Short-Toed Treecreepers and reflections on bird photography
It’s always a thrill to see a bird creeping like a mouse up a tree trunk. It’s only when it flies down …
Spotting a Spotted Redshank
There are a couple of Spotted Redshanks close by. I take a hasty photograph and smile at the acrobatic leg stretching: There’s …
Spatula
The Lago di Alviano in Italy is one of my favourite places. Whether it’s cold and foggy or bright and breezy, there’s …
Pettirosso
European Robins are fascinating. This one is the forest in Italy looks like a youngster, as it has a pale band on …
A whale of a murmuration with a raptor on its tail
The Starlings are gathering at the Lago di Alviano and they’re swirling overhead. One moment they’re a tight, dark ball, the next …
Queenfisher
I’ve just spent my birthday sitting in a small wooden shed. Last year we were here looking at Red Squirrels in the …
In a clearing in the forest
How cute is this character?
A Little Grebe – the fast-sinking redneck
It’s always amused me that the Orcadian name for the Little Grebe is Little Footy Arse. It’s such a great descriptive name. …
Nuthatch
I’m watching a Nuthatch come in to a forest clearing in Italy and pick up sunflower seeds. They are quick. There must …
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.
Great Spotted Woodpecker
There’s a Great Spotted Woodpecker in this Italian forest. I hear the cry “Picchio Rosso Maggiore” and see it approach: This woodpecker’s …
The King of Fishers
The views of Kingfishers I’ve had before were fleeting. A brief glimpse of a flash of a bluish-emerald jewel disappearing over the …
Robins, Robins everywhere
We’re at a nature reserve in Italy, a WWF Oasi called the Lago di Alviano. There are European Robins here and they’re …
The Rusty Circler
It’s still early when we reach the lake at the Lago di Alviano. It’s a place of mists and muffled sounds. There’s …
Incoming Heron
There’s a Grey Heron incoming: I just hope it avoids the unsuspecting Pochard sleeping on the lake: And as soon as it’s …
The Elfin Saddle
We’ve taken a trip to Alviano to see the birds in the forest and on the lake. We had a fabulous time …
Marsh Tits
Marsh Tits are quite difficult to photograph. They are fast and pay only fleeting visits to exposed perches. There are far fewer …