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 …
Nuthatch
Nuthatches rarely find huge quantities of food in the wild. It’s only when they find a treasure-trove of fabulous food left by …
A Blue Tit master of chiaroscuro
Bird photography is all about closeness and light. Sometimes the two arrive together and provide the perfect combination. This Blue Tit shows …
Marilyn
It’s not 1am. It’s not New York. It’s not 1954. I’m not Billy Wilder. There aren’t 100 male photographers here. There aren’t …
Honey Bee
No, not that kind of Honey Bee. The metaphorical Honey Bee. Back in 2013 I popped down to the beach with my …
Chaffinch warts and dirty bird feeders
Feeding birds artificially doesn’t just change their behaviour, it changes their lives completely, from the number of eggs they lay, the chicks …
Marsh Tits
I usually only get to glimpse Marsh Tits. They are small, quick, beautiful and elusive. Unlike other Tits they seem to be …
Four species of bat in one cave
When I tell you that I’ve been invited to a bat cave, your reaction is likely to be, “How great!”, “How awful!”, …
Willow
Spring is everywhere. When I say everywhere, I mean in this bit of the northern hemisphere. This willow is bursting full of …
Swans’ ankles
There’s a Mute Swan upending itself on the lake. It’s giving me clear views of its ankles, or ‘backwards knees’ as many …
Blackthorn
Last night I was sitting in the pews in a church with a 14th Century tower in a Devon village, waiting for …
Travelling family
There’s a Long-Tailed Bushtit family moving through. I can hear them calling their strange ‘Zeee’ contact call overhead. Aren’t they fabulous? Everyone …
The Buzz #2
I’m still admiring the Stover Country Park Buzzard. It’s a glorious bird and seems oblivious to the crowd of people on the …
The Buzz #1
The legendary frog-eating Buzzard is back at Stover Country Park: Apparently it ate a mouse this morning: That won’t feed it for …
Stonechat
I’ve seen Stonechats in Devon. They’re a bird I didn’t see as a child so they always appear exotic to me. It’s …
L’airone cenerino
The Grey Herons at Lago di Alviano are studious. Nothing disturbs their concentration: They are tense, waiting for that exact moment when …
Robin of the day
It wasn’t known that female Robins sing until less than 100 years ago. Male scientists seem to have assumed that they didn’t. …
Coypu
There’s a huge Coypu in the lake at the Lago di Alviano. I’m still shocked every time I see one.
When the Kingfisher paid a visit
There’s a female Kingfisher on a nearby branch. I can tell it’s a female because, as they say, “It’s wearing lipstick.” Female …
Wren
The light is clear and bright when I see a Wren appear. I love how its shadow looks. I always imagine Wrens …
Spotted Redshank
We spotted Spotted Redshanks a few days ago: This time I manage to get a shot of one flying. If only it …
Who knew something called a Zitting Cisticola existed?
There’s a flock of tiny birds in this park in Rome. I have no idea what they are: They remind me of …
Signor Cetti and the River Nightingale
I’ve heard a Cetti’s Warbler before. They’re loud. Very loud. I’ve even learned to identify their call with confidence. I can hear …
The Kestrel and the mouse
There’s a Kestrel at the top of the tree here in Parco della Caffarella. It’s quite a distance away, so we get …
Spoonbill flypast
From a distance it’s hard to tell all these white birds apart. There are dozens of busy Great White Egrets and Little …
White Wagtails
White Wagtails are fascinating birds. In the UK we call our darker sub-species the Pied Wagtail. Even though it’s a common bird …
Starlings and the Cormorant Tree
There’s a Cormorant coming in fast and low. The sun is setting and it’s time to roost at the Lago di Chiusi: …
There’s a rat up the tree
I know that rats can climb. I went to a talk by a retired employee of Rentokill when I was a child …
Monk Parakeets
Noisy, bright, squawking and quarrelsome, it’s me again. No, it’s the Monk Parakeets of Rome: Aren’t they handsome? I wonder what their …