Writer – Photographer – Daydreamer
There are days when I go out to take photos and seeing nothing of interest. Perhaps a few roe deer that run off as I approach or a fox skulking by a distant hedgerow. I regularly see birds, but most are small and skittish and have moved on before I can lift my camera. Once in a while, though, I get to see a true spectacle. Continue reading “Bean Goose Migration”
Driving through the countryside at the moment, the air is filled with the song of these tiny little birds. I scan the skies, I scan the fields, but they are so hard to spot. Finally, I see one. I sit and watch. I listen. It is magical. Continue reading “Skylark”
Our house is nestled at the edge of our village, facing out onto fields and forests for as far as the eye can see. Sitting in my front room, I regularly see buzzards swooping and soaring over the fields. Generally, they are quite far in the distance, but occasionally they do come quite close. I was lucky once to be in the garden, camera in hand, when one flew over the house. Most of the time, though, they are gone from range before I have time to grab my camera. Continue reading “A Buzzard Soars”
Between the mists and the snow, the roads look endless. Oh, to drive forever on such roads, the crunch of snow beneath my wheels, the cold air pouring through the open windows as I dare not miss a single sight. The countryside is already beautiful, but under a thick blanket of snow, it is magical. Continue reading “Snowy Lanes”
Oh, the joy! Oh, the sweet, sweet joy! Finally, after years of searching and waiting, I got to see a wild boar in the flesh. But not just one boar – a whole sounder (group) of sows and piglets! And the experience was everything I hoped it would be! Continue reading “Wild Boar Feeding Project, Tauragė (Lithuania)”
A common buzzard (paprastasis suopis) soaring above my garden. Look at that sky for the last day of October! Continue reading “Common Buzzard Soaring”
There is something soothing about September. After the build-up of spring and the crescendo of summer, things are slowly starting to wind down. The ouch is gone out of the sun but it is still warm enough to be outside, sometimes even in shorts and a t-shirt. The evenings are noticeably shorter but there is still enough light to walk the dog after dinner. By 9 pm it is fully dark, perfect for settling down with a good book or a movie without the guilty feeling that you should be doing something more “constructive”. Continue reading “Sparkling Webs”
This is how to do September – high tea in a high hide! Continue reading “High Tea in a High Hide!”
It appears our area is a congregation site for common cranes (grus grus) – thousands of them gather each autumn in the fields around our village, getting ready for the long flight south. They are a little skittish, so getting close can be tricky, but they are a magnificent sight to behold.
Continue reading “Cranes in the Mist”
Strictly speaking, this is a common frog, but that seems like too plain a name for a creature so beautiful, and one who looks so at home on the forest floor, surrounded by moss, twigs and other detritus. So I’m calling him a forest frog!
Continue reading “Forest Frog”
This morning, I spent the best part of an hour rescuing this hedgehog from certain death. Continue reading “Hedgehog Rescue”
It was very misty this morning and I didn’t have a great sleep last night, so when I saw this guy on the garden fence I was certain I was seeing things. Unfortunately, he flew off before I could grab my binoculars. But later, when I went out to the bin, I spotted him again and managed to grab my camera before he flew off. I think this is the most beautiful bird I have ever seen “in the flesh”! Continue reading “Hoopoe (Kukutis)”
My field guide tells me that this is a Ruddy Darter, but I don’t believe it. I’ve seen this guy somewhere before. In a movie. I’m sure of it. Continue reading “Darter Invader”
A red deer stag with a massive crown of antlers is a very impressive sight. And indeed, that is part of their function – to make the stag look more impressive to the ladies. It takes a lot of testosterone to grow those antlers and it takes a lot of food to nourish them, so large antlers are a good indication of the virility and strength of the male. Unfortunately for the stags, they lose their antlers every year and then grow a new set. And while they’re between sets of antlers, they look just like the girls!
Continue reading “Red Deer Antlers: Annual Regrowth”
