From Herrings to landfill and back
I love Herring Gulls. Amazingly their UK conservation status is red. That’s because their breeding population keeps declining, and so does their …
Guillemot
There’s a Common Guillemot on the waves. It’s having a little spruce up. Nesting in a colony is a great idea if …
Gannet flypast on Kelly’s Hero
Can you see this Gannet’s blinking its third eyelid, its nictitating membrane?
That reminds me, I must clean my glasses from all that sea spray.
Grey Heron on board a Brixham trawler
There’s a stowaway on board looking for an easy fish. Who can blame it?
The biggest gull in the world
The Great Black Backed Gull is the largest gull in the world. We’re aboard the Kelly’s Hero on a cruise out of …
The Great Northern Diver and the crab
Great Northern Divers are sleek and handsome characters. There are many around the coast of South Devon at the moment. This one …
Kittiwake in the harbour
A Kittiwake over Brixham breakwater. Such beautiful, elegant birds with their dipped-in-ink wings and smokey winter heads. I’m looking forward to spending …
Playful
There’s some quite intense play-biting going on along the wooden pontoons in Brixham harbour. It’ll all end in a splash. I can …
A Shag in the harbour
Shags are a form of Cormorant found around our coasts. They are smaller than the Common Cormorant we get across the country. …
The words ‘Great’ and ‘Northern’ go together so well
What a special experience to spend time with something so wild.
No stones to turn
Turnstones are regular visitors to Brixham harbour in the winter. They potter around the pontoons and waddle down the breakwater to the …
The Buzzard and its shadow
Buzzards are regal. They must be, because they bring with them a retinue wherever they go. Here’s one with its attendant, a …
A wild cruise
I love being on ferries and small boats. It’s not something I do very often, so when my son Gabriel suggested a …
Kittiwake in winter
There’s a beautiful gull with a yellow beak in Brixham harbour. I can see it diving and fishing in the distance. I …
Dive! Dive! Dive!
A joyous trip to Brixham breakwater was rewarded with a procession of diving Northern Gannets. Marvellous, aren’t they?
2020 highlights of a wilder Devon life
2020 is a year which will be difficult to forget for those of us lucky enough to still be alive. For me, …
Fake is not the four letter word you were looking for…
On Christmas Day we went to the South Devon fishing town of Brixham. It was a beautiful day so we decided to …
Dolphins in Brixham Harbour
It was Christmas Day 2019 and the Puffin Whisperer and I went for a day trip to Brixham. We spent the morning …
Brixham and Berry Head
I’ve only been to Berry Head in South Devon twice before. The first time I parked in the wrong car park, spent …
Shag
There’s a perky looking Shag at Brixham. What an exceptional bird. That lemon-yellow gape and oil-black plumage is set-off by a jaunty …
The adventures of Dick and Titty at Brixham breakwater
There are long lenses galore at Brixham harbour. A flock of twitchers have arrived. They’re perched at the end of a jetty, …
Surely that’s got to scratch on the way down?
A few days ago I had my first experience of a Great Northern Diver. I was disappointed with my photograph of it …
Ruddy Turnstones
Ruddy Turnstones. No, I’m not cursing, that’s their name. There are several at Brixham Breakwater which I’ve come to enjoy greatly: They …
Hermes
Back in Brixham, looking for Great Northern Divers, I see a large shape out to sea. I look closely with my binoculars …
The Brixham diver
I’ve decided to have a trip out to Brixham in South Devon. Yes, again. It’s a beautiful town, with fishing and tourism …
Dolphins and a Great Northern Diver
I’m at Brixham in South Devon again, looking out to sea. It helps that I’ve met a couple of great people who …
Rock Pipits on breakwater beach
This is the view from Brixham’s Breakwater Beach on a pleasant day. There’s the insistent calling and elegant undulating flight of two …
Ruddy Turnstone portraits
After the shock of getting so close to Ruddy Turnstones I decided to try some portrait photography. Here’s my first approach: They …
Ruddy Turnstones at Brixham breakwater #3
I’ve been enjoying filming the Ruddy Turnstones in Brixham. I hope these tiny films have given you some insight into their lives. …
Ruddy Turnstones at Brixham Breakwater #1
I set off before dawn to see what wildlife I could find at Brixham breakwater in South Devon. I was delighted with …