Tim Melling – Crested Kingfisher

Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris) ranges from northern India, across China to Japan.  They seem to occur at pretty low density on large, fast flowing, clean rivers.  They perch on wires, branches and rocks  but they do not hover.  Like most Kingfishers they excavate nesting tunnels in river banks.  I photographed this one with its tail…

Brrrrr!

I don’t think I’ll be moving far today – not far from this computer in fact. The kitchen is quite cold – one can tell by being there or by looking at how cloudy the olive oil has gone! But the garden is lifting with birds.  There are still several Reed Buntings out there and…

Wemmergill Moorland Plan

Wemmergill Moor is where a young Hen Harrier ‘disappeared’ in February – the latest of so many.  It is also the first site where NE agreed a Moorland Management Plan with the estate. These MMPs are the response of Defra and NE to the fact that they have been told by the European Commission that…

Shiants declared rat-free

Brighter future for seabirds as Shiants declared rat free Internationally important seabird colony The Shiant Isles have been officially declared rat-free, thanks to a four-year partnership project to restore them as a secure haven for nesting seabirds. A month-long intensive monitoring check in February found no sign of rats. This means that none has been…