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 …
Dacrymyces deliquescens
There’s a tiny orange fungus on this wet rotting wood. I recognise it from my childhood. It can only be Dacrymyces deliquescens. …
Redshank – lover of good clean mud
The Redshank, Tringa totanus, is a Eurasian wader. It’s classified as part of a large family called Scolopacidae. It’s related to the sandpipers, …
Great Crested Grebe flypast
You’ve probably noticed that I love a good flypast. Here are two Great Crested Grebes going at speed down the River Exe. …
Black-Tailed Godwitterings
Have I mentioned that I love Black-Tailed Godwits before? Well, yes I have. And with good reason. What I must do now …
Muckymouth
This Black-Tailed Godwit is giving me strong muckymouth pie vibes. As a child I loved muckymouth pie. It’s a pastry-encased treat filled …
The Great Skua in the style of Robert Macfarlane – according to Chat GPT
I thought it would be a bit of fun to ask an artificial intelligence website to “Write about the Great Skua in …
Dark-bellied Brent Geese
Brent Geese are small Geese, only just bigger than a large duck. On the River Exe we have the dark-bellied Brent Geese …
Female Smew
Smew are described as compact diving ducks with delicate bills. Personally I’d call them dinky. The males are stunning bridal white with …
One person’s White Ibis is another person’s Bin Chicken
Even if it’s a common species it’s well worth appreciating. I remember going to Australia (I had half a day’s work there …
Smew three
Have I posted too many photographs of Smew? No, I didn’t think so.
Carry On Crow
There’s a piece of driftwood and a pool of water in the extended mud at the centre of the River Exe at …