Wren on a chilly morning
There are millions of Wrens in the UK and yet they are so elusive. Today’s cold weather seems to have brought them …
Reed Bunting – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
It’s forty years since I first saw a Reed Bunting. I was so excited about seeing such a rare (to me) bird …
Bitter cold
It was bitterly cold out on the Exminster Marshes this morning.
Lawyer’s Wigs – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Shaggy Ink Caps are a common fungus. They are white with brown scales on the cap. Here’s the entry I made in …
Canada Geese
Today I had a trip to Exminster Marshes. There were 1,500 Canada Geese on the fields.
Velvet Shank – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I spotted some beautiful fungi on a rotten stump. Here’s the entry I made in my nature notebooks: Today …
Herring Gull
I’m currently searching for Herring Gulls so I can take some close-up photographs of them. As you do. I took some close-up …
Rome’s Rose-Ringed Parakeets
In Rome they are noisy, colourful and gregarious. They fill the parks and streets on glorious sunny days and love nothing better …
Jackdaws – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I was on holiday with my family. I still remember the thrill of my mum calling me to say …
Herring Gull – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
The distribution of Herring Gulls must have changed significantly over the last forty years. I was 12 years old when I wrote …
Another Blackbird – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
I was thirteen years old when I wrote and drew in my nature notebooks about Blackbirds. ‘Sexual dimorphism’ is what I wrote; …
Coot – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I obviously had very little to say when I saw a Coot, as this was my entry in my …
Magpie – forty years ago in my nature notebook
I’m on a personal journey to rediscover the natural world I described in my nature notebooks when I was a 12 year …
Carrion Crow – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I was a young boy with a fascination for nature and was dedicated to filling in my nature notebooks. …
Mute Swan – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I was busy filling in my nature notebooks. I wrote detailed notes in blue biro in my lined notepad …
Blackbirds – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
I was twelve years old when I started my nature notebooks. Despite my awful handwriting I noted down all the features which …
Black Headed Gull – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago as a boy I was happy keeping my nature notebooks. On holiday in Wales I saw a Black Headed …
Song Thrush – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I was a small child on a mission – to see wildlife and to feel the joy of observing …
Chaffinch – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Male chaffinches are such beautiful birds, and I’m not the only one who thinks so; female Chaffinches agree with me. In fact, …
Coal Tits – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
I’m a man on a mission. I’ve recently rediscovered my old nature notebooks from when I was a child and I’m on …
Robins – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
As a twelve year old boy, seeing any wild bird was a thrill. Seeing a Robin was a particularly special occasion, especially …
Woodpigeon – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I was very excited to see a fat Woodpigeon and record it in my childhood nature notebooks. I was …
Blue Tits – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I was a 12 year old boy heading off into the woods with the intention of finding wildlife. I …
Jay – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Jays always seem like exotic birds to me. They’re pink! They have a crest! They have blue and black feathers! They look …
Great Tits – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I was busy compiling my nature notebooks. I was twelve years old when I started them and was very …
White Clover – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I was busy lying in the grass looking at the clover. White clover is beautiful and highly productive because …
Feeling alive
Seeing birds close up, in the wind, with rain on the horizon and a glorious sunset in progress, sat at the top …
Swallows – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Swallows seem unearthly. Their flight is so elegant, so fast and so controlled they seem as if they inhabit a different world. …
Fulmar sunset flypast
A ragged-tailed Fulmar is alive to every variation in the breeze as the sun sets at Noup Head.
Sea Urchin – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago today I was happy with my head in a rock pool and beach-combing in South Wales. Today I’m happy …