Is that young birds, in particular, don’t realise they can’t fly through it. This time, a young bullfinch landed in a heap on the patio after trying to wend his/her way through the conservatory. Fortunately, after some 20 minutes or so of tlc and a little poop on my hand…
Razorbill Six hours on the notoriously unreliable Calmac ferry from Oban on Scotland’s west coast brings us to Lochboisdale, just across the loch from South Lochboisdale and our small thatched croft owned by Mary Ellen and Katie. This is our second visit to the island of South Uist and our…
I was standing on a rock in South Lochboisdale, South Uist, this morning, watching a hen harrier that has consistently evaded my camera over the last five days. A little van drew up beside me and Danny, the driver, introduced himself. He interrogated me for a couple of minutes about…
I was away from home for two months earlier in the year and, not wishing to impose too much on my very good neighbours, I didn’t ask anyone to feed my tawny owl. (If you have read my previous blogs, you will know all about the owls in our garden,…
I had a phone call at 7.15am today from a neighbour who had found an injured badger in the road. The animal had been knocked down by a vehicle on a country lane and had suffered some serious injuries. Our local badger group were on the case pretty quickly and…
Southern double-collared sunbird It’s probably not the most common way to travel to Australia, but it is, arguably, the most civilised. In January we escaped some winter blues by sailing from Southampton to Sydney, calling at Tenerife, Namibia, various ports in South Africa, the Indian Ocean islands of Reunion and…
Thank you to all of you who have bought my calendars, cards or images, or attended my wildlife presentations. Your donations to Zarach for 2023 total over £3200, which has provided 22 beds to children who would otherwise be sleeping on the floor or in a shared bed. You can…
From time to time, we arrive home to find a visitor on our doorstep. Our visitor may have a headache, in which case, we’re fairly sure they’ve flown into the conservatory window, the severity of the headache being proportionate to the speed with which they hit the glass. Often, but…
Leaving the relative warmth of Yorkshire in June for the cool 1c of the Arctic regions is probably not everybody’s idea of a fun-filled trip but for the slightly mad nature adventurers it certainly has its attractions. This is our fourth adventure above the Arctic circle and although we’ve never…
Our first tawny owl chick took me by surprise when, on 27th April, he/she appeared in the holly bush of next door’s garden. They’re a couple of weeks earlier than previous years. Sitting only a couple of feet off the ground, I was concerned for its safety but mum wasn’t…