April 2026 saw me fortunate enough to attend my second European Cetacean Society (ECS) conference in Dundee, Scotland. ECS is an annual gathering for scientists, students and conservationists focusing on the study and protection of marine mammals. This is my take on ECS 2026 in Dundee – the city of Discovery. Dundee Industry Social Cetaceans … More European Cetacean Society Conference 2026
Antarctica, that realm of untouched, unparalleled wilderness, beauty and unique wildlife. For so long the realm only of bold explorers who faced extreme conditions, being the first to touch and lay eyes on this stunning landscape. Names like Cook, Ross, Amundsen, Scott, Shackleton, Wild and Cherry-Garrad, to name only a very few and by no … More The Southern Ocean Explorers
For the first time since 2009 I crossed the Bay of Biscay more than once during 2025. With my children getting a little older, I made the decision to try and do some more surveys and guiding for the marine charity ORCA, the same one I worked for in 2009 as the Wildlife Officer on … More Bay of Biscay 2025
It’s been nearly eight months but I can still feel the heat of the Costa Rican sun. Still feel the gentle swell rolling the small, wooden blue boat. Still see that brilliant blue sky scudded with white clouds meeting the horizon and merging into the deeper blue of an ocean that changes to green closer … More Ocean’s Heaven
Beaked whales. Those elusive, little known toothed whales. Odd looking, with strangely shaped mouth lines, few or no teeth, and even then its only males where the teeth erupt through the lower jaw protruding like tusks. Pelagic species, found in the open ocean over deep water habitat. These are some if the deepest diving species, … More Beaky Blinders
I was standing on the very familiar deck 10 if Brittany Ferries Pont Aven as she steamed out of Plymouth heading into the English Channel. A breeze tugs at my hair and jacket like an incessant toddler wanting my attention. The sky is clear and blue, the sun casting a molten gold that shimmers across … More Where I Belong
Clouds billow, like marshmallows, on a distant horizon. They look ominous as they kiss the sea, hinting at the rain to come. Above there is nothing but blue sky. A stiff breeze tugs at loose clothing and whips the top of the deep blue waves into white horses. Despite this the swell is low and … More An opportunity to reconnect
In 2005, fresh out of University, I went to the Isle of Mull to work with Sea Life Surveys. One of the UK’s first whale watching companies, Sea Life Surveys had been set up by Richard Fairbairns in 1982. At the same time, with advice from whale biologists, he set up the Mull Cetacean Project. … More A tribute to Popz
I have taken a leap of faith. While sat at my desk a couple of weeks ago I happened across a Facebook post advertising Terra Icognita’s Wildlife Blogger of the Year 2018. Sponsored by Swarovski Optik the competition calls on bloggers from around the world to put their favourite wildlife moment into the spotlight. It’s … More Wildlife Blogger of the Year 2018
It felt like history repeating, and I had an ominous feeling of de ja vu. It is mid-September and the first storms of the autumn are sweeping across the Atlantic heading for the UK and Ireland, and once again I am heading out on the ferry to Santander across the Bay of Biscay with the … More Changeable Bay
Wild Barley 