Bleary-eyed and weary from our 4.30AM start to catch a plane to from Gatwick to a little airport in Toulouse, we stumbled into the local woods. We may have been slow and dreary, but the wildlife was not. The butterflies flittered through open glades and the birds called from their treetop perches; the woods were … More Little Red Octopuses
Between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning of last weekend I was at the British Birdwatching Fair 2016, affectionately known by most as Birdfair and widely regarded as ‘the Birdwatcher’s Glastonbury’ annually held at the Rutland Water Nature Reserve. At first glance it’s easy to understand why it’s earned itself the accolade, located in the muddy British countyside, with large … More Birdfair 2016
The week started with a ritual checking of the weather forecast which foretold a mixture of cloud and sunshine throughout the next seven days, but no rain – perfect! On Monday we decided to hike up to Arrens-Marsous, as down at the level of our house (approx 700m) we found ourselves enveloped in cloud and … More Week three in the Pyrénées
On Monday we drove up to Carcassonne and stayed at l’Hôtel de Pont Vieux just outside of the old part of the town. Carcassonne is just an awe-inspiring building, a proper castle unlike so many of the French ‘châteaux’ which just look like fortified houses to me. Having headed into a slightly more Mediterranean area of the … More Week two in the Pyrénées
My dad and step mum live in Bagnères-de-Bigorre in the Hautes-Pyrénées region of the Pyrénées and my sister and I are staying out here with them for just over two weeks. We arrived out here very late last Wednesday evening and I’ve already had some great wildlife encounters. On Thursday we set out on a … More Week One in the Pyrénées
Last weekend (16th -17th July) I attended the AFON workshop at Knepp estate in Sussex. The workshop started with a fascinating talk by Charles Burrell (owner of Knepp castle and the surrounding 3,500 acre estate) about the Knepp Wildland Project and about how they manage the estate which was incredibly interesting, despite the fact I arrived a … More Knepp Estate
I’m afraid over the last couple of months I have really lapsed in blogging due to the stresses of exam season, but throughout that slightly stressful period I always had the outside world as a haven of calm, even if I didn’t have time to write about it. But now with that all done I … More Dungeness and Dormice
Cold weather makes it much harder for birds to forage in the wider countryside, when the ground is frozen solid and autumn’s bountiful supply of wild berries have been exhausted. But with plenty of cover and an abundant supply of food and water, it has meant that our gardens have become a winter paradise for hungry birds. In 1979 the … More The Big Garden Birdwatch
The Eurasian curlew, an instantly recognisable bird. Their evocative call is the sound of estuaries and marshes and never fails to bring to mind vivid recollections of swirling fog-filled landscapes pierced by their melancholy refrain. What would the myriad of remakes of The Hound of the Baskerville film be like without the curlew’s call being used as an eerie background sound … More Curlews
Cloudburst Mist fizzle into fog, thick drizzle wrap like smog, the rain falls thick and fast, how long can one cloudburst last?
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