Nick Baker is a well known naturalist and author and has graced the television screens and radio since the mid-1990’s. Due to the nature (quite literally) of his work, he requires the very best in outdoor clothing and has been a long-time wearer and advocate for Páramo Clothing. Here he shares his advice on how to tackle unpredictable, transitional weather as we are edging further into Autumn...
As Ambassador for the UN Convention on Migratory Species, Sacha Dench campaigns to raise awareness of the problems facing many species and habitats around the world. Her latest expedition, Flight of the Osprey, is an innovative conservation project undertaken in collaboration with UN agencies, scientists, media and governments – and Páramo is honoured to have been chosen as its official clothing sponsor.
We were delighted to bump into writer and wildlife guide, David Chandler, at this year’s Global BirdFair event in Rutland, which brings together wildlife conservationists, representatives of nature travel, birders and natural history enthusiasts from all over the world.
David is skilled in introducing non-expert audiences to the natural world and worked for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and BirdLife International for over 16 years before going freelance. He has a life-long interest in wildlife and communicates the natural world with huge enthusiasm.
David recently reviewed our famous Páramo Poncho for the Gear Finder pages of Bird Watching magazine and we’re very excited to share his findings with you…
I regularly traverse the four corners of the globe ostensibly on the search for urban birds which often leads me to the least likely of urban spots. When I got an invitation from the Falkland Islands Tourism Board to visit the islands I just could not resist. Every now and again you have to leave the ‘urban’ behind!
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I’ve been wearing Páramo gear for several years now and it has seen me through lots of different situations. Working as a wildlife camera operator, you’re exposed to all the elements, so the flexibility and choice in the Páramo range has been really helpful. I’m often working at either end of the day, starting out before sunrise and finishing after sunset. Even in warmer countries these times of day can be pretty brutal, so I’m a big fan of layering! The Páramo gear easily allows this.
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Here’s a bit about myself and how my passion for insects developed. My interest was sparked more than 60 years ago at primary school. Our house in Uckfield backed on to a flowery meadow occasionally cut by hand for hay. I was aged about 10 when I noticed the variety of insects present, including many different butterflies and, with the aid of an Observer’s book, I soon learnt to recognise them. During my first year at secondary school, I met a boy in my class with similar interests. His father worked in the office at a Decca Navigation station, located in the centre of a forest about 5 miles away, and we had permission to wander freely in the heath and woodland surrounding the radio mast. The area turned out to be an amazingly rich habitat for all kinds of insects, although at the time we were not aware that the forest hosted the only known British colony of the Lewes Wave moth. Unfortunately, it became extinct after the site was destroyed around 1960, so this was a lost opportunity to see something really special.
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Páramo’s long-term carbon-balancing and conservation partner, World Land Trust (WLT), has announced that the Ministry of Environment of Peru has recognised a private conservation area (ACP) that will protect a large Páramo vegetation zone of the South American Andes. The community of San Juan de Sallique has pledged to protect approximately 8,650 acres (3,500 hectares) of Montane Forest and Páramo.
This reflects three years of work by the communities and WLT’s partner Naturaleza y Cultura Peru (NCP), securing the protection of this important habitat in perpetuity – an important step for wildlife such as Spectacled Bears and endangered Mountain Tapirs, but also a triumph for the communities dedicated to preserving their water sources through conservation and sustainable agricultural practices. Continue reading
I’ve been visiting Madagascar for over 20 years: in fact I’ve returned each year since 1991. Back then it captivated me like no place had done before, or since, and my enthusiasm has yet to diminish. Since my first visit in 1998, one place on the island has been my favourite – Marojejy National Park in the far north east. It is one of Madagascar’s wildest places.
I initially visited the park with just one aim – to get photos of the incredibly rare silky sifaka (Propithecus candidus). After considerable effort, I managed to get something, but of course this was in the days of film and by today’s standards the pictures were very poor. In more recent years, I’ve returned to Marojejy several times to try and improve on those images and to document more of the park’s diverse wildlife.
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