In October 2006 Lee and I headed to the Peruvian jungle as the first stop on a 9-month world trip. Here we spent two months working as volunteers at the Taricaya Ecological Reserve, a private nature reserve in the Peruvian Amazon, located along the Madre de Dios River. Arriving in Puerto Maldonado we climbed aboard … More Wild Barley Rewind: Welcome to the Jungle
Under a big bright blue Norfolk sky. A strong breeze blows across the marshes and lagoons. Grass and reed heads bend and flex, small waves ripple across the water. A flock of Brent Geese passes overhead, with a gargling call, moving from marsh to pool. Beautiful, elegant, smoky black geese with white crescents on their … More Birding with babes
It was the quiet between two storms that were battering the UK. Storm Ciara had passed and Storm Dennis was imminent. The wind was still strong, pushing and pulling trees, bending the tall grass almost horizontal and creating waves with small white crests on the pools at Cranwich. The sky overhead was a leaden grey, … More How did the toads cross the road?
It has been a while since I last posted, what with life, school, Christmas, New Year and the arrival of my little boy Toby. 19 days early but healthy and happy. Today, 3 weeks on, and I have returned to my routine and daily river walk. The tail end of Storm Ciara was still making … More River Walk
The nights are drawing in. With the clocks going back darkness is catching up with the end of the working day and is hot on the heels of the end of the school day. It leaves little time between the school run and nightfall. Little time, but still time. Time to be out in the … More Reedlings in the roost
A break in the stormy weather, a gap between deluges brings a Saturday morning cloudy and calm. Good ringing conditions. The garden at the farm was still vibrant with green and deep red leaves, late blooming flowers and vibrant green grass. Still there is the hint of autumn in the air. Some of the trees … More A welcome return
The cliffs towered above the small boat as it rolled gently in the waves at their feet, its sandstone face honeycombed into multiple shelves and crags smoothed by the elements and painted in the white wash ubiquitous with seabird colonies. All available space on the ledges was taken up by nesting seabirds. The bulk of … More Seabirds of Noss
The boat cruised out into the stretch of water between the mainland of Shetland and the island of Bressay. Behind us was the built up, bustling, urban landscape of Lerwick and in front the rocky shoreline, moors, grassland and occasional buildings of Bressay. The boat stopped, gently bobbing up and down with the swell and … More On the trail of whales
The lake was a mirror image of the sky above. A patchwork of blue and white, with a margin of deep green. It had been a hot and sunny morning at Cranwich, working through the latest Constant Effort session for birds. All the usual suspects were in attendance. Young Blue Tits, fluffy and yellow, accompanied by … More A Wild Goose Chase
The old oak tree towered above the meadow, its trunk and branches gnarled and aged, its green leaves whispering in the breeze. The surrounding meadow has been recently mown and was closely cropped, from there a hare dashed away heading for the long waving grass of the opposite field. The sky above was bright blue … More A new home in the old oak
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