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Nature Notebooks, Page 2

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

Streptopelia decaocto

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 …

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

Three flavours of warble

Yes, I know you’ve seen it before. This Common Whitethroat, Curruca communis, is singing again in the garden of my friend’s house. …

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

The flame-coloured sun worshiper

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 …

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

Singing again

Our resident Common Whitethroat is still singing for as much of the day as he can manage. The garden at the house …

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

Spectacular Starling

We have a few visitors to the garden at the house we’re house-sitting in Oxfordshire. A Starling is a welcome one in …

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

Milvus milvus

Here in Oxfordshire there are Red Kites over the garden. They come particularly low in the early morning, looking for food to …

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

Woodpecker work

The female Great Spotted Woodpecker seems to be in their nest hole a great deal. When she ventures out I can appreciate …

Brixham fishing boats - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Fishing

I love chugging out of Brixham on board the Kelly’s Hero. Brixham is still an active port, and it’s a pleasure to …

Fossil armoured fish - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Lobe-finned fish fossil

The distinctive, smooth, grey rocks on Westray’s exposed sea cliffs and shelving shore host fossils of fish which died 390 million years …

Bear's Garlic - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Bear’s Garlic

I love being in the woods and surrounded by Bear’s Garlic, Allium ursinum. I really must make better use of it, given …

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

Puffing Pigs

There are Harbour Porpoise off Brixham. It’s a thrill to see a small pod of them moving fast. The name Porpoise comes …

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

Sticks and seaplants

Shags build a messy nest of sticks and seaplants (formerly known as seaweed). Here’s one rushing back to its cliff-ledge nesting site …

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

Hanging out the washing

I love seeing a Great Cormorant drying its wings in the sunshine. Especially when you can see the beautiful bronze sheen on …

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

Great Northern Diver with a fish

I’ve seen many Great Northern Divers catching and dismembering crabs but I’ve not seen one eating a fish before. Here’s a photograph …

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

Perching Peregrine

We’re on a cruise out of Brixham when we’re told there’s a male Peregrine Falcon perched overlooking Torbay. There are only 1,500 …

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

The changing of the guard

The Woodpecker pair I’ve been enjoying watching have a routine. I need to watch them for many more hours before I can …

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

Woodpeckers at dawn

I’m not that keen on getting up early unless I have a purpose. I need to be driven by a need other …

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

Ash downfall

Here’s a Cramp Ball. There are hundreds of them here. They love dead or dying Ash trees. I’ve been taking morning walks …

St George's Mushroom - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

St George’s Mushrooms

Last week I said we should be getting St George’s Mushrooms soon. This week, they arrived. By the side of the wide …

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

Diving Goosander

Goosanders love a bit of snorkelling and free diving. This one is taking the plunge at Daisy Nook Country Park. The teeth …

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

Arctic Tern feeding

A memory of last summer with the Arctic Terns of Westray. There were so few chicks in this colony that the remaining …

Dacrymyces deliquescens - Dunster - the Hall fo Einar - photograph (c ) David Bailey (not the)

Dacrymyces deliquescens

There’s a tiny orange fungus on this wet rotting wood. I recognise it from my childhood. It can only be Dacrymyces deliquescens. …

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

Redshank – lover of good clean mud

The Redshank, Tringa totanus, is a Eurasian wader. It’s classified as part of a large family called Scolopacidae. It’s related to the sandpipers, …

Great Crested Grebes - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Great Crested Grebe flypast

You’ve probably noticed that I love a good flypast. Here are two Great Crested Grebes going at speed down the River Exe. …

Black-Tailed Godwit - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Black-Tailed Godwitterings

Have I mentioned that I love Black-Tailed Godwits before? Well, yes I have. And with good reason. What I must do now …