Avocets and mud
It’s odd that most wading birds are brown and heavily camouflaged and yet Avocets are, well, noticeable. I wonder why? I’m sure …
Great Northern Divers in Brixham again
Two words which go together perfectly are ‘great’ and ‘northern’. I hear there are Great Northern Divers in Brixham harbour again, so …
Curlew in flight
The brief warmth of the sun in the afternoon on a cold day was a welcome interlude on a trip to Exminster …
Fieldfare – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
I’d like to get a decent photograph of a Fieldfare. That’s quite a tricky thing to achieve without spending a lot of …
A date with Waxcaps
A trip to Somerset to see my friend Martin had the unintended bonus of a walk and a crop of wonderful waxcap …
Life and death on the waves
Strange things happen in the natural world. Here’s a photograph from a sequence that I’m still mentally processing. From left to right: …
Big fish
I’ve loved watching the Arctic Terns in Orkney this summer. They’re fascinating. I spent hours watching them come back to their colonies …
Arctic Terns and Lumpsuckers
Watching Arctic Terns pull Lumpsuckers out of the water is a thrill. I love the spray of water around this one and …
Buzzards and Tunnicliffe’s Brooke Bond Bird Portraits
There’s a Buzzard overhead. It reminds me of one of Charles Tunnicliffe’s portraits. Charles Tunnicliffe was a genius at representing wildlife. His …
Yellow Wagtail
Here’s a bad photograph of a bird I’ve never seen before. It’s a Yellow Wagtail. We were driving in Italy when I …
Stonechat chicks
I’m catching up this week with all the things I should have done months ago. One of them is to post this …
Cooked Eye
There’s a male Sardinian warbler, Curruca melanocephala, in the bushes. It seems quite agitated. I love the scratchy sound they make in the …
Melodious
I’m thinking back to a glorious summer in Italy, where I noticed a loud song coming from the bushes in Parco della …
About turn
I love the way that Hen Harriers can turn so quickly. The combination of strong wings and a long tail mean they …
Up to your ankles
There’s a Grey Heron up to its ankles in the River Tone. Snacks are on its mind. Fishy ones. Or maybe I’m …
Watching a Grey Wagtail
It’s not just me watching this Grey Wagtail:
Heron on the weir
There’s a Grey Heron at the base of the weir. It appears to be a good place for fish as it’s scooped …
Victoria amazonica
Giant Waterlilies are so fabulous that Kew Gardens built a Waterlily House just to house them. I like the way that Kew …
Bamboo at Kew
The Giant Bamboo at Kew looks like Asparagus to me. They’re both monocotyledonous plants, which means they’ve only got one leaf in …
A load of rubbish
Plastic. It’s everywhere. The only solution is not to produce it in the first place. Much of it seems to be drinks …
Leaves on the Tone
As another leaf heads down the River Tone and is about to swoosh down the weir, I think of all of the …
Yes, I’m still here, waiting
More than a leaf or three have headed down the River Tone as I’ve sat here awaiting the arrival of a Kingfisher …
Woodland gem-studded marvels
It’s 47 years ago today that I first noted down Common Puffballs in my nature notebooks. The tiny gem-like spikes on the …
Leaf boats
Watching autumn leaves float by on the River Tone is hypnotic. It’s almost a fitting seasonal compensation for sitting here for hours …
Autumn leaf
An autumn leaf on the weir on the River Tone. I’ve had a great weekend with my friend Martin in Taunton. We …
‘Tis the season for Shaggy Scalycaps
It’s 47 years today since I first saw Shaggy Scalycaps and wrote about them in blue biro with a pencil sketch in …
Ripples
I’m exploring the north coast of Scotland and it’s stunning. The weather has been wonderful, the people are friendly, the roads well …
Bumbarrels
I can hear the Bumbarrels calling. There’s a distinctive contact call which they use as family groups move from tree to tree. …
Yellow Brain Fungus
There are Gorse bushes here in Emsworthy Mire with Yellow Brain Fungus, Tremella mesenterica, growing on them. Fabulous, isn’t it? It’s a fungus …
Slow Worm
It was the 10th October when I lifted a piece of corrugated iron to see if there might be a reptile still …