Even though this is an annual occurrence, it’s still something that fills me with dread – a White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) inspecting my chimney. As they’re protected, if they decide to build a nest on the chimney then they can’t be moved and I’d have to wait until they’ve returned to warmer climes before IContinue reading “Stork on chimney”
Monthly Archives: June 2015
Wild strawberries
There is currently an abundance of wild strawberries (Fragaria vesca) in my area. It makes going for a walk a very pleasant experience. They’ll finish very soon and be replaced by other berries. Wild cherries are also ripe at the moment.
Hare in grass
A Brown, or European, Hare (Lepus europaeus) hiding in a meadow. In many European mythologies they were seen as a psychopomp, or conduit to the otherworld
Golden Oriole
The Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus) produces my favourite bird song – it gives a tropical or Australian-like sound to the garden. They only migrate for a couple of months each year and will shortly be leaving, much earlier than other migratory species. I’ve been trying for years to get a photo of one but theyContinue reading “Golden Oriole”
House Martin nesting in window
Each year, several migratory species return to this region. The giant white storks are hard to miss, and the air is quickly filled with thousands of House Martins (Delichon urbicum). The Martens are like mini-swallows and have the extremely useful function of keeping down the insect population. However, there is a caveat to their arrivalContinue reading “House Martin nesting in window”
Slow Worm
This weekend was scorching hot, above 30 degrees Centigrade. This Slow Worm (Anguis fragilis) was sunning itself on a road when I found it. Judging by its tail, it’s already had one bad encounter (they lose their tails when threatened but the regrowth is always short and stubby), so I moved it off the roadContinue reading “Slow Worm”
Red Backed Shrike fledgling
Synchronicity at play again…. This photo I took a week ago in my back garden – over 30 kilometres away from the previous Red Backed Shrike (Lanius collurio) photo. I couldn’t identify the bird so I even showed it to an ornithologist. She mistakenly identified it as a Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) fledgling but I disagreedContinue reading “Red Backed Shrike fledgling”
Fish jumping in river
Today was a day of jumping fish, whether in ponds or, like this one, in the river near my home. There must be some sort of symbolic synchronicity involved but I’ve no idea what it could mean….
Red Backed Shrike
After an extremely stressful day, we decided to go for a ride on Feisty. We went to a beautiful little hidden spot which has a bar and trout ponds out in the countryside. The place was empty apart from us and a pretty young blonde barmaid who kept hidden inside. A metal, Japanese-like bridge crossedContinue reading “Red Backed Shrike”
Carpathian Adventure 