CONTENTS
FEATURES
32 News:eDNA
Whyit’srevolutionisingconservation
38 Riverbankroyalty
Buildinga specialhidetotakea look
atkingfishersintheirnestchamber
46 Packhamonwell-beingCOVERSTORY
TheSpringwatchpresenterrevealshow
hecopeswiththeCOVID-19lockdown
50 Connectingwithnature
Therearestillplentyofwaysto
connecttowildlifeduringCOVID-
54 Wildlifefromyourwindow
Fo rso m en a t u rel ove rs,b e i n g
houseboundhaslongbeena wayof life
58 Canada’sbig ve
A quintet of charismaticcreatures
OURWILD
WORLD
91 Athome
NaturalhistoryTV,booksand more
95 Workingfornature
What’skeptBobFishervolunteering
foralmosta quarter of a century?
96 Puzzles
98 Yourphotos
100 Feedback
Your letters and Tales from the Bush
REGULARS
6 Infocus
LeopardsandAtlantic horse mackerel
84 Q&A
Canchickensfly?
106 Wildlifechampion
Why Monty Halls admires marine iguanas
WILDMONTH
10 Sevenspeciestospot
WhattolookforinMay
16 MikeDilger’s wildlife
watching
Lifeamongthesanddunes
21 NickBaker’shidden Britain
Antwoodlouse
22 News
DorsetisnowthehomeoftheUK’s
firstsupernationalnaturereserve
25 Conservationreport
LesserBermudasnail
27 MarkCarwardine
Thechanginglandscape of
UKagriculture
28 Meetthescientist
Reducingpeople’sfear of snakes
inTheBahamas
29 Truthor ction?
Are locust swarms getting bigger?
May 2020 BBC Wildlife 5
66 Aforestforthefuture
ProtectingwildlifeinBorneo
74 P h o t os t o r y :aCornishwood
Dreamy woodland images
COVER STORY
COVER STORY
COVER STORY
COVER STORY
COVER STORY
COVER STORY
COVER STORY
Thepeople
behind our stories
May 2020
Backb
rd:
Nge
Bake/rspb-
mages.com;
Chr
sPackham:
Jo
Char
esworth;
po
arbear:
Jm
Ba
dw
n;
ustrat
on:
Owen
Davey/Fo
oArt;
broad-bod
ed
chaser:
Ross Hoddinott; kingfishers: Robert E Fuller; orangutan: Anup Shah/naturepl.com; Elizabeth Guntrip: Peter Everard-Smith/The National Lottery Heritage Fund
ELIZABETHGUNTRIP
Havingsu eredwithMEsincethe
ageof17,writerElizabethisusedto
watchingwildlifefromherwindow.
“Ibegantorecognisethebirds
inmygardenasindividuals– each
hadnuancesandpreferencesandI
learnt to tell them apart.” See p
JHENIOSMAN
SciencejournalistJhenidelvesintothe
eDNArevolutionandhow’sit’sbeing
usedtomonitora varietyofspecies.
“EnvironmentalDNAlookssettobe
a gamechangerforconservation,”
she says.See p
ROBERTEFULLER
Whenit cametogettinga closer
lookatkingfishers,naturalist
Roberthada cunningplan:
“Iturneda shedintoanartificial
riverbank,witha CCTVcamera
system,” he explains. See p
CHRISPACKHAM
Chrisadvocatestuninginto
naturetoboostourwell-being:
“Allthosetroubledendorphinsthat
werelostinthebackalleysofmy
brainstreamtotheirstationsand
elicit an exultation.” See p