Autumn leaf
An autumn leaf on the weir on the River Tone. I’ve had a great weekend with my friend Martin in Taunton. We …
‘Tis the season for Shaggy Scalycaps
It’s 47 years today since I first saw Shaggy Scalycaps and wrote about them in blue biro with a pencil sketch in …
Ripples
I’m exploring the north coast of Scotland and it’s stunning. The weather has been wonderful, the people are friendly, the roads well …
Bumbarrels
I can hear the Bumbarrels calling. There’s a distinctive contact call which they use as family groups move from tree to tree. …
Yellow Brain Fungus
There are Gorse bushes here in Emsworthy Mire with Yellow Brain Fungus, Tremella mesenterica, growing on them. Fabulous, isn’t it? It’s a fungus …
Slow Worm
It was the 10th October when I lifted a piece of corrugated iron to see if there might be a reptile still …
Rotten post
Travelling around the Flow Country in the north of mainland Scotland I spotted a post with a lot to say.
Figures in a rainbow
Figures in a rainbow on Dartmoor.
Whoopers
I’ve not seen a Whooper Swan before so it’s a thrill to spot a couple on the Loch of Swartmill. They’re handsome …
Harrying
My favourite sight is a Hen Harrier harrying.
Lookout
Northern Wheatear are powerful birds and migrate to Africa for our winter. It’s astonishing that so soon after being an egg they …
Diving Arctic Tern
Something I enjoyed this summer was taking multiple exposures of some of the bird species on Westray and creating composite images from …
The Flow Country
RSPB Scotland Forsinard Flows is part of Europe’s largest blanket bog. It’s mile after mile of damp, squishy preserved vegetation, in many …
Flatfish
What’s actually happening isn’t what appears to be happening. It’s laughing at the other one’s fish flapping in the wind, isn’t it? …
A family affair
An Arctic Tern family from this summer. I wonder where they are now? I suspect they’ll be somewhere on the way to …
Swallow shuteye
When the sun shines in Orkney, it’s best to make good use of it. This Swallow agreed.
Crab for dinner
Crabs are powerful crustaceans and can give anyone a nasty nip. Eider Ducks, or Dunters as they are known here in Orkney, …
Aerial ballet
I’ve been enjoying reviewing some of my images from Orkney Mainland taken this summer and this one, from a sequence I took …
Dunlin
I love to see Dunlin on the tideline.
Merlin
Every time I see a Merlin it’s a fleeting glance. It’s either only resting for a second before heading off to hunt …
No hedges to hog
There’s a Hedgehog trundling down the lane. I can see it from a distance, so we shelter at the roadside and wait …
Butterfish
It’s great fun to watch Black Guillemots bobbing on the waves off the coast of Westray. And I love it when they …
Singing in the bath
I’m driving along the car-bottom-scraping track to Noup Head. It’s first gear all the way unless I want to have my exhaust …
Golden Plover
I’ve never had the chance to see Golden Plover close up before. Whenever I’ve driven past a field of them on Westray …
The Raven and the Rabbit’s head
Ravens are so difficult to get close to. Their eyesight is exceptional and they recognise any threat from a great distance. They’re …
Claws
The hind claws of Meadow Pipits really are something special. Just look at them: The long hind claw is probably an adaptation …
The Great Skua, the Ravens and the Rabbit
There are fifty Ravens at the Sands o’ Maesan. (I know that because I counted them from my photographs when I got …
The thrill of Hen Harriers
Hen Harriers are such wonderful birds that it’s worth sitting out in a field for a whole afternoon just in the hope …
It’s all in the details
I love walking around the Vatican Museum. It’s great to see the treasures that were accumulated while the majority of the population …
A Kestrel at Noup
I’m sitting at Noup Head in full camouflage waiting for a Hen Harrier to come and saunter over me. There’s been nothing …