Tree Pipit in flight
Well, it’s not the parachute display flight I was looking for, but it is a Tree Pipit in flight. So that’s something. …
I can’t believe I’m saying this
I don’t trust the Police. It seems strange to hear me think that, without even having to saying it out-loud; I don’t …
Cycling past Waxcaps
I’m cycling on Dartmoor when I see a Blackening Waxcap, Hygrocybe conica. It’s always a thrill so spot one, so I dismount …
One of Britain’s rarest fungi
So you think it doesn’t look like much? I think it looks fabulous. It’s growing in the short grass around a car …
Blackening Brittlegills
There are Blackening Brittlegills here on Dartmoor. They are fungi which live in broadleaved, mixed and coniferous woodland. They really do like …
Ring Ouzels
It’s not very often that you can experience wilderness in England. Contrary to popular belief, we’re not lovers of wildlife and nature …
Egghead Mottlegill
There’s a beautiful domed fungus on this lump of poo on Dartmoor. Naturally I have to pick it up and have a …
Return to Cuckooville
Wild Cuckoos are truly wild birds. They don’t tolerate human presence. I’m hidden in camouflage and bracken waiting for them to come …
Foalish
Images of mothers and children are incredibly powerful to humans. It’s even the case that we respond to other mammals: Mare and …
Cuckoo! – how to take photos of Cuckoos
There are still adult Cuckoos on Dartmoor. When they all leave for their migration to Africa there will still be Cuckoos here, …
Lydford Gorge
Gabriel and I are visiting the deepest gorge in the South West at Lydford, owned by the National Trust. We’re walking along …
The magical forest
My son Gabriel’s coming to visit for the weekend. He’s bringing his camera and wants to have a few trips out. We …
Jump-on-a-Pole
The Stonechat is named after its call; a sound like two stones being banged together. I’ve really enjoyed my time with them …
Buzzard drama on Dartmoor
I thought that last week’s Buzzard drama over my local industrial estate was it for me. After all, how much great Buzzard …
Sheepstor frost
From the top of Sheepstor on Dartmoor there’s a wonderful view of long shadows and a frosted cattle field. Yes, I know …
The Sundews of boggy pools and peaty moors
We’re having a trip to Dartmoor and I decide to stop off for a quick fungus forage. Down by the bridge there’s …
Meadow Pipits at Emsworthy Mire
There’s been an eruption of Garden Chafers, Phyllopertha horticola, at Emsworthy Mire. The bracken is covered in them. The local Meadow Pipits …
Stonechats at Emsworthy Mire
I love Stonechats. I’ve spent a couple of very happy days with them: This time I’m just passing through and get a …
Dryad’s Saddle
The Dryad’s Saddle fungus is one I remember from my childhood. It can grow huge. It has a beautiful scaly skin and …
Willow Warblers at Emsworthy Mire
There it is again; that fluttering movement from something no bigger than a leaf on the breeze. I track the quiver of …
Return to Challacombe Farm
I’ve been to Challacombe Farm before: It’s teeming with animals for food and fun: I popped back to see what was around …
Cuckoos at Emsworthy Mire 2
I’ve arrived earlier today in the hope of seeing Cuckoos. Yesterday was a success, with a high-speed chase, so I have high …
Cuckoos at Emsworthy Mire
I’ve seen a Cuckoo before, but only the outline of a bird perched in the distance. I’d love to see one properly. …
Dartmoor birds
A lockdown lifetime ago we went to Dartmoor for a walk. I say ‘a walk’, but it was more an amble from …
Emsworthy Mire Revisited
I try my luck again to get some decent photographs of the Ring Ouzels at Emsworthy Mire. I have a large flask …
Shaggy Parasols at Emsworthy Mire
There are Parasol mushrooms in the fields at Emsworthy Mire. They are huge, but not as huge as the dinner-plate sized Macrolepiota …
Lone Trees on Dartmoor
A walk from Emsworthy Mire. Dartmoor is an impressive landscape of human destruction. It’s been cut and burnt and grazed. And thousands …
Challacombe Farm
Challacombe Farm is on Dartmoor. It’s part of the 135,000 acres owned by the Duchy of Cornwall to the benefit of Charles …
Challacombe Farm
Being delicious to humans has been one of the most successful evolutionary strategies of recent times. Farm animals now outweigh wild ones, …
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 …