Extinction Advent calendar – Day 9. Elk were hunted to extinction in Britain for meat and skins and their antlers were used as tools. Where elxse would people get a spade or rake? Are you mourning for the lost magnificence of our native wildlife?
Extinction Advent Calendar – Day 8. It’s not just animals and plants which are suffering in Britain. Degradation and loss of habitat …
Extinction Advent Calendar – Day 7. Time to mourn the passing of the Brown Bear from Britain. Brown Bears lived in Britain …
Extinction Advent Calendar – Day 6 – extirpated from the British Isles. There’s a Lynx-shaped hole in our landscape. There’s a Lynx-shaped …
The Red-Backed Shrike is no longer considered a regular British breeding bird because it became effectively extinct as a breeding species in the UK in …
Today’s extinct animal of the British Isles #7: The Burbot. In 1590 Burbot were so common they were used to feed pigs. …
It’s Day 3 of my Extinction Advent calendar. Today’s extirpated creature of the British Isles is the Grey Wolf. We killed every …
Extinction Advent Calendar – Day Two. Large Copper Butterfly – Lycaena dispar. Killed by draining the Fens. Extirpated in 1851.
Do you feel any grief for the death of our wild heritage? Extinction Advent calendar Day 1. Today’s extinct animal of the …
I’m a sucker for patterns. In this case it’s the pattern of adhesive left on an interior of a stone wall after …
I’m used to seeing Kittiwakes in full summer plumage in Orkney. I see plenty of juveniles in the summer, too. Seeing one …
Avocets give me the same feeling I got when I first saw Greenfinches in the back yard of my terraced childhood home …
I love this plant attached to the pebbles on the beach. I’m still pondering which species it is. Maybe it’s Dead Man’s …
Seeing a roost of Shags is a spectacular thing. A flock of Shags is called a hangout of shags. Watching them all fly when …
Watching a distant flock of Golden Plover through my binoculars I’m fascinated to see that the flock breaks into several smaller flocks. …
This sleeping Common Seal looked very comfortable in its blubber and seal-fur coat. It was cold and raining for me. I don’t …
There are Pacific Oyster farms on the River Dart. They are an introduced species and resolutely refuse to stay where the farmers …
A juvenile Osprey was entertaining the crowds at the Lower Otter Restoration Project earlier this autumn. It’s a chick which was reared …
Birds have incredible senses when it comes to their aerial life. They are alive to any slight change in wind strength or …
I’m taking photographs of birds on the River Dart when I notice a shooting party on the bank of the River. We’re …
Watching a Buzzard being mobbed is always a fascinating experience. This one has two Carrion Crows in close attendance. They dive, and …
I love to see Grey Seals basking. They don’t have the most attractive faces for someone who is human to gaze on. …
There’s a Common Buzzard on the banks of the River Dart. We’re enjoying great views of it from the small boat due …
There’s a Peregrine Flacon flying over the River Dart. The last time I saw one here it was ‘buzzing’ an Osprey with …
Today’s post is another one on human biology and its misuse to support an ideology. If you’d rather look at my photographs …
I was on a cruise up the River Dart with Mike Langman recently when he spotted an Eurasian Curlew. I love to …
It’s only 8 million years since Sabine’s Gulls and Kittiwakes were the same species. Evolutionary time boggles the mind, doesn’t it?
I wanted to write a sonnet which could be sung on Remembrance Sunday. I’ve recently been enjoying using ‘artificial intelligence’ to create …
I’m greedy. Whenever I see a beautiful bird I’d like to be as close as possible to it without affecting its behaviour …
The juvenile Osprey on the River Otter last month was doing a very good job of catching a fish every morning and …