A Casual Observer's Notes on Nature

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Being brought up on a prefabricated house on a prefabricated estate, temporarily built to relieve the housing crisis after the second world war, doesn’t seem the likeliest environment to experience the natural world. My personal saviour was an old, derelict, lordly estate on the banks of a wonderful river.
From an early age, egg collecting, salmon poaching, rabbit and hare hunting, freshwater pearl fishing and a host of other activities involving wildlife were everyday adventures for the estate kids. To carry out these activities successfully requires patience and a keen eye to know your subjects. This leads to revelations, not always seen at first glance, in turn leading to misconceptions: this really is the gist of this book.
Today it seems ironic that many conservationists carried out similar activities until, at a particular point in time, they saw the destructive error of their ways, me included. My enlightenment came via one very special zoology teacher. She taught me to look even closer, almost scientifically, to see the real truths and also to question and argue if my findings differed from others. That advice has lasted a long time.
For instance: On the cover of this book is a salmon, Salar the Leaper. He’s doing just that, it's a great sight watching him as he leaps and negotiates the falls but… hmm, not true.
Paleontologists have dug up dinosaur bones but… no they haven't.
Swallows and swifts are exclusively insectivorous but… no they’re not.
Migrating birds are said to learn from other birds who have done the journey before but . . . not necessarily.
An endangered and protected species is made into jewellery and ‘smuggled’ into the UK, USA and Canada with the blessing of their governments.
Got your attention yet? You may disagree but I would advise you first, on these subjects, to look a little closer: even better though, read these notes!