Serins
The Serin’s scientific name is Serinus serinus. Serins; so good, they named them twice. The scientific name serinus comes from the French word serin, meaning …
Monk Parakeets
These Parakeets are meant to be in South America. They’re quite at home in the parks of Rome. They appear to appreciate …
Cornacchia
There’s a Hooded Crow flying past us in this wasteland in Rome. Their Italian name is Cornacchia. I wonder what trinket or …
Chimney Sweeps
Here’s a handsome Italian chap: He’s a Codirosso Spazzacamino, a male Black Redstart. What fine plumage he has. Spazzacamino means chimney sweep …
Piggy Cows
Suillus bovinus means Piggy Cow. It’s the scientific name of a common fungus of coniferous forests and commercial pine woods. They pop …
Delicious Saffron Milkcaps
The Saffron Milkcap is a beautiful fungus species with bright orange gills and flesh. It may look a little unprepossessing from the …
The biggest gull in the world
Hunter, pirate, scavenger, the Great Black-Backed Gull is a curious opportunist. It is the apex predator unless a White-Tailed Sea Eagle appears. …
A Sand Plowman’s lunch
The name Sanderling is from the Old English sand-yrðling, or ‘sand-ploughman’. I’m enjoying watching them eating their ploughman’s lunch. Still photographs may give you …
Eider/Or
There’s a Dunter, Somateria mollissima, commonly known as the Eider Duck, on the waves. I particularly like the chick’s hairstyle. When it …
Wet Gannet, shaking
This Gannet was very wet after a dive. As it flew past it decided to shake itself dry. I suspect it’s the …
Slugs on the draining board
The disadvantage of being without a shell is that you’re less well protected. The advantage of being without a shell is that …
Sandy Laverock
This juvenile Ringed Plover is a wonderful bird. In Orkney the Ringed Plover is called Sandy Laverock. The UK conservation status of …
Trees bursting into flower
At this time of year it’s import to remember that spring will come again, birds will sing, trees will blossom and days …
The Third Ladybird Book of British Birds – #14 The Stonechat
I’m currently reading the third volume of the Ladybird Book of British Birds and their nests from the 1950s. Times have changed, …
Whale
There’s a whale corpse in the car park at Taftend. It takes up the space a car would, or even a little …
The glories of Woody Nightshade
Once there were purple flowers here with protruding yellow stamens. Now there are berries: It’s Bittersweet, also known as Woody Nightshade, Solanum …
Sulphur Tuft
They’re an unearthly yellow colour. They sprout at the bases of decaying trees. They grow in tufts and tight bundles. They are …
Captain James Cook, warmonger, colonialist, kidnapper and wildlife criminal
I’ve been suspicious about the truth of what I’m taught ever since I was a child. At primary school I learned all …
Autumn Parasols
One of the exciting finds at Killerton on our fungus foray with the Devon Fungus Group is a Parasol Mushroom. Our leader …
The most beautiful bouquet of Killerton Waxcaps
Killerton is one of my favourite National Trust places in Devon. It’s one of the ones which was sold to the National …
Lydford Gorge
Gabriel and I are visiting the deepest gorge in the South West at Lydford, owned by the National Trust. We’re walking along …
When beef grows on a oak tree
We’re in Wistman’s Wood when I spot a familiar sight. It’s a Beefsteak Fungus, Fistulina hepatica. It’s only small and I’m not …
The magical forest
My son Gabriel’s coming to visit for the weekend. He’s bringing his camera and wants to have a few trips out. We …
Noltland Castle
I’ve wanted to take a decent photograph of Noltland Castle ever since I first saw it, as I struggled up the hill …
The Third Ladybird Book of British Birds – #13 The Rook
I’m currently reading the third volume of the Ladybird Book of British Birds and their nests from the 1950s. Times have changed: …
Scenes from the sea
It’s all about perspective. Looking at familiar scenes from a different place always makes you think more deeply about them. Similarly, seeing …
The advantages of species extinction
It was both sad and entertaining to see that BBC Bitsize, the BBC’s resource for school children, had a list of the …
The Third Ladybird Book of British Birds – #12 The Herring Gull
I’m currently reading the third volume of the Ladybird Book of British Birds and their nests from the 1950s. Times have changed: …
Are these the most northerly cliff-nesting House Martins in the UK?
I spot a House Martin, Delichon urbicum, on the cliffs at the Castle o’ Burrian. That’s nice. Then I spot another one. …
The return of the pot-boiler
There’s a spot on Westray where a buried ruin of a house is being lost to the sea. Whenever there’s a storm …