QUIRKY facts and breathtaking photos on hundreds of species have been compiled into an eBook to mark the 10th anniversary of a wildlife popular project.
Peter Thompson, a biodiversity advisor at Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, writes about a different species every month for the Trust’s website.
The series, called Species of the Month, has included detailed profiles on species such as a bullfinch, badger, golden plover, redwing, rook, seven-spot ladybird, pine marten and pink-footed goose.
Peter used to do a few short pieces for a parish magazine before realising that it could be transferred into a monthly project for the Trust.
He explained: “I choose species usually because I have recently seen them or read something of interest or they just appear in my mind and say ‘hey – you haven’t done us yet’!
“I usually have the basis of what I am going to write, but I will pull out a few books from my fairly large natural history home library and inevitably learn something about the species I am writing about. Sometimes, if I have the time, I pick a species that I only know a limited amount about – “Tardigrades” spring to mind – so that I discover a huge amount myself while writing the piece!”
Likened to a mini Gerald Durrell from a young age, Peter has always had a passion for wildlife.
He grew up in a bedroom filled with pots with things hatching, pupating and breeding as well as having a magpie and jackdaw as pets.
“You can see why my two sisters would rarely venture into this miniature laboratory! So, I think that I was always destined to work in the conservation world!,” added Peter.