Probably, out of all my hobbies and interests, cataloguing the creatures which live around my house ranks the highest. As a kid I used to keep a daily diary of what birds and animals I’d seen and often draw one of them. Now I have cameras and trailcams but the principle is still the same. […]

After yesterday’s multiple hard-going walks, this morning’s was at a much slower pace. The sun was out but the temperature fluctuated between too warm and too cold, meaning having to don and remove outer garments often. The meadows are filled with bird song and presented the opportunity for a few photographs (there should also be […]

This is the first photo from my new camera – a Canon SX412HS. It’s a photograph of the UNESCO-protected wooden church in Svidnik skanzen, Northeast Slovakia. I took the photo from my office window, approximately 1 kilometre (perhaps a little more) away. The photo required a lot of filtering due to it being quite bleached. […]

This weekend seems to have revolved around hard-to-differentiate bird species. While out setting my game camera in a creek bed, I had this little Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris)/Willow Tit (Poecile montanus) keep me company. I personally think it was a Marsh Tit.

I was stunned to see this harrier flying around while out walking behind the house. I’ve never seen one here before. I’m unsure whether it’s a Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus) or a Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) as it has identifying marks which associate (and refute) it with both. The black above-wing line makes me lean […]

I’m really starting to get disappointed with what I’m capturing on trailcam and it looks like I’m going to have to set it up in a different area. Like I said in an earlier post, I might as well have it running in a Lincolnshire garden. Where are all the big beasties? I see enough […]

This is a shot of the White Stork flying with the snake in its giant beak, just to give some idea of how huge these birds are. When they fly overhead they block the sunlight and their wingbeat is very loud.

This weekend we stayed at the house because of the beautiful weather. It was amazing to finally see blue skies, greenery, different coloured blossoms and an abundance of wildlife (plus listen to all the birdsong). It gave me chance to spend sometime in the forest where I can let my thoughts go and just absorb […]

After we’d returned to the house from the picnic, I set off back up the hill to the forest to place my trailcam where the wild boar seemed to be passing most frequently. There were a couple of spinal columns in the pasture, presumably from young roe deer, which signified either wolf or lynx activity. […]

Usually, Spring is heralded by the arrival of White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) and soon my region is filled with these huge birds. However, this year the first to arrive has been the Black Stork (Ciconia nigra). We very rarely see these as they are far more shy than the white ones and prefer to nest […]