Red Campion
I’d recognise that pink anywhere. It’s Red Campion.
Crows at sunset
The Carrion Crows are still roosting on the River Teign. They feed on invertebrates in the mud in the estuary. Walking along …
Egg
It’s not that long ago that collecting birds’ eggs was not just a scientific endeavour but a widespread hobby. Children would collect …
Little and Large
I’ve found that the best way of avoiding people is to go out early. And then go as far away from people …
Sunset over the River Teign
It’s about time I got some exercise. I’ve been cooped up inside and eating more than is enjoyable. My son and I …
Cormorants hearing underwater
There’s a Cormorant at the Town Quay. It stands and hangs its wings out to dry just under the rusty railway bridge: …
Carrion Crows – upbeat or downbeat?
Are you currently upbeat? Or downbeat? Whichever you are, I hope you’ll appreciate this glorious Carrion Crow as much as I do.
Natural England: apologists for nest robbers
The news came to me in a tweet: Now, I love Peregrine Falcons, and yet I rarely see them. A glimpse of …
Let’s See What the Earth Has to Say
We’re living in difficult times. Sometimes it’s tricky to express how we feel. It’s then that artists, writers and musicians come into …
Jackdaws in the rookery
I enjoyed my brief early morning trip to the empty park to see the nesting Rooks. I’m surprised to see the Rookery …
Cormorant in breeding plumage
I’ve never seen a Cormorant in breeding plumage before. When I spot one far off in the channel of the River Lemon, …
Flotilla
It’s a beautiful, placid scene. It’s gorgeous light on the River Teign as I spot a Mute Swan flying and then landing …
Dartmoor birds
A lockdown lifetime ago we went to Dartmoor for a walk. I say ‘a walk’, but it was more an amble from …
The Hall of Einar – Sunday Review #4
Sunday Review: Piepmatz – Little Songbirds – card game and Diary of a Young Naturalist – Dara McAnulty.
Old Broken-Beak is back
In my local park, a short walk from my house in South Devon, is a rookery. Rooks are highly social birds and …
Return to Daisy Nook
In a time before the lockdown I visited Daisy Nook Country Park. It’s in Failsworth, which is a great place to have …
Thumbs up
Wood Pigeons may look ungainly on the ground, but when they fly, they are elegant. Although this one is carrying a heavy …
J1P4
Before Instagram was a thing I used to crop many of my photographs square. I do love the balanced composition of a …
Peregrines v Buzzard
A bit of daily exercise means a walk up the hill and back. I’m trying to avoid the Grand Old Duke of …
The Pigeon bath
The Feral Pigeons are having a bath. They’re bathing communally. Apart from this one: It looks like me getting in the sea, …
The Hall of Einar – Sunday Review #3
Sunday Review: Ernest Journal and Mask Smith photographer,
Practise on Pigeons
I’m keeping close to home at the moment. A short wander from the house is the historic town Quay with its GWR …
Gulls
This Herring Gull is magnificent. Look at the beak. It must be really missing chips and intimidation. This Black-Headed Gull is altogether …
Pigeons at the Quay
People interfering with nature have left their mark everywhere. It’s not just in the landscape or in the extinction of species. It’s …
One’s for sorrow
There’s a Magpie on a roof on the industrial estate nearby. It’s been busy tearing the moss off it. I’m not sure …
Deer
I feel slightly giddy thinking I was here: I suspect I may have been indoors too much recently. We were in the …
Crocus
The world turns, the sun burns and life returns. Purple and orange is such an extreme colour scheme.
Skies, blossom and monumental trees
We were in the north of Italy before the pandemic. Flowers were out in profusion on trees on the terraced hillsides. The …
The claws of the world’s oldest euphemism
We’re in the Orechiella National Park, Parco dell’Orecchiella, in the north of Italy. Here, there are bears. There are only eight species …
Shag
There’s a perky looking Shag at Brixham. What an exceptional bird. That lemon-yellow gape and oil-black plumage is set-off by a jaunty …