Arctic Tern - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

As cool as the Arctic

The Arctic Terns on Westray are a curious bunch. If you start to care about them it can be an emotional rollercoaster. …

Ringed Plover - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

A fluffy bundle of feathers

I’m driving to the Arctic Tern colony to take some photographs of them bringing fish in to their chicks when I see …

Curlew - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Curlews are such regal birds…

There’s something so dignified about a Curlew. This one is in danger, though. Sheep’s wool caught around its feet is the danger, …

Great Norther Divers - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

A Diver and a stampede

It’s dull here on Westray today, but when I get a WhatsApp group message that there’s a report of a Black-Necked Diver …

Redstart - Emsworthy Mire - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Female Redstart

The female Common Redstart is often less easy to photograph. It’s more camouflaged and stealthy in its behaviour. It’s just as beautiful …

5 Farming - a glossary of environmental euphemisms

Farming – a glossary #5

We all need to eat to survive and most of us now rely on farmers to produce our food for us. Without …

Tree Pipit - Trendlebere Down - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Tree Pipit

The Tree Pipit, Anthus trivialis, is a long-distance migrant, migrating to spend our winter in Africa or southern Asia. This open woodland and scrub on …

Redstart - Emsworthy Mire - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Redstart

There’s a flashy Common Redstart on Dartmoor. The Old English word steort means tail. Redstarts are Red Tails.

Northern Gannet - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Nestbuilding Gannet

Gannet nests aren’t really nests. They’re a messy accumulation of sea plants, used for marking nesting territory as much as any other …

Razorbill - The Hall of Einar - photograph © David Bailey (not the)

Razorbill

It’s normally Puffins I see over the west Westray waves. This time a Razorbill is coming fast and low over the waves. …

Puffin - The Hall of Einar - photograph © David Bailey (not the)

Hello Mr Punch

What is it that makes Puffins so immensely comical? What features in their faces do we see human attributes in? I don’t …

Puffin - The Hall of Einar - photograph © David Bailey (not the)

Turquoise

Turquoise is called turquoise because it was imported through Turkey. The Atlantic Ocean on the wild west Westray coast is as turquoise …

Newton 76 Club - Sketching Newton Abbot - The Hall of Einar - (c) David Bailey (not the)

Newton 76

Sketching my home town in Devon is a joy. I’ve discovered so many buildings, so much history and so many great memories …

Stonechat - The Hall of Einar - photograph © David Bailey (not the)

A Stonechat consolation prize

I don’t normally ‘twitch’ for birds. If there’s a rarity somewhere I’ll usually go about my business as normal, without driving off, …

Oak Apple Gall - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

More Oak Apples

Are there more Oak Apple Galls this year, or am I spending more time under oak trees looking upwards? Probably the latter, …

Mandarin Duck - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Mandarin

A male Mandarin Duck is always a cheerful sight. They are a constant reminder of just how much thought goes into choosing …

Redstart - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Redstarts

Redstarts are a joy to watch. Whenever I’m lucky enough to find a pair and see them feeding their chicks, I can …

Hannah's - Sketching Newton Abbot - The Hall of Einar - (c) David Bailey (not the)

Hannah’s

Time for a quick postcard-sized sketch of Hannah’s, a charity shop in Newton Abbot. It’s a place I regularly give items to …

Stonechat - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Sunbathing Stonechat

Sunbathing is appealing to birds. This stonechat is lapping up the sunshine here on Dartmoor. It could be sunbathing because it’s a …

Pied Wagtail - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Performing background checks

It might come as a surprise that I nearly always select the background of the photograph before I select the bird. I …

Stonechat - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

My favourite fledglings

A trip to Dartmoor at this time of year is a great opportunity to see Stonechat fledglings. They’re slightly uncoordinated and unaware …

Jackdaw - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Pale Blue Eyes

Eurasian Jackdaws, Corvus monedula, have pale silvery-blue eyes due to the structure and pigmentation on their irises. But why do they have …

Damselfly - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Common and very, very blue

The Common Blue Damselfly, Enellagma cyathigerurm, is flying and perching now, skimming low over freshwater ponds and lakes or dodging the air …

Devon Square Orthodontics - Sketching Newton Abbot - The Hall of Einar - (c) David Bailey (not the)

Teeth-straighteners

I’m never that keen on using Latin or Greek when good-old Anglo Saxon words will do fine. Orthodontics means ‘ortho‘ – straightening, …