Joyce had planned a day out with her sister in Bath, so we stayed for a few nights at their home in Dursley in Gloucestershire which was quite handy for me as its not far from some good Butterfly sites, including a species I'd not seen before, the Chalkhill Blue. I headed for Rodborough commom,I had'nt realised how big the common was but surprisingly I found the area for the Blues fairly easily ( I usually get lost at new locations ! ). Thankfully the sun was mostly shining and the Butterflies were on the wing and feeding on flowers including Wild Marjoram, so I settled myself down beside that ..read more

A Semi palmated Sandpiper was found on the Hayle estuary in Cornwall, a rare visitor to Britain from North America,so three of us decided to go take a look.I have seen two others before ( both in Cornwall) but its always nice to get another look at this small wader ..read more

A few visitors to my pond and feeding station here in West Devon, all taken in the last few months. Love to watch the birds come and go, even if it's usually the same old ones. Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Nuhatch ( feeding young),Robin, Blue Tit, Goldfinch, Siskin, Linnet,Chaffinch, Pheasant and Stock Dove ..read more

Our final day on the beautiful Hebrides and back on the ferry to Oban. WE then had two nights at a campsite near Newtonmore in the Cairngorms. The site itself was quite productive with a tame Song Thrush joining us and a close Red Squirrel devouring a pine cone which was a joy to see.we overlooked a birchwood which would shimmer in the breeze, a photo could'nt really do them justice. Also a pair of Spotted Flycatchers must have had a nest nearby as they were busy catching insects. Not too far away we visited an Osprey site where we watched the parent birds come in with fish for their ..read more

Across to Benbecula on the ferry ( seeing Arctic Skua and Red Throated Diver on route). Otters Edge campsite on Benbecula proved to be a good choice with a short walk to the beach, where Otters were distantly seen, waders scoured the shoreline ,mostly Dunlin and Oystercatcher, and Lapwings tried to drive us away from their young in the dunes. . We were delighted to have a White Tailed Eagle fly directly low over the van giving super views,and even better, at the campsite one of these magnificent birds would fly over and catch a Rabbit from one of the fields across the road from us, this ..read more

Arrived on Barra on a nice but cold day and headed the short distance to our first campsite. After setting up we went for a short stroll along the rocky shoreline, where I was more than happy to discover a colony of Arctic Terns and Common Gulls as well as noisy Oystercatchers with young hidden in the grass, Common Sandpiper, Ringed Plover and a Black Guillemot as well as a flyover Whooper Swan, needless to say I wandered around this area on most mornings and evenings, making sure not to get too close to where the Terns were nesting ..read more

Back in June we made a bit of an epic journey in the van to visit the Outer Hebrides, having been to Shetland and Mull before the Scottish Islands and Highlands always pull us back again.I booked up a number of campsites before we left Devon and off we set, stopping overnight near Lockerbie before travelling North to a site at Ardfern ,not far from Oban where we stayed for a couple of nights. Right beside Lochgilphead, a short walk produced Red Breasted Mergansers and our first White Tailed Eagle of the trip, as well as the more common species like Hooded Crows and Greylag Geese among others ..read more

I leave a big patch of Brambles at the edge of the field for wildlife, it attracts lots of Bees, Flies ,Butterflies ,Dragonflies and Spiders which in turn provides food for birds, most years a pair of Chiffchaff nest ( as well as Dunnock, Blackbirds and in some years Blackcaps ) this year I set up a hide to watch the parent Chiffchaffs coming and going with food for their youngsters ..read more

Caught up with three mammals in Poland, early morning visits to see the magnificent European Bison,( the first time I'd seen one of these )as well as a trip on a boat down the river in the dark to watch Beavers going about their buiseness and a chance roadside encounter with an Elk ( as well as two distant animals in the early morning mist ..read more

You cant fail to see White Storks in Poland, with every village having at least one pair occupying their nests on telegraph poles and rooftops as well as specially made platforms. It was good to return to the Pentowo Stork village where a tower platform overlooks many nesting pairs.Love'em ..read more