Michael J. Warren
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drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren
@drmjwarren.bsky.social
990 followers 880 following 630 posts

Writer, naturalist, medievalist, teacher. Trustee of Curlew Action. The Cuckoo’s Lea, Bloomsbury, out now. At work on a new book about winter: Hibernal. Marshes. Winter. Whisky.
https://linktr.ee/cuckooslea
www.birdsandplace.co.uk .. more

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drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren @drmjwarren.bsky.social · Dec 17

drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren @drmjwarren.bsky.social · 2d
A really lovely talk @lincswildlife.bsky.social’s Whisby reserve today. In the audience was Grahame Hopwood, just retired, warden for 22 years, devoting half a career to making Whisby superb nightingale habitat. Sadly, they no longer breed here. 😢 #nightingales #naturewriting
Michael J Warren talking at Whisby nature reserve.

drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren @drmjwarren.bsky.social · 3d
Continuing my mammalian temporary departure from birds, place-name of the day 126 is FOXCOTE (Som). OE fox + cot. ‘Cottage for the foxes’ (probably metaphorically referring to den). #PlaceNames #naturewriting
Red fox OS map showing Somerset village, Foxcote.

drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren @drmjwarren.bsky.social · 4d
2026 could be your year! Not tricky to hear and see come March/April.

drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren @drmjwarren.bsky.social · 4d
Blackcap singing in my garden on a cold(ish) rainy day in early February. 😬🤨😩🙄 (not sure of my emotion). #climatechangewinters #changingseasons
Photo not mine. Blackcap in snow.

drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren @drmjwarren.bsky.social · 5d
Only two days to go till my talk @lincswildlife.bsky.social’s Whisby reserve. Come to here about nightingales and how they transform our sense of place in spring. Tickets here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-talk-... #AuthorTalk #naturewriting
Singing nightingale in blossom. The Cuckoo’s Lea by Michael J. Warren

drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren @drmjwarren.bsky.social · 5d
I’ve read that as well. Would like to see the source though, because ‘cattle’ isn’t an Old English word (comes from French), and the name is Old English. I’m afraid that interpretation is apocryphal—someone has just speculated!

Reposted by Michael Warren

nicolawriting.bsky.social
Nicola Chester @nicolawriting.bsky.social · 6d
My latest blog post, as Writer in Residence for the very exciting Kintbury Chase and Eco Centre, is up. Here are Bullfinches, Colour Charts, Cages & Song, the Bullfinch-breast pinking of oak cotyledons & taxonomic guides to pre-photography identification kintburyecocentre.org/webpage.php?...
A selection of illustrated colour plates and colour charts from bird books of Bullfinches

Reposted by Michael Warren

chipcampdenlitfest.bsky.social
Chipping Campden Literature Festival @chipcampdenlitfest.bsky.social · 6d
Environmentalists and nature 🦅🦉🐾🦊 lovers great #booksky afternoon events in #Cotswolds 7th May with @drmjwarren.bsky.social and @adamweymouth.bsky.social Tickets online www.campdenmayfestivals.co.uk/literature/e...

drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren @drmjwarren.bsky.social · 9d
Not a bird, but passing through Lewisham today so … place-name of the day 125: CATFORD (London). OE catt + ford. ‘Ford where wild cats are seen crossing or nearby’. Hard to believe wildcats were once roaming here in what is now a busy London borough; love the incongruity. #naturewriting #PlaceNames
Catford graffitied on a wall in Catford, south London. Wildcat looking mean! OS map showing Catford and Lewisham.

Reposted by Michael Warren

chiffchat.bsky.social
Bloomsbury Wildlife @chiffchat.bsky.social · 10d
What if the animals we fear most are essential to Earth’s future?

Beauty of the Beasts invites us to rethink the animals we consider pests, scavengers, and predators, and appreciate their roles in our ecosystems.

Thought‑provoking nature writing at its best. Pre-order now!

drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren @drmjwarren.bsky.social · 10d
Where are Britain’s most northerly breeding nightingales? Why are there no old nightingale place-names? To find out, come and hear my talk about my book, #thecuckooslea, @lincswildlife.bsky.social’s Whisby reserve on Saturday 7th Feb. Tickets here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-talk-... #naturewriting
Singing nightingale

drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren @drmjwarren.bsky.social · 12d
What a beautiful, tender and poignant @theguardian.com Country Diary from @amyjanebeer.bsky.social. A very touching tale of birds and deep personal loss. #naturewriting www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Country diary: In my moment of loss, birds came like gifts | Amy-Jane Beer
Ripon City Wetlands and Welburn, North Yorkshire: First a starling ​and then a robin​ arrived like visitations​. I am truly grateful for ​them both
www.theguardian.com

drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren @drmjwarren.bsky.social · 12d
Front row seats for #thecuckooslea people! 😁😉 #naturewriting #litfest #booksky

drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren @drmjwarren.bsky.social · 12d
Surprised it’s taken you so long.

Reposted by Michael Warren

chipcampdenlitfest.bsky.social
Chipping Campden Literature Festival @chipcampdenlitfest.bsky.social · 12d
1st Feb to get the best seats #booksky www.campdenmayfestivals.co.uk/literature/e...

drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren @drmjwarren.bsky.social · 14d
There’s a likely reason for this ‘inaccuracy’: the artist is drawing from a skin of an Iberian grey shrike, not a great grey shrike. Notice black up to shoulder, darker grey, pinkish front and white supercilium. Skins were almost certainly used for several of the species in the S. Missal.

drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren @drmjwarren.bsky.social · 14d
Ah shucks. ☺️ Hardly in your calibre though Nic.

drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren @drmjwarren.bsky.social · 14d
Yes Rebecca, had been meaning to contact you actually. Will DM or email you.

Reposted by Michael Warren

lemoustier.bsky.social
Dr Rebecca Wragg Sykes @lemoustier.bsky.social · 14d
🧪 Ooh it's won the Festival's 2026 Alfred P. Sloane Award 🏆 for "an outstanding feature film that focuses on science or technology as a theme, or depicts a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as a major character" !!

(warning, link has plot spoilers...)

festival.sundance.org/program/film...

drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren @drmjwarren.bsky.social · 15d
Tickets here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-talk-...
Book Talk & Signing: The Cuckoo's Lea by Michael J. Warren
An opportunity to meet the author of The Cuckoo's Lea and hear more about the book, followed by book purchasing & signing.
www.eventbrite.co.uk

drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren @drmjwarren.bsky.social · 15d
Not long now till I’m @lincswildlife.bsky.social’s Whisby reserve talking about #thecuckooslea, particularly about my search for the most northerly breeding nightingales in north-west Europe (which took me to Whisby). Come and join me! #naturewriting #authortalk @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social
lincswildlife.bsky.social Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust @lincswildlife.bsky.social · 28d
Join us and author @drmjwarren.bsky.social at Whisby Nature Park near Lincoln next month for a fascinating journey into the past through the secrets of place names inspired by birds. His talk will include the story of how he came to Whisby in search of Britain’s most northerly nightingale.

drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren @drmjwarren.bsky.social · 16d
Well @lemoustier.bsky.social, what beautiful serendipity … guess what I’m reading right now! For my new book, on winter in Britain and Ireland (from the Ice Age to present). So, couldn’t be more delighted you’re enjoying #thecuckooslea ☺️ @jimspim.bsky.social @chiffchat.bsky.social #naturewriting
Kindred, by Rebecca Wragg Sykes, all about the Neanderthal species. A page from Kindred, a book about Neanderthal people.

Reposted by Michael Warren

cathamclarke.bsky.social
Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 16d
Goldfinch x5
Blackbird
Nuthatch
Great tit x2
Greenfinch
Blue tit
Robin
Woodpigeons x3
Doing our bit for the #RSPB #BigGardenBirdwatch. Loved hearing Sean Bean share his love of #bird watching on Radio 2 this morning, revealing that his favourite small bird is a wren. Two of my faves...
Sean Bean Wren

Reposted by Michael Warren

rspb.bsky.social
RSPB @rspb.bsky.social · 16d
“She’s lost count.”

“Good. Wait for her to start again… then everyone hop.”

“She’s panicking.”

“Perfect.”

#BigGardenBirdwatch
Four glossy Starlings crowd around a shallow terracotta birdbath in a garden lawn, one splashing in the water while others hop around it. Above them is the dialogue: “She’s lost count.” “Good. Wait for her to start again… then everyone hop.” “She’s panicking.” “Perfect.”

Reposted by Michael Warren

lemoustier.bsky.social
Dr Rebecca Wragg Sykes @lemoustier.bsky.social · 16d
📚 Saturday morning's luxury read, full of the wonders of deep human-place histories

(thanks to @jimspim.bsky.social for sending)
#BookSky
Photo of a book "The Cuckoo's Lea: The forgotten history of Birds and Place" by Michael J. Warren on a blue and yellow swollen patterned throw. The cover is a woodblock-style illustration of a cuckoo with an egg in its mouth by a nest, a red kite flying above, cranes in the background with a church tower and sun.

drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren @drmjwarren.bsky.social · 16d
Thanks Derek, it’s fine company!

Reposted by Michael Warren

oceanauk.bsky.social
Oceana UK @oceanauk.bsky.social · 17d
🌡️🌊 2025 was the 3rd hottest year on record, and the last 11 years are the hottest ever measured.

This is what climate breakdown looks like. Yet the UK is STILL considering new oil and gas fields?! 1/2
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
University of Reading's climate stripes show third-hottest year
The stripes were created in 2018 and show the change in average global temperatures since 1850.
www.bbc.co.uk

drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren @drmjwarren.bsky.social · 17d
Thank you Stuart.

drmjwarren.bsky.social
Michael J. Warren @drmjwarren.bsky.social · 17d
Ah thanks Nic. ☺️

Reposted by Michael Warren

nicolawriting.bsky.social
Nicola Chester @nicolawriting.bsky.social · 17d
Into the ice age Lion Pit … lovely writing from @drmjwarren.bsky.social for the Guardian Country Diary (whose book, #TheCuckoosLea is also wonderful!)
Country diary: Mammoth and bear, replaced by mattress and beer can | Michael J Warren
Grays, Essex: I visit an unassuming gorge where a wealth of ice age fossils was once found, telling us about Britain’s megafauna – and Neanderthals
www.theguardian.com