Thanks to those who have made donations, bought images, calendars and cards or listened to my wildlife talks, this year I have been able to send £3150 to Zarach. Your money is helping to give ‘every head a bed and make every house a home’.
In 2015, our European robin was voted Britain’s national bird and, it was said at the time, is a bird which is ‘woven into the nation’s psyche’. It’s definitely the most recognisable. With its bright orange breast it is known to just about everyone, young and old and, with around…
Any day in Africa is a good one. African skies are big and beautiful. Sunrises are amazing and only surpassed by sunsets. Living in the bush is as far as you can get from noise, pollution and the everyday concerns of life in the fast lane. The sounds, smells and…
About five years ago on a lovely Sunday morning, I was sitting in my neighbour’s Kirkheaton garden when a beautiful bird glided along the field just below us and then disappeared just as fast as it had appeared. It took me completely by surprise because this was the first and…
It’s moulting season for birds and everything has gone quiet, so for the past couple of weeks I’ve had a little project with some birds that are still raising their young – barn owls. These are the ones that look white when you see them at night. They’re the ‘farmer’s…
Well, it finally got me. After 27 months keeping my head down, I succumbed to covid! Fortunately, my symptoms are not bad but I’m still confined to barracks and my camera hasn’t been out for well over a week. But, just before my confinement, I was feeding my tawny…
Arctic tern Every wildlife watcher should pay a summer visit to Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire to view the UK’s biggest seabird, the northern gannet, followed quickly by a trip up the coast to the Northumbrian Farne Islands where the star attractions are nesting Arctic terns and Atlantic puffins. You can…
Water Avens My favourite subject at school was English language and I soon learned that verbs were necessary to every sentence. Verbs express what we do and a sentence is incomplete without at least one lurking in there, explaining what we are about. Kirkheaton’s 20% for Wildlife group exists, largely,…
Long-tailed tit The long-tailed tit with a mouth full of caterpillars is a timely reminder that nature’s reproduction season is in full swing. If you’re up during the night feeding a demanding baby, I sympathise with you. But you’re not the only one finding child rearing hard work. In the…
I’ve never grown a beard for more than two or three days before I was expressly encouraged to shave it off. That is, until I forgot my razor when I went to the Hebridean island of Mull a couple of weeks ago. Of course, I could have gone to the…