart
A sighting of a scarce winter visitor - a black redstart - in Ford Park Cemetery, Plymouth, was the subject of my December 2018 Guardian Country Diary. Click here to read.
Guardian ford park cemetery
Guardian ford park cemetery
 
Taxon borneo trek
Borneo semi-slug
New species discovered on 2018 citizen science Borneo expedition included a semi-slug (left) - a kind of slug with a vestigial shell - found  by turning over leaves on a rainforest night walk, and a colourful type of sticky frog (right) on a mountain trek, which experts have been unable to identify from photographs and is likely new to science.
borneo sticky frog
 
slug charlie elder taxon
Journal Taxon slug paper
Delighted to be among those named on an Oxford University Press scientific paper after our group of citizen scientists discovered a new species this year - the first semi-slug of its kind in Borneo since the 1890s, on a pioneering expedition with Taxon Expeditions and DNA barcoded in the field. Scientific paper in the Journal of Molluscan Studies (introduction here).
Taxon Expeditions
 
freshwater mussel guardian
 A trip to view rare and endangered freshwater pearl mussels in Devon's River Torridge was the subject of my October 2018 Guardian Country Diary, click here to view, and also featured in the Western Morning News 
freshwater mussel WMN
freshwater mussel charlie elder
 
grey seal charlie elder
Guardian whale charlie elder
A marine wildlife watching trip off Cornwall, which included close encounters with a minke whale and rare ocean sunfish, made for a July Guardian travel feature with photos. Click here to read.
minke whale charlie elder
 
Guardian grey long-eared bats
Fleeting glimpses of rare grey long-eared bats was the topic of my June 2018 Guardian Country Diary here.
Bat habitat guardian charlie elder
 
BBC Everyday Guide Birds
Got the chance to chat with BBC Radio Devon presenter David Fitzgerald all about birds and the new book on his morning show.
BBC Everyday Guide Birds
Everyday Guide WMN
 
Birdwatching everyday guide
Birdwatching everyday guide
A project to save England's last remaining population of a rare species of wood ant was my Guardian Country Diary in February (click here to read). Bird Watching magazine's March edition and Birdwatch magazine's April edition included a review of The Everyday Guide To British Birds (see Books page).
Guardian narrow-headed ant
 
Guardian hawfinch
 My Guardian Country Diary for January 2018 describes an encounter with a scarce hawfinch in a Devon wood (click here to read). This month also saw the release of my new book The Everyday Guide To British Birds, a Bloomsbury/RSPB title for birdwatching beginners and nature enthusiasts. My blog for Bloomsbury on enjoying everyday birds is here.
Bloomsbury blog charlie elder
 
RSPB Nature's Home Spring 2018
The findings of the RSPB's annual Big Garden Birdwatch, the world's largest wildlife survey, is the subject of my feature in the Spring 2018 edition of RSPB's Nature's Home magazine, making the cover story and seven pages inside.
Nature's Home 2018
RSPB Nature's Home 2018
RSPB Nature's Home 2018
RSPB Nature's Home 2018
 
Plymouth pear
The Plymouth pear, one of Britain's rarest trees with one located behind Derriford Hospital, was the topic of my Guardian Country Diary in October. To read, and link to other diary features listed on my Guardian page, click here.
Plymouth pear
Plymouth pear
 
Nature's Home 2017
The conservation work of individuals and organisations behind national State of Nature reports was the topic of my five-page feature in the Autumn 2017 edition of the RSPB's Nature's Home magazine.
Nature's Home 2017
Nature's Home 2017
Nature's Home 2017
 
wood white guardian
country diary wood white
An encounter with a scarce wood white butterfly at a Devon quarry featured as my Guardian Country Diary in July here, while a surprise otter sighting in Plymouth was the topic in August here.
wood white butterfly
 
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The violet oil beetle was the topic of my Guardian Country Diary in May here. The cover for my forthcoming book The Everyday Guide To British Birds has also been finalised. An RSPB/Bloomsbury title, it is due out on sale in early 2018, with the Amazon link here, Bloomsbury link here, and Waterstones link here.
guardian oil beetle
Everyday Guide British Birds
 
Guardian adder
Guardian adder
An adder encounter featured as my Guardian Country Diary piece in April with photos - visit the page here.
Guardian adder
 
Guardian Country Diary hare

A surprise hare sighting on a Dartmoor lane at night was the topic of my first Guardian Country Diary in February 2017, which can be read here.
Guardian Country Diary hare
 
Nature's Home winter
My feature for the RSPB on Priority Species was a lead article in the winter 2016 edition of Nature's Home magazine
Nature's Home winter
Nature's Home winter
Nature's Home winter
 
Mission shark rescue
National Geographic included a photo taken on my trip with the Manx Basking Shark Watch team, tagging a shark off the Isle of Man, in its book for children: Mission Shark Rescue.
My next Bloomsbury book, an RSPB title, is due for publication in spring 2018.

Mission shark rescue
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Daily Mail Few Far Between
WMN Few Far Between
The paperback edition of Few And Far Between was chosen as a Daily Mail 'Must Read' in April, and also featured in the Western Morning News and the World Travel Guide top ten April reads
Few Far Between paperback
World Travel Guide
 
Few Far Between paperback

Few And Far Between is available from Waterstones and independent bookshops, as well as online outlets 
including Amazon here and Bloomsbury here

Few Far Between paperback
 
Guardian best books
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Few And Far Between
was included in The Guardian list of Best Nature Books of 2015, and described as 'entertaining' by Stephen Moss. Also great to get positive feedback from naturalist and TV presenter Chris Packham and leading conservationist and Wildlife Trusts president Tony Juniper (see 'Books' quotes).

Guardian best books
 
birds red list
The new UK Birds of Conservation Concern 'red list' was published  in December - up once again since my While Flocks Last travels and now totalling more than a quarter of British birds. My piece for the Western Morning News on the worrying declines can be read by clicking here. 
Few And Far Between made the Christmas Books selection in the Daily Mail.

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daily mail books
Few And Far Between
 
Waterstones Charlie Elder
 

A double-page feature on While Flocks Last by Simon Parker made the Saturday Westcountry Life section in the Western Morning News, and Plymouth Waterstones branches also stocked up on a few copies in the run-up to Christmas.

Western Morning News
Waterstones Charlie Elder
 
WWT Martin Mere
Well worth the drive to give a talk at the North West Bird Watching Festival, November 21, at  WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre - with time to enjoy the reserve's great birdlife
NW Birdwatching
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Appledore Book Festival
It has been a few years since I last gave a talk at the Appledore Book Festival, but it was as excellent as ever, with a great audience and a book signing session afterwards.
Appledore
 
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Enjoyed giving a talk on my Few And Far Between travels to a good crowd in a wonderful gallery setting at the Plymouth Museum as part of its Lunchtime Talks series.
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Countryfile
Countryfile
A feature describing my trip to find dormice on the Isle of Wight appeared in the September edition of BBC Countryfile magazine, covering five pages and including photos from the visit.
Countryfile
Countryfile
 
Birdfair
Had a great day at the popular Birdfair event in Rutland on August 22, giving a talk, signing a few copies of Few And Far Between and meeting up with the Bloomsbury team and conservation contacts who helped on my wildlife travels.
Birdfair
birdfair
 
The Autumn edition of RSPB magazine Nature's Home included Few And Far Between among its pick of the new nature books, and a Bloomsbury quarter-page advert. Also pleased to get positive reviews from conservation charities such as Buglife and Froglife, as well as various online book bloggers, and a feature in the Countryside Management Association's Ranger magazine.
RSPB
RSPB
RSPB
Buglife
Bloomsbury ad
Ranger magazine
 
BBC Devon
BBC Devon
A couple of chance wildlife encounters led to articles in The Herald in Plymouth and South West regional daily newspaper the Western Morning News - and even a live drive-time interview on BBC Radio Devon. The first was a huge, scarce Tanner beetle which crash- landed in the garden at dusk. The second, a white red deer spotted with its mother near Dartmoor.
tanner beetle
white red deer
 
 
TLS review
Pleased to get a good review in the Times Literary Supplement, July 31, by literary editor and consultant Janette Currie, who described Few And Far Between as "an engaging, thoroughly researched and informative study of contemporary conservation". 
TLS review
My review of former RSPB conservation director Mark Avery's Bloomsbury book Inglorious, on banning grouse shooting, appeared in BBC Wildlife magazine's August edition.  
 
BBC Wildlife review
 
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Ways with Words
Enjoyed an excellent day at the Telegraph Way With Words book festival at Dartington, with a talk to a great audience in The Barn and book signing session. 
Ways with Words
 
Delighted to get the cover story in the July edition of BBC Wildlife magazine on wildlife predictions for 2050, with ten pages of coverage inside.
BBC wildlife
BBC Wildlife
BBC Wildlife
BBC Wildlife
BBC wildlife
BBC wildlife
BBC wildlife
 
Western Morning News
Western Morning News
Extracts from Few And Far Between were printed weekly throughout July as the Saturday centre page spread in South West daily regional paper the Western Morning News. The serialised sections described my searches for Scottish wildcat, endangered European eel, dormouse and golden oriole.
Western Morning News
Western Morning News
 

A summary piece on my wildlife travels, angled on summer species, was the mid-June 'Big Read' feature in The Independent, spanning three pages. The article was posted as the top home page story on the paper's website. To read in full click here.
Independent feature
Independent feature
 
Independent feature
 
BBC Countryfile
Few And Far Between was picked as Book of the Month in the June edition of BBC Countryfile magazine, with a review (see Books page) by Environment Editor James Fair. It also featured in the academic journal Fish Biology in 2016.
BBC Countryfile1
Journal Fish Biology review


Really pleased with this very
generous full page review in the
Daily Mail, May 22, by writer, broadcaster
and columnist Bel Mooney.

'A terrific book that's very easy to love... his
adventures are as strange and engaging as the wonderful creatures he sees...
this delightful book is a triumph.'

(Click here to read in full)
Daily Mail review
Waterstones books

fowey festival
Thanks to everyone who attended my talk on Few And Far Between at the Fowey Festival. An excellently organised event on a lovely sunny day. 


fowey view

spider illustration
Delighted my article on why out of sight
shouldn't mean out of mind for our
'invisible' species has been published
by the Guardian online. The piece, which made the top ten most popular environment stories and was shared over 1,000 times,  was angled on a tiny rare spider (left) that lives at Radford Quarry, near Plymouth. Click here to read in full
Guardian article
Radford Quarry

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A six-page feature on my travels in search of Britain's rarest species for my book Few And Far Between has appeared in the Spring edition of the RSPB magazine Nature's Home - really pleased it has got such good coverage, and the layout and additional photos look great.



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Few And Far Between was
chosen as Book of the
Month in BBC Wildlife
magazine's April edition,
with a lovely review by
Brett Westwood.
RSPB feature

BBC Wildlife
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Few And Far Between has been featured in The Herald, Western Morning News and North London's Ham&High, among other local publications, and on a number of BBC regional radio stations, including BBC Scotland, Jersey, Wiltshire, Sheffield, Devon Berkshire and Cumbria, following ten back-to-back live interviews.
Ham and High
Herald feature
PL feature
Western Morning News article
Echo news
Herald article
WMN review


Here is a small selection of photos from my travels around Britain for Few And Far Between. They include encountering a common skate, accompanying the BBC Coast crew in the Hebrides, joining a puffin ringing session, sunset at Lakenheath Fen, handling a smooth snake, getting a close-up view of a corncrake, the remote Shiant isles off Scotland and, below, Loch Garten in the Cairngorms.
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