I have been very privileged in that I have lived in many places around the world, almost always with a garden or nearby green space. And I have enjoyed watching beautiful and/or funny birds in all of them. From gregarious gold finches and cute tits in Europe, bright red cardinals and aggressive hummingbirds in north…
Oh-my-god-oh-my-god-oh-my-god! I saw my first all wild Eurasian eagle-owl! And he was so handsome! I’ve recently started the habit of taking a break and going outside for an hour every day so I don’t feel psychologically dead every evening, after a long day of staring at a laptop screen. And it is wonderful. Birding is…
Birds don’t have hair, they have feathers. Mostly. Usually. (Recent studies show it is probable that many dinosaurs were feathered too!) Like us, in their skin they have follicles from which the feather grows. The main hard bit, the “spine” of the feather is called the shaft or rachis. The part of the shaft that…
A few months ago, I was staggering through a leftover fragment of Amazon rainforest, with a backpack full of camera traps, when out of the corner of my eye I saw a magnificent bird. As I turned my head to look at it, it disappeared and all I had to go on as I leafed…
Hi guys, what’s plotting? I’m super excited, because I saw a pair of black woodpeckers today! In my rather outdoorsy life, this is only the second time ever that I’ve seen them in the flesh. These birds are beautiful! All black, with cream coloured beak and eyes and a striking red mark on the top…