These pics of flora & fauna started life on our original wordpress.com site – now lovingly restored and remastered for the post-digital generation. (ie cut and pasted) . There is some overlap with the Blog entries, but less text. (Phewww).
A gannet soaring above Bempton Cliffs on the Yorkshire coast. It’s my best bird photo, so let’s start with that as the benchmark, even though it pre-dates these trips. Hey, I’m making the rules up as we go.
2025 – Knepp Re-Wilding Estate
Butterfly Safari, Storks and other wild beasts seen over a glamping weekend in darkest Sussex.
We’re Your Friends Willow Emerald DamselflyBanded demoiselle (another Damselfly)Comma Speckled WoodRed AdmiralSmall Heath or Meadow Brown ? (single dot)Gatekeeper ( double dot)Young storks, waiting for inputStorks in flight Stork undercarriage Olde English LonghornWild Tamworth pigsSuckling pig !Exmoor poniesFallow deer hiding in ragwortGreen Woodpecker
2025- Switzerland Trip
Alpine Chough, Jungfrau Alps, SwitzA. Chough ( departing view) Water Pippit ( a/c to Merlin app ID of its song) Red Holstein (and friend), MürrenGrass snake – Natrix Helvetica (extant)…..and very much deceased (Grindelwald)Alpine Blue ( beautiful plumage) OeschinenseeSwallowtail OeschinenseeRed Holstein ( real) Oeschinensee
2024 Trip
More wonders of the natural world – some in focus.
Green woodpecker, Meerle, BelgiumKestrel (?) hovering, Meerle, BECrayfish (by a cycle path (??) in Etten-Leur, NL Swift, Chabris, ProvenceBronze coloured dragonfly, Meerle (BE)Griffon vulture (from below, Gorge de Verdon, France)G Vulture (from above)G Vulture (at head height)G Vulture ( on attack bearing, as seen by prey .. briefly)Kite surfing dogs (outside business hours) , Breezand, Zeeland
2023 Random Stuff
Bits and pieces from closer to home
Salmon at Stainforth ForceSpot the Salmon Red Kites, Keswick Peacock butterfly, Parceval HallBee take-off, Parceval Hall
2023 Vanning Trip
A chewing beaver (Biesbosch park, Holland)A swimming beaver (Biesbosch park, Holland)Heron pretending to ignore us (Biesbosch park)Grebe taking off (Biesbosch park)Black redstart ( Vaduz, FL) Mate of the redstart, chomping on an ex-cricket Clouded Apollo (?) – (near Wengen )Pair of grebes – so Lucerne is twice as good as Interlaken Jiminy Cricket, conscience & guide (Schynige Platte)Barbel racing a duck in hopeful search for tourist food (Aare river, Thun)Grebe, on Thunersee (Interlaken)Snakes on a bridge ! Nearly ran him over on my bike – about a foot long, grass snake I think (Lauterbrunnen)Swallowtail butterfly in the Jungfrau We THINK this is a chiffchaff. Noisy but well-hidden (Vosges)Blackbird, singing in the dead of …mid afternoon (Veere)A black tailed Godwit, guarding its nest ( Meerle, Belgium)Mate of the godwit, buzzing me and screeching ” clear off!” Yellow Wagtail, inextricably bound to a wire fence (Meerle, Belgium)Grey heron, reflected on take-offGrey heron, hunting ( Meerle, Belgium)
2023 (Hawaii)
Coqui – tiny nocturnal tree frog named for its piercing call..… originally from Puerto Rico – now numerous in Van’s gardenHawaiian Canary, aka Saffron Finch ( which sounds like a fashionista influencer to me) Brazilian Cardinal (“Biggles, fetch the comfy perch !”) Mynah Bird ( in flight has distinctive white wing bars)Giant African snail (destroying the garden)Tropics Bird (flew over my head in Volcanoes Nat Park)Madagascan Gecko resting on a coconut in the gardenThe Hawaiian Black-Crowned Night Heron (common)The Hawaiian Headless Heron ( endangered)Egrets ? I’ve had a few. But then again, …Thaaaar she blows ! HumpbacksBlack-Necked StiltRed Crested Cardinals (supposedly same as Brazilian, above, but I don’t see a crest on that one)Ooo-er missus That goat must have been travelling when he hit the wallMonk Seal, rolling in the deep (shallows, ok)Hawaiian Green Turtles, basking on KuauiRed-Footed Booby…..fnaaarWaxbill ? In Lava Tree parkGreen Anole ( about to spring !)G Anole ( displaying ruff – which is supposed to be red )
Log of fish spotted in Hawaii
I need to find some pictures of these… All seen while snorkeling on 15 Feb unless noted otherwise.
Humuhumu…..
Humuhumu nukunuku e pua – aka the Wedgetail Triggerfish ( national fish of Hawaii)
Black Triggerfish
Pintail Triggerfish (with transparent fins)
Blue spotted CornetFish
Pacific Trumpet fish ( both yellow and grey varieties- grey one flashed vertical stripes when I approached)
Bird wrasse. ( And various other wrasse)
Yellow tang ( lots of these)
Parrotfish
Spotted Boxfish
Keeltail needlefish ( at surface)
Moorish idol
Almaco Jack ( kahala in Hawaiian) – big 4′ long chaps, under a boat and under the Bait-ball of thousands of Mackerel Scad
Peacock Grouper
Butterfly fish ( various)
..and 4 sea turtles at Anina Beach, Kauai!
2022 (Holland, France..)
Chaamse Hoen – a hen named after Lianne’s home village Gull eating an eel – in the Verse Meer, Zeeland Jellyfish soup – wash up in Veere and can’t get out (an aquatic Hotel California)Crayfish in Wallonia ( they can get out, they just like it here) Fish (roach ?) climbing a wall in ColmarLizard basking at Haut-Koenigsbourg- extreme closeup !Make your own caption ..Nevermore ! (raven perched above Haut-K) Three bleached blonde horsesIf I hadn’t seen it land, would never have spotted it Egret on the Loire at Tours (look closely)Hakuna matatta !Muskrat? On the Indre by our campsite Normandy beach crab (dead)
Fungi ! (Oh, no he isn’t..)
Parasol (?)No idea what it is,nice red colour though Boletus and cyclist footMaybe a grisette ?Boletes … A bit past it Ink caps in VosgesFinally – Cep / Porcini / Penny bun !! Cooked and eaten, delish.Amanita ? Beefsteak fungus ? Large scaly puffball on the path I think this is a very young inkcap Flying saucer ? Loire valley.That’s all, folks
