It’s the beginning of spring, and the first of Japan’s wintering species are beginning the long journey back to their breeding grounds in the Russian Far East. I am talking about the vulnerable Hooded Crane (Grus monacha), which together with smaller numbers of White-naped Crane (Grus vipio), are now passing over my part of Japan […]
Category: Blogs
Missing Caravan
Rushing through the moonlight, a hopper bridges blades in search of a missing caravan of magic.
Birds with “Blown Eyes”
Because I am a bird photographer I get to see and photograph our beautiful feathered friends, learn their habits and behaviors and sometimes I get to take a look at unusual conditions in the birds themselves. The Yellow-crowned Night Heron above exhibits what I and other bird photographers have come to call “blown eye”. Both […]
Harsh Winter Drives Birds South
The first half of February this year was unusually cold in northern Europe. Temperatures down to minus 20 degrees Celsius forced many bird species to move southwards. This year I noticed a large influx of both Bramblings and Siskins into our tiny alpine village. The Eurasian Siskin (Carduelis spinus) has an unusual migration pattern as […]
Birds of Peru – the Marvelous Spatuletail
Part 10/11 of Glenn Bartley’s 3-month trip around Peru – After Bosque Unchog it was back down to Lima and then on northwards. Most people probably don’t realize this – but the Peruvian coast is a complete desert. Traveling back to Lima and then 800km up the coast was a long, long drive. But it […]
Roe (and other deer) Hazards
People, cars, and deer—put them together and you’ve got trouble. A rapidly urbanizing planet is transforming wild lands into habitat for humanity, and the non-human species living in these previously undeveloped areas must either adapt to the new landscape, find someplace else to live (not an easy task), or be erased from the biological census. […]
The Rise & Rise of House Crow in Saudi Arabia
The House Crow (Corvus splendens), as it name suggests is a member of the crow family and is approximately 42–44 cm long (body and tail) and weighs 250–350 grams. Their plumage is glossy black, except for the nape, sides of the head, upper back and breast, which are grey and not glossy. Their bills, legs […]