Steve's Herpetological Blog

An insight into the life of Steve, his research and the many books he reads

Natural History

#SteveReviews: A Perfect Planet

It’s that time of year again when a new Attenborough series airs on BBC One. Up and down the country, families crowd to the living room on Sunday evenings to see what wisdom and wonder can be gleaned from another…

#StevesLibrary: Shell Life on the Seashore

I ended 2020 by finishing Shell Life on the Seashore by Philip Street. I admit that this isn’t the most traditional end to a year but despite everything that went on during those painful 12 months, it was the 25th…

#StevesLibrary: Improbable Destinies

Knowing the author’s name from the world of herpetology, I was expecting there to be slightly more about his research on anoles from the get go. However this is restricted to a single chapter, which in itself is interesting enough….

#SciFri: What’s that lichen?

During a recent walk along the North Downs Way recently with my good friend Vanessa, we stumbled across some trees that were covered in lichen. Being the curious types that we are, we collected some twigs from these trees and…

#SciFri: Why are there so few herpetologists in the UK?

As a herpetologist working in the UK, it has always struck me just how few of us there are. This stretches through the realms of professionals such as ecologists or academics to students with a focus on amphibian or reptile…

#StevesLibrary: Extraordinary Insects

If there is one thing that I have come to appreciate even more this year, it is insects. I’ve always have a soft spot for them, as they are pretty much everywhere and come in an array of colours and…

#SciFri: The wonders of dissecting owl pellets

Did you know that many birds such as owls produce pellets? Pellets are formed of all of the indigestible material they’ve consumed such as bones, teeth, feathers and fur. This is then compacted in the gizzard and regurgitated as a…

#StevesLibrary: Blowfish’s Oceanopedia

If there is one thing I like about a book when I pick it up, it is that I can’t put it down unless I pass out or something comes up that necessitates the need for me to put the…

#SteveReviews: Birders

When it comes to conservation it is clear that nature doesn’t care about our geographic borders, after all they are only lines on a map. Most borders do not have a physical barrier to prevent the movement of animals or…

#SteveReviews: Kiss The Ground

Everyone has heard the narrative of how fossil fuels and deforestation is fuelling both climate change and the ongoing ecological crisis. Another factor within this complex web of interactions also driving negative impacts on the climate, is the global scale…