A few white whispy clouds made vague shapes in a brilliant blue sky that stretched endlessly above the deeper blue of the ocean. The orangey brown pebbley beach stretched for miles in either direction. As we walked along the only sound was the scrunch of pebbles under foot and the roar of the waves as … More Sun, sand and seals
The sky beyond the houses along Great Yarmouth’s seafront was dark blue grey, while above the beach the sun was playing hide and seek behind whitish clouds. As it broke out from behind the clouds its brightness and warmth spread over the yellow pebbly sand, turning the sea a deep turquoise blue. Tiny waves rolled down the … More The Med in Norfolk
Herring gulls call out harshly from the roof of the buildings where they are nesting. Against the bright blue sky and blazing heat of the sun the sound is quintessential of the British seaside in summer. They are certainly not everyone’s favourite bird, stealing the ice cream or fish and chips from right under your … More Percy, or whatever its name is…
Organisation Cetacea (ORCA) is a UK based marine charity dedicated to surveying and protecting whales, dolphins and porpoises (cetaceans) in north east European waters. Started in 2000, the charity has two aims, the first to collect sightings data on cetaceans and the second to raise awareness of these incredible animals, the threats they face and … More A Quest for Adventure
Crumbling, stone walls settled on a carpet of bright green grass, surrounded by the bronze of a beech hedge. Beyond, a dark river slowly meanders through an open park, flanked by deep green ivy covered trees and tangles of brambles. Welcome to the Priory an old monastery worn away by time and nestled in the … More The Rescue
With the warm, sunny days of recent weeks it has really started to feel like summer, let alone spring! Released from the confines of the office at the weekend, Sunday saw us exploring Thetford in search of nests. Song thrush nest, as seen through the nester’s mirror stick, one of eight nests found today Climbing … More Spring Arrivals
Back in January news got out that a male Spanish Sparrow had taken up residence in a small village in Hampshire. Spanish Sparrows are found in Spain (funnily enough!) but also Turkey and North Africa, and like our own House Sparrow doesn’t tend to move very far. So for one to appear in the UK … More Gorrión moruno…a Sparrow de España…
The wind howled, whipping the greenish grey sea into a frenzy of white water,spraying from the tops and streaking down the backs of large waves. It was blowing an absolute hoolie as the MV Finlaggen steamed from Kennacraig to Islay. Five seabird surveyors stood wrapped up against the wind and spray on the back deck, … More A Hoolie in the Highlands
December saw Lee and I heading off with 9 other British and Irish ringers to the Kartong Bird Observatory in The Gambia for an 11 day ringing expedition. The objectives being to learn more about migrant Western Palearctic birds on their wintering grounds and to increase the limited knowledge of West African birds. Located on … More The Gambia December 2011
I know it has been almost 4 months (blimey where has the time gone!!) but I thought I would start the Wild Barley blog with a tale of our honeymoon… starting with Sri Lanka with the Maldives hot on its heels (although you will have to wait for the next post for that…) Well, after … More Sri Lanka September – October 2011
Wild Barley 