Tag Archives: birds

Decontextualised

Posted on June 3, 2026 by Mary Montague

We are living through the Sixth Mass Extinction on our planetary home, and while those of us alive today won’t live to see the end of it, our so-called civilisation really needs to take a hard look at itself. This … Continue reading →

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The Cuckoo’s Call

Posted on May 16, 2026 by Mary Montague

I was fortunate to have several encounters with the common cuckoo, at Murlough’s nature reserve recently. It’s a place that holds a lot of resonance for me having spent a summer working there in 1987 as a temporary warden. That … Continue reading →

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The Stranmillis Heronry

Posted on March 26, 2026 by Mary Montague

Over the past few months, my Country Diaries have either been written out of experiences that came to me under my own steam, as it were; or, if others were part the process, they got a mention in the diary … Continue reading →

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Chasing my tail

Posted on June 7, 2025 by Mary Montague

It’s been a while. First there’s the matter of my most recent contribution to The Guardian‘s Country Diary. As the more long-memoried of you will recall, I wrote about Newgrange for December. And I went back to Brú na Bóinne … Continue reading →

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Celebrating 40 Contributions to The Guardian’s Country Diary

Posted on March 17, 2025 by Mary Montague

Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhaoibh! (Happy St Patrick’s Day everyone!). It’s a wee bit of an occasion for me today – my 40th contribution to The Guardian‘s Country Diary was published this morning. So in all the celebrations today, I’m … Continue reading →

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After the storm

Posted on January 26, 2025 by Mary Montague

Yesterday there was a brief respite between Storm Éowyn on Friday and today’s pretty standard wind and rain. Thankfully we got through Éowyn fairly unscathed, losing only a couple of tiles from the “rooflet” over our downstairs bay window. Mind … Continue reading →

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Why does the bird bob its head?

Posted on January 18, 2025 by Mary Montague

My latest Country Diary come out in today’s Saturday Guardian. Which is lovely because Saturday is the day we always get the paper copy … Which also means I can upload this lovely image of a stylised redshank that accompanied … Continue reading →

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Countryside – with Nicola Weir (and me!)

Posted on October 26, 2024 by Mary Montague

On the back of the publication of Under the Changing Skies, I was interviewed by Nicola Weir for Radio Ulster’s Countryside. The programme will be broadcast tomorrow at 2pm, but it’s already available on BBC Sounds if you want to … Continue reading →

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The guidance of birds

Posted on May 10, 2024 by Mary Montague

My latest Country Diary is out today. I had the good fortune to be invited to give a workshop on poetry and birds at Jubilee Farm. It was a wonderful day in an inspiring place. It was great to have … Continue reading →

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Pre- and post- International Dawn Chorus Day

Posted on April 23, 2024 by Mary Montague

I’d a lovely day on Saturday, delivering a workshop on poetry and birds at Jubilee Community Farm, which is Northern Ireland’s first community-owned farm. We looked at a range of poems about birds, and then spent a couple of happy … Continue reading →

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