The worst photograph of the most beautiful birds in the world
I’ve arrived in Italy at exactly the wrong time. Birds have just finished breeding and are on the move. Many are preparing …
A wolf at the door
We arrive home late to our rented room in Tuscania in Italy. As we get the key out we notice a huge …
The NoBike app
The River Tevere in Rome looks great today. I’d love to explore it. It’s such a grand river that it’ll take me …
Tiger territory
We drive past an animal circus in Italy. I look up the size of a Tiger’s natural territory. “A tigress may have …
Stone hearts and Stone Curlews
We’re driving around Tarquinia in Italy. Our guide is our new friend Paolo, an incredibly enthusiastic and endlessly patient local birder. He’s …
Donkey
Donkeys are fascinating creatures. There’s a field full of them, here in Tuscania, north of Rome: It’s not just me that’s fascinated …
The Bees of San Giusto
We’re staying in an Abbey in Italy for a few days as we tour around Tuscania. It’s the Abbazia San Giusto. Here’s …
Little Grebe – big fish
I’m thrilled to see a Little Grebe appear in The Regent’s Park with a big fish in its bill: It’s powering along …
The reason ducks have such brilliant eyes
There’s a female Tufted Duck on the lake at The Regent’s Park in London. Looking at it I marvel at how brilliant …
Pochard on the pond
There’s a Pochard on the pond at The Regent’s Park. It’s a male, with a beautiful brown head and its bright red …
Look into my eyes
There’s an Egyptian Goose at The Regent’s Park in London: Its eyes make we want to keep looking into its eyes. I’d …
The Little Grebe and the little fish
There’s a Little Grebe in The Regent’s Park in London: It has a family. Here it is with one of its chicks: …
Juvenile Great Crested Grebe portraits
The juvenile Great Crested Grebes at The Regent’s Park are too big to be carried on their parents’ backs now. They’ve been …
Little Footy Arse
I love Little Grebes. They are so tiny and so buoyant. Whenever they resurface after a dive, they always surface like a …
Dastardly
There’s a grey Heron on the far bank of the water at The Regent’s Park in London. It looks dastardly: It sits …
A tasty morsel
There’s a juvenile Black Headed Gull in The Regent’s Park in London: They are very elegant but slightly bizarrely proportioned birds: This …
Gull attacks Pigeon – not for the squeamish!
I’m strolling around Hyde Park with my son. I’m pondering having an ice cream. We’ve had a lovely morning. Naturally I have …
Carrion Crow portraits
The Regent’s Park is full of birds. It’s wiltingly hot and the Carrion Crows are sensibly in the shade. I’m hanging around, …
And then there was one
I make the last minute decision to go to London to meet friends and go to a concert. I pack a bag …
Under a stone
Go out. Walk in the countryside. Take your wellies. Wade in a stream. Find a stone. Turn it over. Marvel at life.
Plastic Heron
We are walking around Crime Lake and its canals when I see a plastic Heron on the side of the model boat …
Signs of life at Dove Stone Reservoir
There’s time for a walk around Dove Stone reservoir in Saddleworth. I love their mosaic signs: very stylish: This must be a …
Brimstone
I’ve seen a Brimstone butterfly before. They are the sulphur-yellow ones which come out of winter hibernation early: Brimstone without the Treacle …
Black Headed Gulls at Fen Drayton Lakes
Many of my favourite birds to observe are common. Black Headed Gulls are: It doesn’t need to be rare to be interesting …
Goose Barnacles and Barnacle Geese
There’s a type of Goose Barnacle, a Buoy Barnacle, on the shore in Westray. Its full name is Dosima fascicularis. It’s one …
Swift by name
I’m used to seeing Swifts in Devon, high in blue skies, screaming. I spotted some recently in Reading, flying to and from …
Hoverflies on the cliffs
There are over 200 species of Hoverfly in the UK. I don’t know any of them and have to rely on support …
A Dunlin feast
There’s a huge tide of seaweed washed up in the bay at North Haven on Westray. We check for seals on the …
Nursery
There’s a beautiful nursery down below on these precarious cliffs: Adult Gannets are tending to their chicks and grooming themselves and each …
Pickieternos v Bonxies
Orkney has its own names for its birds. Many of these are from the Old Norse language and came with the Vikings …