Tumble and glide
Jackdaws are fascinating to watch. They fill the fields here in Oxfordshire with their calls, scurrying and bounding across the ground and …
Olde Forde House again
I’ve already sketched Olde Forde House. It’s a lovely place to spend an hour wandering the gardens, despite the noise of the …
Just when you think you’ve taken all the Robin photos you are ever going to…
Just when you think you’ve taken all the Robin photos you are ever going to, along comes this one: How could I …
More Red Kites
Each morning here in Oxfordshire, over breakfast, after we’ve let the eleven chickens out of their bedtime quarters into their expansive run, …
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 …
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. …
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 …
Singing again
Our resident Common Whitethroat is still singing for as much of the day as he can manage. The garden at the house …
Feeding time for the Long-Tailed Bushtits
Deep in the hedge surrounding this field in Somerset is a Long-Tailed Bushtit nest. It’s the usual assortment of lichens and petals …
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 …
Milvus milvus
Here in Oxfordshire there are Red Kites over the garden. They come particularly low in the early morning, looking for food to …
Common Whitethroat scratching incessantly
We’re in Oxfordshire house-sitting for my friends. The weather is stunning and there’s a dizzying number of places here we can sit …
Woodpecker work
The female Great Spotted Woodpecker seems to be in their nest hole a great deal. When she ventures out I can appreciate …
In winter there are only females
There’s an Oak Apple Gall above me on this oak tree. It’s probably five centimetres wide and inside it are anything up …
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 …
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
I love being in the woods and surrounded by Bear’s Garlic, Allium ursinum. I really must make better use of it, given …
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 …
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 …
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 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 …
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 …
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 …
The great black duck from Hudson’s Bay
Wee were delighted by a visit from “The great black duck from Hudson’s Bay” in Torbay last week. A Surf Scoter was …
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 …
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 Mushrooms
Last week I said we should be getting St George’s Mushrooms soon. This week, they arrived. By the side of the wide …
Diving Goosander
Goosanders love a bit of snorkelling and free diving. This one is taking the plunge at Daisy Nook Country Park. The teeth …
Why are immature gulls so hard to identify?
There are several groups of birds which seem impossible to separate without years of knowledge in the field.
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 …