It might come as a surprise that I nearly always select the background of the photograph before I select the bird. I choose the colour and shape of the background, make sure it’s far enough away to be an interesting out of focus shape or colour and then wait for …
A trip to Dartmoor at this time of year is a great opportunity to see Stonechat fledglings. They’re slightly uncoordinated and unaware …
Eurasian Jackdaws, Corvus monedula, have pale silvery-blue eyes due to the structure and pigmentation on their irises. But why do they have …
The Common Blue Damselfly, Enellagma cyathigerurm, is flying and perching now, skimming low over freshwater ponds and lakes or dodging the air …
I’m never that keen on using Latin or Greek when good-old Anglo Saxon words will do fine. Orthodontics means ‘ortho‘ – straightening, …
Sometimes it’s just too dull for bird photography. Then I find a Goldfinch and even the greyest of grey days tinkles with …
Back in Somerset I’m delighted that the Great Spotted Woodpeckers have successfully raised a chick so it is large enough to appear …
Hello and welcome to my Sunday Recommendation. Thanks for joining me. Every week I read great wildlife and nature books, stumble upon …
Sunny intervals. Bright between light showers. I love this time of year, apart from the hay fever. Here’s a remarkable photograph of …
I’m frequently baffled by the birdsong people appreciate. I hear people using words like mellifluous to describe the song of the Blackcap, …
There are Pond Skaters on Ducklington Lake. It’s a beautiful place, even if you do have to indulge in wild parking on …
There’s an art project which fascinates me next to a Sainsburys, the A380 flyover and a small stream called Aller Brook. There’s …
Collared Doves make a three-note call. “Coo-COO-Coo”. Woodpigeons make a lower pitched, more gravelly five-note call. “Coo-COO-Coo Coo-Coo” Neither of them are …
We’re having a walk around Farmoor Reservoir in Oxfordshire. It’s Oxfordshire’s largest body of open water. We have Anna the dog with …
One of the things I thought I knew was that Grey Herons are colonial nesters in large heronries in trees. I’ve seen …
Jackdaws are fascinating to watch. They fill the fields here in Oxfordshire with their calls, scurrying and bounding across the ground and …
I’ve already sketched Olde Forde House. It’s a lovely place to spend an hour wandering the gardens, despite the noise of the …
Each morning here in Oxfordshire, over breakfast, after we’ve let the eleven chickens out of their bedtime quarters into their expansive run, …
Just when you think you’ve taken all the Robin photos you are ever going to, along comes this one: How could I …
Yes, I know you’ve seen it before. This Common Whitethroat, Curruca communis, is singing again in the garden of my friend’s house. …
There’s a Collared Dove cooing in the garden. Coo-COO-Coo. Again and again. Those three syllables again and again. Coo-COO-Coo. The Collared Dove’s …
It’s summer and it’s sunny. In the garden here in Oxfordshire, as we house-sit for friends, there are insects aplenty. Many are …
Our resident Common Whitethroat is still singing for as much of the day as he can manage. The garden at the house …
Deep in the hedge surrounding this field in Somerset is a Long-Tailed Bushtit nest. It’s the usual assortment of lichens and petals …
Yellow Umbrella Gifts is a gift shop in Newton Abbot that I’ve enjoyed sketching on a postcard. It’s full of hand crafted items with a dizzying array of skills and materials.
We have a few visitors to the garden at the house we’re house-sitting in Oxfordshire. A Starling is a welcome one in …
Here in Oxfordshire there are Red Kites over the garden. They come particularly low in the early morning, looking for food to …
We’re in Oxfordshire house-sitting for my friends. The weather is stunning and there’s a dizzying number of places here we can sit …
The female Great Spotted Woodpecker seems to be in their nest hole a great deal. When she ventures out I can appreciate …
There’s an Oak Apple Gall above me on this oak tree. It’s probably five centimetres wide and inside it are anything up …