About the author Charlie Fleming

Born Derby, England 1950. I have always had a passion for wildlife. My father had a love of birds and as a young child I remember being taken on country walks to The Peak District National Park and other interesting places in Derbyshire. My father could find nest sites very easily, a skill which he had learned as a child in an age when this was considered the normal thing to do. He would show my brother and I the nests of Dunnocks and small finches and we quickly learned to tell the difference between a Song Thrush nest and a Blackbird. I remember the first time I saw a Magpie which at the time in 1955 was a rare and not often seen bird. That was a good day because we also watched the first Grey Squirrel. Imagine a time when magpies and Squirrels were rare!!!!!!! I started this blog because of my passion and as a way of exploring my suroundings and sharing my love of nature. The environment is a free resource and one that we can all enjoy, we all have a share, we all own it in equal measure. No organisation or government body owns it more than you and I. it,s ours and we should treat it with the respect that we treat something we own and love. Armed with just a pair of eyes and ears and perhaps a couple of legs we can all enjoy the things around us. My other passion and interest in life is my beloved LYMPSTONE SOUTH WEST TELECOMS BAND> As an Associate of The Royal College of Music ARCM, I am the musical director and have been for ten years. In that time we have won loads of contests including the Fourth Section National Title. We compete in the First Section of the National Gradings and perform concerts all over Devon and further afield.