Pied Flycatchers
Most of my photography is taken ‘in passing’. It’s very rare that I go out with the intention of photographing a particular …
Grotesque
It was my birthday this week and unusually I’ve been able to see my birthday present being made in front of me. …
Portraits in beautiful light
What are the chances that a period of time when many people have to stay indoors to avoid a deadly pandemic should …
Little and Large
I’ve found that the best way of avoiding people is to go out early. And then go as far away from people …
Return to Daisy Nook
In a time before the lockdown I visited Daisy Nook Country Park. It’s in Failsworth, which is a great place to have …
Gran Canaria – the outtakes
It’s been an incredible few days in Gran Canaria with my son. We’ve laughed and smiled at so many great experiences. The …
2019 highlights of a wilder Italian life
My Italian life in 2019 started in January with a whale of a murmuration with a raptor on its tail. Just click …
The Great Grey Shrike of Emsworthy Mire
I hear that there’s a Great Grey Shrike on Emsworthy Mire on Dartmoor. I’ve never been a ‘birder’ and I really dislike …
Pica pica
Magpies are handsome birds. I keep reading about how intelligent they are. Intelligence is one of those factors which is so difficult …
Noisy chirping
I’ve put a bird feeder outside my front window in Devon. It’s buzzing with activity, with House Sparrows, Robins, Dunnocks, Blue Tits, …
Checking for Sparrowhawks
The life of a Blue Tit is short and full of peril. Their average lifespan is between two and three years. The …
Acrobats
This doesn’t look like a finely tuned athlete to me: There’s nothing to give you the impression of suppleness or strength or …
Travelling family
There’s a Long-Tailed Bushtit family moving through. I can hear them calling their strange ‘Zeee’ contact call overhead. Aren’t they fabulous? Everyone …
Somersettee
We’ve had a trip to Somerset. We left sunny Devon on the only sunny day forecast this week and arrived to thick …
A short tale about a long tail
The Long Tailed Tit’s name is misleading. Just because its name is ‘tit’ people  always assume that it’s related to the Blue …
“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 …
Mining Holly leaves
Out in the woods I’m surrounded by the familiar shape of Holly bushes, Ilex aquifolium. It’s also a familiar feeling as the …
Seaton Wetlands
Sunshine; warmth; the feel of spring in the air. It’s a while since I’ve felt that; and that’s also true for wildlife. …
2017 highlights of a wilder Devon life
2017 was when I embarked upon my quest with gusto. Which quest? To find all the animals, plants and fungi I wrote …
Birds in the park
I’ve got a few hours spare this afternoon and the weather is bright. The forecasts are for dull weather for days, so …
Crime Lake at Daisy Nook
I’m at Crime Lake. Apparently no crime was committed here, but having seen the six lanes of motorway built through beautiful countryside, …
A new body on old legs
Blue Tits are such bright and youthful-looking birds they are a constant delight to see. Even the adults look as appealing as …
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 …
Tentacles
As a child I never understood why people said an octopus had tentacles. Surely they’re octacles? An octopus’s tentacles are multi-function. Just …
Football, beer and crisps
I’m in the pub eating a packet of crisps, drinking a pint of beer and watching the football. Great isn’t it. But …
Learning the lore of the lores with a Little Egret
Little Egrets are large birds. In a previous century they wouldn’t have been called birds at all, since anything larger than a …
Beauty is only feather deep
Chaffinches are common birds across Europe. The bright colours of the male Chaffinch include a beautiful deep salmon-pink face and breast, with …
Autumn Parasols
One of the exciting finds at Killerton on our fungus foray with the Devon Fungus Group is a Parasol Mushroom. Our leader …
Scenes from the sea
It’s all about perspective. Looking at familiar scenes from a different place always makes you think more deeply about them. Similarly, seeing …