Kittiwake in the harbour
A Kittiwake over Brixham breakwater. Such beautiful, elegant birds with their dipped-in-ink wings and smokey winter heads. I’m looking forward to spending …
Playful
There’s some quite intense play-biting going on along the wooden pontoons in Brixham harbour. It’ll all end in a splash. I can …
A Shag in the harbour
Shags are a form of Cormorant found around our coasts. They are smaller than the Common Cormorant we get across the country. …
The words ‘Great’ and ‘Northern’ go together so well
What a special experience to spend time with something so wild.
No stones to turn
Turnstones are regular visitors to Brixham harbour in the winter. They potter around the pontoons and waddle down the breakwater to the …
The Buzzard and its shadow
Buzzards are regal. They must be, because they bring with them a retinue wherever they go. Here’s one with its attendant, a …
Spatula
There is a pair of Northern Shovelers, Spatula clypeata, in The Regent’s Park. I sit under a weeping Willow and hope they’ll …
Tame Herons
The Herons in The Regent’s Park in central London are tame. That’s the only word to describe them. I’ve been here in …
A Cetti’s Warbler in central London
I’m in London for a little while having fun with my son. I just have time for a quick visit to The …
The Third Ladybird Book of British Birds – #16 The Curlew
I’m currently reading the third volume of the Ladybird Book of British Birds and their nests from the 1950s. Times have changed …
Dragging their knuckles
I’m a huge fan of National Trust properties, a paying member, and an enthusiastic visitor to their land and their buildings. I’m …
Football, beer and crisps
I’m in the pub eating a packet of crisps, drinking a pint of beer and watching the football. Great isn’t it. But …
A Red Belted Conk
There’s the familiar orange-red band on this Red Belted Conk. Lovely, isn’t it? Its scientific name is Fomitopsis pinicola. It cheers me …
Juvenile Moorhens
These juvenile Moorhens are clearly hungry. They’ve fluttered up on top of a wall and are helping themselves to seeds which have …
Cycling past Waxcaps
I’m cycling on Dartmoor when I see a Blackening Waxcap, Hygrocybe conica. It’s always a thrill so spot one, so I dismount …
Purple Curtain Crust
I do love a good fungusy twig. Here’s one with Purple Curtain Crust, Chondrostereum purpureum, rippling on it like a cuttlefish. Don’t …
The divine right of kings and wildlife on the menu
I’ve discovered the fabulous menu of a dinner fit for a king, eaten in 1625, served in a local house in South …
One of Britain’s rarest fungi
So you think it doesn’t look like much? I think it looks fabulous. It’s growing in the short grass around a car …
Brushes and combs
Teasel is a biennial plant. That means it takes two years to finish its life cycle. The first year is taken up …
Death to the land
I took a trip to Black Moss Covert Nature Reserve in Cheshire. It was surrounded by lifeless, poisoned land. Black Moss Covert …
The Third Ladybird Book of British Birds – #15 The Oystercatcher
I’m currently reading the third volume of the Ladybird Book of British Birds and their nests from the 1950s again. Here it …
A Silver-Washed Fritillary
I took a photograph of this Silver-Washed Fritillary, Argynnis paphia, this summer in Italy. They are astonishingly fast, have pointed wings and …
Perching Linnet
I loved seeing this male Linnet perching on the wind-burnt twigs in the garden of Einar this summer. He’s a beautiful sight …
Nuthatch
A Nuthatch has arrived at Daisy Nook. It’s hungry after a cold night. Just look at those claws. No wonder it can …
Yellow fingers grow from the short sward
There are apricot-yellow fingers of fungus growing in the short sward at Emsworthy Mire. Fabulous, aren’t they? They are the eerie fruiting …
Feral Pigeon
An incoming Feral Pigeon in beautiful light is a wonderful sight. It always gladdens the heart.
Deadly
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 …
The Magpie and its nidopallium
Have you noticed how smart and aware Eurasian Magpies are? There appears to be a lot going on in their minds that …
Chicken of the Woods
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
Orange Peel Fungus, Aleuria aurantia, is unmistakable. Just look at it: I’ve written about it before, and posted beautiful illustrations of it …