Great Crested Grebes
The pair of great Crested Grebes on Stover Country Park lake are getting frisky: They’re in full breeding plumage, with their spectacular …
Nesting Coot
The scientific name of the Eurasian Coot is Fulica atra. There are currently ten species of Coot worldwide; there were eleven species, …
Chaffink
The word finch comes from the Middle English word fynch. This, in turn, comes from the Old English work finċ. And that? We can trace …
Prunella modularis
I recommend looking. Seeing the ordinary and realising it’s extraordinary is a habit which can bring you much joy. This Dunnock is …
Grebe action
A little bit of sunshine meant I got up with a spring in my step and hot-footed it to Stover Country Park. …
Treecreeping
I’m waiting for Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers when I see a familiar sight. It’s a Treecreeper. Lovely, aren’t they?
Hatching
Can you believe that a fossil Nuthatch has been discovered? It was found in Italy and was dated to 20 million years …
Blue Tits
The Blue Tit’s scientific name is Cyanistes caeruleus. Cyanistes is from the Ancient Greek World kuanos meaning dark blue, which is the …
Ruddy Shelduck
Followers of this blog will know my love for ducks. As soon as I saw this gorgeous ginger specimen, I knew what …
Egyptian Ibis mummy
The British Museum is full of curiosities. Here’s the Easter-egg-like sarcophagus of an Ibis mummy. It’s made of gilded wood and bronze …
A Night at the Ramesseum
A quick trip to the British Museum and a chance to photograph its largest Egyptian sculpture; what remains of a huge carving …
Reintroduced Roe Deer
The Roe Deer was a native species in England until 1800 or so. They came to Britain after the last Ice Age, …
A messenger from the sands
There’s a Ruddy Turnstone in Knott End-on-Sea. Beautiful, aren’t they? Ruddy Turnstones breed in the far Arctic and along the Canadian coast …
The warden of the marshes
There’s a flypast at Knott End-on-Sea and this Redshank is one of three heading down the estuary. I love to see them, …
Pied Wagtail
Pied Wagtails are one of my favourite birds to just sit and watch. Their hypnotic tail-wagging action is a mysterious behavioural trait …
Two little Twite, sitting on a wall
I’ve spent this week honouring Twite, a wonderful, curious, much-overlooked bird. Twite live in weedy fields and moorland, or at least they …
The death of the Yellow-Billed Linen-Weaver
The scientific name of the Twite is Linaria flavirostris. Linaria means linen-weaver and flavirostris means yellow-billed. Twite are Yellow-Billed Linen-Weavers. They’re also …
Step on
Watching Twite is a delight. Every time one jumps, the others bob up and down, too. We’ve been photographing a few of …
Can you imagine the Pennines without the Pennine Finch?
Twite are on the verge of extirpation in England. Their last stand is in the ‘Twite Triangle’ between Manchester, Leeds and Halifax. …
A small brown bird which few people care about
Welcome to Twite Week at The Hall of Einar. Twite are small brown birds. To the uninitiated they might look as if …
Looking up for Buzzards
There are several pairs of Common Buzzards in my local area. You may have seen them perched on high posts or circling …
The Blackbird habit
Blackbirds are creatures of habit. At a year old the males select a territory to defend, with the aim of attracting a …
Puffball
This is a Puffball, a fungus with the common name of the Devil’s Snuff-Box or Warty Puffball. It is found singly in …
Diplomatic ambassadors of life from deep time
You can’t boil it, fry it, roast it or casserole it. There’s nothing you can do to make an Osage Orange edible. …
Pink Flamingos
I could watch Flamingos all afternoon. Aren’t they curious? Those candy-pink stick-of-seaside-rock legs are my favourite.
Little Egret take-off
Having bright yellow feet and shuffling them as you paddle through the water is an ideal strategy for disturbing fish you hope …
Feeding Flamingo
Young Flamingos are a little scrappy. They have yet to get candy-pink legs and black and scarlet wing patches. They are still …
Flying Flamingo
It’s tricky getting near to Flamingos. We’re at Orbetello in Italy and the wooden hide is set well back from their favourite …