Grey Squirrel
This routered portrait of a Grey Squirrel in the park is a cartoon exaggeration of their actual characteristics. They do look beautiful …
The Grey Wagtail and making twitchers twitch
My old colleague Ken was very keen on birds. He seemed reluctant to divulge that he was a twitcher, perhaps out of …
Moles – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I was interested in molehills. They are tantalising glimpses of a hidden mystery. What animal might live underground and …
Mute Swan – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
It’s forty years since I drew this Mute Swan after seeing them, probably at the local park. Now here I am at …
Blue Tit
Walking along an aerial boardwalk I see wonderful drawings of birds routered into the handrail. I love this one of a Blue …
Lapwing – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Today I’m in Exminster in Devon looking at a Lapwing across the sodden fields.
Cormorants – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago on 17 August 1976, when I was a 12 year old boy, I saw Cormorants while on holiday in …
Mute Swans – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
I was 13 years old when I saw a Mute Swan from the train. How do I remember that I was on …
Dunnock – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Dunnocks are beautiful birds but it’s hard to tell they’re so beautiful because they keep in the shadows, in hedges and under …
Earthballs – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
The Common Earthball is also known by the charming common name of the Pigskin Poison Puffball.
Jay – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Here’s my nature notebook entry from 1976 about Jays: ‘You can not get near them,’ I said. It’s still true. However, with the wonder of modern telephoto lenses, large numbers of megapixels, and heavy cropping, it appears now that you can.
The trees have ears – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
I bought my first SLR camera when I was 11 from my neighbour Ron for £6. It was a massively heavy Russian …
Mandarin Duck
Mandarin Ducks are one of the most spectacular birds in existence. They are originally from the Far East and were introduced to …
Long-Tailed Tits – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
I love the description of Long-Tailed Tits that I wrote in my nature notebooks forty years ago: They really are a very …
Puffballs – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
When I was eleven years old I joined my local natural history and microscopical society. The next youngest member was called Darwin …
Dacrymyces deliquescens – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I was excited to see every mushroom or fungus I could find. Even something as plain as Dacrymyces deliquescens …
Snipe – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I drew a Snipe. I was 13 years old and probably copied it out of a book I borrowed …
Lone tree
It was foggy.
Lapwings – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
As a child I remember seeing upwards of 500 Lapwings in a field on many occasions. I remember the ‘pee-wit’ sound they …
Chocolate Headed Freshwater Gull
I remember reading as a small child that Black Headed Gulls don’t have black heads; they’re chocolate brown, and only that colour …
Greenfinch – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
It’s forty years since I started my nature notebooks. I was twelve years old and lived in a tiny terrace in Oldham. …
House Sparrow – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
I grew up in a tiny two-bedroom terraced house in Oldham. There, any bird in the back yard was a delight. Sparrows …
Kestrel – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
I can see a male Kestrel in the treetops as the sun sets near Liddington Castle. It’s forty years since I saw …
Water Rail
Water Rails are such skulking birds. They seem so shy and secretive. In fact I’d never seen one until today when I …