I recently returned to the UK for a friend’s wedding. More specifically Glenborrodale Castle, Argyle, Scotland. We arrived there on 26th April. I have to say the 3 days in the Castle were wonderful, the weather miraculously was fabulous, clear blue skies each day but a little chilly, hospitality and food amazing. The weather was […]
Costa Rica Trip Report – Fiery-Throated Hummingbird
Part 3/6 of my month down in Costa Rica leading a few photography workshops. We had some really nice opportunities throughout the tours and many wonderful images were made. Costa Rica is one of those countries that is just so pleasant to visit. From this lodge we travelled even further up in elevation to the […]
Bird Tour Report
From May 20 to 23 I was busy taking a birder from the United Kingdom to spots around Nagasaki and Saga Prefectures. The birding was a little quiet, but we managed to observe 88 species. Highlights included Copper Pheasant, Japanese Green Pheasant, Narcissus Flycatcher, Japanese Paradise Flycatcher, Blue-and-White Flycatcher, Ijima’s Leaf Warbler, Japanese Bush Warbler, […]
Identification of out of range Subspecies
Further to my last post on colour morph, sub-species or hybrid there are certain questions for field birders that are very difficult if not impossible to answer when dealing with sub-species. I encountered one of these problems whilst birding at Sabkhat Al Fasl (Jubail), Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia earlier in the year (March). Here […]
Blue -river- Jewel of the South
The Blue-banded Kingfisher isn’t the most colorful of his group, but certainly it is one of the most difficult to find and photograph! When I was coming to this side of the world, I was looking at the book in the plane and right away got amazed with the colors and crazy looks of the […]
Florida Scrub-jay: Great recession beneficiary!
The Florida Srub-jay is a federally “threatened” species endemic to, and found only, in peninsular Florida. With their numbers declining 90% over the last centry, there are only approx 3000 familes remaining. “Scrubs” are habitat specialists and thrive in upland scrub oak environments…..most of which have been lost torapid development. Here they feed on a […]