‘STOP!’ A necessarily shouted command to our driver who is only able to hear us through a small window in the back of his cab. We come to a halt and there perched on a small twig a mere 3 yards away is a gorgeous little bee-eater, an Asian Green Bee-eater in fact. Small yet…
Everywhere you go on this small island there are noddies, no little car, tinkling bell or Big Ears though. These noddies are a form of tern that squawk at you from their intricately woven nests as you pass beneath. They fly directly toward you and jink to one side within inches of your face, gather…
While in Africa last year, a chance remark by a fellow photographer, something along the lines of ‘have you ever been to Bird Island?’, to which I answered in the negative, planted a seed. Bird Island, hmmm must be called that for a reason. A little research revealed that indeed the island is aptly named….
Completing our trilogy of reports from Mexico – Mountains and Mangroves. Towards the end of our Mexico adventure, we were each asked in turn to name our most memorable sighting for the trip. Without hesitation I named Vermillion Flycatcher as my choice, which given we had just recently been watching hump back whales, dolphins, monarch…
We continue our Naturetrek holiday. After the cool mountain air where we saw the monarch butterflies overwintering, we flew west to Puerto Vallarta, a complete contrast, to enjoy a couple of days marine wildlife watching around the shallow bay. Join us as we head out into the blue waters under cloudless skies to see dolphins,…
We have just returned from an amazing trip to Mexico, a holiday arranged with Naturetrek ostensibly to experience the wonders of the monarch butterflies overwintering in the oyamel pine clad mountains to the southwest of Mexico city, but there were many other delights to savour which I will write about soon. For the present, I…
A medium sized brown butterfly flies up from almost beneath your feet, flutters away from you for a few metres, lands and disappears. The same performance is repeated until you decide to approach slowly and stealthily to discover the identity of this cryptically coloured insect. Despite being certain of where it landed, you struggle to…
The little boy was lifted up to a bewildering height. Slightly scared, but equally excited, he was able then to peer over the rim of the carefully woven collection of grasses and small twigs into the smooth cup of the nest. There shining back at him were four orbs of the most brilliant blue he…
Who can fail to be enchanted by the sight of a Bullfinch? I vividly remember once seeing a party of four, one male, three females, in my garden some 30 years ago. On that occasion I stumbled downstairs, bleary eyed from slumber, to be greeted by this colourful quartet gorging themselves on the seeds of…
A half seen ghostly white form illuminated by your car headlights as you drive past at dead of night. A brief glimpse of a gliding pale bird buoyantly drifting across your line of vision whilst out for a walk at dusk. The eerie, hair raising screech from that silent spectral churchyard. These are the usual…