Ginger Pussy
When the news gets too much for you and all you hear is politicians bickering and people with no heart and no soul complaining, there are always cats.
Now you see it… a Treecreeper with short toes.
It’s unmistakable to me now; the shape of a Treecreeper against a tree. That pose, the stiff tail to balance it, the …
Ten thousand species of millipede
There are something like 10,000 species of millipede. It’s difficult to say exactly how many because the number keeps going up as …
Swallows in the air
We are wandering around Matera, a city in the south of Italy watching the Swallows. The city is vast and seemingly empty, …
Limestone walls
The sky is overcast but the weather is warm. The limestone walls are humming and buzzing with life. Italian Ruin Lizards are …
An amphibious craft – Mute Swans in and out of the water
It’s difficult to lead two different lives. Being good at two very different things always leads to compromise and there’s always someone …
Cherry blossom and the heel of a boot
It’s cherry blossom season and, as I cycle around the heel of Italy, the trees are full of glorious blossom. Their long …
Butterflies then and now
I’m looking through one of my old butterfly books. ‘A Butterfly Book for the Pocket’ by Edmund Sanders. It was published in …
The Lesser Kestrels of Matera #3
We’ve already said our goodbyes to the ancient city of Matera when a need for Italian coffee and a sit down overcomes …
Wasps would chew wood
I haven’t ever needed to bite on a piece of wood, after all, I’ve never given birth. Biting on a piece of …
The Lesser Kestrels of Matera #2
Matera is a city in southern Italy; an ancient city in the heel of Italy’s boot. It has been continuously inhabited since …
Almond trees
Cycling through Almond trees. Feeling like a nut. Realising they’re not ripe yet.
Could it be a Canary?
I can see a tiny yellow bird at the very top of a house resting on the TV aerial in Matera in …
The Lesser Kestrels of Matera #1
It was late at night, at a depressing motorway service station somewhere off the M25, and in an anonymous branch of WH …
Italian Wall Lizard
There’s a Lizard on a wall in Italy. It’s an Italian Wall Lizard.
Agile feet
Experiences in our childhood often retain the depth of emotion that was attached to them at the time, despite the distance in …
Linnet in blossom
Wonderful weather. Beautiful blossom. A neat little Linnet at the top of the tree. Flocks of Linnets used to be a common …
Bloody-Nosed Beetle
There’s a Bloody-Nosed Beetle, Timarcha tenebricosa, marching across the field in front of me. They are flightless beetles which struck me as …
Pied Wagtail – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
It’s forty years since I first spotted a Pied Wagtail and drew it in my childhood nature notebooks. Here’s the entry from …
Telling stories: a Chiff Chaff in the reeds
All photographers are storytellers. They use their images to tell us stories about themselves and their relationship with the world. Each photographer …
Bittern by the Bird Bug
I’ve got a rare weekend day off and I’m in Otmoor taking in a few hours of sunshine, walking and nature. There’s …
A wild Goosander chase
As I walk down the canal I see a duck with a vicious saw-toothed beak and a brown head. It must be …
Quince
There’s a stunning tree in the back garden of this grand house in Puglia in the south of Italy. The Lady of …
I’ve just seen a face
The steady gaze of this half-wild cat faces me. It’s behind a tree in the garden of the stable block of the …
Male Mandarin
Mandarins are so spectacular it’s hard to believe they’re real, but, as with everything in the natural world, it’s more spectacular than …
I Trulli love – stone roofs
There are stone roofs in many parts of the UK. From the honey-coloured stone of the Cotswolds to the grey of the …
Meadow Pipit – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago today my friend Michael got in touch with me to tell me he had a dead bird for me. ‘It’s a Meadow Pipit’ he said excitedly.
Eyelids like seat belts
Woodpeckers and headaches. Wouldn’t you get a headache if you banged your head against a tree 12,000 times a day? Luckily for …
Mute Swan
Here’s a drawing of a Mute Swan I did forty years ago. And here’s a photograph of a Mute Swan I took …
Leap-frogging Blackcaps
There’s a Blackcap in the tree. I can hear its alarm call and then I see it; it’s a female. It looks …