Extinction Advent calendar – Day 10
Extinction Advent Calendar – Day 10 It’s the little things we’ll miss the most.
Extinction Advent calendar – Day 9
Extinction Advent calendar – Day 9. Elk were hunted to extinction in Britain for meat and skins and their antlers were used …
Extinction Advent calendar – Day 8
Extinction Advent Calendar – Day 8. It’s not just animals and plants which are suffering in Britain. Degradation and loss of habitat …
Extinction Advent calendar – Day 7
Extinction Advent Calendar – Day 7. Time to mourn the passing of the Brown Bear from Britain. Brown Bears lived in Britain …
Extinction Advent calendar – Day 6
Extinction Advent Calendar – Day 6 – extirpated from the British Isles. There’s a Lynx-shaped hole in our landscape. There’s a Lynx-shaped …
Extinction Advent calendar – Day 5
The Red-Backed Shrike is no longer considered a regular British breeding bird because it became effectively extinct as a breeding species in the UK in …
Extinction Advent calendar – Day 4
Today’s extinct animal of the British Isles #7: The Burbot. In 1590 Burbot were so common they were used to feed pigs. …
Extinction Advent calendar – Day 3
It’s Day 3 of my Extinction Advent calendar. Today’s extirpated creature of the British Isles is the Grey Wolf. We killed every …
Extinction Advent calendar – Day 2
Extinction Advent Calendar – Day Two. Large Copper Butterfly – Lycaena dispar. Killed by draining the Fens. Extirpated in 1851.
Extinction Advent calendar – Day 1
Do you feel any grief for the death of our wild heritage? Extinction Advent calendar Day 1. Today’s extinct animal of the …
Patterns
I’m a sucker for patterns. In this case it’s the pattern of adhesive left on an interior of a stone wall after …
A Kittiwake on the waves
I’m used to seeing Kittiwakes in full summer plumage in Orkney. I see plenty of juveniles in the summer, too. Seeing one …
Avocet
Avocets give me the same feeling I got when I first saw Greenfinches in the back yard of my terraced childhood home …
Dead Man’s Fingers
I love this plant attached to the pebbles on the beach. I’m still pondering which species it is. Maybe it’s Dead Man’s …
Shag escape
Seeing a roost of Shags is a spectacular thing. A flock of Shags is called a hangout of shags. Watching them all fly when …
Golden Plover over
Watching a distant flock of Golden Plover through my binoculars I’m fascinated to see that the flock breaks into several smaller flocks. …
A seal’s nose
This sleeping Common Seal looked very comfortable in its blubber and seal-fur coat. It was cold and raining for me. I don’t …
Pacific Oysters
There are Pacific Oyster farms on the River Dart. They are an introduced species and resolutely refuse to stay where the farmers …
8J2
A juvenile Osprey was entertaining the crowds at the Lower Otter Restoration Project earlier this autumn. It’s a chick which was reared …
Fine adjustments
Birds have incredible senses when it comes to their aerial life. They are alive to any slight change in wind strength or …
The Shooting Party
I’m taking photographs of birds on the River Dart when I notice a shooting party on the bank of the River. We’re …
Buteo buteo
Watching a Buzzard being mobbed is always a fascinating experience. This one has two Carrion Crows in close attendance. They dive, and …
Grey Seal
I love to see Grey Seals basking. They don’t have the most attractive faces for someone who is human to gaze on. …
The remains of a meal
There’s a Common Buzzard on the banks of the River Dart. We’re enjoying great views of it from the small boat due …
Rook and Peregrine Falcon meet
There’s a Peregrine Flacon flying over the River Dart. The last time I saw one here it was ‘buzzing’ an Osprey with …
“Biology is bigger than your bigotry”
Today’s post is another one on human biology and its misuse to support an ideology. If you’d rather look at my photographs …
Curlew C5
I was on a cruise up the River Dart with Mike Langman recently when he spotted an Eurasian Curlew. I love to …
Sabine’s Gull
It’s only 8 million years since Sabine’s Gulls and Kittiwakes were the same species. Evolutionary time boggles the mind, doesn’t it?
A Sonnet in Remembrance (A Poppy Blooms)
I wanted to write a sonnet which could be sung on Remembrance Sunday. I’ve recently been enjoying using ‘artificial intelligence’ to create …
Manx Shearwater
I’m greedy. Whenever I see a beautiful bird I’d like to be as close as possible to it without affecting its behaviour …