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April 2017, Page 2

Peacock Butterfly - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Butterflies then and now

I’m looking through one of my old butterfly books. ‘A Butterfly Book for the Pocket’ by Edmund Sanders. It was published in …

Wasp - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Wasps would chew wood

I haven’t ever needed to bite on a piece of wood, after all, I’ve never given birth. Biting on a piece of …

Almonds - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Almond trees

Cycling through Almond trees. Feeling like a nut. Realising they’re not ripe yet.

Serin - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Could it be a Canary?

I can see a tiny yellow bird at the very top of a house resting on the TV aerial in Matera in …

Italian Wall Lizard - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Agile feet

Experiences in our childhood often retain the depth of emotion that was attached to them at the time, despite the distance in …

Linnet - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Linnet in blossom

Wonderful weather. Beautiful blossom. A neat little Linnet at the top of the tree. Flocks of Linnets used to be a common …

Bloody-Nosed Beetle - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Bloody-Nosed Beetle

There’s a Bloody-Nosed Beetle, Timarcha tenebricosa, marching across the field in front of me. They are flightless beetles which struck me as …

Bitterns - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Bittern by the Bird Bug

I’ve got a rare weekend day off and I’m in Otmoor taking in a few hours of sunshine, walking and nature. There’s …

Female Goosander - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey

A wild Goosander chase

As I walk down the canal I see a duck with a vicious saw-toothed beak and a brown head. It must be …

Quince - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Quince

There’s a stunning tree in the back garden of this grand house in Puglia in the south of Italy. The Lady of …

Cat face - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

I’ve just seen a face

The steady gaze of this half-wild cat faces me. It’s behind a tree in the garden of the stable block of the …

Male Mandarin Duck - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey

Male Mandarin

Mandarins are so spectacular it’s hard to believe they’re real, but, as with everything in the natural world, it’s more spectacular than …

Female Great Spotted Woodpecker - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Eyelids like seat belts

Woodpeckers and headaches. Wouldn’t you get a headache if you banged your head against a tree 12,000 times a day? Luckily for …

Mute Swan - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Mute Swan

Here’s a drawing of a Mute Swan I did forty years ago. And here’s a photograph of a Mute Swan I took …

Blackcap - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Leap-frogging Blackcaps

There’s a Blackcap in the tree. I can hear its alarm call and then I see it; it’s a female. It looks …

Bath White - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Vernon’s Half-Mourner

I’m in the far south of Italy, in the heel of the boot that makes the Country so much more recognisable than …

Northern Shoveler - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Duck Face

If you have a tendency to see animals as humans with distorted features you’re going to have a freakily nightmarish time when …

Ledges - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Rock ledges

The sedimentary rock on Westray breaks into hundreds of ledges where the layers of time wear them away.

Robin - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Robbing Robin

This Robin is screaming a song of dominance and intimidation, proclaiming its territory and its swaggering intention to repel any strangers daring …

Woodpigeon - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Columba palumbus

There’s a bloated Common Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus nearby. I can hear it cooing.