I have just finished Steve Brussatte's excellent 'The rise abs reign of the mammals' which is one the best best books about nature I have read. It concerns the evolution of mammals from the origins in the Carboniferous period and into how mammals evolved included unique families such as bats. I find the book mind-blowing because the origins start with rodent like animals which are neither reptile or mammals. I did Classification as part of my A level biology but shocking to know how much of this was wrong because analysis of DNA has changed the game insofar what animals are related to each other . It also pushes back beyond fossils with primates emerging in the Cretaceous period. It also explains why particular animals live in one continent. There's so much information in this book which is sometimes technical but was impossible for me to.put down. I really recommend this book. There are a few here who will love this book. It is essentially about evolution but also deals with changes to geography and climate yet will probably change how you think when you next visit Marwell! Probably the most thought provoking book I have ready about nature.
Obvs, I call it a ‘Southampton bird’ because of the colouring. It couldn’t finish (the banana) either.
Wonderful place. Long old haul to get here, but we love it. The bats in the evening are the best! It’s their winter here, but 25 degrees. Delightful to get away from the London heat!
Haven't been there but spend a lot of time in Indonesia where they also drive on the proppa side of the road.
Thanks for posting the Bul bulletin photos. Never seen this species but saw White Eared bulbul and red vented bul bul in Qatar. Both species were introduced. Birdwatching in foreign countries is like starting from scratch. So much unfamiliar stuff but also equally wierd when you see Grey wagtails in Philippines. I went to the Purple Island reserve in Qatar and was staggered by the unusual waders like Kentish Plovers. Shame that there are so few other birdwatchers in Qatar who can help. In Philippines I communicated with their equivalent of RSPB. A friend of my wife's family run a bird reserve in Mindinao. They started from scratch and now it is an important haven for egrets.
If my mental arithmetic is correct there are 69 left hooking countries according to this interesting site I stumbled across whilst surfing the net. https://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/countries-that-drive-on-the-left.htm 6 European Countries That Practice Left-hand Driving Channel Islands (including Guernsey and Jersey) Cyprus Ireland Isle of Man Malta United Kingdom (including England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) 14 African Countries With Left-side Road Traffic Botswana Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland) Kenya Lesotho Malawi Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Seychelles South Africa Tanzania Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe 16 Asian Countries That Drive on the Left-hand Side of the Road: Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei East Timor Hong Kong India Indonesia Japan Macau Malaysia Maldives Nepal Pakistan Singapore Sri Lanka Thailand 12 South Pacific Countries Where You'll Drive a Left-hand Car Australia (and its territories, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands and Norfolk Island) Fiji Kiribati Nauru New Zealand (and its territories, including Cook Islands and Tokelau) Niue Pitcairn Islands Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu 21 Other Countries and Territories That Practice Left-Hand Driving Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Bermuda British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Dominica Falkland Islands Grenada Guyana Jamaica Montserrat Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Suriname Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos United States Virgin Islands
****in' lefties everywhere you go. But to get back on topic, I'm pleased to see that No7 was able to tell Laces where he was. I was a bit worried that he had woken up in a foreign bar with a local bird and didn't know how he got there.
I was working on a lift today, and my buddy Stu (The Sri Lankan Forman calls me that) came to see me He jumped on my finger, then my arm and took him outside. He didn't want to leave me though
