Nature Blog Network

The results are in!  And they’re only so good.  You may remember, or most likely not, that I asked blogs to self-submit to the Nature Blog Networking compilation.  For the topic Wild Great Britain I had four submissions, which is good, but not great.  I pulled a few more blogs out of the lists this week, but it’s likely I missed some.  So remember, if you want your blog mentioned among the lucky few on the NBNB, drop me a line next time.  If you do, I can guarantee your inclusion, if not, then you place your faith in my increasingly distractable eyes.  And good luck to you if you do…

But enough of all that mess.  Our topic today is Great Britain, that little island the sits like a doffed cap atop Europe, and home to many fine nature blogs.  Great Britain is an interesting place from a natural perspective.  Over a thousand years of human occupation have left the primordial forests mere shadows of what they were before, and for that it seems as though the perspective of the British naturalist is one with a bit more melancholy that those of their colleagues in the english-speaking world, one who is painfully aware of what has been lost, and whose wonder is abated by great appreciation of what is left.

Borrowdale in the Lake District.  From wikipedia

For naturalists of the British naturalists, and especially those who write about it, theirs is a long pedigree.  One whose ranks include Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin and David Attenborough, and the blogs are no doubt the keepers of that pedigree.  Those writers who get out and enjoy the world around them, return to reflect and, luckily for us, share those reflections with others.  It may be easier in this world of internet browsers and domain names, but it’s no less crucial.

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- Wight Rambler reports on the wildlife encountered rambling around the Isle of Wight, a beautiful 23 miles long by 13 miles wide island off the South Coast of England. The Island is a microcosm of South-East England with rolling chalk downland and 57 miles of spectacular coast.

- Rambin’ Rob is a busy man. You can also find him at Bloody Cranesbill..it’s Geranium sanguineum!, the jottings of a self- professed lapsed botanist as he explores the British flora, returning to my roots in the field, as it were, and at The Coastal Zone, on living near the sea and the wildlife therein.

- WIght is hardly the only english isle with it’s own resident blogger, Jersey can hold that distinction as well.  Marine Biology Secion is the official blog of the Societe Jerseiaise, dedicated to protecting the marine ecosystem that surrounds the island.

- Nature author and illustrator Richard Bell writes at Wild West Yorkshire 2009. Additionally, his book, Drawing on Reserves, might be of particular interest to nature bloggers.

- A simple blog with a simple theme, English Wilderness gives you exactly what it claims, photos of landscapes, flora and fauna of England on a daily basis.

- Kirkstall Creatures Great and Small operates as an online record of one naturalist’s observations from Leeds and beyond.  Trip reports, commentary and lots and lots of photos can be found here.

- From near the original ivory towers of academia in Oxfordshire comes Hagbourne Wildlife, wildlife from an Oxfordshire village.  Another blog chock full of lovely photos of birds, bugs and flowers.

- And last, but certainly not least, from Cambridgeshire, Katie blogs at the well-known (and for good reason) Bogbumper.  Katie has some particularly nice macro photographs of local bugs.  Which brings me too….

Next week’s theme!

Yes, after you’ve finished thoroughly enjoying the fine British nature blogs listed here, I need you to scour the NBN lists for blogs that would fit the theme next time.

Macro Photography

There are undoubtedly great photo blogs out there, and I’ve hcovered them once, but I’m looking for a big sampling of those that love the small things. If you are a macro photo blogger, or you know of one that deserves the spotlight, send it up to me at naswick (at) gmail (dot) com, I would appreciate it ever so much.

So until next time…