Watching Wood Pigeons and Blackbirds digging in the snow out of my window now, but my head and heart are still in South Africa. Luckily those images keep the memories fresh and warm. On February 16th we drove around Satara, to the south and to the east. We left very early, especially for big mammals. […]
And He’s Off
The Fieldfare popped in this morning for one more breakfast before taking to the skies allowing the resident Blackbirds and Song Thrush back in the garden to feed. The wintering male Blackcap was joined briefly by another male and female but like the Fieldfare he defended his garden well and they quickly left without as […]
Pennington Marsh – 5th and 9th March
I visited Pennington Marsh on 5th and 9th March and on both days saw much the same. Its a pretty static time of year with winter birds steadily but barely noticeably declining and very few migrants appearing. The Lapwing are now in regular display and are busy making nesting scrapes on the marsh while Black-tailed […]
Summer time birding – Tanoumah
Last summer I visited Tanoumah, and have just sorted out my photos from the trip. Below are a few species I managed to see and photograph including Abyssinian White-eye, Brown-necked Raven, Common Kestrel, Crested Lark, Little Rock Thrush, Tristrams Starling and Violet-backed Starling. I also saw a few Arabian endemics including Arabian Serin, Arabian Wheatear, […]
Finally in the (Norwegian) bag – White-backed Pecker
Before today White-backed Woodpecker was one of three species of regular breeder on the Norwegian mainland that I had not seen in Norway with the other 2 being Stonechat and Leaches Petrel. Norway has a very important population of White-backed Pecker but these birds are all in the west of Norway and have eluded me […]
Greater Spotted Eagles – Jubail
At least fifteen Greater Spotted Eagles Clanga clanga were recorded at a wetland site near Jubail this winter. Birds winter at a number of sites in Saudi Arabia with the Jubail area the best for the species in the Eastern province. In winter birds are almost always near wetland areas with large areas where they […]
Pennington Marsh – 21st February
On a bright sunny morning I had a few hours to spend at Pennington Marsh. It is sometime since I had been down to the marsh and so I was looking forward to my time here. I walked a pretty standard route taking in Butt’s Lagoon, Fishtail Lagoon, Jetty Lagoon and out to Oxey Lagoon. […]
What can you do to help save the great barrier reef?
Even if you are nowhere near Australia you will probably know that the great barrier reef is under incredible pressure to survive, there are many issues negatively affecting coral reefs around the world including pollution (including plastics), unsustainable fishing, climate change, coastal development and invasive species. There are many things that you can do to […]