Banded demoiselle If you’ve looked at the dragonflies and damselflies in the ‘On the pond’ post, you’ll already know that we have this amazing little nature spot close to our house. It’s pretty special just to sit and watch the activity on the ponds, particularly at this time of…
Sail boat in fog, Illulissat, Disko Bay We’ve just returned from Greenland courtesy of CMV’s ship, Marco Polo, out of London, Tilbury dock. This is a company we’ve never used before so, first, a quick comment about our transport. CMV has a good following with plenty of returning clients who,…
Nuthatch in our garden One of my wildlife talks is entitled ‘A Yorkshire Mixture’. It centres on our garden in the village of Kirkheaton, near Huddersfield and you could be a little surprised at how long it takes to run through the wildlife that visits here. Of course, I then…
One day these youngsters were snuggled up in the nest. The next day the nest was empty. I’m thinking magpies but I guess they always get the blame and the culprit could be one of a number of predators. Whatever, they’ve gone and while this is nature, I can’t help…
You’ll be pleased to know that my young tawny owl is still around the garden. I’m fairly sure he roosts in a tree in next door’s garden but the tree is so dense, he’s practically impossible to find. He still gets a day-old chick every night for his supper (when…
Those of you who know me will no doubt know that I use a, fairly expensive, Black Rapid double harness to carry my cameras. Peter, a Yorkshireman and Naturetrek naturalist who I have spent a couple of Naturetrek holidays with, once recognised my harness, and then me, when our paths…
We missed our train at Manchester airport last night and had to catch the next one. In Manchester, we were joined by Leo (5yrs?), his mother and family, who had spent the day in Blackpool. Leo sat at our table and we played computer games with him, some involving identifying…
Tomorrow afternoon we fly home from Costa Rica, where we have been checking out the wildlife following our trip to Antarctica. It’s a beautiful country with friendly and welcoming people and a great birding spot. There’s also lots of other stuff to see, typical of an (almost) equatorial environment, …
There’s a little town at the southern tip of Argentina, with huge mountains lining the flight path from the north and an ocean unlike any other to the south. There’s nothing remarkable about the town save for the memorial to young, innocent, Argentinian soldiers who lost their lives fighting for…
Last week, I went to present my ‘Taking Nature’ photographs to a photographic club in Huddersfield. In the past few years, I’ve talked to all sorts of groups from bird and wildlife clubs, to the residents of sheltered housing, supper clubs and local community events. But never, until now, have I…