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 …
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 …
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 …
Birds, bees and butterflies on the river
I’m back on the banks of the River Tevere in Rome. It’s teeming with wildlife, despite the hard landscaping and high banks …
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, …
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 …
Do we need to pay for oaks to grow?
I’m walking down a city centre street in Rome. It’s November and it’s 20 degrees Celsius. It’s forecast to be blue skies …
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 …
Beautiful Brittlegills
There are many brightly coloured species of fungi in Yarner Woods. These are all Russulas, to use their scientific name, or Brittlegills …
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 …
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 …
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 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
There’s a Blackbird skulking and hopping around the path. I love them. If someone tells you they are plain birds, don’t agree …
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 …
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 …
A fortress on the stalk of a leaf
It doesn’t look like much. After all, it’s just a bulge on a stalk of a leaf, scattered on the pavement in …
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 Milkcaps
Oak trees are our most common native tree. They host hundreds of species of insects because they’ve had the time to develop …
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.
I highly recommend stroking a wild mushroom
I’m looking for a fungus. It’s not just any fungus, it’s a parasitic fungus which grows on another fungus. I’ve seen it …
Fly Agarics then and now
What’s the use of illustrations in the age of photography? Surely they are old hat?
Holly in Autumn
The Holly is bursting with berries in South Devon this year. It’s glorious against the colour of the autumn leaves at Yarner …
The Cornish Pasty fungus
The Birch Polypore. Razor Strop Fungus. Birch Bracket. Like many fungi, this one has a range of strange and exotic folk names …
Environmentalists sabotaging themselves with their own words?
Why does the green and environmental movement constantly sabotage itself with its choice of language?
The Third Ladybird Book of British Birds – #5 The Sedge Warbler
I’m not surprised the Sedge Warbler doesn’t fly much. I would want a rest from flying if I’d just flown non-stop from Africa to Somerset.
The Third Ladybird Book of British Birds – #4 The Coal Tit
A pair of Coal Tits had the largest number of bird fleas ever reported from a single nest: that’s 5,754 fleas.
The Third Ladybird Book of British Birds – #3 The Meadow Pipit
We’ve killed over one in three Meadow Pipits in the UK in the last 45 years.
The Third Ladybird Book of British Birds – #2 The Redshank
Redshanks declined by 38% from 1995 to 2015.
The Third Ladybird Book of British Birds – #1 The Corn Bunting
The birds of my childhood books have been almost eliminated from the British countryside in my lifetime.