The Drustvo (village cooperative farm) finally got around to cutting the chin-high grass in the meadow behind my house. Trying to navigate through that jungle, either in tracks and furrows I’d created or which large herbivores had made, was a nightmare. I never knew what I’d disturb laying up in it – thankfully just roe […]

As we regularly do, this year we decided to spend a week in Croatia relaxing by the sea. There’s nowhere in Europe quite like it – either for the varied and spectacular scenery or for the crystal clear water. This year we returned to the Isle of Pag, a few miles from the resort town […]

My favourite day of the week is probably Sunday because it means I can sit in my garden and just listen to birdsong without having constant background noise from chainsaws, circular saws, trimmers and other equipment as there is a no-noise policy here one day per week. We have an extremely wide range of wildlife […]

Never a dull day. I could hear something flapping around in the kids’ room and I thought it was the blinds due to the wind. I was wrong. This poor little Swift (Apus apus) (which has a nest just outside and above the window) had got in and was panicking to get out. I wore […]

This Green woodpecker (Picus viridis) always taunts me when I walk along the old road near the house. Every time I try to take a photo it hides behind a tree trunk and then flies on to the next tree when I try to get closer. It basically acts like a squirrel. We don’t get […]

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 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.

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 […]