1380 kilometres from home
We amble down to Newton Abbot Quay. There’s a raucous squabble under the bridge as Black Headed Gulls compete for food. “Look …
Whitethroat
Here are a couple of photographs of a Common Whitethroat, Curruca communis, which I took last summer. It’s a chunky warbler with …
A Sparrowhawk amongst the Pigeons
We’re at Newton Abbot Quay again for a daily walk. Something has to be done, given the amount of pasta we’re eating. …
Return of the vagabond waif
We’re back in the tiny scrubby woods for our daily walk. It’s full of litter. Imagine a world where every sip and …
Bumbarrels on parade
There’s a small group of Long-Tailed Bushtits calling overhead. They’re vibrating a ‘Tseee-Tseee’ call amongst the empty branches as they move through. …
The Elder jellies
I’m tramping through scrub on a path used by dog walkers and alienated teenagers. It’s only rubbish which catches my eyes and …
From Siberia with love
The Puffin Whisperer comes back from a walk and turns the back of her camera towards me to show me a bird …
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 …
Take off
It seems that only one day in every seven is sunny at the moment. And the days are short. So I’ve got …
Catkins
On my walk I grabbed a few shots in passing of glorious catkins in warm evening light. It’s reassuring to see trees …
Blushing
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
Herring Gulls are fabulous to watch. I’ve enjoyed taking photographs of them in urban areas. There’s something quite alien about their presence. …
There are no words
If you ask this swan what species it is, it won’t tell you. It’s Mute.
Black-Headed Gulls at the Quay
Staying local for your exercise is difficult if brownfield sites are built upon, public spaces are full and green spaces are privately …
Sexton
This summer in Orkney we met up with two friends and fellow enthusiasts for a moth-trapping evening. I loved setting up their …
Staying local
In the first lockdown it was revealing just how much nature was all around me. I didn’t need to spend ages preparing …
A world of joy
If you can possibly manage it, get a magnifying glass. It turns the world into a magical one full of joy. Just …
Kitchen drawer wildlife
Woodlice. There are 3,500 species in the world and between 35 and 40 in the UK. They’re animals which many children know. …
Puffin icon
It was a very Puffin Christmas here. I received a Puffin Icon from the Puffin Whisperer. She used a solid wooden block …
There’s more wildlife on industrial estates than in the countryside
Last April I took a cycle ride with my son. We went up some of the toughest hills in the area, and …
A Fulmar at the skeleton house
A Fulmar from summer, sitting pretty on the top of a wall in the skeleton house. Its beached carcass and exposed ribs …
2020 highlights of a wilder Italian life
I spent most of 2020 on my own. The two trips I had booked to Italy were cancelled and I clearly wasn’t …
2020 highlights of a wilder Devon life – part 2
In July I went walking with my son on Dartmoor and he took a rare portrait of me Walking the Hunters’ Path: …
2020 highlights of a wilder Devon life
2020 is a year which will be difficult to forget for those of us lucky enough to still be alive. For me, …
Scottish Primroses
In August we went looking for the Scottish Primrose, Primula scotica. It’s one of the few plants which grows in Scotland and …
2020 highlights of a wilder Orkney life
In 2020 I managed two trips to Orkney. I did it by self-isolating for two weeks before travelling and then taking all …
Life, clinging on
There was a solitary flower of what looked like Sea Mayweed on the rocks on the exposed coast of Westray this summer. …
Wild Strawberries
One of the gifts of summer was finding wild strawberry plants growing in the lane at the back of my house. They …
Eyebright
In this time of darkness it’s pleasant to think back to the summer when, on glorious days, we would walk the coast …
The riches of Dartmoor dung
There’s something about dung which should worry you. In my childhood the local fields of animals had rich dung pats, full of …