A Cattle Egret in Portuguese skies This morning I arose at 5.45am to shower and shave before catching a train to Bristol for a series of meetings at the BBC’s Natural History Unit and with a couple of production companies. I also met with the features editor at BBC Wildlife Magazine to chat about my […]
It’s good to be back in Britain – not!! Grey skies, a chill in the air and hardly any birds flying around at The Scrubs this morning. Around 40 Redwings, 2 Stonechats and a score of Meadow Pipits were my reward. A few days ago I was watching birds by the truckload in Portugal. The […]
What an amazing few days. The thing that struck me most about being in Portugal was the abundance of birds. There were birds everywhere – hundreds of them! The fields were full of larks, the bushes heaved with sparrows, finches and warblers and the watercourses were stuffed with waders (particularly Avocets), flamingos, gulls and egrets. […]
I’m too knackered tonight. Tell you more tomorrow. Male Spanish Sparrows with House Sparrows at Sado Estuary Greater Flamingo (Stephen Daly) Great Egret (Stephen Daly) My Guide Joao Jara with Ruben of the League for the Protection of Nature in Castro Verde White Stork, Sado Estuary
I’m writing this from the luxury of my hotel room in Mertola in the Alentejo region, Portugal quite close to the Algarve and a few miles from western Spain. I’m on day one of my Portuguese urban birding bonanza being guided by the venerable Joao Jara of Birds and Nature Tours (check his website out […]
This morning I had a photo shoot at The Scrubs for The Observer, as I mentioned the other day. I was quite weird because whilst standing in the grassland being photographed I was jumped on by 3 dogs and stopped by the police who initially asked us to leave. Apparently, we needed a permit from […]
I have been searching for this picture of me and the late Sir Bobby Robson for ages because I wanted to post it in remembrance. It was taken during a shoot for a Barclays Bank commercial. RIP Sir Bobby.
Ring Ouzel – my favourite bird in the world! (Stephen Daly) This morning was a pretty grey one as I motored towards the London Wetland Centre to do some filming with Fiona Barclay at Birdguides. The morning went well and the weather even cheered up a bit later. I hung out with some of the […]
The Staines Moor Brown Shrike (David Darrell Lambert) Yesterday was an interesting day. At daybreak I was camped in the car on a street near Staines Moor having waited in the dark contemplating visions of this eastern surprise. A small group of birders also had the same idea and soon we were all standing on […]
The view that awaited me at The Scrubs this morning – had I gone! I spent the day pacing up and down as email after email emanating from the London Birders forum pounded on my Blackberry telling me tales of many happy birders ticking off Brown Shrike over at Staines Moor, west London. I had […]
Hooded Crow (Dean Eades) T’was a good day in the office today. My Istanbul piece for Bird Watching Magazine is practically done. It was pretty tricky to write because there was so much to say with so little space to play with. I hope that it eventually reads well. I’m shooting with Birdguides on Friday […]
I was a bit tired over the whole of the weekend and two days featuring football games didn’t help. Saturday morning was good though because we won 7-3 and I was Man of the Match! Nipped down to The Scrubs this morning and recorded a couple of Reed Buntings and at least 40 migrant Redwings. […]
For the first time this month I managed to get myself up to The Scrubs under grey swollen morning skies. A male Peregrine overhead carrying prey, twenty or so Meadow Pipits and the report of 4 Stonechats were my reward. Back at The Urban Birder Towers it was business as usual. Thankfully, the RSPB enjoyed […]
Yet another morning spent away from The Scrubs and in front of my laptop instead. It was a shame because it looked pretty good outside; grey and it had been raining. It could have been good conditions for something weird to have turned up. But I guess I’ll never know. What I do know is […]
I just had to feature some more images from Istanbul and environs! Eurasian Jackdaws (Dean Eades) Over flying Black Storks (Dean Eades) Gorgeous Red-fronted Serins (Dean Eades) Syrian Woodpecker (Dean Eades) Writing an article on the demise of the London House Sparrow put paid to any further attempt to search for yesterday’s elusive Grasshopper Warbler. […]
I woke up to a fairly nice morning which was a far cry from the buckets of rain that I was expecting. At 8.30am I was at Hackbridge Station, outside Beddington Farm, awaiting the first participants of the bird walk that I was fronting. I say ‘fronting’ because after the initial introductory speech I gave […]
This morning’s football was pretty dismal as we lost 4-2 only scoring in the last 3 minutes of the game. The session was very tetchy and involved one player (a bit of a twat if you ask me) leaving the pitch in a huff after a series of altercations with another player. Pygmy Cormorants in […]
I really enjoyed my visit to Istanbul, it was absolutely fantastic. The people were fab, the architecture and history was mind blowing and the wildlife was pretty interesting too. It was my final morning today and I travelled to the Golden Horn by ferry with our guide Murat ‘The Daddy’ and trusty Dean Eades. On […]
Dean Eades & TUB TUB & ‘The Daddy’ at Buyukcekmece Lake in the centre of town ‘The Daddy’ & TUB chillin’ I’ve been here for four nights, staying in a lux massive apartment with photographer and Northern enigma Dean Eades (www.birdmad.com), somewhere in Istanbul – don’t ask me where – and I’ve only just sussed […]
What a glorious day today was! The weather was devine, it was warm and the walk I led this morning was attended by 44 people! I was expecting maybe 15 so it was a complete surprise. I managed to show the appreciative assembled masses a Wheatear and our first returning Stonechat. I’m off to Istanbul […]