The Lesser Emperor of Matera
We’re in Matera in the south of Italy. It’s one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on Earth, with palaeolithic caves on …
Oblivious
The service has just ended and a solitary figure walks slowly, weeping, from the church in Matera in the south of Italy: …
Hound Tor sunset
I love Hound Tor on Dartmoor. I’m walking to the top from the car park. It’s not far: At the top I …
Tender moments
We are witnessing a tender moment at the lake: a Coot is feeding its only chick: It is picking morsels of food …
Mr and Mrs Mallard
The sunshine is dazzling and so is this male Mallard: The subtlety of the camouflage of this female Mallard is equally as …
Snake on the Lake
We’re sat beside the lake at my local country park when I see an unmistakable shape just in front of us, next …
A spot of sunbathing
There’s a Nuthatch sounding off like a car alarm in the old Oak tree: It’s such beautiful weather I can see every …
Marsh Harriers
We are in Somerset. The name Somerset means Summer-land, because the land was originally only inhabitable in summer; in winter it was …
Nursery Web Spider
I’d love to be wearing shorts in this heat but the likelihood of ticks and the healthy patches of stinging nettles mean …
A necklace of raindrops
There’s meant to be great weather today but it’s foggy. There’s been a clear sky last night, the ground has cooled and …
Cobalt Crust in Primley Park
Primley Park in South Devon is a large area, but it is just a part of what were the private gardens of …
Near and far, far and near
It’s wonderful sunshine and the cherry blossom is open. I’ve tried taking a close-up but need a bit more practise. I didn’t …
A lounging legless lizard
There’s something strange in the long grass between all the brown leaves in Dunsford Wood by the banks of the River Teign …
Getting close
The photographer Robert Capa once said, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” It’s something I always think when …
A Spruced-up Siskin
Siskins are wonderful birds. They are tiny finches, coloured yellow and green, and the brighter-coloured males have a distinctive black cap. Their …
Old red eyes is back
Coots have extraordinary eyes. The irises of this one are red: Sometimes, however, their irises are dark red or even brown. I’d …
“Tritrophic phenological match–mismatch in space and time,” and the inability of scientists to explain anything to a general audience
It’s tricky being a scientist; you have to learn a whole new language of jargon to communicate with other scientists. There are …
Look! No hands!
In the wild, Grey Squirrels eat buds, bark and shoots as well as acorns, hazelnuts and fungi. Here’s one tucking into sweet …
Tufted Ducks and Tunnicliffe’s Brooke Bond Bird Portraits
There’s a pair of Tufted Ducks at Stover Country park: They are spectacular birds and I enjoy watching and photographing them for …
There’s a strawberry in my rock pool
There’s a strange strawberry-looking lump in this rock pool in Shaldon in South Devon. It’s red like a strawberry and has evenly-spaced …
518 Beech Drive
I’m trying to sell my house at the moment. It’s stressful constantly having visitors and having to keep the house clean and …
Witness for the Extinction
There’s a new report out on the State of the World’s Birds. It reports the science that 1 in 8 bird species …
Nuthatch – “A haunter of dead trees.”
There’s a Nuthatch sounding off like a car alarm above me. It comes down to a nearby branch and I’m able to …
More Stonechatting
A few days ago I went looking for Stonechats on Trendlebere Down and met this female: Stonechats on Trendlebere Down and Tunnicliffe’s …
Taking the three kids out for dinner
I’m out at my local country park when I notice something below the bird feeder which isn’t a Grey Squirrel. It’s a …
Wood Pigeons and Tunnicliffe’s Brooke Bond Bird Portraits
There’s a Wood Pigeon in my local country park. They seem such heavy birds: Back home I look Wood Pigeon up in …
Willow Warblers on Trendlebere Down, my 1970s nature notebooks and Tunnicliffe’s Brooke Bond Bird Portraits
It’s a beautiful day up on Trendlebere Down, an area of heathland on the east of Dartmoor in Devon. There’s a lilting …
Stonechats on Trendlebere Down and Tunnicliffe’s Brooke Bond Bird Portraits
There’s a female Stonechat, Saxicola torquata, on Trendlebere Down on Dartmoor. It’s flying to the highest perch in this low scrubland. It’s …
Bullfinch bookends and Tunnicliffe’s Brooke Bond Bird Portraits
Bullfinches are exceptionally beautiful. They are also elusive. It’s a pleasure when I see a pair at Yarner Woods on Dartmoor: I’ve …
Roe Deer on Dartmoor
Stumbling through the undergrowth on Trendlebere Down, part of East Dartmoor National Nature Reserve, I find a complete Roe Deer skeleton. It’s …