Topic: Plants
The Mounts, Summer 2019
In July the birds go quiet and birdwatchers become butterfly watchers. The Mounts are an old clay quarry, rubbish dump, school playing fields, and now a sort of unofficial park where people walk their dogs among the overgrown grass. The numerous thistle flowers usually bring in the butterflies at this time of year, and in the good weather they didn't disappoint - although there were far fewer speckled woods this year, we saw lots of painted ladies. The latter we usually see one every couple of year; this time we saw them so often we could tell they must have bred. And as well as the usual meadow browns, gatekeepers and commas, we saw a small copper which is apparently quite rare!
New home in Nottingham
(Commentary is from when this page was put up in a private section to show my friends my new house. Pre-Facebook, obvs.)
You know you're in for trouble when you get a 'phone call from your lawyer starting "You know how you were supposed to complete on your house today...?"
Attenborough, April 2007
Mostly just pictures of Great Crested Grebe as one was very accommodating, fishing just under the bridge near the car park. With it being so close and spending so long fishing, I hoped I'd get at least one decent shot!
Cley Marshes, September 2006
Cley Marshes as it used to be - by the time you read this, parts of it are probably under water as the sea defences have been changed.
Not an ideal day photography-wise, but some nice views of a kingfisher and swallows getting ready to head south.
Colwick Country Park, May 2006
A walk around Colwick Country Park, with lots of goslings.
Nottingham Castle, March 2005
Despite being Nottingham born and bred, I'd never been on the guided tour under the Castle - the caves known as "Mortimer's Hole". So on a trip back to the city (when I still lived in Chichester), my folks finally took me. As well as looking at spooky caves and dungeons, you also get to hear a lot about the history of Nottingham, including the Saxon foundation (at the Lacemarket nearby) and the start of the Civil War (the raising of the Royal Standard at Standard Hill near the Castle - apparently no-one took much notice and they moved on).
There's also some photographs of the Queen Elizabeth pub on Bottle Lane - just before it got knocked down.
Chichester and Fishbourne
This is my attempt at some solo birdwatching, which is to say, going out on a cold, windy day, take a lot of photographs, and hope that I can make them out when I'm back somewhere warm. A couple of short movies I took on the day didn't make the cut - I took them more to get the sounds of the Redshank warning calls, but all I got was the sound of the wind.
To cut to the chase, there's a lot of Redshank here, along with Dunlin, Oystercatcher, and Grey Plover. Oh, and the usual Mute Swan, gulls etc.
Old Moor and Potteric Carr, November 2004
The weather wasn't great, so the usual Winter problem of dark, blurry photos reared its head again.
Sherwood Forest, August 2004
The Robin Hood Festival in 2004
Italy 2004: Sorrento, 27th March
Out and about in Sorrento