Natural History Writing

UK Vagrancy

Nature-related news has never been bigger. Large swathes of the population are taking more of an interest as it moves up the agenda. Realisation has spread that the fate of the planet's other inhabitants and our own destiny are more connected than we once thought. More than half of us feed our garden birds and the BBC's Watches programmes are amongst their most popular. During 2020's pandemic-induced lockdown, interest in nature and wildlife soared whilst recently a wandering walrus has boosted tourism in the Welsh coastal town of Tenby and a number of records of whales in recent years in rivers such as the Thames has drawn hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of curious and bemused onlookers. People are interested in this stuff when it turns up on their doorstep. Starting with Lost & Found - my newly commissioned monthly column or 'vagrant species diary' in BBC Wildlife magazine - I have self-styled as a wildlife reporter highlighting some of the recent out-of-range species that have wandered to our shores.  Many records of vagrant taxa go unnoticed but more seem to be coming to light with the rise in popularity of wildlife photography and social media and a new generation of field guides covering all manner of wildlife.  My Lost & Found articles are available here: Unexpected wildlife visitors to the UK | BBC Wildlife Magazine - Discover Wildlife 

STOP PRESS***LATEST SIGHTINGS November 2025

A young Loggerhead turtle was photographed off St Ives, Cornwall, on 2nd and follows a run of recent records of this species in Scotland this autumn. Two v rare cetaceans have been found stranded - Ireland's 1st Narwal (a young female found dead in Co Donegal) and more recently a Pygmy sperm whale found live-stranded (later euthanised) near Holyhead in N Wales.

Major Avian rarities recently have included Siberian rubythroat (Shetland), Killdeer (S Wales & Ireland, presumably the same bird), 2 Black-browed albatrosses (Norfolk & Cornwall), 2 oriental turtle doves (together on Shetland), Soft-plumaged petrel (Ireland), Eyebrowed thrush & Rose-breasted grosbeak (both Orkney), Boat-tailed grackle (Hants - 1st UK record but ship-assisted, sadly) and no less than 4 Black-faced buntings at various locations in what has been a record autumn for this once mega-rare Asian species.