You can set your calendar by its appearance
Hypholoma fasciculare is a great name for a fungus.
Sketching the Union Bridge
I’m continuing filling my sketchbook and having fun sketching Newton Abbot’s Union Bridge. It was built in 1822 and has been swallowed …
Artificial Rubbish – part 1
Here’s an eye-catching photograph for you from Z F photography from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It has over 41,000 likes and over 1,000 …
Fossil on the beach at Lyme Regis
There’s what I suspect is a huge fossil Ammonite on the beach at Lyme Regis. It’s the size of a car wheel. …
Sketching the bandstand in the park
Back in Devon I’ve continued to sketch, this time in a much larger sketchbook, and using brush marker pens for a little …
Arctic Tern chick
Arctic Tern chicks are so wonderfully endearing. Isn’t this one sweet?
It’s forty years since I did any sketching
I gave up sketching forty years ago. The reasons are complicated, and I won’t go into them now, but as a child …
Arctic Tern on the handrail
We had only just arrived on Papa Westray when we saw an Arctic Tern on the handrail. They’re such handsome birds, with …
Yet another fish shot
A Black Guillemot in breeding plumage is a thrill. Even more so when it has a freshly caught fish to display.
Ketchup
We’re a dirty species, leaving forever rubbish in environmentally sensitive places. I fancy some chips now.
Osprey photobombed by a Peregrine
We were on a trip up and down the River Dart in South Devon with Mike Langman in search of migrating Ospreys. …
The Hot House Combo
I’m walking into Newton Abbot hoping to do some sketching at the Classic Car event when I stop to listen to The …
Pica pica
There’s a Magpie family at Dawlish Warren. It’s beautiful sunlight and a good opportunity to appreciate their iridescence. It’s also an opportunity …
The Harbour Seal and the giant Bass
There’s a Harbour Seal tucking into a giant bass in the River Dart. It’s clearly dropped it and recovered it as two …
Hare’s Foot Inkcap
There’s a Hare’s Foot Inkcap, Coprinopsis lagopus, in our dog-walking field in Somerset. I only have my phone with me, but I …
Fighting Drakes
There’s an awful lot of behaviour going on with ducks. There’s a social order and dominance hierarchy and sexual violence wherever you …
Snow Buntings in sunshine
We have a day free to walk the length of the Lower Otter Restoration Project with Anna the dog. It’s gorgeous and, …
Petticoat Mottlegill
There’s a Petticoat Mottlegill, Panaeolus papilionaceus, in this Somerset field. Isn’t its petticoat frill fabulous? It’s a common fungus of dung in …
Fish delivery service
It’s normally Puffins I photograph with the sparkling Atlantic Ocean behind them. This time it’s a Black Guillemot in flight with a …
Numenius arquata
There’s a Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata, on the Lower Otter Restoration Project. I’ve never seen one this close before. It’s eating worms …
Snow Buntings at Budleigh Salterton
I get a message that there are two Snow Buntings on Budleigh Salterton beach. I’ve never seen them before so I’d love …
Tea time
A successful foraging trip is always a joy. Back in the kitchen we clean and sort them: Penny Buns, Boletus edulisSaffron Milkcaps, …
Manx Shearwaters
We’re delighted to see Manx Shearwaters off the coast of Torbay. Apart from when breeding, the Manx Shearwater is an entirely marine …
Miniature Robin or giant golf ball?
Is this a miniature Robin or giant golf ball? You decide.
The Balearic Shearwater is critically endangered
Here’s a bird likely to go extinct. It’s a Balearic Shearwater. The stiff wings of its flying-cross silhouette pass so close to …
Poole Harbour Avocets
A trip to Poole Harbour on board a boat means an opportunity to see Avocets flocking. Their black and white plumage and …
Singing sweetly
Black Guillemots make such a sweet noise. They sit on the cliff edge and sing their high-pitched song. It makes me smile …
Nathan’s allotment
It’s that time of year. A time of welcoming the shortening days and hunkering down for the impending winter. It’s time to …
Multiple organ failure on a stick
It’s the season of multiple organ failure on a stick, otherwise known as the Death Cap, Amanita phalloides. Death Caps contain the …
Rock Samphire – Fennel or creosote?
Rock Samphire makes a lovely show of subtle green and brown flowers and foliage on the rocks on parts of the South …