Tit in blossom
People picking a favourite month always seems strange to me, as if you could have one month without the others. Anyway, if …
Hides and garden birds
In Italy we visit Lago di Alviano and enjoy their small birds’ hide. The hide is large and L-shaped, there’s furniture in …
11 grammes of joy
Blue Tits weigh 11 grammes, although it’s a little more when one’s fully laden with an egg. Try describing a Blue Tit: …
Blue Tits
The Blue Tit’s scientific name is Cyanistes caeruleus. Cyanistes is from the Ancient Greek World kuanos meaning dark blue, which is the …
Bringing home the sausage
This Blue Tit is a thrill in this light: It has a wonderful crest with a beautiful powder blue iridescence. Blue Tits …
2021 highlights of a wilder Devon life – part 2
Much of the nature I’ve enjoyed in Devon this year has been close to home. It’s been a short walk or cycle …
Blue Tit in Blackthorn blossom
Blue Tits are one of our most decorative birds. If only we could see them as they see each other. The males …
Blue Tit blue day
I’ve not been out of the house for a few days. I’ve been sitting in listening to the spout of water coming …
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 …
Fluffy Blue Tit
Isn’t this a gorgeous little character?
Blue Tits #2
I’m delighted to be spending time with Blue Tits in the forest here at Lago di Alviano. These don’t have metal rings …
Blue Tits #1
Finally! Some decent light. Aren’t Blue Tits fantastic? This one has a raised crest to die for: They’ve got to be one …
Tits and Finches in an Italian forest
Blue Tits, Cyanistes caeruleus, always cheer me up. Who doesn’t have their spirits lifted when they see a bright, tiny little bird …
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 …
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 …
A Blue Tit master of chiaroscuro
Bird photography is all about closeness and light. Sometimes the two arrive together and provide the perfect combination. This Blue Tit shows …
Ultra Violet Tits
There are Blue Tits galore in the trees in this Italian forest. Their Italian name is Cinciarella, pronounced Chin-char-ella. Their beaks are …
Somersettee
We’ve had a trip to Somerset. We left sunny Devon on the only sunny day forecast this week and arrived to thick …
Blue Tit in the forest
It’s beautiful light in the forest as a Blue Tit approaches: They have a very familiar wide-legged stance. Perfect.
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 …
Blue Tits
Blue Tits weren’t always called Blue Tits. They were once called Titmice or Titmouse. The mice or mouse in their name doesn’t …
Blue Tit in the snow
Snow has been falling all afternoon and delicate powdery flakes have been cushioning the world into a different, eerie, soft and soundless …
Blue Tits with big bellies
I love Blue Tits. I’m used to seeing them in Devon. Here they are in Italy: This one so is immaculately groomed …
The First Ladybird Book of British Birds – #4 The Blue Tit
Leafing through this 1950s Ladybird book is fascinating. Today I’ve come to the Blue Tit: Here’s my childhood sketch of Blue Tits. …
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 …