Author Archives: Bo Beolens

This article first appeared in the Spring edition of Birdwatching Magazine Anyone remember the ScFi film ‘Soylent Green’? To condense the plot it was a dystopian world where everyone ate a green paste supposedly produced from soya beans, but, the … Continue reading →

This article first appeared in the March 2023 edition of Birdwatching Magazine In the early days of the USSR some production targets were set by weight. When the head of a bedstead factory was slipping behind and in danger of … Continue reading →

This article first appeared in the February 2023 edition of Birdwatching Magazine There are more than 600,000 breeding pairs of Goldcrests in the UK and an estimated  five million that overwinter! How come it took until 1st of October for … Continue reading →

This article first appeared in the January 2023 edition of Birdwatching Magazine I’ve probably spent sixty of my seventy-three years being cynical. From sullen teens to firebrand twenties I raged against the unjust. Through my thirties and forties I was … Continue reading →

This article first appeared in the December 2022 edition of Birdwatching Magazine I love my Hyundai Tucson Hybrid (other hybrids are available). Being decrepit I went for my first automatic. So, I can no longer imagine myself to be the … Continue reading →

This article first appeared in the November 2022 edition of Birdwatching Magazine I planted a lavender bush to feed more pollinators. Last year it was a moderately successful and the spent blooms ended up in a pale in a bathroom … Continue reading →

This article first appeared in the October 2022 edition of Birdwatching Magazine Recently, the Somerset Levels were declared a Super Nature Reserve. The conservation efforts of the RSPB and others have paid off with an avifauna not seen since the … Continue reading →

This article first appeared in the September 2022 edition of Birdwatching Magazine My postage stamp yard was hard gardening through April into May… watering is a pain if your garden is 90% pots and containers. Warm dry weather is one … Continue reading →

This article first appeared in the August 2022 edition of Birdwatching magazine Frustrated by spouse dictat, I was not birding. Spring clean-up in the garden had progressed nicely so winter’s frost-spawned gaps in the pots and flowerbeds needed filling. So, … Continue reading →

This article first appeared in the July 2022 edition of Birdwatching magazine Does Akira Miyawaki mean anything to you? A sumo star perhaps, or maybe a character from the Lion King? It meant nothing to me until recently, which is … Continue reading →