These juvenile Moorhens are clearly hungry. They’ve fluttered up on top of a wall and are helping themselves to seeds which have been left for small birds. And when they have picked the stones clean it’s time to make it across the path, back to the safety of the water. …
I’m cycling on Dartmoor when I see a Blackening Waxcap, Hygrocybe conica. It’s always a thrill so spot one, so I dismount …
I do love a good fungusy twig. Here’s one with Purple Curtain Crust, Chondrostereum purpureum, rippling on it like a cuttlefish. Don’t …
I’ve discovered the fabulous menu of a dinner fit for a king, eaten in 1625, served in a local house in South …
So you think it doesn’t look like much? I think it looks fabulous. It’s growing in the short grass around a car …
Teasel is a biennial plant. That means it takes two years to finish its life cycle. The first year is taken up …
I took a trip to Black Moss Covert Nature Reserve in Cheshire. It was surrounded by lifeless, poisoned land. Black Moss Covert …
I’m currently reading the third volume of the Ladybird Book of British Birds and their nests from the 1950s again. Here it …
I took a photograph of this Silver-Washed Fritillary, Argynnis paphia, this summer in Italy. They are astonishingly fast, have pointed wings and …
Here’s an aerial photograph of my house in Westray. It’s called Einar because, well, I’ve written a blog about it: Actually, I …
I loved seeing this male Linnet perching on the wind-burnt twigs in the garden of Einar this summer. He’s a beautiful sight …
A Nuthatch has arrived at Daisy Nook. It’s hungry after a cold night. Just look at those claws. No wonder it can …
There are apricot-yellow fingers of fungus growing in the short sward at Emsworthy Mire. Fabulous, aren’t they? They are the eerie fruiting …
An incoming Feral Pigeon in beautiful light is a wonderful sight. It always gladdens the heart.
Here’s a fungus you should learn to identify if you’re interested in foraging and eating wild fungi. It’s the Deadly Webcap, Cortinarius …
Have you noticed how smart and aware Eurasian Magpies are? There appears to be a lot going on in their minds that …
There’s a young Chicken of the Woods, Laetiporus sulphureus, on an oak tree. Correction, there was young Chicken of the Woods, Laetiporus …
Orange Peel Fungus, Aleuria aurantia, is unmistakable. Just look at it: I’ve written about it before, and posted beautiful illustrations of it …
The Pine-cone Bonnet, Mycena seynii, is a beautiful fairy-bonnet cap which grows on pine cones. It’s so beautiful I wish I’d brought …
There are Blackening Brittlegills here on Dartmoor. They are fungi which live in broadleaved, mixed and coniferous woodland. They really do like …
The commonest bird on the water in The Regent’s Park is the Coot, Fulica atra. That must be stressful for them, as …
There’s a flock of Canada Geese, Branta canadensis, here in The Regent’s Park. They were introduced in the late 17th century as an …
There’s a strange group of fungi on this dead tree stump in the grounds of Exeter University. I’m out again on a …
It’s not very often that you can experience wilderness in England. Contrary to popular belief, we’re not lovers of wildlife and nature …
There are fungi I don’t recognise in the woods. They look as if they’ve been given a little too much bicarbonate of …
There’s a Fieldfare at Emsworthy Mire. It’s a thrill, as they’re truly wild and difficult to get close to. The ones which …
How many people know what Pontefract cakes are? Surely not just people who live in Yorkshire? Maybe some people who live in …
Here’s a thrill. It’s the pupa of a moth, which has been been infected with a fungus called Scarlet Caterpillar Club, Cordyceps …
I’ve been enjoying looking through this 1947 copy of Edible and Poisonous Fungi from 1947. It has one of my favourite edible …
Here’s one of my recent purchases, Edible and Poisonous Fungi. What’s this? Bulletin No.23? The Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries? Published by …
