Tag: Tim Melling

Tim writes: The Northern Brown Argus occurs across northern Europe and the mountains further south but the form that occurs in Scotland occurs nowhere else.  This beautiful (and little-photographed) form has a white spot on the forewing and the under side spots are white without black centres.  These features are controlled by a single recessive…

Tim writes: Dunlin do sing and I managed to catch one in the act on the high blanket bog of the Peak District. They sing with a rhythmic pulsating buzzing whistle, that sounds more like a child’s toy ray gun than a bird.  Take a listen to the audio on this page if you don’t…

Tim writes: Long-eared Owls are not especially easy to see in Britain as they are patchily distributed and are generally elusive, usually only emerging to hunt after sunset. Fortunately I live near one of its patches in the South Pennines so I see them fairly regularly, but getting a photograph is never easy.  This one…

Tim writes: the Ural Owl is a close relative of Tawny Owl, but it is much larger with a much longer tail.  The owl is about half a metre long with a wingspan well over a metre (<134cm), and weighing more than a kilogram.  Tawny Owl by comparison has a wingspan just under a metre…

Tim writes: I managed to capture the moment that this Slavonian Grebe opened its bill.  It didn’t seem to be for any particular reason as it didn’t  make a sound.  I presumed that she was incubating eggs but her partner approached calling and she lowered he head inviting him to mate, and he did just…

Tim writes: I haven’t seen a great many Capercaillies, and most of my sightings have been fleeting glimpses of birds disappearing into the forest.  But this Capercaillie was different.  This was one of those so-called rogue male Capercaillies that was pumped full of testosterone and ready for a fight.  I had to get down low…

Tim writes: called Long-tailed Jaeger in America, but they are one and the same species.  Long-tailed are the smallest and rarest of the skua family.  They breed on tundra where they feed mainly on lemmings and voles.  But they winter off the continental shelf in the southern hemisphere, mainly off South America and Africa where…

Tim writes: I have heard this bird described by three different names plus one uncomplimentary nickname.  The official name is Common Rosefinch, but older bird books describe it as Scarlet Rosefinch or Scarlet Grosbeak.  But there are dozens of Rosefinch species in Asia, most of which have pink males, so scarlet doesn’t really differentiate it. …

Tim writes: this small owl inhabits in the boreal forest zone across Scandinavia, Siberia and North America, nesting in old woodpecker holes or nest boxes.  Although it is relatively numerous it is one of Europe’s most difficult owls to see as it is largely nocturnal, though in the short summer nights at high latitudes it…

Tim writes; As the name suggests, this species occurs in the boreal forest zone across Siberia but also occurs in northern Scandinavia.  They occur at low densities and are not easy to find, but when you do find them they can be incredibly confiding.  This one is eating a tiny caterpillar and we also saw…