The moment before it slapped me
There’s a younger Dalmatian Pelican on the prow of our small boat. I’m in prime position to photograph it. It’s beautiful light, …
Pelican comedy breakfast
The early light is hitting the mountains on the other side of Lake Kerkini and bathing them in a warm orange glow. …
Heron over the snow-capped mountains
There’s something enchanting about birds being able to project their own shadow onto themselves. Here’s a Black-Tailed Godwit with the shadow of …
Changing light
The warmth of this image is a thrill. The difference in the mood of this image because of the changing light is …
Pelicans and mountains
The blues and purples of this image are very restful, aren’t they? So is being out on a boat on Lake Kerkini …
A still evening on the water
It’s that time of the evening, when the light becomes glorious as a few stray rays of the sun hit the other …
I’m not British Wildlife Photographer of the Year!
Yes! I’ve heard that I’m not British Wildlife Photographer of the Year! I’ve been encouraged by my dad to enter some of …
Symmetry
There’s something deeply appealing about the symmetry of these Dalmatian Pelicans. There’s also something worrying about them begging for fish thrown into …
Goth Puffins
The Goth Puffin lookalikes were out in force in Lyme Bay. I do love a good Razorbill flypast, but is it only …
Shearwaters on the water
Having Manx Shearwaters around our coasts in South Devon at this time of year makes ever boat trip into Lyme Bay one …
White patches
Great Cormorants have a large sign, only visible in the summer, to show they are adults and ready to breed. It’s a …
Gannets dropping from the skies
I love it when Northern gannets, Morus bassanus, drop from the skies. Just look at the beautiful spread of those tail and …
Formal wear
The Common Guillemots, Uria aalge, are wearing formal-wear at the moment. Their smart chocolate brown heads and white bellies look very smart …
Manx Shearwater
There’s a Manx Shearwater, Puffinus puffinus, bonanza off Brixham at the moment. There was a flock of 29 out to sea and …
Sea Plantain at The Mill
The old mill building at Rapness on Westray is heading for desolation, and quickly. Once you lose your roof, your walls are …
A jaunty crest
It’s breeding time again and this Shag in Brixham is all ready for action, with glossy black-green-bronze plumage, yellow lores and a …
Fluffy neck
The fluffy neck feathers of these Griffon Vultures confused me for a moment. Why would you have a feather duster for a …
Hooded Crows and Griffon Vultures
It’s easy to lose track of scale when you spend time with Griffon Vultures. It’s when a group of Hooded Crows arrive …
Tenderness
It’s hard to identify the emotions of birds. We’re separated by 320 million years of evolution since our most recent common ancestor …
Wingbeats
Dalmatian Pelicans are beautiful and getting more so as their mature breeding plumage approaches. Here’s one having a flap showing its wing …
A rockstar mop
Dalmatian Pelicans have a rockstar hairstyle. It’s bedhead on steroids. Just look at this unruly mess: The water at this time of …
After dawn
I have far more photographs of sunsets than I do of sunrises. That’s because I’m usually not in bed until midnight and …
Great White Pelicans
The Great White Pelican, Pelecanus onocrotalus, is also known as the Eastern White Pelican, the Rosy Pelican or just the White Pelican. …
Great White Pelican at Lake Kerkini
There are Great White Pelicans at Lake Kerkini in Greece. There are fewer of them than Dalmatian Pelicans. Interestingly, Dalmatian Pelicans are …
Landing gear
As a Griffon Vulture approaches, with its fingered-wings spread, and its tail deployed downwards to brake its flight, it gets ready to …
Fish
It’s tricky when you get a fish stuck on your bill. Especially when you have no hands. This Dalmatian Pelican managed to …
Wingspan
Griffon Vultures have a wingspan of 2.3–2.8 metres, which is 7.5–9.2 feet in old money. The technical term to describe them is ‘massive’.
The Ministry of Vulture Walks
Griffon Vultures have a most curious walk. It’s a high-stepping display walk with neck and wings outstretched. It looks ridiculous, as well …
Seeing faces
There’s a strange faculty which humans and other animals have. It’s the ability to see faces in things where there aren’t faces. …
Scruffy, aren’t they?
Cinereous Vultures are scruffy. Ragged wings, unkempt body feathers and tattered tails. Maybe it’s just moulting. Or maybe it’s just scruffy.