Crossed mandibles
Beak deformities are quite common amongst birds. This Woodpigeon has crossed mandibles. I’d expect it to interfere with eating but it doesn’t …
Beak deformities are quite common amongst birds. This Woodpigeon has crossed mandibles. I’d expect it to interfere with eating but it doesn’t …
It seems that only one day in every seven is sunny at the moment. And the days are short. So I’ve got …
On my walk I grabbed a few shots in passing of glorious catkins in warm evening light. It’s reassuring to see trees …
One of the most common fungi in UK woodlands is The Blusher. I’ve just found this photograph I took of one back …
Herring Gulls are fabulous to watch. I’ve enjoyed taking photographs of them in urban areas. There’s something quite alien about their presence. …
If you ask this swan what species it is, it won’t tell you. It’s Mute.
Staying local for your exercise is difficult if brownfield sites are built upon, public spaces are full and green spaces are privately …
This summer in Orkney we met up with two friends and fellow enthusiasts for a moth-trapping evening. I loved setting up their …
In the first lockdown it was revealing just how much nature was all around me. I didn’t need to spend ages preparing …
If you can possibly manage it, get a magnifying glass. It turns the world into a magical one full of joy. Just …
Woodlice. There are 3,500 species in the world and between 35 and 40 in the UK. They’re animals which many children know. …
It was a very Puffin Christmas here. I received a Puffin Icon from the Puffin Whisperer. She used a solid wooden block …
Last April I took a cycle ride with my son. We went up some of the toughest hills in the area, and …
A Fulmar from summer, sitting pretty on the top of a wall in the skeleton house. Its beached carcass and exposed ribs …
I spent most of 2020 on my own. The two trips I had booked to Italy were cancelled and I clearly wasn’t …
In July I went walking with my son on Dartmoor and he took a rare portrait of me Walking the Hunters’ Path: …
2020 is a year which will be difficult to forget for those of us lucky enough to still be alive. For me, …
In August we went looking for the Scottish Primrose, Primula scotica. It’s one of the few plants which grows in Scotland and …
In 2020 I managed two trips to Orkney. I did it by self-isolating for two weeks before travelling and then taking all …
There was a solitary flower of what looked like Sea Mayweed on the rocks on the exposed coast of Westray this summer. …
One of the gifts of summer was finding wild strawberry plants growing in the lane at the back of my house. They …
In this time of darkness it’s pleasant to think back to the summer when, on glorious days, we would walk the coast …
There’s something about dung which should worry you. In my childhood the local fields of animals had rich dung pats, full of …
“Porca vacca!” is an Italian exclamation meaning “Holy cow!” Its literal translation is “Piggy cow!” Under the pine trees are the small, …
What type of organism has 20,000 species, covers between 6 to 8% of the Earth’s land surface and has some of the …
There’s a Blackening Waxcap, Hygrocybe conica, on the moist, shady roadside verges of the industrial estate. It’s a beautiful colour. I’ve seen …
This fungus has a very distinctive fibrous cap. It’s probably a Fibrecap, an Inocybe. They’re often poisonous. I suspect it’s Inocybe rimosa. …
It’s a fungus which exudes carrot-coloured milk. It bruises a strange colour of green. It’s orange becoming white towards the centre of …
This is a Parasol, Macrolepiota procera. I’ve seen Parasols before with a clear faerie ring over 60m wide in a high mountain …
There are Chanterelles in abundance in the woods. These are Cantharellus cibarius, and a beautiful eggy yellow. They’ll be perfect with scrambled …