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November 2018

Black Headed Gull - Alviano - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Miss Havisham

This Black Headed Gull has flown through a spider’s web and is trailing fine filaments behind it in this low evening sunshine. …

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

Nuthatch

I’m watching a Nuthatch come in to a forest clearing in Italy and pick up sunflower seeds. They are quick. There must …

Blue Tit - Alviano - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Blue Tit in the forest

It’s beautiful light in the forest as a Blue Tit approaches: They have a very familiar wide-legged stance. Perfect.

Great Spotted Woodpecker - Alviano - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Great Spotted Woodpecker

There’s a Great Spotted Woodpecker in this Italian forest. I hear the cry “Picchio Rosso Maggiore” and see it approach: This woodpecker’s …

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

The King of Fishers

The views of Kingfishers I’ve had before were fleeting. A brief glimpse of a flash of a bluish-emerald jewel disappearing over the …

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

Robins, Robins everywhere

We’re at a nature reserve in Italy, a WWF Oasi called the Lago di Alviano. There are European Robins here and they’re …

Marsh Harrier in Alviano - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

The Rusty Circler

It’s still early when we reach the lake at the Lago di Alviano. It’s a place of mists and muffled sounds. There’s …

Grey Heron - Alviano - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Incoming Heron

There’s a Grey Heron incoming: I just hope it avoids the unsuspecting Pochard sleeping on the lake: And as soon as it’s …

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

The Elfin Saddle

We’ve taken a trip to Alviano to see the birds in the forest and on the lake. We had a fabulous time …

Cormorant on the Tevere - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

The Sea Ravens of Rome

I’m spending a few days exploring the urban wildlife of Rome. I’m in the centre of the city, on the River Tevere, …

Yellow-Legged Gull - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Gulls on the Tiber

I’m walking along the River Tiber in the centre of Rome. There’s an upturned boat in the water with a Yellow Legged …

Pigeon in Rome - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Urban wildlife

I’m spending a few days in Rome. I’m meandering around the back streets, ambling through city parks and strolling along the banks …

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

Beautiful Brittlegills

There are many brightly coloured species of fungi in Yarner Woods. These are all Russulas, to use their scientific name, or Brittlegills …

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

Cherries on an Oak

There are Cherry Galls, Cynips quercusfolii, on this fallen Oak leaf. Inside each are tiny wasp larvae, protected by the Oak’s reaction to …

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

Master of austerity

There’s only one species of Nuthatch in the UK, the Eurasian or European Nuthatch, Sitta europaea, and it only lives in England and Wales …

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

Getting the winter duvet out

It’s been a cold night and there’s an unexpected frost with this clear blue sky. There’s a Grey Squirrel above me. Instead …

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

Robin Orangebreast

Robins. Humans love them. We’ve developed a whole mythology around them and they form an essential part of our mid-winter iconography. We …

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

Blackbird

There’s a Blackbird skulking and hopping around the path. I love them. If someone tells you they are plain birds, don’t agree …

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

Close to a Cormorant

It’s a beautiful morning in my local country park. I see another photographer and we exchange pleasantries. He says it’s much better …

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

A Bounty of Bay Boletes

The ground on Trendlebere Down is full of surprises at this time of year. In amongst the understory of bracken and bilberries …

Dead Man's Fingers - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Dead Man’s Fingers

I joined my local Natural History Society when I was 11 or 12 years old. It was full of retired men who …

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

Oakbug Milkcaps

Oak trees are our most common native tree. They host hundreds of species of insects because they’ve had the time to develop …

Knopper Gall Wasp - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Have you seen my peduncle?

English Oaks take 40 years to produce their first acorns and don’t reach ‘peak acorn’ until they are 100 years old.