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April 2017

The Crow and the Buzzard - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

How many make a mob?

Crows react very badly to the presence of Buzzards. Here one took exception to a Buzzard in its field, mobbing it and …

Bog Beacon - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Bog Beacon

I’m in a woodland centre with a group of enthusiastic mycologists, with stereo microscopes, obscure expensive books on fungi and a packed …

Beetle - Bicycle - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Beetles and bicycles

I’ve spent an age getting ready to go cycling. I’ve got changed, put my padded cycling trousers on, packed my rucksack with …

Jackdaw - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) david Bailey (not the)

Jackdawning realisation

As well as all the Lesser Kestrels, there are Jackdaws everywhere in Matera in southern Italy. They’re on the rooftops, on window …

Heaven in a stony field - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Heaven in a stony field

There are olives, almonds, cherries and artichokes in this stony field in the south of Italy. Heaven.

Stone walls - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Red, White and Green

The red soil, white limestone walls and green grass make a fabulous flag here in Italy.

Mute Swan - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Only an hour to spare…

There’s very good scientific evidence about the health benefits of nature. Scientists showed that people recovering from operations in hospitals needed less …

Rose - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

What’s in a name?

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. I love natural history; I love the thrill of finding different species. …

Duckling - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Easter Duckings

I love ducks. This time of year there are parades of ducklings and their worried parents. Aggressive males peck at the tiny …

Ginger Puss - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Ginger Pussy

When the news gets too much for you and all you hear is politicians bickering and people with no heart and no soul complaining, there are always cats.

Millipede - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Ten thousand species of millipede

There are something like 10,000 species of millipede. It’s difficult to say exactly how many because the number keeps going up as …

Swallows - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Swallows in the air

We are wandering around Matera, a city in the south of Italy watching the Swallows. The city is vast and seemingly empty, …

Italy - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Limestone walls

The sky is overcast but the weather is warm. The limestone walls are humming and buzzing with life. Italian Ruin Lizards are …