Wings do not guarantee flight. You may think that the ability to fly might be one of the most envied and useful aspects of being a bird. However, there are numerous bird species which, through evolution, have lost their ability to fly over time. This has happened in different bird groups independently, meaning that flightlessness is a good […]
Tag: Shag
Puffin numbers down by almost a quarter on Farne Islands, annual survey shows
A survey of puffins on the internationally important Farne Islands has shown a drop in numbers of almost a quarter. The National Trust which looks after the islands off the Northumberland coast said the long-term trend needed to be monitored and cautioned against interpreting it as a sudden population decline. The number of breeding pairs […]
The North Cornwall Coast
A spring day out on a North Cornwall headland when the sun is shining and the birds are starting their breeding cycle, I really can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be.
A day in Dorset
All winter I’ve wanted to get down and see the Lesser Yellowlegs at Lodmoor so yesterday we bit the bullet and drove the 160 miles down the M3 arriving around 8.15am we managed to find the target although views were not as crippling as the images I’ve been seeing. It was sat on the far […]
Great visit to Wallasea Island
Sometimes a days birding can deliver very little and then sometimes days like today come along where it all seems to go right. A Barn Owl as we pulled into the track to the reserve followed by two Short-eared Owls hunting at first light then a male Merlin flashes across us and sits out on […]
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 […]
De Aalscholver
De meeste mensen zullen hem ongetwijfeld wel eens gezien, voorbij vliegend laag over het water of zittend in een boom. Met name dat laatste verbaasd me elke keer weer. Deze vogels zijn namelijk uitgerust met enorme zwemvliezen aan de poten waarmee ze uitstekend kunnen zwemmen en onder water op jacht kunnen gaan naar de toch […]
Isle of Mull – story of the stack
It was early spring on ‘eagle island’ and on our marine excursions covering the north shore of Mull we were monitoring our local white-tailed eagle territory to see if nestingattemptswere taking place. After not seeing any clues in their traditional nest site high up in aconiferplantation, we noticed the female bird seemed to be hunkered […]