Nature with Nev

If you go down to the woods today, you're in for a pleasant surprise. Now, last year I had an orchid lifer in a Beech woodland I know which I visit on a regular basis. Last year, I found eight specimens of the strange looking Bird's Nest Orchid. Knowing they grow around the end of May and into June, I decided to try my luck this evening. The weather was not the best, overcast with continual drizzly rain - but I don't mind that. The thick canopy affords me some cover, and besides, nothing beats a woodland walk in the rain anyway. The smell of the fresh damp air, the breeze through the tree tops, Blackcaps, Willow Warblers and Blackbirds in song, and the 'patter' sound as the rain falls through the canopy, it all goes towards time well spent. Today my efforts paid off, and whilst checking my little site, I found what I was hoping for - only one compared to last year's eight specimens - but I will be revisiting and searching even harder. Their colour m

Below is the article I sent to the Majorca Daily Bulletin who publish a weekly wildlife feature from me, entitled Wild Majorca. This week I featured grebes with the Common Pochard as my chosen bird of the week. Great Crested Grebes displaying. Majorca has a small selection of grebes, and all of them are splendid and full of character in their own way. There is certainly no shortage of water available on the island in the form of pools and marshes, and when you consider large sites such as the marshes of the Albufera, Albufereta and Tucan, and the salt pans at Sallinas de Llevante in the south, there is some ideal habitat to be had. With two resident species of grebe and one winter and passage migrant, there is something for the enthusiast to look for. The Red-necked Grebe is an extreme rarity on the island and hasn’t been seen for over ten years now. However, the same thankfully is not the case for one of the most splendid looking grebes – the Great Crested Grebe , and as

 Dawn at Goldcliff today saw perfect light around 6am for capturing the birds on the water, with a number of species looking lovely with their reflections in the water - certainly a time to reflect. The Avocets first caught my eye as they fed with their distinctive side to side head movement. Later on I watched a pair with four chicks, and one of the adults crouched down so that one of the chicks could shelter from the Sun under her belly. It was lovely to watch parenting at its best. Whilst all the busy feeding action was going on, this drake Shoveler was sleeping through the thick of it. He quietly floated almost motionless on the mirror water as the world carried on around him. This male Common Redshank however had other things on his mind - entirely. Here he can be seen displaying, which involves several minutes of wing stretching and fast beats, coupled with calls, and eventually he starts to move closer to the female. In this case he edged closer, still calling and w

Day 3 – A leg stretch and a rarity. After another hearty breakfast, we had the walk to Blakeney Point ahead of us, an eight mile round walk, through thick shingle, over dunes and open salt marsh, but it is always worth it. The Norfolk Wildlife Trusts along with volunteers erect temporary fencing at this time of year ensuring closed off areas to the public but allowing a safe haven for nesting birds on the shingle and amongst the vegetation. immediately in the first fenced off area we were watching nesting Oystercatchers, Avocet, Black-headed Gulls and Ringed Plovers. One particular scene involved a Black-headed Gull which had made its nest in the centre of a clump of Sea Campion, and the picture looked beautiful and peaceful. The salt marshes over to our left had Pheasants, Brent and Greylag Geese, Skylarks, Reed Buntings and Lapwing present. As we continued along the shingle walk on the beach, a flock of 9 Whimbrel flew overhead towards the salt marsh and its inlets, and already

Flora and fauna fascination in Norfolk. Day 1 and 2 Cley Beach The 17 th – 20 th May saw myself and Blair Jones heading off to North Norfolk for a long weekend of birds and wildlife, and we were not disappointed. As usual, Norfolk provided some great birding and scenery, and finally for me, a bird I have missed on many occasions in several countries. Blair managed to bag himself 14 lifers so he was very pleased. We headed off at 4am on the Friday morning to both miss the worst of the traffic and to have a reasonably early start, and arrived at Titchwell Reserve around 9am (with a stop off on the way for a coffee). Straight away we were birding, and by the time we had reached the open area of the reserve we had added Robin, Blackbirds, Woodpigeons, Chaffinches, Dunnocks, Chiffchaffs, Jackdaws, Black-headed Gulls, Greenfinches, Wrens, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Goldfinches, Pheasants and Skylarks to what was going to be an impressive bird list. Once in the open area we sc

I have just sent off my weekly newspaper article to the Majorca Daily Bulletin this week featuring buntings. Please see the article below. Corn Bunting Majorca has a healthy population of buntings, three of which are resident species, the others, rare migrants.  Each has their own character and distinctive song, and can be found throughout the island in the right habitat.   Majorca has an impressive list of bunting sightings to its name. Take the Snow Bunting for example – a bird of high altitudes which will also frequent coastal saltmarshes and shingle beaches in the winter. It is a rare vagrant here with only one recorded sighting on the island from Cuber Reservoir. When feeding amongst the shingle however, they can blend in incredibly well, and be easily overlooked. I wonder if it has indeed been overlooked on occasion.  The Cirl Bunting on the other hand is a bit hit and miss.  Although they are a resident breeder they can prove elusive.  The walk towards the finca at the

Day five – Savouring the final day. The holiday break is definitely the quickest time of the year, but it had been a great visit with some great species of flora and fauna and a lot of lifers so well worth it. I was determined to enjoy my last day but in the back of my mind I knew at some point it would come to a close. So with a positive attitude, I ventured out for one last day, and it was certainly not a disappointing one. The morning started off with a visit to the aves de observatorio – the magnificent bird hide in the Cork Oak woods with the constructed pool for birds to drink and bathe in, supplying them with much needed water, and it is also visited by the local animals and reptiles too. As we watched, Blue and Great Tits came in soon followed by Chaffinches and a Blackbird , but of note and great to see so close up, were several Subalpine and Sardinian Warblers – allowing for some good photo opportunities whilst they drank and bathed in peace and safety. We spe

Day four – The Osuna Triangle. Peter had so far survived my daft Welsh humour but the day was young. This steppe area holds an abundance of birds with some real specialities too, and already we were seeing good numbers of Corn Buntings, Crested Larks and Turtle Doves . A diversion along a rough track paid off with the sighting of a Great Bustard taking flight which joined two others at the edge of a field. Rabbits scurried quickly into the roadside vegetation and Iberian Grey Shrikes and Spotless Starlings were here and there. A pair of White Storks had constructed their nest on the top of an electricity pylon and a Black Kite passed by. At least eight Calandra Lark s were counted. Stopping off on a deserted railway bridge gave commanding views over a salt marsh area which was being grazed by the local black fighting Bulls . Feeding around the feet of these animals were Cattle Egrets, Black-winged stilts and Lapwing, and at least eighty Glossy Ibis were feeding in th

Italian Man Orchid - one of the most impressive orchid species I have ever seen. Day three – lifers and inspirers. An early morning roadside stop followed by a short walk along a track proved very worthwhile. First to be seen was a pair of Red-rumped Swallows which were nesting under the road bridge, and the vista in front of us consisted of Cistu s covered in white flowers contrasted with the red bark of the  Cork Oaks beyond. Bird song was all around us and Corncockles grew next to a nominate form of Sawfly Orchid (another lifer). A Hoopoe and a Robin were seen along with a pair of Cirl Buntings and the distinctive call of a Golden Oriole could be heard close by. As we watched in anticipation for the oriole to show, a Red Deer made her way down the hillside amongst the Oaks, stopping to stare at us briefly before disappearing deeper into the woods. The Oriole showed several times, flashing the beautiful orange and black as it flew quickly back and forth, followed

Day two.  A Swift breakfast .  At the local bar, a tostada de tomate washed down with a coffee, and watching  Common  and  Pallid Swifts  circling and screaming overhead was a start to the day. Today we would be starting off in the Montecorto area where a roadside stop at a derelict finca paid off with close views of a singing  Melodious Warbler , serenaded in the background by a  Common   Whitethroat, Blackcap  and a  Nightingale.  A distant  Cuckoo  called and  Fennel  was glowing yellow at the roadside in the already strong sunlight.  Borage, Wild Carrot, Bladder Campion  and  Common Toadflax  all showed off their vibrant colours, and a  Bitumen Pea  was a plant lifer for me. We made our way to Montecorto through rolling hillsides flanked by high ridges, and it struck me how healthy the population of  Corn Buntings,  were testament to the varied habitat. It is of no surprise to me that the abundance of birds and insects is due to vegetation being left alone at the roadside, n