The First Ladybird Book of British Birds – #2 The Wren
I’m currently reading the Ladybird Book of British Birds and their nests from the 1950s. Times have changed: It says: The Wren …
Shaggy Scalycaps, gout and squirrels
Looking through my old mushroom photographs there’s a very distinctive one; it’s Pholiota squarrosa, the Shaggy Scalycap which I found in Bovey …
Spangles
It’s forty years since I first saw and photographed spangle galls on an oak tree. I noted it down in my Nature …
Redwing – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
When I was a child I kept a series of detailed nature notebooks. I also had a Daler art pad of cartridge …
Garden Spider – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
The Garden Spider, Araneus diadematus, is a species I first wrote about in my nature notebooks in 1976. Here’s one at the …
The Second Ladybird book of British Birds #8 – The Lapwing
Here’s a Lapwing in a Ladybird book from 1955. Is what it says still true?
The Second Ladybird Book of British Birds #6 – The Great Tit
In 1955 this is what my Ladybird book had to say about the Great Tit: Is it still true?: The Great Tit …
The Second Ladybird Book of British Birds #5 – The Jackdaw
If Jackdaws could talk, what would they say to us?
The Second Ladybird Book of British Birds #4 – The Greenfinch
Here’s the page on The Greenfinch from The Ladybird book of British Birds and their Nests from 1955 from my continuing Ladybird …
The Second Ladybird Book of British Birds #3 – The Chaffinch
How are Chaffinches doing 60 years after this Ladybird book?
Sand Martins – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago, before I was even a teenager, I started keeping detailed nature notebooks. A lined notepad and a blue biro, …
Sniff my fingers
Grey seals are very distinctive. This one was hauled out at Broughton in Pierowall. They have that famous Roman nose: I first …
Vanellus vanellus – so good they named it twice
The scientific name for the Lapwing is Vanellus vanellus. It means fan. Well, it means Fan fan if you’re being strictly accurate. …
Rock Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit
I’d love to be able to identify the different species of Pipit on Westray. The problem is that I can’t get near …
The Wren who hasn’t been told
It’s been an emotional journey over the last few days with the birds here at Einar. We always have Swallows and Blackbirds …
Hazel and Vanessa
I’m out tonight in the company of Hazel and Vanessa. We’re in the fields of South Devon together. Hazel is laid back …
Reed Bunting – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
I’m en-route across the country when I decide to stop at RSPB Otmoor. It’s such a bright day that the sky is …
Buzzards – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Seeing a Buzzard was a thrilling experience when I was 12 years old. So much so that I noted it down in …
Moorhen
A trip to Bowling Green Marsh is thankfully not wasted, despite the grey and overcast weather, as there’s a Moorhen on the …
Jay – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago, before I was a teenager, I started keeping detailed nature notebooks. They were full of scientific facts. I kept …
Great Crested Grebe – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
They have been mouldering in my loft for the last forty years but I’ve just got out my old pencil sketches of …
Coots – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I made a pencil sketch of a Coot on its nest. I was inspired by seeing an adult with …
Kestrel – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
There’s the familiar shape of a Kestrel in the treetops. I could recognise one in my sleep just from the posture. Looking …
Wren – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Wrens are such beautiful birds. They are so quick, so elusive and so secretive it’s a delight to see one appear from …
The Blusher – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
When I was a child a group of retired gentlemen naturalists took me under their wing. I went on weekly countryside walks …
Greenfinch – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I drew a Greenfinch. It may have been from a photograph or it may have been from a stuffed …
Bullfinch – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
It’s forty years since the very first time I saw a Bullfinch. I’ve seen them since and always appreciated them as a …
Great Black Backed Gull – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I spotted a Great Black Backed Gull and noted it down in my nature notebooks: Today I’m in Dartmouth …
Moles – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I was interested in molehills. They are tantalising glimpses of a hidden mystery. What animal might live underground and …
Mute Swan – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
It’s forty years since I drew this Mute Swan after seeing them, probably at the local park. Now here I am at …