Every picture tells a story
This beautiful little flower is found along the coastline of northern Spain. It is often associated with dune systems (1) but also occurs on headlands, rocky areas and outcrops. These … Continue Reading A decumbent toadflax and its weevil
Broomrapes are strange parasitic plants. I did a blog on these plants before which featured Ivy Broomrape (Orobanche hederae) and Red broomrape (Orobanche foetida) in Galicia, Spain (1). I came … Continue Reading Thyme broomrape
Pick up a polariser!.
Seaside flowers: the good, the bad and the invasive!.
Arctotheca calendula is an attractive flowering aster known as cape weed, cape dandelion or cape marigold. It originates from South Africa where it widespread in coastal areas or on disturbed soil. It … Continue Reading Seaside flowers: the good, the bad and the invasive!
The French Tamarisk (Tamarix gallica) is a deciduous shrub, or small tree, which originates from Saudi Arabia and the Sinai Peninsula and is now very common around the Mediterranean region and … Continue Reading Tamarisk: the manna tree
The Great Ouse flows north-east for about 140 miles through the counties of Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire, eventually flowing into the Wash near King’s Lynn. It flows in a meandering … Continue Reading Riverside bugs in Beds
Our native oak trees (Quercus robur, Q. petraea) support the largest number of insect species of any tree species in Britain (1). Oak leaves emerge pristine and tender, but (like most of … Continue Reading Oak leaves in Spring
Stonechats are common birds which many people will recognise, but when you start to dig a little deeper, they turn out to be a maddeningly complicated bunch of races or … Continue Reading Stonechats: complex or misunderstood?!
Puffball paradise!.
I came across these lovely puffballs last month (April 2015), in the grounds of the Hotel Semáforo de Bares, Galicia, Spain (1). This is a beautiful place with panoramic views … Continue Reading Puffball paradise!
Surfing in Galicia.
Surfing in Galicia.
To many people, the word Columbine will conjure up images of the tragic high school massacre, which took place in Columbine, Colorado, in 1999. Columbine is however, a rather attractive … Continue Reading Bumblebees stole Granny’s bonnet!
Photo of the Month: Mindoro Scops Owl. Imagine how many millions of years this bird has existed on the planet. This is the first picture of of it, but even … Continue Reading Photo of the Month: Mindoro Scops Owl
