Stephen sent me this image of his watercolour of a Wood Warbler after I enthused about the bird in my series of blogs on bird song. It’s a lovely image, don’t you think? And it gives me the excuse, if any were needed, to reproduce Stephen’s poem about the bird’s habitat too, which first appeared…
Category: VERY BIRDY: birdwatching and birding nattering
Gökotta
I’m writing this first blog of the day at 5am after having enjoyed 45 minutes of Gökotta. I didn’t set the alarm to wake up at 4am, I hardly ever set an alarm as waking up is not a problem, but going to bed soon after 9pm these days often results in me being wide…
Press release – The Sound Approach
Gökotta: A new type of bathing this spring Lockdown has been a long and difficult process for many people, with thousands finding solace and calm in nature. Whilst some absorb the richness of their local environment through visual means, there’s an experience we should all learn to embrace which allows for productivity and creativity to…
Bird song (50, the end)
I’ve enjoyed putting together these 50 blog posts on bird song and I’ve had a great deal of very positive feedback on them (which is obviously very nice). They seem to have hit the mark with many of you. I’ll finish with two short lists of bird songs: one of species that I have actually…
Bird song (49) – Grasshopper Warbler
If I saw this bird perched out in the open like this, my first thought would be ‘Hmm, what’s that?’ and I’d be flicking through the possibilities in my head before quite quickly getting to the right answer. I’ve rarely seen this species as well as Tim Melling photographed this one, although I’ve heard it…
Bird song (48) – Wood Warbler
This bird’s song is sublimely evocative for me. Hearing it, anywhere, even sitting here at my computer, takes me immediately back to the Welsh oakwood on the RSPB Dinas nature reserve. Yes there are Redstarts, Pied Flycatchers, Tree Pipits there but the song of the Wood Warbler is wonderful. And the bird, if you can…
Bird song (47) – Meadow Pipit
I have to remind myself that this is one of the most numerous species in the UK because I don’t see them much around me. There’s an old airfield near me where Meadow Pipits nest in thelonger patches of grass – and it always surprises me to find them there, close to my home, singing…
Lockdown garden bird list – the first seven weeks
My lockdown garden bird list has leapt from 46 to 53 species in the last three weeks. The ‘new’ species were Cuckoo, Hobby and Sand Martin (summer migrants) and Mallard, Little Egret, Herring Gull and Skylark. Little Egret was a garden lifer too – but now I’ve seen it three times. Here’s the list (with…
Bird song (46) – Common Crane
Cranes are now rare breeding birds in the UK having established small populations in East Anglia, the Somerset Levels, Humberside and some parts of Scotland. What amazing birds they are, and they make amazing noises too. Here are some Cranes singing to each other. These are not UK recordings but if you were very lucky…
And the winner is…
Congratulations to Emma Claxton Russell whose entry to this blog’s Lockdown Nature-writing challenge was voted as your favourite (by a clear margin). There were over 40 entries submitted and I chose a shortlist of a dozen. There were 219 votes cast and Emma’s writing gained 41 of those votes. Congratulations to her! I’ll be sending…