Nature’s Velcro
The tiny hooks on the ends of Burdock burrs are waiting patiently for me to brush past them. Why use the wind …
Haws
Hawthorn – one of the gifts of autumn.
Woodpigeon
Have you ever had a close look at a Woodpigeon? They are such extreme birds. Just look at those strange features: Now …
There are stars in the daytime sky
There are Starlings in the sky. Their plumage sparkles like stars that twinkle in the daytime. Their green and purple iridescence is …
The Secret Purple Sandpiper
Back in July I saw a wader on the rocky coast. I didn’t recognise it so I knew I had to get …
I’m not the only one who finds ducks faintly ridiculous, am I?
Exhibit A: The Red-Crested Pochard: Surely this one takes the biscuit for the most ridiculous duck in the UK? The UK breeding …
A Hen Harrier in my back garden
When a Hen Harrier came to visit
Westray Coast 50 – Day Five
My adventures on the fifth of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day Four and a Half
My adventures on the four-and-a-half-th of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day Four
My adventures on the fourth of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day Three
My adventures on the third of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day Two
My adventures on the second of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day One
My adventures on the first of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Knots landing at the Peedie Sea
I’m wandering the shore at Kirkwall Harbour for an hour before the ferry takes me to Westray. I’m loving the complex singing …
Kestrel in Hyde Park
I’m back in the UK after a trip to Italy looking for Little Owls. We didn’t see them apart from a brief …
The Earth is having its features rearranged
This tweet from the RSPB South West caught my eye: “Due to climate change & improvements to the way our land is …
The bird with the coolest name ever
The bird above us is a Snake Eagle. To be precise, it’s a Short-Toed Snake Eagle, Circaetus gallicus. If only it would come …
More more
There are blackberries everywhere in the hedges here in Italy. They taste wrong though. They’re drier, harder, less juicy and far less …
Searching for Little Owls
It’s been a dream of mine to see a Little Owl again. When I was a young teenager my friend Michael had …
A Harrier on the hill
I see a tiny speck of a bird circling over a ruined building in Tarquinia: We drive the car in its direction …
Painting with light
There’s a Painted Lady butterfly in the garden on the Abbey here in Tarquinia in Italy. It’s high up and nicely isolated …
A Spotted Flycatcher – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
We’re driving round Italy with telephoto lenses and the windows down. There’s a tiny brown bird on a branch beside us. It’s …
Red-Veined Darter Dragonfly
It’s a glorious day here in Italy. I’ve climbed to the top of a hill and can see across the valley: There’s …
A juvenile Green Woodpecker
Our friend Paolo is driving us round some of his favourite birding spots in Tarquinia in Italy. It’s hot, I’ve got the …
Lizard, Lizard on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?
There’s a Lizard on the wall in the grounds of the Abbey, Abbazia San Giusto, near Tarquinia in Italy. It’s not green; …
High Roller
I love the hills and fields in Tarquinia. We’re here on a Little Owl hunt. That’s hunting with cameras and good intentions, …
Slant-headed cone face
We’re driving around Monte Romano near Tarquinia in Italy looking for Little Owls. They’re the number one species I’m looking for. The …
Insects by the pond
It’s blisteringly hot at the Abbazia San Giusto in Tuscania in Italy today. There’s not much wind and precious little shelter. Tucked …
Searching for Little Owls
We are up at 6am, politely yawning. Today is our most recent attempt to see Little Owls. As a child I helped …
The worst photograph of the most beautiful birds in the world
I’ve arrived in Italy at exactly the wrong time. Birds have just finished breeding and are on the move. Many are preparing …