Sheldrakes
There’s a Shelduck walking on mud at RSPB Lodmoor. It’s sinking gently, despite its webbed feet, into the black ooze. It’s a …
Skylarking
The Skylarks are busy, here at Aust near Bristol. The RSPB says, “Its recent and dramatic population declines make it a Red …
The Fallow Deer of Charlecote
This Fallow Deer has a lot to say: I’ve just spotted a brown road sign and I’ve diverted the car in the …
Meadow Pipit Parachutes
I’m paying a quick visit to Aust near Bristol. It’s on the River Severn with a clear view of the two Severn …
The most important part of a bird photograph is…
No, it’s nothing to do with the bird at all. It’s the background: This Goldfinch is spectacular, isn’t it? Especially against that …
Not a cute tummy button
She was looking at the beef steers when she said, “I love the cute tufts of hair on their bellies.” I looked …
Fluttering Dunnock
There’s a Dunnock in the gloom at Seaton Wetlands. Once you look carefully you’ll never view them as just a brown bird. …
The Upside-Down Bird strikes a pose the Right-Way-Up
There’s a Nuthatch calling like the alarm on an abandoned car, or the insistent signal of a reversing lorry, overhead. Then, with …
‘Pink!’ The nine vocalisation vocabulary of the Chaffinch
There’s a Chaffinch shouting ‘Pink!’ at me. That’s where finches got their name; from their call of ‘Fink’ or ‘Pink’. They have …
Calling Coots
The Coots at Stover Country Park are busy. I can see their nest in the bushes, barely above the water level. They …
The Lesser Yellowlegs of Lodmoor
I always feel sad when I see a bird which is so spectacularly out of place. Whether it’s an American Blackbird in …
Mallard malady
This male Mallard looks so healthy in the spring sunshine: It takes a lot of nutritious food to make the complex chemistry …
Checking for Sparrowhawks
The life of a Blue Tit is short and full of peril. Their average lifespan is between two and three years. The …
Greenfinches at Seaton Wetlands
I’ve loved Greenfinches ever since I first saw them in the back yard as a child. I drew them in my 1970s …
A Marsh Harrier harrying the waterbirds
There’s a distant Marsh Harrier across the water at RSPB Lodmoor. I’ve seen some wonderful photographs of it that were achingly close. …
Flying Godwits
I enjoyed going to RSPB Lodmoor in Weymouth so much that I decided to have another trip. I stopped off on the …
Mandarin
The RSPB say there are 2,300 breeding pairs of Aix galericulata, the Mandarin Duck, in the UK. I’m very glad about that. …
Swimming in the air
I love Woodpigeons, or, as some people would say, I love Wood Pigeons. Their faces are so characterful. The white patch on …
Black-Tailed Godwits
I’ve seen Black-Tailed Godwits before, but never this close: If I was a birder I’d describe this as not just ‘showing well’, …
Houseless Sparrows
Where have all the House Sparrows gone? In my lifetime their numbers have collapsed so there is just one House Sparrow now, …
The Deceiver
The Deceiver. It’s such a great name for a mushroom. It’s has depth, a backstory and a certain presence. I love it. …
Acrobats
This doesn’t look like a finely tuned athlete to me: There’s nothing to give you the impression of suppleness or strength or …
Brown Blackbird
Blackbirds are stunningly attractive. The plumage of the females is exceptional. It’s so subtle. Unlike the males. The males are definitely dressed …
The Three Ravens
We’re at RSPB Lodmoor in Weymouth. It’s a grey day. It’s the perfect dramatic atmosphere for Ravens. There are a group of …
Hairy Curtain Crust fungus – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
There’s a Hairy Curtain Crust fungus on this fallen wood: That’s not the name I knew it by as a child. Back …
Spring
Early in the morning the light is a cool blue There are signs of spring everywhere: The light warms to an amber …
Purple flash
This female Mallard duck is showing a very distinctive wing patch. It’s called a speculum. No, not that kind of speculum, it’s …
An ‘Upside Down Bird’ the right way up
Nuthatches are sometimes called Upside-Down Birds because of their ability to walk down trees upside down. It’s all in the power of …
Is this the most invisible bird in Britain?
Some birds are showy and you see them all the time. Some birds make a spectacle of themselves and gather in their …
Frisky Tufties, nasal saddles and schemochromes
There are Tufted Ducks at Stover Country Park. They are a little wary but I manage to get a few photographs: I’ve …