Under Threat
For no obvious reason the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and Willow Tit are the two most threatened woodland bird species in Britain. In the last fifty years I have only photographed breeding Willow Tits once – 20 years ago! It was a delight therefore, last weekend, to return to within a couple of hundred yards of […]
Gathering Feathers
The blog of the 4th April featured Long Tailed Tits using Woodcock feathers for their nests. More recently have had Wrens in the garden gathering moss to start a nest. The male builds several nests and the female choses one which she then lines with feathers before laying her clutch of eggs. So the bird […]
Lockdown Birds
Todays blog and photos have been taken in the garden during the last seven weeks. The irony has been the unprecedented sunny weather and as a result the wildlife part of the garden at the back was in deep shade – all day! We have never had seven weeks like it at this time of […]
Walking The Dog
One of the necessities of the present climate is taking the dog for a walk.The local canal towpath is now full of cyclists and walkers except in the early morning when it is still relatively quiet. For more than fifty years our local canal has produced common birds like Canada Goose, Mallard, Coot and Moorhen […]
Butterfly Bonanza
The last seven days has produced over eighty hours of sunshine and warmth which is a perfect combination for butterflies. During my daily walks in the local woods I have seen more butterflies than I have ever seen in the last fifty Springs. These have included 110 Orange Tips, 49 Peacocks, 32 Speckled Woods 28 […]
Gathering Moss
Just as I was staring at the garden wondering what to do next out of the dense cover popped a Wren with a bill full of moss. For the first time in more than fifty years a male Wren was building a nest in the garage. It was an opportunity not to be missed. Enjoy […]
Wish You Were Here!
In 1976 we visited Islay for the first time and I was captivated by one of Britains most spectacular raptors – the Hen Harrier. Since then we have returned to Islay one hundred and ten times and I have filmed breeding Hen Harriers, at the nest, sixty one times – considerably more than anyone else […]
Long Tailed Tits and Woodcock
Here’s a wildlife fact that I can guarantee you will have no knowledge of and will not find in any of your bird books. Its all about the close connections every March between Long Tailed Tits and Woodcock. As we all know Long Tailed Tits are one of our commonest woodland birds and widespread around […]
Welsh Crossbills
Ten days ago we had a week-end break at our favourite place “Rivercatcher” on the banks of the river Dee. A visit to the Berwyn mountains produced good numbers of Crossbills, some of which visited Rowan trees in a gully and provided me with some photos of these very colourful and illusive birds with their […]
Boxing Hares and Geese
Any visitor to Islay in March has to be impressed with the numbers of Geese and boxing Hares. Some years ago I counted 68 Hares in one field and when I mentioned this to the crofter he said” Thats nothing there is usually over one hundred”. He then qualified that by saying “I will have […]