Whether they are the hunter or the hunted, a bird’s camouflage is vital to survival. For raptors and other predators, blending in is key to surprising their prey. Meanwhile, for birds that don’t want to become someone else’s meal, the less conspicious you are, the better. Camouflage is also important for many nesting birds, who […]
Tag: Common Eider
The weird magic of eiderdown – the Long Read
In Ísafjörður, the capital of Iceland’s remote Westfjords region, a Lutheran pastor compared eiderdown to cocaine. “I sometimes think that we are like the coca farmers in Colombia,” he said. “We [the down harvesters] get a fraction of the price when the product hits the streets of Tokyo. This is the finest down in the […]
Great Grey Owl!
Yesterday I had planned a trip to Kurefjorden with Anders. On the way down we received a message that a Great Grey Owl picture had just been posted on Facebook from Hvaler. The exact location was unclear but we had enough information that we decided to alter our plans and keep heading south. An hour […]
North Norfolk – 7th to 10th February
Sarah had brought for me, at Christmas, a photography course with David Tipling and so we all headed up to North Norfolk for the weekend. David is a recent convert from Nikon to Olympus and is now an ambassador for Olympus. The main aim for me was to glean some of his knowledge in using […]
Will a Warming Planet Spell the Silence of the Eiders?
The air is filled with the sounds of wings clicking together as thousands of eiders migrate in closely packed flocks on their way to breeding grounds on the Arctic Coastal Plain. Their wings strike each other and rustle as the birds fly low in an undulating formation that stretches as far as the eye can […]
Scotland #3 – Seabird Extravaganza
Back home in Norwich already, but I have some more Scottish tales to tell. On July 31st we went out to sea with my mate Phil from Shetland Seabird Tours. We left Lerwick harbour and headed towards Noss NNR. Phil boat is great – small enough to get close to water level, but sits very […]
Still waiting
Yesterday was a sunny but cold day with an unpleasant northerly wind. Today was without wind and temperatures warmed through the day from -6C to around zero with snow now falling which will turn into rain overnight. Yesterday I checked out the Glomma and Aurskog Høland but found much less than last week with the […]
Iceland: Volcanoes, glaciers, hot springs and seabirds
Close to the Arctic Circle, the mid-Atlantic ridge emerges from the ocean depths onto land, creating a country full of geological wonder and amazing wildlife. If you want adventure combined with beautiful scenery and 24-hour daylight, Iceland should be your destination this summer! Iceland is revered by marine biologists around the world for its biodiversity, […]