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…
Category: THE PHOTOGRAPHS: by Tim Melling, Oscar Dewhurst, Paul Leyland, Guy Shorrock, Brian Leecey
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…
Paul Leyland – Ruby-tailed Wasp
This beautifully coloured wasp usually appears at this time of year exploring the bee hotel in my garden. Ruby-tailed Wasps, also called Jewell Wasps, parasitize the nests of solitary bees and wasps. The female enters the host’s nest and lays an egg in each cell, the lava will then eat the egg or young larva…
Tim Melling – Hawk Owl
This is a Hawk Owl landing in a tree top in Sweden that I took in May this year. They occur at low density in the boreal forest zone right across Europe, Siberia and North America. I think that they are the only owl that is most active during the daytime. Other daytime owls are…
Tim Melling – Purple Emperors
Tim writes: As a child I was puzzled why Purple Emperors were invariably illustrated with asymmetrical colours; one side purple, the other side black. This is because the colours are iridescent so only shine when viewed from the right angle. So the iridescence can bounce from side to side as the angle of view moves….
Guy Shorrock – Eleonora’s Falcon
Eleonora’s falcon and a lady ahead of her time In the last couple of years I have been working for the RSPB on Cyprus during the autumn to help the authorities deal with the large scale of trapping of migrant birds on one of the British military bases. Encouragingly the annual monitoring report produced…
Tim Melling – Yellow-browed Warbler
Tim writes: The Yellow-browed Warbler is an enigma. It breeds in Siberia east of the Urals and winters in Malaysia and Thailand. Yet it occurs with great regularity in Britain, usually in autumn. To arrive in Britain would involve a journey of at least 4000 km, but flying in totally the wrong direction to…
Tim Melling – Bewick’s Swan
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Tim writes: Bewick’s Swans (Cygnus columbianus bewickii) were named in honour of the bird engraver Thomas Bewick, though we don’t even know if he ever clapped eyes on one. In Bewick’s day (1753-1828) the two yellow billed swans were classed as one single species; the Wild Swan, as distinct from the Tame Swan (or Mute…
Paul Leyland – Giant Peacock moth
With a wingspan of 150-200 mm this is the largest European moth. I was fortunate to see one a few weeks ago in Arles in southern France, it was attracted to a ground light in the gardens of the hotel where I was staying. At first sight I didn’t believe my eyes, I thought it…
Tim Melling – Sparrowhawk
Tim writes: I was driving in South Yorkshire back in February when I spotted this female Sparrowhawk dispatching a Woodpigeon. I pulled in the car just beyond and leaned out of the window to photograph the encounter. Believe it or not a Woodpigeon weighs about 450g whereas a female Sparrowhawk weighs just 260g (and…