Where have they all gone?
I grew up in the centre of London in a top floor council flat. This flat overlooked a fairly busy road, and the whole area lacked tree and bushes, so there was very little wildlife living around us.
When I moved to Hertfordshire, our house backed on to a wood. At night it was pitch black, something I was not used to.
In the summer at 4am the dawn chorus would start, and this would grow into a crescendo of different bird song.
At night, if a window was left opened with a light showing, the room would have at least a dozen or so moths fluttering around the bulb.
I left that house many years ago, but the house I now live in is just a few yards from a heavily wooded nature reserve.
Despite the proximity of this woodland, the dawn chorus no longer keeps me awake in the morning. I sometimes hear the sound of one bird, but very little else.
As for moths entering our house, to flutter aimlessly around a lamp; I haven’t seen one this year.
It’s a sobering thought.
What do you think?
Would you purposely lose your child?