The Disappeared Are Everywhere

Wryneck seen on Beddington Farmlands, 9th September 2026

I'm excited to be showcasing some of my Nature On Your Doorstep project at the London National Park City festival in Pimlico on Saturday 17th October. It'll be a fab event - here is a link for tickets - do come along and say hi. I've also been invited to present some of my findings and photography at a meeting of our local parks groups in November, and there are further artful nature plans percolating too.

Personally it has been quite the year on the bird watching front - sighting 98 species so far in 2026 (88 of which were seen within the London Borough of Sutton). Butterflies have been very obliging too - 37 species have shown up for me this year - 27 of those appearing within a 1km radius of my front door - Nature On Your Doorstep in real life. Exciting times eh?

I'm an optimist at heart - but when we peer beneath the surface of what has been a decent year for me nature wise, we uncover a dangerously worrying scenario. UK wild bird populations are at their lowest level since records began. I grew up watching kestrels, bullfinches, and many other birds in my neighbourhood. Kestrel numbers have fallen by over a third since 1995, following even steeper declines in the 1970s and 80s. As a kid - we regularly had bullfinches visit our suburban garden. I've seen two pairs in the past two years - both pairs spotted nowhere near here.

I freely admit it is exciting to measure and record what we see - there's a real thrill in observing a wryneck, a kingfisher, a Wall Brown butterfly. The trickier part is noticing what we don't see. Why are wrynecks functionally extinct here in the UK, the last breeding pair having been recorded in the early 2000s? Why is my Wall Brown sighting on 14th September the first and only known record in the whole of Surrey this year?

Sadly - the reason for these declines is nearly always, us. So while I resolve to continue to celebrate the wildlife around me, I must redouble my efforts to actively support the threatened, and the vulnerable. Lest we forget, the disappeared are everywhere.