Category Archives: native birds

Cuckoos, Miners, Nomads and Blood; Welsh Daffodils Updated; Regal Moments

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The year’s rushing past. So’s this post. Just do it. Publish and be damned I walked out early morning to sniff the damp grey air in the first week of May, and to check for ewe noise. There was none. … Continue reading →

A Platinum Cuckoo Serenade for the Queen

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This year we waited ages to hear our first Cuckoo. I’d nearly given up and then in late May we heard one occasionally, but always very distant. Was this the beginning of the end for them locally? Then on a … Continue reading →

April Frosts and Fools; Harmonies No.2

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No sooner does the Met Office confirm from its monthly summary, that once again we’ve had an exceptional end to March in the UK, than the weather has flipped, some welcome rain has arrived, and we’re enjoying a bit of … Continue reading →

Conflicts and Harmonies; Dog’s Teeth and Quaker’s Bonnets; Mirrored Wagtail; Punctured Turf and Hives

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 There are no words. Or are there? Like many, I guess, I’m struggling with writing anything of relevance or insight, with the background of the horrors of the ongoing war in Ukraine. Rebecca Stott wrote and spoke a wonderful piece … Continue reading →

Garden Opening; Deep Breaths; A Book Glimpse and a Final Woodcock?

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Our thanks to a regular blog reader for alerting us to the fact that 10 days ago the Sunday Telegraph ran an excellent article by Val Bourne, a self-confessed galanthophile, on snowdrops, with some excellent practical tips on how to … Continue reading →

Scolopax

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No fanfare greets your late return, No chattered dipped inflections, No yearned for sunny silhouettes. No, November’s solitary influx Seeps, a secret spreading stain. A million marvel migrants fled. The chilling landscape, flushed you Fast, by night. Alone. And tracked … Continue reading →

The Shortest Day and Longest Night; Christmas Crackers.

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We’re past the worst. As I began to tap this out on the morning of December 22nd, I can say this with confidence. The days are now extending, the nights reducing, at least for the next 6 months or so. … Continue reading →

Digital, or Print? The First White Wave, and Reasons and Rime.

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What a start to 2021. Just when you thought 2020 did pretty well at shaking up the world’s complacency, along comes 2021, and already we’ve had the storming of the Capitol by a Trump supporting mob, a pending second impeachment … Continue reading →

Kick the Can, Foot Tasting, Feather Tag, and Garden Opening Update

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I guess we’ve all played kick the can at some point, a great multi generational game though possibly needing modification in these days of social distancing – actual physical contact probably not being a good idea. But I’m now programming … Continue reading →

Guerillas; Words; Hatch; Meadow Magic; Robbing; Tick, Tock.

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Just in time for a bit of planned guerilla planting, or more accurately sowing, our eldest son and fiancée arrived at the end of the first week in June. Following the wettest day in 3 months, a quick trawl beneath … Continue reading →

Ffloss; Well Choughed; Kestrel; Snakeshead; Seedlings.

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Seizing the moment on a currently rare March morning, forecast to be dry and sunny after much rain, cloud and wind during the first fortnight of this highly variable month, Fiona had plotted a circular route centred around the coastal … Continue reading →

Mushrooms, Mistles and Myremycology

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The fabulous summer of 2018 ended for us in late July. Our weather has fortunately reverted to type here, with grey days, dampness, drizzle and occasional deluges. Only 3 days with no rain as of August 27th. However, August is … Continue reading →

Explosions; Swarms, Scents and Parental Care.

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June 2018 proved me wrong. Dramatically. After the apparent crash of many species’ populations here in 2018, which I’d written about last time, Came the rebound. Or recovery, and an explosion in numbers. It began with the bumblebees on the first … Continue reading →

Survival, Tracking, Sniper; Redemption Rain.

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Survival is a common thread here. Trivially, WordPress have just reminded me that I’ve now been writing, and photographing for these posts, for 7 years. I’ve survived for that long. This surprised me – that on one level I’m still … Continue reading →

New Year, New Week, New Buzz

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The first week of January. What a week for being outside! Pardon? Yes, really. We’ve enjoyed no spectacular sunrises, the weather has oscillated, as usual, from minus 8 degree C frosts with feathered, blue-from-cold, greenhouse windows, and the tiny first … Continue reading →