Wildlfe watching last year - Birds

Me and the Tawny Eagle during my Falconry Day.

Great Tits in our garden nest box

Spotted Flycatcher

Kestrel - Trevone Cornwall

Great Spotted Woodpecker in the garden

Black Kite

I think it is important to say at this stage that I am a birder and not a Twitcher. Although we may dress similarly that is pretty much where it ends apart from liking birds of course. Us Birders love being outdoors in the countryside but it doesn't matter to us that we haven't seen every known species. We don't carry pagers and drop everything at a moments notice to see a rare species at the other end of the country. Twitchers are experts who know all the scientific names and can tell closely related species apart from a hundred yards. The whole point for a real Twitcher is to tick off sightings on a list. I can identify the majority of British birds, I do know a few scientific names and can identify the odd call or birdsong. I have also written a few birdwatching articles for local groups as well as the Heath and Hampstead Society.

Wildlfe watching last year - Butterflies

Peacock


Painted Lady

White Admirals


One day in the middle of July I made the trip over to Fermyn Woods in Northamptonshire in search of the elusive Purple Emperor Butterfly. It is found in woodlands as well as throughout Central Europe and isolated areas in Britain. Large and dark with white-banded wings. Males have a purple sheen. Females resemble the White Admiral, but have an orange-ringed eyespot under the forewing. They do spend an awful lot of time in the treetops which is why so elusive.

Unfortunately I didn't spot any Emperors but did see some White Admirals which are almost as nice?

Wildlfe watching last year - Hares

I have to confess that Hares are my favourite animal to watch for a variety of reasons. Firstly they are not just a big rabbit ! The rabbit has an easy life compared to a Hare! They are solitary creatures or in pairs but never a group. They are very shy and when startled can run at up to 45 MPH (72 KMH). Spring is a good time to spot Hares when they are 'Mad' and famous for 'boxing'. Strangely it is the females that 'box' the males as a warning that she is not ready for him ! The other thing that impresses me is that they live above ground and not in a burrow . Therefore having to survive against all natures elements. Finally there is so much folklore and mythology surrounding Hares. Often seen as an Evil creature particularly in Irish folklore. There is also a symbolic image of 3 Hares in a circle.The earliest known examples of the design can be found in Buddhist cave temples in China (581-618 CE). I think if I have a tatoo this is what I would go for ?

Wildlfe watching last year - Deers

I try to get out as much as possible at weekends with my walking Buddy Barry. We always go somewhere different usually around Northamptonshire. The more isolated and remote the better as we tend to find the best wildlife that way - Photographing them is another matter entirely .... Without Barry I would get hopelessly lost as I can't read a map to save my life whereas he is an expert ! The other good part of our walks is that we always end up at Village Pub somewhere and sample a few good Ales!!! There are six free living species of deer in great Britain only the Red Deer and Roe Deer are truly native to this country. All the other British species are completely "exotic", with the Fallow Deer almost certainly brought to this country by the Normans, and three asiatic species, Muntjac, Chinese water deer and Sika Deer, originally introduced towards the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. Many of which escaped from private collections and adopted well to the British landscape. It is incredibly difficult to get close to Deer as they are incredibly shy and disappear into the undergrowth or darkest parts of a Forest in a flash. However I have included some photos I did manage to obtain.

Wildlife Watching last Year - Badgers

Busy Badgers

The highlight for me last year would have to be the Badgers. After several unsuccessful late night 'stake outs' around badger setts in cold dark fields I found an active one in Woodland about 10 miles from my Northamptonshire home. One of the amazing things was that I didn't even have to wait for darkness to fall before the beautiful creatures made their entrance. Admittedly I had liberally sprinkled quantities of peanuts around as well as spreading Peanut butter on the tree stumps. However to have up to twelve beautiful badgers within arms reach almost was an unbelievable experience.

Welcome to my Blog !

The Wonderful Album Cover


Firstly why 'Storytellers Night' ?

This stems back to 1985 and the first band I really 'fell in love with' 'Magnum' and the iconic album 'On a Storytellers Night'. This was a time when I first started going to gigs and working for a living.
Everything about this Album is wonderful. From the amazing artwork detail by Rodney Matthews of the Elves and the Wizard around the roaring log fire. Through to the heart warming lyrics.

This album was the first to show exactly what Magnum could do and once you have listened to it you will wonder how they didn’t go on to join the rock gods of the 80’s and 90's.

The first two tracks succeed in building you up to what will probably go down in history as Magnums greatest ever track 'On A storytellers Night', a haunting intro followed by full on rock is a combination that Magnum are renowned for and in this track they achieve perfection. As the tracks play one by one you will be left wondering when is there going to be a 'duff' one. To be honest there isn’t one. All of the tracks are strong as individual tracks and combine together to make one awesome album. It is no wonder that the fans of Magnum consider this their best work.

Amazingly the band are still going and I saw them for about the 30th time just before Christmas in Leamington Spa and they were fantastic as usual.