The Tower, the Walkie Talkie, the Shard and the Gherkin
We spent a while in London over the holidays and went for a stroll around the city on Christmas Day. Crossing Tower …
Mother and daughter
I’ve never been close to Red Foxes in daylight. I’ve seen them under amber street lights, alert to any danger, patrolling the …
Avocet
It’s late, but still quite light, when we arrive at the River Exe and I’m delighted to see an Avocet on the …
Snipe
I’ve never had a good view of a Snipe before. This time it’s different. We’re in a south-of-London park with a kind …
London Fox
We’ve been offered the chance to see some wild London Foxes while we’re in London. We can’t resist, so we’re up early …
2022 highlights of a wilder Italian life (part 2)
Being able to explore a natural world with different, unfamiliar species is a privilege. It was a thrill to visit Italy in …
2022 highlights of a wilder Italian life (part 1)
Hooded Crows and koinophilia In Rome in 2022 we could see 300 Hooded Crows in an evening in a single field, as …
2022 highlights of a wilder Orkney life (part 2)
August in Orkney can be quieter than May, June or July when it comes to bird life. In 2022, August was hectic …
2022 highlights of a wilder Orkney life (part 1)
2022 was a very happy time for me on my visits to Orkney. I spent hours on the low cliffs and rocks …
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 …