Tag: Tim Melling

Tim writes: I think Harlequins are one of the most beautiful ducks in the world.  They breed in Iceland, Greenland, northern North America and eastern Asia.  These two were floating in the surf off the Vancouver Island coast.  I have always found them to be quite unapproachable, which might explain their scientific name (Histrionicus histrionicus),…

Tim writes: The Anna’s Hummingbird is about 10cm from bill tip to tail and weighs less than five grams.  It was named after Princess Anna d’Essling the 19th century  Duchess of Rivoli, wife of Prince Victor Massena and son of one of Napoleon’s Marshalls.  It was named by René Lesson, a French naturalist who also…

  Tim writes: This butterfly is declining right across its European range and Britain has not bucked the trend.  This individual was photographed at Finglandrigg National Nature Reserve in North Cumbria.  It typically occurs on marshy grassland where its foodplant Devil’s-bit Scabious occurs, but some colonies occur on chalk downland in the south.  The plant…

Tim writes: Northern Eggar (Lasciocampa quercus callunae) is a large day-flying moth that is currently considered to be the northern form of the Oak Eggar (L. quercus).  Northern Eggar is darker with distinct wing marking differences (eg paler shoulders and an S-shaped cross band), it has a two year life cycle (not one year like…

  Tim writes: Whinchat is now largely an upland bird in Britain having suffered a 47% range contraction since 1968-72.  A range contraction means that a 10km square that had breeding Whinchats (could have been one or dozens of pairs) in the 68-72 Atlas, did not hold breeding Whinchats in the 2007-11 Atlas.  Monitoring of…

Tim writes: This is an adult Little Tern carrying a fish.  I thought it was a sandeel when I took it, but the body looks too broad, more like a juvenile Herring.  Little Terns are one of our rarest breeding seabirds with a British population of just 1,600 pairs, and declining.  The Arctic Tern has…

Tim writes: In Britain we call this bird Great Northern Diver, whereas in America the standard name is Common Loon.  In Britain we prefer the name Diver, because Loon has another meaning (fool) and we would not want to lumber a bird as majestic as this with such an insulting name.  But Loon was used…

    Tim writes: This is quite a historic photograph as it is a youngster from the first ever nest of Bearded Tits in South Yorkshire.  It was taken at the RSPB Old Moor reserve near Barnsley where they encouraged the birds to nest this year using a thatched “wigwam” nestbox.   I saw two youngsters…