Birds

Little Owl Fledgling

A couple of weeks ago I came across a Little Owl fledgling in an old farm shed. Going up the weathered stone steps, I could hear peculiar scratching and scrambling sounds and found it curled up under a wooden box of some sort. It must have come down from the nest prematurely as it seemedContinue reading “Little Owl Fledgling”

Kingfisher Encounter

In recent weeks there has been lots of commotion along the rivers and ponds near my home. A pair of Cormorants has arrived at one of the ponds and the cygnets that hatched earlier this year have grown rapidly and are now nearly as large as the adults. All of this is interesting, but thereContinue reading “Kingfisher Encounter”

The Ardnamurchan Peninsula: Day 6

On the final day, the aim was to try and see more otters and eagles, the night before had been great as usual for Pine martens with the same three coming in again. The day began as usual, a “Full Scottish” breakfast, which is essentially a Full English breakfast, but with a black pudding. EveryContinue reading “The Ardnamurchan Peninsula: Day 6”

The Ardnamurchan Peninsula: Day 4

Today in the morning there was no early otter search but instead an early breakfast, so we could arrive on the boat early, before the other boats were out. Sadly the first half of the boat trip was raining, so it was quite difficult to see the ripples of otters and cetaceans. However there wereContinue reading “The Ardnamurchan Peninsula: Day 4”

The Ardnamurchan peninsula: Day 1

Yesterday I left the intensive agricultural land of England and headed far north for the west coast of Scotland, to a wild area called Ardnamurchan. I travelled all this way for a a seven day tour of the beautiful highlands, where there would be plenty of unique and interesting wildlife to see. On arrival itContinue reading “The Ardnamurchan peninsula: Day 1”

The Ardnamurchan peninsula: Day 2

Today there was another very pleasant early morning otter walk, but sadly there were none on show in the early morning. Then on the way up to breakfast, two otters were seen in the water, although I only saw one. After the excitement of seeing otters, I enjoyed a “full Scottish breakfast”, which was essentiallyContinue reading “The Ardnamurchan peninsula: Day 2”

Dartmoor National Park

Yesterday I visited Dartmoor National Park, one of the largest in southern Britain. There was an abundance of butterflies and birds, including some endangered species. I visited the river Dart and the surrounding area, including a tor. I was shown the area by a local guide, who knew where the interesting sights were, it wouldContinue reading “Dartmoor National Park”

Falcons and Seabirds on the Isle of Purbeck

After a rather interesting turn of events, linked to the Coronavirus Lockdown my summer holiday ended up in Dorset, in the pleasant seaside town of Swanage. At first glance not a greatly interesting place for wildlife, but if you look more closely at Swanage and the surrounding area, you will find an abundance of seashoreContinue reading “Falcons and Seabirds on the Isle of Purbeck”