Environmental ‘improvements’
If someone uses the word ‘improvements’ you know it’s likely to be a euphemism. It means ‘damage limitation’ or ‘rectification of errors’ …
Male Blackbird
This early morning sun is beautiful on my bicycle ride. So is this male Blackbird. Just look at the rictal bristles surrounding …
The Upside-Down Bird is hatching nuts again
I’m fascinated by Eurasian Nuthatches. They’re unlike any other bird in the UK. That’s because all the world’s other nuthatches live elsewhere. …
When Robin and Blackbird meet
Within bird species there’s a strict pecking order. It’s played out in battles over territory, food and mates. Robins are some of …
Robins – a classic gateway drug to hardcore nature appreciation
It’s lovely light in South Devon today and there are Robins galore: This one appears possessive over its stash of seeds. The …
Stock Dove
Slowly, very slowly, I’m getting closer to a decent photograph of a Stock Dove. I need to get closer. I need to …
I’m never going to complain about having sore feet again
I love photographing Chaffinches. You have to get the exposure just right to show their plumage in all its glory. The females …
Fluffy Blue Tit
Isn’t this a gorgeous little character?
The mellow babble of the Hedge Chanter
There’s a Dunnock in the undergrowth. It looks so beautiful in this light. It’s too busy searching for food amongst the russet …
Black Blackbird bird
I love how scaly male Blackbirds look in the sunshine. This one has a few white feathers. It’s leucistic to a tiny …
Sorrowful Robin
Robins are quite different from the common public perception. Here’s one with an injury after a rival had drawn blood. The poor …
Beeches on the turn
Trees have hormones just like people. As the length of days shorten, so leaves produce less of a hormone called auxin. That …
Bird portraits at Stover Country Park
It’s cold and I fancy a walk. There are Black Headed Gulls at Stover Country Park. I love the way their toes …
Carrion Carry On
There’s a Carrion Crown on the handrail of the small bridge across the canal. It’s a dark, iridescent blue against the dense …
The Upside-Down Bird strikes a pose the Right-Way-Up
There’s a Nuthatch calling like the alarm on an abandoned car, or the insistent signal of a reversing lorry, overhead. Then, with …
‘Pink!’ The nine vocalisation vocabulary of the Chaffinch
There’s a Chaffinch shouting ‘Pink!’ at me. That’s where finches got their name; from their call of ‘Fink’ or ‘Pink’. They have …
Calling Coots
The Coots at Stover Country Park are busy. I can see their nest in the bushes, barely above the water level. They …
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 …
Mandarin
The RSPB say there are 2,300 breeding pairs of Aix galericulata, the Mandarin Duck, in the UK. I’m very glad about that. …
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 …
Brown Blackbird
Blackbirds are stunningly attractive. The plumage of the females is exceptional. It’s so subtle. Unlike the males. The males are definitely dressed …
Spring
Early in the morning the light is a cool blue There are signs of spring everywhere: The light warms to an amber …
Purple flash
This female Mallard duck is showing a very distinctive wing patch. It’s called a speculum. No, not that kind of speculum, it’s …
An ‘Upside Down Bird’ the right way up
Nuthatches are sometimes called Upside-Down Birds because of their ability to walk down trees upside down. It’s all in the power of …
Is this the most invisible bird in Britain?
Some birds are showy and you see them all the time. Some birds make a spectacle of themselves and gather in their …
Nuthatch
Nuthatches rarely find huge quantities of food in the wild. It’s only when they find a treasure-trove of fabulous food left by …
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 …
Marilyn
It’s not 1am. It’s not New York. It’s not 1954. I’m not Billy Wilder. There aren’t 100 male photographers here. There aren’t …
Chaffinch warts and dirty bird feeders
Feeding birds artificially doesn’t just change their behaviour, it changes their lives completely, from the number of eggs they lay, the chicks …
Marsh Tits
I usually only get to glimpse Marsh Tits. They are small, quick, beautiful and elusive. Unlike other Tits they seem to be …