Tag: Tim Melling

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…

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 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….

  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 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…

  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…

  Tim writes: Snipe make a weird noise known as drumming, but it does not sound like a drum, more like a humming vibrato sound. During the early years of the twentieth century debate raged as to whether this sound was produced vocally or mechanically as wind rushed past the outer tail feathers. The conundrum…

Tim writes: In Britain, Choughs (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) are rather rare, and probably always have been as there are few English folk names for them. There are many ancient references to Chough but that is because this was the name originally applied to the Jackdaw. Shakespeare refers to Choughs in seven of his plays but at…

  Tim writes:  Goshawks are quite a difficult bird to see and photograph in Britain.  The closely related Sparrowhawk also provides an identification pitfall but this is the genuine article.  Curiously I have never heard of anyone mistaking a Goshawk for a Sparrowhawk, only the other way round.  It is one of those birds that…