Some of the storks overwinter? Hadn’t realised.

Very jealous of your neighbourhood.

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Thanks for sharing. A very enjoyable watch and such unspoilt landscapes.

This is fantastic to explore and has lots of surprises if you are like me and need updating on splits, lumps and what’s related to what…

Thanks. 🙏

I’d have misidentified that as a Glauc. What makes it a Viking? Black bill tip is a bit too smudgy and primaries a little too dusky for a Glauc I presume?

That will go nicely with my “human litter tray”…

Board of Peace - Season 1

It’s a real shame that Nigel Farage is too unwell to do interviews the morning after Donald Trump threatens us with sanctions.

Here he is with “the bravest man he ever met”. He campaigned to make Trump President, and has spent the last year enjoying all the chaos he has caused.

Trump and Farage

A real shame if this photo went viral again today.

I’m not super impressed with my Ultravid hd plus. (Bought used online). Nicely packaged but the optics aren’t much better than my 35 year old leicas. Both 10x42.

A close-up of the drawing showing detail of the tiger beetle's giant jaws, shiny antennae and head. The beetle has brownish red eyes and a metallic blue green body.

Close-up showing the beetle's thorax and part of the abdomen. The surface is a combination of red, green and blue with a metallic sheen.

Close-up showing the beetle's rear leg. It's very long and thin, covered in fine hairs.

An image showing the full drawing in a wooden frame.

Folks, it's done. Very pleased with this one. Chinese Tiger Beetle (Cicindela chinensis).

Sounds like good credentials. Lovely geese.

Are the Barnacles in your area feral or wild? I’m never sure south of the Humber.

Great photo - looks like Spitsbergen.

It’s 25 years since I’ve seen one but that looks more like a Little Eagle to me. They always reminded me of Booted.

I’m a fan of mushroom wellington. Grill the largest portobellos you can find with olive oil, garlic and thyme. Squeeze out the liquid. Sit them on a bed of roasted mashed squash and spinach (with a few lentils if you want) and bake on top of a disc / under a dome of puff pastry.

That’s a fantastic photograph. Love the size comparison and how they both appear to be posing.

I use Eversure camera insurance

Great Northern Diver at Staines

Rare digiscope effort at Staines Res. Frustrating to be limited to causeway - Lesser Scaup a mirage in the far corner. More generous access surely possible with screens to limit disturbance. I’m not quite tall enough to see over the fence spikes but beached shopping trolleys showing well…

Introduce yourself with 5 animals you have seen in the wild:

Marbled Cat
Great White Shark
Silky Anteater
Bonelli’s Eagle
Lesser Sooty Owl

Striking image. 👍

I don’t often do pelagics from small boats, so I’d find a scope you could hand hold or which wouldn’t shake on a lightweight travel tripod more useful than stabilised bins. (I have the ATC and a great little sirui tripod but stronger winds are pain)

A few hidden cameras once the build up was first noticed and they could have caught the bastards…

Must be the European bird with the biggest neck:body ratio…?

Glad they normally tuck their necks in when they fly as it looks slightly freaky when they don’t…

Wow - that is impressive.

Lovely sketches (the more recent ones 😀). Assume they’re done at home rather than in the field? I’m not brave enough to sketch directly into my bird diaries as the first two or three attempts end up in the bin.

The “you only know this cos scientists told you” is a fantastic response that hadn’t occurred to me. 👌