There’s a monument near Brora, 60 miles short of John o’Groats, that claims to mark the spot where the last wolf in Sutherland was killed. I pass it often in the car. The wolf, it says, was killed by the hunter Polson in or about the year 1700. I know this story. Polson, so it […]
Tag: Ruff
Purple Heron at Burnham
We attempted to find the Baikal Teal at Ouse Washes today but failed despite checking every hide and walking around six miles in the process. We did find a few Garganey and a Black winged Stilt along with Barn Owl, Marsh Harrier, Ruff and a dozen Greenshank. Hopefully the Teal will give us another opportunity. […]
Lesser Yellowlegs and Ruff in Dorset.
A trip with friends to Weymouth in Dorset, to visit Radipole Lake and Lodmoor RSPB reserves. The forecast was for warmth and sun but the sea mist didn’t clear all day and it was pretty cold, but good birds were seen including the expected Bearded Tit (though only the one male). Marsh Harrier ( I […]
When DNA let’s you down.
So we’ve given the Stejneger’s Stonechat at Dungeness three goes. We got a a good soaking got blown away by the wind and then today walked around in freezing conditions. The good news was that today we finally found the bird and enjoyed good views of this very GREY individual. The bird has been the […]
Back In Action
I am pleased to report that I am now mobile and back in action following recent surgery. I was looking forward to return to some of my favourite locations to catch up on the comings and goings. For my first visit I chose to go to Mere Sands Nature Reserve to hopefully see the kingfishers […]
6th and 13th August – Pennington Marsh
A free Saturday morning on 6th August and I couldn’t resist the pull of Pennington Marsh but a few beers the night before meant a slightly later start so I wasn’t in the car park at Lower Pennington Lane until 08:00 by which time the dog walking hordes had descended. I wandered a short way […]
Martin Down and Pennington Marsh
The last couple of weeks have been manic at work with some very early starts for breeding bird surveys, late nights reviewing documents and getting the company ready for the new and extremely tedious General Data Protection Regulations which come into force later in May. However, I have managed to get out a little to […]
Milking the cow: why Dutch dairy is becoming bird-friendly
For the last few years, VBN/BirdLife Netherlands has been working closely with Dutch farmers in the hopes of making the country’s world-famous dairy products as sustainable and nature-friendly as they are tasty. Gerrit Gerritsen tells us more about a most promising start. International studies recently showed Dutch men to be the tallest in the world, […]