Had a superb weekend in Yorkshire with my family – got my share of the perfect combination of birds & people. We stayed with our dear friends Mark and Amity in Filey. We did lots of stuff together and enjoyed every minute of it. Birding highlight was of course the annual visit to RSPB Bempton […]
Category: Blogs
Virginia Opossum with Young
Yesterday morning I drove out to the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive. It’s one of my favorite places for birding, and I was hoping to photograph a Yellow-breasted Chat that had been located there the day before. I heard two calling and singing in different places, but neither was interested in coming into view so I […]
Little Estero Lagoon Spring Nesting
For good reason Little Estero Lagoon comes in a close second as a favorite Southwest Florida wildlife venue behind Bunche Beach Preserve. The birds were very accommodating as I continued my walk south toward Carlos Point and back. The Black Scoter was an especially nice find with their behavior “ridiculously tame” as world wildlife photographer […]
Oare and Elmley
An early morning trip down to Oare marsh in Kent rewarded me with a drake Garganey, Marsh Harriers, Cuckoo and Bearded Tits to name a few. Moving on to Elmley I found more Marsh Harriers and a Short-eared Owl along with plenty of Yellow Wagtails, Redshank and Lapwing as you’d […]
Firecracker
What a bird and what a way to start my day. Switched my phone on in the morning to see message from James – ‘Firecrest singing in my garden!’, accompanied by a stunning photo. I have seen many Firecrests before, including the one and only (to date) in Israel, but never managed to get a […]
Little Estero Lagoon Spring Nesting
An early May visit to Little Estero Lagoon south of Fort Myers Beach was very rewarding with a walk of the beach beginning at the Wyndham Garden Hotel. The north lagoon was active with wading birds like I had never seen before at this location. There was a feeding frenzy underway the likes of which […]
Delight at the Dog Den
Last year, my wife and I had an incredible privilege. We witnessed the moment a massive litter of 17 highly endangered African Wild Dog (Painted Dog) puppies came out of their den for the very first time. We were in the Lowveld on a family holiday, and got the chance to head out with Grant […]
Tree Swallows
Tree swallows spend most of their day flying in pursuit of small aerial insects, gliding swiftly through the air and twisting and turning artistically as their blue feathers flash in the sunlight. This haiku written in 1818 by Issa, one of Japan’s foremost poets, recognizes the aerial exploits of swallow-kind: Gliding through the cloudburst so […]