Marmite man! Celebrity naturalist Chris Packham comes clean on 'worst' thing about his childhood

                                               

YOU can't keep broadcaster and campaigner Chris Packham out of the news.

The 65-year-old had half a broadsheet newspaper page devoted to his likes and dislikes in last Saturday's edition of The Daily Telegraph.  

Quizzed by journalist Rachel Corcoran, he comes up with nothing too unexpected or spicy, but he does reveal an apparent issue with  Brussels sprouts appearing on his childhood dinner plate.

"My parents tried to get me to eat things that were totally unpalatable," he recalls. "Sitting for hours looking at a plate of sprouts was awful.

"The sprouts symbolise what I don't like which was the lack of control - the fact that I was told what to wear, what to eat what to watch on TV."

He continues: "I do eat sprouts now.

"My partner bakes them with Marmite and they're tasty.

"My mother would cook them to a pulp." 

Mystery of the yellow bird on a branch - it's Chinese and yellow, but what is the species?

Exquisite - but unidentified

CAN anyone identify this bird which is subject of a delicate  painting that is shortly to be sold at auction in Hongkong?

It is the work of  Zhao Shao'ang (1905-1998) and is entitled Yellow Bird on Branch.

By contrast with western artists, their Chinese counterparts, though often fascinated by birdlife, seem unconcerned with species identification.

Christie's expect the  picture, which measures 96cm x 36cm,   to fetch up to 40,000 HK dollars(£3,765) when it goes under the hammer tomorrow, Tuesday August 18.

On the market - dream home for a birder overlooks North Norfolk's Cley coastal marshland

 A LANDMARK property long familiar to hundreds of birders over several generations has some on the market.

Agents Strutt & Parker have released photographs of  Grade II Listed Cley windmill for which the guide price is £2.65-million.

Dating back to about 1819 and trading as a guesthouse, restaurant and wedding venue, it is set within the North Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and offers fabulous views across a birding hotspot, Cley Marshes nature reserve.

Over the years, its own 0.6-acre garden must have provided a temporary refuge for thousands of migrant birds, many of them rarities.

It was once the home of the family of the singer, James Blunt, and hosted the fourth wedding of rock legend Rick Wakeman.

More information from Ian Parsons of Strutt & Parker at 7771 947009. 

                                    

         

                                                              

                                                                

Firm selling price at auction for Devon-based artist's study of wayside scene with Buzzards circling overhead

                                                     

Publicity in The Wryneck did no harm to  the selling  performance on Friday of this watercolour, A Wayside Gossip, by Devon-based Wycliffe Egginton (1875-1951). According to Yorkshire-based Tennants auction house, the hammer came down at £200, comfortably higher than the pre-sale estimate of £80-£120. In an era of intensive development, 'wayside' has, alas,  become a vanishing habitat so this painting is a useful reminder of a time gone by.

Whither the Nightjars and Dartford Warblers after the wildfire that devastated Dunwich Heath?

                                                  

Still hot underfoot - the aftermath of the devastating heathland blaze

GUIDED Nightjar walks have been a feature of recent summers at Dunwich Heath in Suffolk, but will they resume in future years?

As well as introducing the public to this enigmatic nocturnal bird, the events were useful fundraisers for the National Trust which manages the precious heathland site.

But whether they will resume in future years looks uncertain following the wildfire that devastated the  habitat  earlier this month.

It is not known whence the Nightjars - along with Dartford Warblers and Woodlarks - dispersed  as the flames and smoke took hold, nor whether they will ever return.

Although the fire has now been extinguished, the National  Trust is urging visitors to stay away from the site until a full impact and safety assessment can be carried out.

Coastal winds are stirring up ash and debris, reducing visibility and creating challenging conditions across the site. 

Familiar landmarks and paths have also been lost, making it easy to become disoriented, even for those who know the area well.

New firebreaks and tracks created by machinery to tackle the fire have also created uneven ground.

The fire has also left a number of less visible risks. 

Some trees remain standing but have suffered severe damage below ground where root systems have been burnt away, leaving them vulnerable to collapse.

In addition, unexploded ordnance dating back the Second World War has been exposed by the fire. 

While specialist teams have already made some discoveries safe, further items may be present, which specialists will look to identify as assessments continue.

Rabbit burrows and warrens have retained significant heat, creating hotspots beneath the surface. 

The fire also spread across the clifftops, putting the stability of the fragile cliffs at risk, making the beach below unsafe.

 A spokesperson said: "Staff and volunteers are still coming to terms with the scale of the damage.

"While significant progress has been made by the fire service on dampening down hotspots, there are parts of the fire ground that we have not yet been able to access, map or record hazards within.

"Work is now underway to assess the full site, record the impact, identify ongoing risks and begin planning for the site’s long-term recovery.

"This is likely to take some weeks.

"The fire has left little of the reserve untouched and large areas of the heath have been transformed, leaving parts of the landscape unrecognisable." 

The NT's general manager, Russell Clement, comments: "We are grateful to all 35 of Suffolk’s fire stations, as well as the 18 fire services from around the country, who worked tirelessly to tackle this fire. 

"Our thanks also go to our neighbours, partners, local farmers and a further 29 organisations who have supported with the fire-control effort."

He continues: "We have been overwhelmed by the response from people following this devastating fire.

"Dunwich Heath means a great deal to so many, and we have received hundreds of messages sharing memories of this special corner of Suffolk, alongside generous donations and offers to help with its recovery."

An appeal to help restore Dunwich Heath has raised some £600,000-plus.

Dunwich village and nearby RSPB Minsmere remain open.

* Among those to have visited the site is the chairman of Natural England, Tony Juniper, who today (Saturday August 15) called for the creation of more wetlands to make landscapes less vulnerable to wildfire, to provide habitat for wildlife of various species and to provide water for fire-fighting emergencies.

** Pictures above and below: Justin Minns/ National Trust                                                

A habitat destroyed

                                                               

How Dunwich Heath looked at this time last year (photo: Visit East England)

                                                                         

National Trust map of the heath and its environs

                                                       

Will this most mysterious of birds return?

The Wryneck says: How many pairs of Nightjars and Dartford Warblers have nested on Dunwich Heath over the past three years? Presumably, the National Trust will have the data. Amid the widespread dismay at what has happened, it would be helpful if this information could be published, at the very least as a benchmark for the recovery of the two species in future years - assuming, that is, that they do recover.                          

                                                              
                                                                

Binoculars at the ready for Sam and Ade as second series of popular TV birdwatching gets production green light

                                                

Sam (right) and Ade - resuming British birding safari

A SECOND series of Sam & Ade Go Birding is now well into production.

When screened, it will see actor-pals Samuel West (All Creatures Great & Small) and Adrian Edmondson (A Spy Among Friends)  head out on another birdwatching quest across Britain.

According the producers, Frank Films, the aim is to "capture the natural world at its most dynamic - from spring’s migratory birds and nesting season to the quieter, more contemplative months later in the year.

"Across the series, the duo travel from the rolling hills and towering sea cliffs of Yorkshire and the wilds of West Wales to the remote isles and dramatic coastlines of Scotland, exploring some of Britain’s most spectacular landscapes in search of birds big and small.

"Along the way they encounter Swifts, Swallows, Curlews, Red Kites, Ospreys, a variety of woodland songbirds, Puffins, Guillemots and Gannets."

Gannets skim the ocean wave in search of something to eat

Says Kit Morey, Commissioning Editor, 5: "It is no secret just how much I adore this joyful series or how long I waited to make it, but the wait was so worth it as Sam and Ade have created something truly special - warm, funny, thoughtful and full of wonder.

"I was thrilled at just how much our audience loved the first series which was screened in spring."

Agrees Jamie Balment, Executive Producer, Frank Films: "The first series was such a genuine joy to make that I feel hugely lucky to have the opportunity to spot more of Britain’s birds, with Sam’s knowledge & Ade’s curious eye."

The six hour-long episodes will be screened on the terrestrial channel,m5, at dates to be confirmed.

* Top and bottom pix: Frank Films/ 5 TV

Filming at Bempton on the Yorkshire Coast in June - Sam is keen to point out the Guillemots but Ade seems more interested in topping up his suntan

'Wayside' has almost ceased to exist as a birding habitat, but it figures in this enchanting 1922 watercolour

                               

Buzzard-filled sky over a Devon wayside

'WAYSIDE' used to be a recognised habitat in its own right - evidenced by T.A. Coward's Birds of The Wayside and Woodland which was a popular identification guide in the 1940s and 1950s. 

Now, however, it is a term seldom used except in the phrase "fallen by the wayside".  

Where is wayside to be found? 

Such has been the pace of roadbuilding and other development since the middle of the last century, it is much-shrunken habitat often now renamed 'wasteland'. 

It is good, therefore to see it featured in the 26cm x 35.5cm framed watercolour,  A Wayside Gossip, painted by Devon-based Wycliffe Egginton (1875-1951) in 1922. 

The study is due to go under the hammer at a sale to be conducted by Tennants of Leyburn tomorrow, Friday, August 14. 

In recent years, the artist has slipped from favour, and the pre-sale estimate is that the hammer will fall quite quickly at somewhere between £80 and £120.