Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus) - so surprised to see you Is there any bird sillier than a Pheasant? They stand there beside the road, you cover your brake and slow down, and you just know what is going to happen next. Just as you are a few yards away they suddenly decide to jump out in front of you. They are ...
READ MORE +
Little Owl (Athene noctua) giving you the eye It’s a moonlit dusk in early March when suddenly a two-syllable scream breaks the silence. There it is again, a gently rising repetitious ‘ooo-eee’. Is it a stoat or rabbit being strangled by a fox? You could be forgiven for thinking so. Whatever it is, it is taking ...
READ MORE +
Russian White-fronted Geese It was one of those mornings we had this winter when a foggy grey blanket hung heavily overhead. Some nearby house lights pierced the murk but I could not see beyond them. On such a morning birds get confused and disorientated. In the garden a flock of over 100 dark shapes ...
READ MORE +
A Merlin with a capture (Falco columbarius) With no traditional pantomimes available to us right now I am pleased to report that, at least in the bird world, the show goes on. Oh yes it does! And top entertainment has been provided recently to a few excited observers in Surrey who have witnessed a headline act. ...
READ MORE +
I can report a happy little - or should I say huge - Christmas story this month from the birding world. Regular readers may recall the massive White-tailed Sea Eagle I wrote of last June following its brief visit to the Cranleigh area. A flying ‘barn door’ with a wingspan of over two metres. How could we miss it? ...
READ MORE +
A Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla) in full flight A surprise early Christmas present came my way back on one of those still and lazy September days we fondly remember now the nights have drawn in. The sun blazed brilliantly in an ever-blue sky and fallen fruit from the hedgerow attracted the fast fading ...
READ MORE +
A Sparrowhawk eating a Collared Dove in a Surrey garden © Mark Davis Suddenly all peace in the garden is shattered. The ever-watchful Blue Tits switch tracks from soft twittering to explosive anxious alarms – and I know what will happen next. Wood Pigeons immediately crash out of the oak trees. It sounds ...
READ MORE +
Bar-Tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) All was eerily quiet on a clear still night in Cranleigh during lockdown. No cars, no planes, no distant loud music, and no excited folk returning home from the bars. It was yet another strange Saturday evening. There had been no live football either so instead of Match ...
READ MORE +
Mediterranean Gull (Larus melanocephalus) With the arrival of August it should be holiday time in a nice hot place like Spain or Greece. But the pandemic has put paid to that. We can only dream of blue skies for days on end, crystal-clear seas, and friendly little harbour restaurants serving the freshest and ...
READ MORE +
Teal (Annas crecca) One bonus about birding is that you can do it almost anywhere so the Covid-19 lockdown produced an unexpected challenge. How many species of birds could keen birders see or hear from their gardens? And for those without gardens – from their windows? To find out, I was among 61 birders ...
READ MORE +
