Warm, golden evening light bathed the paddocks and stables nestled amongst the tall, deep green trees of the forest. The smell of straw, mingled with the warm, musty smell of horses brings back memories of childhood and a horse called Guiness. Dipping and twisting, swooping in low through the open stable doors,a distinctive pointed wing … More Swallows in the barn
Sitting as near to the precipice as I dare, which believe me is not very near at all with every one of my companions closer to it than me, I am surrounded by the new green fronds of bracken and stinging my bum on nettles. The bank of green bracken intermingled with the golden reddish … More A Peregrine Falcon
It was a chilly start to the morning. For the first time in a while the temperature reading was 3° and next to the time of 4 am once again it was a bit of an urgggh moment getting up. This time dense mist hung low, the tops of the trees poking out and reaching … More To catch a cuckoo
To be honest even for me it was the wrong side of 4 am. Light was seeping through the forest as dawn broke, turning the misty trees various shades of grey. For the first time in a long time I could hear the dawn chorus, a cacophony of birds waking up to a gloomy day … More An Owl in the Forest
It was just a normal spring day in the garden, a small patch of paving surrounded by the developing green of a veggie plot, the blossoms of an apple, pear and ornamental cherry tree and the general bric-a-brac of a busy garden, bins for storage, pots, compost, wheelbarrow… The sky above is a patchwork of … More Stars in the Garden
A row of four small, wooden boxes line the wall of the house, high up just under the eaves. Each looks out over an undulating patchwork of fields, woods, houses and roads, snaking across the valleys like silver ribbons. Leaves, innumerable shades of green, coat the trees of the woods nearby, while the grass of … More Number 3 Oakfield Terrace
Only recently had the trees been felled, leaving a mosaic of sandy soil, mossy grass, patches of dark heather and tangles of twigs and branches. From the main road this seemingly barren landscape sloped up to the tall dark green conifer trees that surrounded the patch on three sides. While it may seem an extreme … More Larking Around
Back in May 2011 it was just another ringing session at Cranwich. We had been ringing in the reeds and surrounding land for a couple of years. The project was just starting, who knew where it would take us and where we would be now with it. The huge number of reed warbler nests found … More A Snipe’s Tale
A hooked blood red bill, red rims circling a beady black eye. A broad black line runs through the eye down and round a creamy white bib. Startling black streaks line the neck merging into a grey belly that switches to a soft brown underneath. Russet brown, black and white stripes stand out brilliantly on … More In a pear tree…?
The Western Palaearctic, part of the Palaearctic ecozone, one of eight zones that divide this planet’s surface. The Western Palaearctic encompasses Europe, North Africa, the northern and central parts of the Arabian Peninsula and a small part of Asia to the Ural Mountains. Here many birds are resident, sticking year round in the same place … More The Western P’s
Wild Barley 