The RSPB seems to be working its Sedge Warblers to death these days. Not seen at Frampton Marsh on Saturday morning (not by me anyway): Red-necked Phalarope, Pectoral Sandpiper, Curlew Sands. Seen at Frampton Marsh on Saturday morning (by me anyway): Painted Lady, Spoonbill, Whooper Swan, thousands of Black-tailed Godwits, Little Stint, Spotted Redshanks, Wood…
Author: Mark
Born Bristol, UK
Educated: Cleeve House School Bristol, Bristol Grammar School and Downing College Cambridge
Ph.D. University of Aberdeen, Winter activity of pipistrelle bats.
NERC post-doctoral Research Fellow, Edward Grey Institute, Oxford University
Former Conservation Director of the RSPB, 1989-2011
In case you missed it: comments on Bird Fair, Iceland, whales, wildlife tours
Sometimes there are comments on this blog which are so good that they deserve elevating to a post in their own right so that they get a wider audience. In response to my recent short post on the Bird Fair (but also relevant to this post on Iceland, and to this one) there was the…
Birdwatch August issue
Comments Off on Birdwatch August issue
The latest Birdwatch landed on my doormat today and will be available in the shops soon. It’s what we could think of as the Hen Harrier Day issue! There’s a useful leaflet with details of Hen Harrier Day events but much more. Rob Sheldon writes about HHDays past and present and the Guest Blog by…
The last straw?
Bought in a cafe in Idaho – a metal straw and cleaner to reduce the number of plastic straws one uses (provided you remember to take it with you). There aren’t many circumstances where a straw is really needed, and they usually turn up in places where your drink has arrived in a plastic…
#justice4henharriers
There’s not much to report but it’s an excuse to repost one of Gordon Yates’s wonderful images. I met with our lawyers last week. We are still waiting to hear whether we have leave to appeal. We hope to hear, one way or another, by the end of July which isn’t far away, but even…
Paul Leyland – Leopard Moth
Paul writes: I found this moth in my garden last week. I had run a moth trap overnight and next morning found this one nearby. It must have been attracted to the light and then settled down to rest up for the day. It’s a stunning moth and instantly recognisable with the black spots on…
Tim Melling – Bluethroat
I think that Bluethroat is Europe’s most beautiful songbird. The throat looks colourful enough to be a Christmas tree decoration and the copper triangles on its tail sides are exquisite. Its scientific name Luscinia svecica translates as Swedish Nightingale and it was in northern Sweden where I photographed this stunning male. There are two main…
Does it work for you?
There’s a little box next to this blog which allows you to enter your email address and you will be sent an email each time a blog is posted here. Except, several of you have now told me that it isn’t working very well. And now you’ve pointed it out, I’ve noticed it isn’t working…
Gordon Yates – Long-eared Owls
Gordon writes: Long Eared Owls are the most nocturnal of all our Owls and seldom hunt in daylight. There are only a couple of weeks, at this time of year, when the adults are forced to hunt in daylight to feed their fledged young. Last week I was privileged enough to photograph a pair of…
Jeremy Corbyn is a goal hanger.
I heard the phrase used on the radio (it must have been Radio 4) a while ago; ‘Jeremy Corbyn is a goal hanger’. It took me right back to my youth, and teenage games of football played in farmers’ fields where the goalposts were piles of jumpers, the boundaries of the playing surface were as…