Woodpigeon
Have you ever had a close look at a Woodpigeon? They are such extreme birds. Just look at those strange features: Now …
Have you ever had a close look at a Woodpigeon? They are such extreme birds. Just look at those strange features: Now …
I’m hoping to see a Hen Harrier today. I’m going to visit the Eddie Balfour hide on the mainland of Orkney. The …
There are Starlings in the sky. Their plumage sparkles like stars that twinkle in the daytime. Their green and purple iridescence is …
At Stenness stands a stone circle over 4,000 years old. The stones are surrounded by a ditch cut into the bedrock. The …
Back in July I saw a wader on the rocky coast. I didn’t recognise it so I knew I had to get …
Exhibit A: The Red-Crested Pochard: Surely this one takes the biscuit for the most ridiculous duck in the UK? The UK breeding …
When a Hen Harrier came to visit
My adventures on the fifth of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
The Battle of Bannockburn is a famous Scottish victory in the first Scottish War of Independence. Equally as momentous is the Battle …
My adventures on the four-and-a-half-th of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
My adventures on the fourth of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
My adventures on the third of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
My adventures on the second of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
My adventures on the first of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
I’m wandering the shore at Kirkwall Harbour for an hour before the ferry takes me to Westray. I’m loving the complex singing …
I’ve just woken up in a Viking city. A city which is only part of the UK, and not Norway, because King …
When I first arrived in Orkney 11 years ago I hated it. I had high expectations of an interesting and historic place …
I’m back in the UK after a trip to Italy looking for Little Owls. We didn’t see them apart from a brief …
This tweet from the RSPB South West caught my eye: “Due to climate change & improvements to the way our land is …
The bird above us is a Snake Eagle. To be precise, it’s a Short-Toed Snake Eagle, Circaetus gallicus. If only it would come …
There are blackberries everywhere in the hedges here in Italy. They taste wrong though. They’re drier, harder, less juicy and far less …
It’s been a dream of mine to see a Little Owl again. When I was a young teenager my friend Michael had …
I see a tiny speck of a bird circling  over a ruined building in Tarquinia: We drive the car in its direction …
There’s a Painted Lady butterfly in the garden on the Abbey here in Tarquinia in Italy. It’s high up and nicely isolated …
We’re driving round Italy with telephoto lenses and the windows down. There’s a tiny brown bird on a branch beside us. It’s …
It’s a glorious day here in Italy. I’ve climbed to the top of a hill and can see across the valley: There’s …
Our friend Paolo is driving us round some of his favourite birding spots in Tarquinia in Italy. It’s hot, I’ve got the …
There’s a Lizard on the wall in the grounds of the Abbey, Abbazia San Giusto, near Tarquinia in Italy. It’s not green; …
I love the hills and fields in Tarquinia. We’re here on a Little Owl hunt. That’s hunting with cameras and good intentions, …
We’re driving around Monte Romano near Tarquinia in Italy looking for Little Owls. They’re the number one species I’m looking for. The …