tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65400049308101992202024-02-19T22:31:47.342+00:00Jake's BonesMy name is Jake, and I'm a fourteen year-old bone collector, naturalist, explorer and author from Scotland, and I have hundreds skulls, and thousands of other bones in my collection. My first book, "Jake's Bones", is published the UK, Ireland, US, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Korea.Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429066175566438943noreply@blogger.comBlogger416125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-39506038389719021132016-02-21T20:00:00.000+00:002016-02-21T20:00:04.588+00:00All good things...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4WvPw44qOIKZzuLcwjCpoHW-eT6Nzue1Yrij_lyAxbT0pQWbGal5DoKm1aX9CLNGkStGH_O8pIWFJa7Wg7KcfnGjZ33VMUEv5uFEhZ6Dq7U9YEjiBhwT8D7IkJT9AfUF1pE-53i0mrNk/s1600/100_0408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4WvPw44qOIKZzuLcwjCpoHW-eT6Nzue1Yrij_lyAxbT0pQWbGal5DoKm1aX9CLNGkStGH_O8pIWFJa7Wg7KcfnGjZ33VMUEv5uFEhZ6Dq7U9YEjiBhwT8D7IkJT9AfUF1pE-53i0mrNk/s1600/100_0408.jpg"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<br>
I've been blogging now at least once a week for six years and seven months, and this is my 416th blog post here. It's been an exhausting, brilliant and amazing journey, but I've made the very difficult decision that it's time to take a break from blogging for a while.<br>
<br>
I began blogging when I was seven because I wanted to share more about the bones I found and the places I explored around my village. When I wrote <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2009/07/strange-bones-1.html" target="_blank">my very first blog post</a>, which only a couple of people read at the time, I never imagined that I would create something read by thousands of people every week.<br>
<br>
I never ever imagined that it would lead to me appearing on television and in newspapers, that <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2011/11/today-i-was-filmed-for-bbc-autumnwatch.html" target="_blank">Chris Packham</a>, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/32976332" target="_blank">CBBC Newsround</a> and <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2014/09/behind-scenes-filming-on-cbbc-wild.html" target="_blank">CBBC Wild</a> would come to my house to film, that I would end up appearing on <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2011/11/today-i-was-filmed-for-bbc-autumnwatch.html" target="_blank">Autumnwatch</a> and <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2014/01/behind-scenes-at-bbc-winterwatch.html" target="_blank">Winterwatch</a>, that I would appear on <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/05/two-big-bbc-appearances.html" target="_blank">BBC Breakfast</a>, or spend two hours on <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/06/newsround-radio-4-and-hunterian.html" target="_blank">BBC Radio Four</a>, or even <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2014/12/the-one-show-and-meeting-sir-david.html" target="_blank">appear on the BBC alongside Sir David Attenborough</a>. And the most amazing thing of all, though, <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/p/jakes-bones-book-by-jake-mcgowan-lowe.html" target="_blank">is definitely my book</a>.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2016/02/all-good-things.html#more">Read more of this post »</a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-43287455436830263062016-02-14T20:42:00.000+00:002016-02-14T20:42:10.365+00:00Explaining the mystery of hair ice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxdeB64QRhgpjGo1CySp1vjqwNTF8RiD-26l1z1oKWOFMOV6z023g1xQJ3OuhTKCPql1bGoVw87wmC9PCDFy-Y5XtMft8H0203nZ3i8RFtnRd8ElAvw7RUnMsPrt441ny6k8OfG1p7Clk/s1600/hair-ice-b0654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxdeB64QRhgpjGo1CySp1vjqwNTF8RiD-26l1z1oKWOFMOV6z023g1xQJ3OuhTKCPql1bGoVw87wmC9PCDFy-Y5XtMft8H0203nZ3i8RFtnRd8ElAvw7RUnMsPrt441ny6k8OfG1p7Clk/s1600/hair-ice-b0654.jpg"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br></div>
In the December of 2009, I wrote one of my first blog posts o<a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2009/12/some-strange-ice-in-woods.html" target="_blank">n something very strange that I found on a walk</a>. It was ice attached to a rotting tree branch, but it looked almost like candy floss and looked very delicate and pretty.<br>
<br>
Since I first found this, I have seen them loads more times and finally got to the bottom of the mystery about these strange formations - but I've just realised I never blogged about it ! Since my village is covered in snow and ice at the moment, this seemed the right time to blog about it !<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2016/02/explaining-mystery-of-hair-ice.html#more">Read more of this post »</a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-4971672855859323472016-02-07T18:57:00.000+00:002016-02-07T19:04:34.714+00:00Exploring the abandoned bunker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi7yfLX_vzSYwD8petmCBUMkJq1dlCFfPvIU3D4io8COsJp4WNX0FI6uNLky4gh7h92X3IZqUBAGjQNiLkRKsSVqE0awnPYtCj73FpYKyDQ7ls8BZKRA-NcuqDJp6NyAF1LBplsK48qTY/s1600/roc-bunker-braco-b0630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi7yfLX_vzSYwD8petmCBUMkJq1dlCFfPvIU3D4io8COsJp4WNX0FI6uNLky4gh7h92X3IZqUBAGjQNiLkRKsSVqE0awnPYtCj73FpYKyDQ7ls8BZKRA-NcuqDJp6NyAF1LBplsK48qTY/s1600/roc-bunker-braco-b0630.jpg"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<i>WARNING: Even by my standards, climbing into a disused, 50 year old flooded underground structure in the remote countryside is a really dangerous idea. But you're probably going to do it anyway, so here's the rules. Never do it alone, always have someone at the top, bring a rope, phone, torch and appropriate footwear, and make sure your tetanus jabs are up to date !</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<i><br></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
This picture shows a little bit of history hidden away - and one I've been meaning to explore for ages ! In some remote woodland outside my village is a fenced off clearing, where there are three tiny structures. Two are no bigger than a tree stump, and the third looks the size of a sheep trough form a distance. This is a place that was designed to be difficult to find - and also it's a bit of local history you may find near you !</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2016/02/exploring-abandoned-bunker.html#more">Read more of this post »</a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-24667120212886921842016-01-31T19:55:00.002+00:002016-01-31T19:55:36.568+00:00The difference between deer and sheep skulls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqwBQY9Dm38Lg1-Ob3R0R5BNKrzMxKr-OiUhVO_eCdpTo0iYE9FfN2W6PsPRYPYVnA8tGd8WSYO0nPWnCZdGI4OxLjSL621g77QGz3op6Wlam0igrZpXlXvgKLLmrRxuTMDhaqPR_GBI/s1600/deer-sheep-a7556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqwBQY9Dm38Lg1-Ob3R0R5BNKrzMxKr-OiUhVO_eCdpTo0iYE9FfN2W6PsPRYPYVnA8tGd8WSYO0nPWnCZdGI4OxLjSL621g77QGz3op6Wlam0igrZpXlXvgKLLmrRxuTMDhaqPR_GBI/s1600/deer-sheep-a7556.jpg"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<br>
Two of the most common skulls that I find are deer and sheep. There's huge variation in different types of deer and breeds of sheep - but there are some rules which can tell you which are which.<br>
<br>
They can look very similar, because they are both herbivores with eyes on the side of their heads. So, I'm going to take you how to tell the difference between the two skulls, even if you only have a small fragment of the skull. In all of this I'm using a red deer skull, as the bigger UK deer (red, sika, fallow) are closer in size to sheep than the smaller deer (such as Chinese Water Deer, muntjac and roe) and fragments can be mistaken for sheep...read on to find out more !<br>
<br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2016/01/the-difference-between-deer-and-sheep.html#more">Read more of this post »</a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-72847574590088534492016-01-24T17:15:00.002+00:002016-01-24T17:17:28.839+00:00Triceratops at the Ulster Museum<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjxw9_cMiDhe3rkxi2ZeHcsNvsMamV970LkFEDbd29MuqkaGSdMv5PxM6hAYjYbrQl9yBqIais2SQXxxVorKZ_k1-lgZXNKC694Lbsm7L-S3ymyNEgNM9U9NsChDSVZVdC_QQVtDBxrxQ/s1600/triceratops-a7322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjxw9_cMiDhe3rkxi2ZeHcsNvsMamV970LkFEDbd29MuqkaGSdMv5PxM6hAYjYbrQl9yBqIais2SQXxxVorKZ_k1-lgZXNKC694Lbsm7L-S3ymyNEgNM9U9NsChDSVZVdC_QQVtDBxrxQ/s1600/triceratops-a7322.jpg"></a></div>
<br>
<i>This week's post is partly inspired by Sir David Attenborough and Ben Garrod's one-off TV special, Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur, which is on BBC1 at 6.30pm tonight - don't miss it ! <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2016/01/attenborough-and-giant-dinosaur.html" target="_blank">Read about it here.</a> </i><br>
<br>
I spent Christmas and New Year in Northern Ireland. Belfast is home to one of my favourite museums - the Ulster Museum - which has a particularly cool skeleton of a Triceratops horridus. Triceratops are one of the best known dinosaurs, along with the T-rex, <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/07/learning-about-tyrannosaurus.html" target="_blank">which I wrote about here.</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2016/01/triceratops-at-ulster-museum.html#more">Read more of this post »</a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-22449269355439411012016-01-17T19:42:00.000+00:002016-01-17T19:42:56.791+00:00Attenborough And The Giant Dinosaur<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4dh7I5qunodKl5YWPp-U6VZw4uvdvh-aNYJ2pC0DMVu-_NtnFR6INTBi4Br2gikVjh0nIFGYqM3zU-X4eRSzFa0-BOoSN0PTGduc4IonI3KARdMWWGxSSBunT4-w61ctxQB7hKfDFVco/s1600/624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4dh7I5qunodKl5YWPp-U6VZw4uvdvh-aNYJ2pC0DMVu-_NtnFR6INTBi4Br2gikVjh0nIFGYqM3zU-X4eRSzFa0-BOoSN0PTGduc4IonI3KARdMWWGxSSBunT4-w61ctxQB7hKfDFVco/s1600/624.jpg"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: start;">Next Sunday, there is a must see programme for bone and dinosaur lovers. Ben Garrod and Sir David Attenborough are two of the most amazing presenters, and now they are doing a TV programme together. It will be called Attenborough And The Giant Dinosaur and it will be on BBC One on Sunday the 24th of January at 6:30pm.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: start;"><br>
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Apart from being a great bit of TV, there is a bit of a personal connection for me. As you probably remember, in December 2014 I was on <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2014/12/the-one-show-and-meeting-sir-david.html" target="_blank">The One Show with Sir David</a>. It was one of the best moments of my life, as I have always wanted to meet him. When I was on the One Show sofa, they showed a pre-recorded piece of Ben and I analysing bones at Bristol Museum. Ben also presented a brilliant BBC TV series called Secrets of BONES, <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2014/03/12-facts-ive-learned-from-secrets-of.html" target="_blank">which I wrote about here</a>, and has been a great inspiration to me (<a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2013/06/the-grant-museum-of-zoology-at-ucl.html" target="_blank">we first met at the Grant Museum in London</a>) .Read on to find out more about the dig !</div>
</div>
<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2016/01/attenborough-and-giant-dinosaur.html#more">Read more of this post »</a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-10951838015489307062016-01-10T20:41:00.001+00:002016-01-11T08:06:20.860+00:00Mysteries from my inbox<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br></span></span>
<br>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmCgNlCiua9V4tgCEyUX_DkiPs4laOiF9OBSLSZGtH5QNCyw1mU9fdBv1tJVJsKCUBBzA9oT-5ug5Ki6QbW0F9qY34GL-_S8ZRKHiiShRq59sEiTGraDE1nahcSfWTqB2hYZT-n_tILUo/s1600/image2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmCgNlCiua9V4tgCEyUX_DkiPs4laOiF9OBSLSZGtH5QNCyw1mU9fdBv1tJVJsKCUBBzA9oT-5ug5Ki6QbW0F9qY34GL-_S8ZRKHiiShRq59sEiTGraDE1nahcSfWTqB2hYZT-n_tILUo/s1600/image2.jpg"></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br></span></span>
<br>
<br>
Of the 1,214 emails I received last year, many of them are from people trying to identify bones. This can be tricky - especially as they can be from animals from other countries that I've rarely seen before !<br>
<br>
Here are some of the recent ones I've had - many of which have me stumped ! Can you help me out or give me some clues ?<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2016/01/mysteries-from-my-inbox.html#more">Read more of this post »</a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-32321377971180275532015-12-31T17:46:00.000+00:002016-01-04T16:34:27.654+00:00Goodbye 2015, hello 2016<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjxtQ1Q17Q84TUs2FAKITTCyLRwdgpUsrZ88P2OQKXIp2oaglbZ9O2Rk4G9SVhrW_B17LaeQb1hrIqubhD-slMG7CGySDT9oKDFCCYj4sjaHMu23G-OiUvPT4MclFDDpKEcQS_lco1TY/s1600/moon-a6897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjxtQ1Q17Q84TUs2FAKITTCyLRwdgpUsrZ88P2OQKXIp2oaglbZ9O2Rk4G9SVhrW_B17LaeQb1hrIqubhD-slMG7CGySDT9oKDFCCYj4sjaHMu23G-OiUvPT4MclFDDpKEcQS_lco1TY/s1600/moon-a6897.jpg"></a></div>
<br>
At the end of each year, since the start of my blog, I have written a post on New Year's Eve, looking back on the year. At the end of last year, I said that this year would not have been as good as last.- it's not every year that your first book comes out, you get to present a copy to the Royal Family, and then do live TV on the BBC with Sir David Attenborough - but this year has had its good moments.<br>
<br>
I always enjoy writing these posts, because it reminds me of the best parts of the year, and there was quite a lot this year ! This is what I have learned...<br>
<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/12/goodbye-2015-hello-2016.html#more">Read more of this post »</a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-20839708403230811242015-12-23T08:00:00.000+00:002015-12-23T13:29:31.566+00:00Happy Christmas !<br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR6JA12MnhRd5WcJAdu2Wm4EU9s5aPXQ0c1KVVrrRja13pAUB9f0B7LPjSjpG90BXD91yoKulD2aie0aTwFnOh4ThYWtprO7SE8-sRt91GU4KukC2UXhVWdBKv1OfHAN8DIurxwir-80o/s1600/3672h.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR6JA12MnhRd5WcJAdu2Wm4EU9s5aPXQ0c1KVVrrRja13pAUB9f0B7LPjSjpG90BXD91yoKulD2aie0aTwFnOh4ThYWtprO7SE8-sRt91GU4KukC2UXhVWdBKv1OfHAN8DIurxwir-80o/s1600/3672h.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /><br />Happy Christmas ! I'm spending time with my family and having a great time. Sadly, it's not snowing over here, and we only had about two or three snow days in Scotland so far - I hope we get more, because it's really beautiful near my house when it snows. (Apart from a few winters ago when it got so cold it was -18c one night)<br /><br />Here's a quick fun fact for Christmas. Rudolph, Santa's reindeer was actually most likely to have been a girl. How do I know this ? It's to do with the timing of when antlers fall off and regrow each year. Both male and female reindeer have antlers (which is unusual for deer - normally it's just males). Anyway, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/6487154/Rudolph-the-red-nosed-reindeer-is-a-female.html">male reindeer's antlers usually fall off before Christmas time</a>, whereas the female's antlers do not, making Rudolph more likely to be a girl (*) ! <br /><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />(*) Scientists tend to try and be very exact about the timings of antlers, but I've found it varies a LOT with roe deer - it depends on age, diet, health and region. I've seen roe deer still in velvet in May, and other roe deer close by with hard antlers by March. <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2010/05/how-roe-deer-antlers-grow.html">Here's my guide anyway.</a></span></i><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-41893444664760609902015-12-20T09:00:00.000+00:002015-12-20T09:00:18.337+00:00Where are all the woods going? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAwnY7rHpPqdo9AV4XqGZUiLyxTTYMy3HZNc1oKyB4XsBOvauM5FB6KOhT5Ock_UAOiqpxOxhy3s7PlDoxq6GL5ZxiRj0Gy4NqYIpXhd3oUmN8DVfRosrfZdi4QjuFDmjS8HOXwOl-1E/s1600/onehour-8911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAwnY7rHpPqdo9AV4XqGZUiLyxTTYMy3HZNc1oKyB4XsBOvauM5FB6KOhT5Ock_UAOiqpxOxhy3s7PlDoxq6GL5ZxiRj0Gy4NqYIpXhd3oUmN8DVfRosrfZdi4QjuFDmjS8HOXwOl-1E/s1600/onehour-8911.jpg"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Here's the thing: my woods are vanishing.<br>
<br>
The badger wood ? <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/09/a-shock-visitor-to-badger-sett.html" target="_blank">Gone</a>. Mortuary wood, <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2013/08/zombie-badgers-and-old-buried-bones.html" target="_blank">where I left the badger to decompose</a> ? Gone - and it was small, but an hour spent there <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2013/06/an-hour-in-woods.html" target="_blank">showed it was rich with wildlife</a>. Parts of the Pheasant Woods <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2009/07/strange-bones-1.html" target="_blank">where I began bone collecting</a> ? Gone. More recently, a wood near the pine marten wood was cut down. A big part of Titus Well wood <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2012/02/beauly-to-denny-power-line.html" target="_blank">was cut down for a major power line</a>. The wood <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/01/who-has-been-eating-roe-deer.html" target="_blank">where I filmed the roe deer carcass</a> was cut down earlier this year. And a wood just beside the main road north past my village has been cut down.<br>
<br>
So why is it happening ? To find out, we need to go back in the past. After WWII, most of the timber was used in the war effort, and to replenish the stock, there were tax incentives to plant thousands of trees were planted in the 1960s and 70s. These trees take about 40 or 50 years to grow, so are now coming to maturity. The problem is, the tax breaks stopped in the 1990s, so there aren't enough plantations to replace those being cut down.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div>
</div><a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/12/where-are-all-woods-going.html#more">Read more of this post »</a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-33999221786584009502015-12-14T17:44:00.000+00:002015-12-14T17:44:06.699+00:00A win and a loss<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_RDRjE9pW5-WjZzDmHB60DvtrwHbKBWbuKEYoL-D_GNYE9N-9gljk8pW4q2AZwZNDvhu1crqCWSIaz6FL6FY1fe1JzVfkSkBmLqS8WHd55sUjlamR0x216hmqXjL2Gbdjko1IEi3IcCw/s1600/courier-impactlist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_RDRjE9pW5-WjZzDmHB60DvtrwHbKBWbuKEYoL-D_GNYE9N-9gljk8pW4q2AZwZNDvhu1crqCWSIaz6FL6FY1fe1JzVfkSkBmLqS8WHd55sUjlamR0x216hmqXjL2Gbdjko1IEi3IcCw/s1600/courier-impactlist.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Two quick bits of news: firstly thank you to everyone who voted for me in the Cairngorms Nature Wildlife Presenter competition, and a big congratulations to James Miller from Surrey who was the eventual winner. I'm pretty sad not to have won, but as runner up I do get some great prizes, like a trail camera, a signed book by Iolo Willliams and a day watching wildlife in the Cairngorms. I also really enjoyed making the video, and I'll try to make some more in 2016.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Secondly, last week <a href="http://www.thecourier.co.uk/impact-100" target="_blank">The Courier ranked me at #24 in their Impact power list</a> of people in this area of Scotland who were most influential in 2015, which was very kind of them and a very nice surprise (I didn't know in advance) although quite why I'm ranked nine places higher than Professor Sue Black at CAHID (<a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2011/02/how-dermestid-beetles-help-rot-down.html" target="_blank">which I visited in 2011</a>) I don't know !</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Talking of CAHID there's also <a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20151211-britains-real-life-bone-collectors" target="_blank">a great article on the BBC website about their forensic bone identification here</a>.</div>
Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-66404428549542485322015-12-13T20:05:00.001+00:002015-12-13T20:36:21.195+00:00Braco 200: My village - then and now !<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_vkVP3zB9KrUI_AsFqza_IWNVCMM6dSHxOt7_PIQfWsZcVHia2v4ltNgIrd3zqFYuBLCv1n8EcBLlbRd168MkhhjTnFL0gOiBryderxjxRQw-z0IyjZP9ESSvFxVOfO-7x16JHqgRaIk/s1600/braco-then-now.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_vkVP3zB9KrUI_AsFqza_IWNVCMM6dSHxOt7_PIQfWsZcVHia2v4ltNgIrd3zqFYuBLCv1n8EcBLlbRd168MkhhjTnFL0gOiBryderxjxRQw-z0IyjZP9ESSvFxVOfO-7x16JHqgRaIk/s1600/braco-then-now.jpg"></a></div><br>
<br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I know this path well because it leads to the pheasant woods which is where I started bone collecting, and I've walked by it so many times. But until recently I didn't realise that but over 100 years ago, this man stood right here in this exact spot for a photograph, outside his long demolished house.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"> How do I know this ? Because while I have been researching <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/search/label/Braco%20200" target="_blank">blog posts about my village for its 200th anniversary</a> I have found loads of old photographs of my village (I'm pretty sure they're all out of copyright, which is why I've used them below). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br>
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">This weeks post is a bit different because I went out to find the exact spot where the photos were taken, and taken a new one from the exact position to show how much it has changed. Read on to find out more...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br>
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/12/braco-200-my-village-then-and-now.html#more">Read more of this post »</a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-79985206394953434942015-12-06T09:59:00.000+00:002015-12-06T20:08:21.952+00:00The difference between fox and badger skulls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC-w3InogYn2EFAj-R1lQBkmzmKCtEQGaabhwswf0_nFrhlu-VQub1nZYARPTq9NQ473WmYIZ4HQhDYvLfONYs7xi3MPoGgeKKL0jqfqRBZM61dsmxlVVGAa9ulsS5urbEGjAibXGFsA4/s1600/fox_badger-a7143.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC-w3InogYn2EFAj-R1lQBkmzmKCtEQGaabhwswf0_nFrhlu-VQub1nZYARPTq9NQ473WmYIZ4HQhDYvLfONYs7xi3MPoGgeKKL0jqfqRBZM61dsmxlVVGAa9ulsS5urbEGjAibXGFsA4/s1600/fox_badger-a7143.jpg"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br></div>
One of the most common emails I get is asking whether a certain skull is a fox or badger skull. These can be easily confused because they are the same size, shape, can be found in the same area and are two very common woodland animals in the UK. It will be even harder to tell apart if you only have a fragment of the skull.<br>
<br>
So...if you find a medium sized skull, how do you know whether it's a badger or fox ? Read on to find out...<br>
<a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/12/the-difference-between-fox-and-badger.html#more">Read more of this post »</a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-18499423807805577982015-11-22T17:44:00.006+00:002015-11-22T17:54:05.614+00:00At the Eden Project with the Royal Society<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOVwzSpZz75UDbnabZZR02XE_rNXmufUusLkeixatYu_gqgTNrl1BWe7U6kN30DkGxXj5uwEzAjMdrSFvi1AXF0ycev3SdYc8cpZx06UtpcklV_-34wPPfyPVK_Mh_DGqu7pd5sTZDkM/s1600/edenproject-a3424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOVwzSpZz75UDbnabZZR02XE_rNXmufUusLkeixatYu_gqgTNrl1BWe7U6kN30DkGxXj5uwEzAjMdrSFvi1AXF0ycev3SdYc8cpZx06UtpcklV_-34wPPfyPVK_Mh_DGqu7pd5sTZDkM/s1600/edenproject-a3424.jpg"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<i>Before I begin, I have a very special request....see the black box at the end of this blog post for more !</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Now, as some of you might know, last Sunday me and my family traveled down to Cornwall, for a VERY big event on the Monday at the Eden Project. I was going down for the Royal Society Young Person's Book Award. I was on the shortlist of with five other amazing authors.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Long story short, <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/11/soi-didnt-win.html" target="_blank">I didn't win</a>, and Professor Robert Winston's book "Utterly Amazing Science" did. The awards ceremony wasn't until lunchtime, but my family and my editor, Jo, went down to the Eden Project at 9am, because there was something we had to do first....</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/11/at-eden-project-with-royal-society.html#more">Read more of this post »</a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-5050690926243829302015-11-20T13:51:00.000+00:002015-11-20T13:51:21.765+00:00I need just a few seconds of your time....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-VcdRVRYsZv1-23YcPqyUvQp4zNznxGSOKvVA5En3B67E8Q13rZyru20tlSzbncJty0vTsUo_JPu4dEokaKXTic2whlFrYcS48CWssoY85G7Wz6UquwqHbYbqlGXP6XHorK9Y0KRb1_g/s1600/Screen-Shot-2015-11-20-at-1.16.29-p.m..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-VcdRVRYsZv1-23YcPqyUvQp4zNznxGSOKvVA5En3B67E8Q13rZyru20tlSzbncJty0vTsUo_JPu4dEokaKXTic2whlFrYcS48CWssoY85G7Wz6UquwqHbYbqlGXP6XHorK9Y0KRb1_g/s1600/Screen-Shot-2015-11-20-at-1.16.29-p.m..jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>I need your help ! </b>Can you spare a few minutes to help me out ?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A few weeks I encouraged young naturalists to enter the Cairngorms Nature Young Presenter competition. I entered a video myself, talking about discovering the wildlife near my house - and now I've been shortlisted in the final ten. Now there is a public vote to find the winner !</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What I'd really like you to do....is <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/families/children/join_in/competitions/video-comp/" target="_blank">go to this page</a> and scroll to the bottom where the final ten videos are listed. If you think mine is the best (and I hope you do !) is to click on "Vote" next to my thumbnail. You'll be asked to login to your Facebook account (to make sure more than one person doesn't vote) and then your vote will be added. <b>I really, really hope you can spare a few minutes to help me out - it means a lot to me ! </b>Thanks again !</div>
Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-12120581822669807932015-11-16T20:49:00.000+00:002015-11-16T20:52:01.624+00:00So....I didn't win....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Tj_GaUXD4JWz5VekwnJRPPRTFFCrYdXV7zWyVoYRxGAGHiTH1POF5kNnaZA9TiZ-ySHlI9A8NKcWzdBxjq2DrNbRMY6fJXKCJLGQw3-DLFHy26PDbMkSWYx3sCNzFNE7NjORiWmMLd0/s1600/edenproject-a3497.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Tj_GaUXD4JWz5VekwnJRPPRTFFCrYdXV7zWyVoYRxGAGHiTH1POF5kNnaZA9TiZ-ySHlI9A8NKcWzdBxjq2DrNbRMY6fJXKCJLGQw3-DLFHy26PDbMkSWYx3sCNzFNE7NjORiWmMLd0/s1600/edenproject-a3497.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So....the short story is I didn't win. But congratulations to Professor Robert Winston whose book "Utterly Amazing Science" <a href="https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/book-prizes/young-peoples-book-prize/" target="_blank">who did win !</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
I'm down at the Royal Society Young Person's Book Award at the Eden Project in Cornwall with my amazing editor Jo Bourne (in the picture) at the moment. The shortlist (announced in May) was six amazing science books aimed at children - "365 Science Activities", "Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor", "Night Sky Watcher" and Tiny: The Invisible World of Microbes" as well as my own "Jake's Bones". In the end, after all the judging, Utterly Amazing Science" won the top prize. I'll blog more about my amazing day later in the week - but thanks to everyone who was involved in the judging, and to the Royal Society !Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-26161864821507592792015-11-08T21:00:00.000+00:002015-11-08T21:03:42.620+00:00My 400th post - and hello Netherlands !<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZMJmFgdeYLl0xr597VXyeyKKzXFPpf3DPlBVqkU6JlhQwW8b2mlgCJyiiecZmaFwNEfehLE5KqblFcClnfrEk1luLfICRgOxAeumyevyJ5qJ-UBmbT_ju550boQBq2E8Dg4sh1kyvXLQ/s1600/jb-nl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZMJmFgdeYLl0xr597VXyeyKKzXFPpf3DPlBVqkU6JlhQwW8b2mlgCJyiiecZmaFwNEfehLE5KqblFcClnfrEk1luLfICRgOxAeumyevyJ5qJ-UBmbT_ju550boQBq2E8Dg4sh1kyvXLQ/s1600/jb-nl.jpg"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I'm in the middle of exams at the moment, so you may have noticed that my posts recently have been shorter than normal. But since <b>this is my 400th blog post (really !)</b> it seemed like the perfect time to share some good news: there's now a Dutch-language edition of my book !</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
They've made some changes to the cover (bye bye T-rex !) and changed the title to "Het Grote Bottennoek Van Jake" (which means "Jake's Big Book of Bones"), but otherwise it's the same great book. It's also the fourth foreign edition after the UK version, the USA version (which has my photo on the cover) and the Korean edition.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Next weekend is also going to be very exciting for me: I'm travelling down to the Eden Project in Cornwall for the awards ceremony for the Royal Society Young Person's Book Award. There are <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/05/my-brilliant-news-part-two.html" target="_blank">six books on the shortlis</a>t, and judging has been by childrens' groups all over the UK. Fingers crossed - and I'll post here what the result it as soon as I can (probably on the Monday evening of the 16th).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Thank you again for reading my blog and inspiring me to write 400 posts (as well as breaking through <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jakesbones/" target="_blank">2,000 followers on Facebook in the last week</a> !) And here's a short video (click to read on) by the Royal Society explaining why my book is on the shortlist:<br>
<br>
<br>
</div><a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/11/my-400th-post-and-hello-netherlands.html#more">Read more of this post »</a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-78249887959698523932015-11-01T18:17:00.001+00:002015-11-01T18:17:18.405+00:00The best camouflaged animal ever ?<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-pg4KS4SEgLj3unVVR6eA5kPYlQ8v6eTq17tZwIg26N1b7z2Fb2eOG1dhcSaRzfB-FH5a1UIc3NnWFMAc8GZYO2V0QhAQYGPvMFg2JCBhAdKDwTaZ60c1FjBUXnO_yllwXM7OPj6wg9o/s1600/20151025-1342-0057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-pg4KS4SEgLj3unVVR6eA5kPYlQ8v6eTq17tZwIg26N1b7z2Fb2eOG1dhcSaRzfB-FH5a1UIc3NnWFMAc8GZYO2V0QhAQYGPvMFg2JCBhAdKDwTaZ60c1FjBUXnO_yllwXM7OPj6wg9o/s1600/20151025-1342-0057.jpg"></a><br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Before I start: I've just flown back in the last few hours from Faclan, the Hebridean Arts Festival in Stornoway. Thank you to everyone who came to my talk at An Lanntair yesterday - it was brilliant to see so many interested faces and sign so many books ! (they completely sold out). Hope to see you again soon !</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This week's post is more of a spot-the-animal. I'd left my trail camera on a roe deer path last week, about a mile west of the badger wood, and among the other things it filmed, I also had a few frames and video that looked like the picture above. Nothing there, I thought, until I looked closer. But actually, there is a quite common but *very* well camouflaged animal there ! It's one that I've only seen myself once. Can you spot it ?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
</div><a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/11/the-best-camouflaged-animal-ever.html#more">Read more of this post »</a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-73218875024282233272015-10-25T15:26:00.000+00:002015-11-01T18:13:41.579+00:00Filming the badgers (video)<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="287" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AzqDXH84a_A?rel=0" width="510"></iframe><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This week's blog post is something different - I've put together a video of the badger footage I've filmed since May ! I'm trying out different ways of sharing information, and if this video is popular I'll do more of them in the future. I blogged about <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/05/finding-badgers.html" target="_blank">how I found the badger sett</a> back in May, and last month I blogged about <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/09/a-shock-visitor-to-badger-sett.html" target="_blank">the shock discovery which brought filming to an end</a>. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
Three other things to quickly tell you:</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;">If you fancy becoming a nature presenter, and you're aged between 10-16 and live in the UK then you have until Saturday to enter the Cairngorms Nature Your Presenter competition ! You have to put together a 90 second video of you talking to the camera, and it has to include the words: "I would like to present Cairngorms Nature because....". <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/10/cairngorms-nature-young-presenter.html" target="_blank">There's more here.</a></li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Next weekend I'm giving a talk in Stornoway at the Faclan Book Festival. It's going to be great, and <a href="http://tickets.lanntair.com/Sales/Categories/Faclan/31st-October/Jakes-Bones-Jake-McGowan-Lowe-13/Ticket" target="_blank">you can buy tickets here</a>. Hope to see you there !</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">In May it was announced that <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/05/my-brilliant-news-part-two.html" target="_blank">my book had been shortlisted for the Royal Society Young Person's Book Award</a>. The winner out of the shortlist of six will be announced on November 16th at an awards ceremony at the Eden Project in Cornwall. I'll post here who the winner is after it's been announced !</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Let me know what you think of the badger video !</div>
</div>
</div>
Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-2166064780158518462015-10-18T20:47:00.001+01:002015-10-18T20:47:42.831+01:00Cairngorms Nature Young Presenter Competition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMMrLczqsaUHkthpMJY6zhlgpb8tYGe25U1M6MgKcBIzHSsSf7dzXFZc4jOwajPaEVs2WKsUm668216h4-WAxY6hONZufpUTuPK28Sd0oqjUJcopiPBz7kT1IfPFzzye8XcL0YuMVlPVo/s1600/newsround-4068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMMrLczqsaUHkthpMJY6zhlgpb8tYGe25U1M6MgKcBIzHSsSf7dzXFZc4jOwajPaEVs2WKsUm668216h4-WAxY6hONZufpUTuPK28Sd0oqjUJcopiPBz7kT1IfPFzzye8XcL0YuMVlPVo/s1600/newsround-4068.jpg"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<br>
There is a great competition for young naturalists - and time is running out to enter !<br>
<br>
There are two National Parks in Scotland. One of them is the Cairngorms National Park. It is located in some of the most beautiful , and is over 4,500 km² in size. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iolo_Williams">Iolo Williams</a> is a Welsh naturalist and TV presenter. He has done quite a lot of work on the BBC Autumnwatch/Winterwatch (<a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2011/11/today-i-was-filmed-for-bbc-autumnwatch.html">which I was on here</a>) and he has teamed up with the Cairngorms and the <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/families/children/join_in/competitions/video-comp/">RSPB</a> to run a competition for young naturalists. All you have to do to enter is film a short clip.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/10/cairngorms-nature-young-presenter.html#more">Read more of this post »</a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-73853413251876844722015-10-11T21:01:00.000+01:002015-10-11T21:02:48.503+01:00The missing deer and the strange skull<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXa7J_TvCKaJpx8PL4veklGGb3Dqw05-YCiXPSN-tke7X4w93RyesQ1NxnAxMEMnvk50_ZZncrwlrzJgUT9LtNbpaA4UK2z94KZeZBMESzcdYzfo1G0rcuGqDGXHnAe1JTBS027ffahuA/s1600/roe-b8322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXa7J_TvCKaJpx8PL4veklGGb3Dqw05-YCiXPSN-tke7X4w93RyesQ1NxnAxMEMnvk50_ZZncrwlrzJgUT9LtNbpaA4UK2z94KZeZBMESzcdYzfo1G0rcuGqDGXHnAe1JTBS027ffahuA/s1600/roe-b8322.jpg"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Up until recently my trail camera has been watching a badger sett, which I wrote about <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/09/a-shock-visitor-to-badger-sett.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/05/finding-badgers.html">here</a>, but since the wood around there is being cut down it seemed the right time to move it to somewhere else, and m<span style="text-align: center;">y two little brothers, Sam (5) and Harry (4) asked if they could find somewhere to put it.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: center;"><br></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: center;">Dad took my brothers out to look for somewhere where they could leave the camera, and they went to the <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2013/12/a-month-of-filming-pine-marten.html">original pine marten wood</a>, where I filmed a lot about two years ago. They were looking for somewhere where they knew animals might come to, and after searching the wood they found a quite fresh roe deer carcass, and left the camera there. But when they went back a week later, there was a surprise !</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/10/the-missing-deer-and-strange-skull.html#more">Read more of this post »</a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-74891108289902647302015-10-04T20:22:00.000+01:002015-10-04T20:22:01.641+01:00Five things I loved about the Wigtown Book Festival <div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLQYTDCIX8ZMwFC0AS7RQBR2V3RiC9zB5S7eMRnIcgBNE6nloUUbGmk2SEDTjSrzFva-_vSaUD3kXAOSuWptwosLjS34iDfQtW2QxIhez8wdaKG5kzvNNi67LuSuz67674PlZthWf83EE/s1600/wigtown-x0611.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLQYTDCIX8ZMwFC0AS7RQBR2V3RiC9zB5S7eMRnIcgBNE6nloUUbGmk2SEDTjSrzFva-_vSaUD3kXAOSuWptwosLjS34iDfQtW2QxIhez8wdaKG5kzvNNi67LuSuz67674PlZthWf83EE/s1600/wigtown-x0611.jpg"></a></div>
<i><br></i>
<i>Quick note: If you are in Stornoway on Halloween, I'm <a href="http://www.faclan.org/portfolio/jakes-bones-jake-mcgowan-lowe-13/" target="_blank">giving a talk at the Faclan book festival</a>. If you could come along, I'd love to see you.</i><br>
<br>
Last weekend I was really pleased to be doing a drop in session at the Wigtown Book Festival in Dumfries and Galloway. It was a hands-on session as part of the Childrens' Book festival, and was a bit different from previous talks I'd done, so I was really looking forward to it.<br>
<br>
It was an early start, though ! I had to get up at 6am and leave at around 7am. Dad drove for two and a half hours to get to Wigtown, and we arrived at around 9:45am. Wigtown is a pretty small town, but for one week every year it turns into one of the most exciting book festivals in Scotland.<br>
<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/10/five-things-i-loved-about-wigtown-book.html#more">Read more of this post »</a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-42633679863500465632015-09-26T20:28:00.000+01:002015-09-28T08:28:25.730+01:00A shock visitor to the badger sett !<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcF1n8CDiykv0bC35rjnhtFc7Puf7D9KrsZDzLPbd1UQgUSa_ncC4VuZRp8T5VhxjgzYAT3-Yb0PR_7TKds7M3mNbazUx4W3meB1x7MFFUya0ujWcbois4wBJk7SkWN8YPCEyXnMSjP-o/s1600/20150914-2038-0422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcF1n8CDiykv0bC35rjnhtFc7Puf7D9KrsZDzLPbd1UQgUSa_ncC4VuZRp8T5VhxjgzYAT3-Yb0PR_7TKds7M3mNbazUx4W3meB1x7MFFUya0ujWcbois4wBJk7SkWN8YPCEyXnMSjP-o/s1600/20150914-2038-0422.jpg"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<i>Important news: If you're near Wigtown in Dumfries and Galloway tomorrow (Sunday), I'll be showing off some of my collection between 11am and 4pm at the Wigtown Book Festival. It's a drop in session, and if you're around I'd love to meet you ! I'll blog more about what it was like next week.</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<i><br></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Since May my trail camera has been filming <a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/05/finding-badgers.html" target="_blank">at a badger sett</a> a few miles from my village. I've been lucky enough to get some really great footage of the badgers digging out the holes, bringing up three cubs, playing together, preening each other, and coming back and forth. The wood is very isolated, so I've been leaving the trail camera for weeks at a time. Today was the first time in over three weeks that I went back to check on it - and I got an unpleasant surprise !</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/09/a-shock-visitor-to-badger-sett.html#more">Read more of this post »</a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-87597724442692360522015-09-17T20:00:00.000+01:002015-12-13T20:10:36.594+00:00Braco 200: The Braco murder hunt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjys_6bmZ-W9ZgLCOf9Eser_8ataRc5wSLu75tCtZigmM3dfQgEnvpDUxsmWq-nMYtF0SmY5hWEvoyvHWvPuGfDi1R8kMbgAWCwDw74vE7e_wVLFwgQzNoKPGtlSWDUDK41_9jQuifJqzg/s1600/IMAG0021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjys_6bmZ-W9ZgLCOf9Eser_8ataRc5wSLu75tCtZigmM3dfQgEnvpDUxsmWq-nMYtF0SmY5hWEvoyvHWvPuGfDi1R8kMbgAWCwDw74vE7e_wVLFwgQzNoKPGtlSWDUDK41_9jQuifJqzg/s1600/IMAG0021.jpg"></a></div>
<br>
<br>
On the 18th January 1978, 15 police officers led by Chief Superintendent Jack Bowman walked out into the snow. They were searching the farmland to the north of my village on one of the UK's biggest murder hunts for 20 years - a spree of five murders across the UK. They were looking for the body of an elderly lady, who they believed had been killed a month earlier and over 400 miles away.<br>
<br>
But the oddest thing is this: almost every account of the story gets one detail completely wrong, and I only found out the truth by researching it myself. - read on to find out what it is. And why were they searching at my tiny village 400 miles from the murder scene ? Also why, even after the murderer confessed, was no-one ever convicted ? Read on to find the answers to all these questions !<br>
<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/09/braco-200-braco-murder-hunt.html#more">Read more of this post »</a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6540004930810199220.post-2775915958992548572015-09-12T20:03:00.002+01:002015-09-12T20:03:58.908+01:00Chris Packham and two other newsworthy things<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqiivnHN5Xa2hzqyl_JfnuaYyyABwRhILpUxcNwKcJaAeTqK5YnljzvR7RA2kSzO9aKFNMNw18dEvQ6wVJ7ynauTLwTyZJSFvpIfroDTAyoGOTKQbHLrWfrKD1jUPTQdS1Br2wuql9go/s1600/winterwatch-6296.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqiivnHN5Xa2hzqyl_JfnuaYyyABwRhILpUxcNwKcJaAeTqK5YnljzvR7RA2kSzO9aKFNMNw18dEvQ6wVJ7ynauTLwTyZJSFvpIfroDTAyoGOTKQbHLrWfrKD1jUPTQdS1Br2wuql9go/s1600/winterwatch-6296.jpg"></a></div>
<br>
This week, instead of one big post, I was going to mention three things which I think are really important: the Chris Packham controversy, Paolo Viscardi's new job, and what I'll be doing at the Wigtown Book Festival at the end of the month.<br>
<br>
If you're outside the UK you might not have heard of Chris Packham, but over here he is a very well known naturalist and broadcaster. He's best known for being one of the presenters on BBC Autumnwatch/Winterwatch/Springwatch, but before that he was a presenter on The Really Wild Show. The UK has lots of wildlife presenters, but he is one of the best known.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.jakes-bones.com/2015/09/chris-packham-and-two-other-newsworthy.html#more">Read more of this post »</a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04113574905153510838noreply@blogger.com0