Brittany, France – May, 2016 – the northern coast of Brittany in France is a great place to spend some time. The dramatic rugged coastline, sandy beaches, wildlife, food and Breton culture are well worth exploring! We were based around Cancale on the east side of the bay of Mont St Michel. Here the oysters […]
The flight of the painted lady butterfly shows migration in all its beauty
Every summer, a wave of intrepid migrants travel from north Africa to Europe, seeking a better life for their offspring. Many thousands, occasionally millions, reach Britain. The painted lady, a beautiful and powerful insect that is probably the most successful butterfly in the world, will star in a 90-minute BBC4 documentary in July in which […]
Summer Florida Birding Beach Tour: Part II
This second post in a multi-part series continues with an emphasis on Florida wildlife beach observations including a bonus species seen in Sarasota, Florida. The Reddish Egret above (image 1) was photographed at Siesta Key Beach in June 2016. Tom Obrock joined me for a return trip to Sarasota on […]
POLL: Should bear hunting in Florida be kept on hold?
In the age of the Anthropocene, is it really possible, long-term, to sustain growing numbers of human beings and wildlife predators on landscapes already crowded—and likely to be left literally shrunken in decades ahead by climate change? The experiment is now playing out across the peninsula of Florida, the third most populous state in America. […]
Beitostølen and Valdresflya
Our stay in Beitostølen with visits to Valdresflya continues to produce some interesting birds. On Valdresflya I have seen the Long-tailed Skuas again but they have been too distant for pictures. The two male Long-tailed Ducks seem to have their own areas on a lake and may well have a female on a nest nearby. […]
New York’s whales to be studied for the first time
The habits of New York’s little-understood whale population are to be fully analysed for the first time, with scientists hoping the new information will help protect the marine behemoths that navigate one of the busiest shipping areas in the world. An acoustic monitoring buoy has been deployed off the coast of Long Island to eavesdrop […]
Alaska – 1st June (Day 5)
The day started fairly still and overcast but gradually brightened to give a gloriously warm and sunny day, not at all what was expected on St.Paul. We spent the entire morning at Reef Cliffs mainly trying to get views of Crested Auklet on the cliff – we had seem them at sea but wanted to […]
POLL: Should animals be kept in zoos and circuses?
Buenos Aires has announced plans to close down its 140-year-old zoo, arguing that keeping wild animals in captivity and on display is degrading. Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta said that the zoo’s 2,500 animals will be gradually moved to nature reserves in Argentina which can provide a more suitable environment. The 44-acre zoo in the Palermo […]