Emsworthy Mire

Cuckoo and Meadow Pipit

There’s a never-ending battle going on in the meadows and on moorland of Dartmoor. It’s Cuckoo versus Meadow Pipit. The Meadow Pipits …

Wheatears are very wary birds. They bounce away to the next perch as soon as you approach. Walking along a footpath or …

There are apricot-yellow fingers of fungus growing in the short sward at Emsworthy Mire. Fabulous, aren’t they? They are the eerie fruiting …

Emsworthy Mire on Dartmoor is one of my favourite places. It’s easy to get to, close to home, and not very busy. …

There are still adult Cuckoos on Dartmoor. When they all leave for their migration to Africa there will still be Cuckoos here, …

I decide to get up at dawn and go to Dartmoor. I’ve decided that before and stayed in bed. This time I …

“When will I have time for Redstarts?” I asked a few weeks ago. Well, today is the answer. I’m at Emsworthy Mire …

I’ve taken some reasonable photographs of Cuckoos in the past, despite the dull weather on my days off.

There’s been an eruption of Garden Chafers, Phyllopertha horticola, at Emsworthy Mire. The bracken is covered in them. The local Meadow Pipits …

I love Stonechats. I’ve spent a couple of very happy days with them: This time I’m just passing through and get a …

The Dryad’s Saddle fungus is one I remember from my childhood. It can grow huge. It has a beautiful scaly skin and …

There it is again; that fluttering movement from something no bigger than a leaf on the breeze. I track the quiver of …

I’ve arrived earlier today in the hope of seeing Cuckoos. Yesterday was a success, with a high-speed chase, so I have high …

I’ve seen a Cuckoo before, but only the outline of a bird perched in the distance. I’d love to see one properly. …

2019 has seen me explore Devon a little more. I’ve been out onto Emsworthy Mire on Dartmoor a few times to enjoy …

I try my luck again to get some decent photographs of the Ring Ouzels at Emsworthy Mire. I have a large flask …

There are Parasol mushrooms in the fields at Emsworthy Mire. They are huge, but not as huge as the dinner-plate sized Macrolepiota …

A walk from Emsworthy Mire. Dartmoor is an impressive landscape of human destruction. It’s been cut and burnt and grazed. And thousands …

I’ve heard there are Ring Ouzels at Emsworthy Mire. Ring Ouzels are thrushes which nest on high moors and upland crags in …

Waxcap fungi thrive on damp, ‘unimproved’ grassland, or rather grassland which hasn’t be ruined by artificial fertiliser or herbicides. A trip to …

I hear that there’s a Great Grey Shrike on Emsworthy Mire on Dartmoor. I’ve never been a ‘birder’ and I really dislike …

April and May are wonderful months for new growth. The sheep at Emsworthy Mire have been busy. This little lamb is particularly …

Dartmoor is a wonderful upland area of Devon. It is based on granite rocks which frequently outcrop on high tors. I’m having …