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Exhibition at Jurancon - Click here to view this news entry

Exhibition at Jurancon

Wed Nov 15 2017
Monday November 13th 2017
Coming together at relatively short notice, I have an exhibition, The Beauty of Nature', opening on December 1st in Jurancon, south west France. The exhibition runs until January 14th. My hosts are at La Commanderie de Lacommande, Maison du Jurancon, Rue de l&rsqu....
Back From The Jungle - Click here to view this news entry

Back From The Jungle

Tue Jul 25 2017
Tuesday 25th July 2017

Woah it’s been busy! Crazy how the time disappears. I've been back a while, developing new projects and wading through the thousands of photographs I shot during the weeks in the Tambopata region of south eastern Peru with Rainforest Expeditions. I have t....
Back to the Jungle in 2017 - Click here to view this news entry

Back to the Jungle in 2017

Mon Feb 6 2017
Monday 6th February 2017

I’ve been off the radar for a while, very busy preparing for a pretty hectic 2017. I’m very excited to announce that I am starting some collaborative work with a fantastic organisation in Peru called Rainforest Expeditions who use ecotourism to fund an....
Vermileonid close-up - Click here to view this news entry

Vermileonid close-up

Fri Jul 1 2016
Friday 1st July 2016
If you have my book Metamorphosis, you will have seen my world-first photographs of the Vermileonid life cycle. These flies are still little known or understood and are the only known family of flies to create pitfall traps to capture prey during their larval development. ....
What still lies hidden? - Click here to view this news entry

What still lies hidden?

Sun Jun 26 2016
Sunday 26th June 2016
It’s been quite a while since I’ve blogged about anything megalithic other than the odd monolith, but I thought this was worth sharing.
Not far from me is an area just heaving with ancient structures, but all unexcavated, catalogued yes, but unexcava....
The unexpected visitor - Click here to view this news entry

The unexpected visitor

Sat Jun 18 2016
Saturday 18th June 2016
I came into the studio this morning to find this unexpected guest draped around my camera bag. It's another Montpellier snake, Malpolon monspessulanus, which we seem to have here more than any other species. I have absolutely no idea how or when it snuck in. It must....
Tiny eggs are too easy to miss - Click here to view this news entry

Tiny eggs are too easy to miss

Mon May 23 2016
Monday 23rd May 2016
For about five years now I have been rearing Macleay's Spectres. Giant Spiny Stick Insects from Australasia. This might sound slightly bonkers but mine are all female clones, reared parthenogenetically (asexual reproduction) from a single great, great, grandmother. It ....
Long grass is lovely but... - Click here to view this news entry

Long grass is lovely but...

Thu May 19 2016
Thursday 19th May 2106
Every day I do my rounds of the fields, looking to see what new flowers are springing up along with the insects and invertebrates that they inevitably bring. Yesterday I got back to the house, sat down with a cup of coffee and noticed this tick creeping its way along my a....
Woo Hoo, New Website's Gone Live - Click here to view this news entry

Woo Hoo, New Website's Gone Live

Tue May 17 2016
Tuesday 17th May 2016
Thrilled that the new website has gone live and massive thanks to the formidable Modernwebsites for the awesome work. I'll be adding a lot more photography and film shortly so be sure to follow links if you want updates. Galleries still to go up are more wildlife, meg....
Domestic Conflicts of Interest - Click here to view this news entry

Domestic Conflicts of Interest

Tue May 17 2016
Friday May 13th 2016
Today my wife decided that it was now warm enough for some of the potted plants which are brought in for winter, to go back outside. From the studio, a good fifty yards from the house, I heard a blood-curdling shriek so went running to save my wife from what was clearly a l....
Better than Orchids - Click here to view this news entry

Better than Orchids

Fri Jan 19 2018
Tuesday April 26th 2016
I did my rounds this morning, checking for more orchids which is always fun in spring. They are strangely inconsistent, species changing, not coming up in the same place every year etc. But today, I chanced upon this lacewing larva on the hunt.
For two years, when I....
Menhir de Counozouls - Click here to view this news entry

Menhir de Counozouls

Thu Feb 4 2016
Thursday February 4th 2016
It's amazing what can be on your doorstep that just seems to pass you by...
Planning for the June/July Megalith tour down here with Neil McDonald, I went a little way towards the Pyrenees to visit the Menhir de Counozouls. This is a delightful spot. The menh....
Clytus arietis - Click here to view this news entry

Clytus arietis

Sun Nov 8 2015
Sunday November 8th 2015
Last winter I mentioned the amount of beetle larvae that must end up on peoples' log fires every year. One log was particularly noisy last year so I brought it into the studio where the mystery larva could mature in safety. I was very happy to find this Clytus arie....
Marten Falls - Click here to view this news entry

Marten Falls

Thu Oct 22 2015
Sunday January 31st 2016
Trailcam shots have shown pine martens on these rocks. I just need to figure out how best to light it all so I can spend some chilly nights out trying to capture them doing what they do. Definitely a 'watch this space' situation...
Nearly There - Click here to view this news entry

Nearly There

Mon Jul 27 2015
Monday August 10th 2015
Almost there. It’s just a couple of weeks now before Metamorphosis hits the wider world. The official publication date is August 27th so for anyone who wants a sneak peak, there is an online taster here:

Metamorphosis Taster

There's a fair bi....
Bryn Celli Ddu Revisited - Click here to view this news entry

Bryn Celli Ddu Revisited

Mon Jun 29 2015
Monday June 29th 2015
Hi folks,
Away from wildlife here and back to Standing With Stones. I thought it important to share this as many of you have expressed an interest.

I was contacted last night on Twitter by Ffion Reynolds who had been to Bryn Celli Ddu with a geologist who ....
Got to Love a Stag - Click here to view this news entry

Got to Love a Stag

Sat Jun 27 2015
Friday June 26th 2015
You have to be thankful for the quality of phone cameras these days. I was strolling down the path to meet a friend last night and this handsome chap was sitting by the grass. He sat very cooperatively while I stuck my phone in his face but I do sigh a little when I know h....
Scale Bugs - Click here to view this news entry

Scale Bugs

Sat Jun 13 2015
Thursday October 22nd 2015
I spotted some red scale bugs on an olive tree the other day. Never having taken much notice of them before, I decided to take some leaves and photograph them later on. It's amazing how tiny things can be, but it was only on really close inspection that I saw som....
Snake Alert - Click here to view this news entry

Snake Alert

Tue Feb 3 2015
Saturday June 13th 2015
You may remember the short article I wrote last spring about a young Montpellier snake which was hanging around outside the studio. Well, many snakes can be pretty agile when it comes to hunting for food and I was astonished to find one lying on the printer in one of our....
Wood Borers - Click here to view this news entry

Wood Borers

Sat Jan 31 2015
Saturday January 31st 2015
I may well have mentioned this before but there is an aspect to winter in the land of log fire heating, that really gives me a headache: logs are just full of life. From wood-boring beetle larvae and tiny springtails to hibernating caterpillars and spiders in nooks an....
Lunar Halo - Click here to view this news entry

Lunar Halo

Mon Jul 7 2014
Tuesday February 3rd 2015
There were a lot of wintery skies across Europe last night and lots of people were talking about the lunar halo that was visible across much of Britain. Down here, quite a way from my friends in Southern England who were outdoors admiring the sight, I had my own icy mo....
The Redstarts are back - Click here to view this news entry

The Redstarts are back

Sat Apr 26 2014
Saturday April 26th 2014
The Redstarts are nesting again, this time on top of a beam just outside the studio. The angle is so tight there is no way I can get a camera in to take a shot so I have to wait until mum flies off and then quickly get a mirror in to shoot the reflection. Fingers crosse....
An unlucky lizard - Click here to view this news entry

An unlucky lizard

Sat Apr 26 2014
Thursday April 24th 2014
I got a call yesterday, would I come and check out a lizard that looked like its innards were falling out. I arrived to find a Lacerta viridis that must have been sleeping in a wall when someone decided to do some DIY. What looked like "innards falling out" was cavity f....
Some in, some out... - Click here to view this news entry

Some in, some out...

Thu Apr 17 2014
Monday July 7th 2014
How can it possibly be July already? There just never seem to be enough hours in the day.
The best news is that after a month and a half of hand feeding the gummed-up lizard, it moulted successfully and is now living happily in the herb garden.

The other si....
Book finished - time for a change! - Click here to view this news entry

Book finished - time for a change!

Sat Mar 29 2014
Saturday March 29th 2014
Well Metamorphosis is finally finished and not a little late! Still, you can't ruin a whole project by being in a rush at the end. After three years with only a few days off I'm really ready to start shooting slightly larger wildlife.

Doing some lon....
Rubbish Photos but what a day! - Click here to view this news entry

Rubbish Photos but what a day!

Thu Apr 18 2013
Wednesday April 17th 2013
Pressure's really on at the moment. Only six months left to have the book completed and I'm spending half my time collecting food for the numerous species I'm rearing in the studio.

A couple of days ago I managed to collect some first instar w....
What, no frosts? - Click here to view this news entry

What, no frosts?

Fri Mar 15 2013
Thursday April 17th 2014
This last winter, from a weather point-of-view, has been non existent. Normally temperatures drop to between -12 and -15 for at least brief periods and even lighter winters are frosty affairs. This year we had two heavy frosts, three or four light ones... and that'....
When the wind plays - Click here to view this news entry

When the wind plays

Fri Feb 10 2012
Friday February 10th 2012
Well, winter had been mild. The sun shone, flowers were in bloom everywhere and insects were busy. Then came the snow. A little later than usual and after such a warm start I just hope that there aren't too many insect casualties when I need them most. We've ....
Tiny Critters - Click here to view this news entry

Tiny Critters

Tue Jan 24 2012
Friday March 15th 2013
Well my excuse for not having posted anything since last year is that the workload for Metamorphosis is immense and I never seem to find a spare moment.

Over the last months I have been hunting for beetle larvae (particularly Cerambycidae) buried away in pieces....
Even more nocturnals - Click here to view this news entry

Even more nocturnals

Mon Jan 16 2012
Tuesday January 24th 2012
A real treat this week. I have an old haybale in the woods which terrifyingly rolled down the hill a few years ago. Fortunately a tree took the impact and held firm so I just left it there for animals to use for nesting material. Some new holes appeared in it recently ....
Nocturnal goings-on - Click here to view this news entry

Nocturnal goings-on

Mon Jan 9 2012
Monday January 9th 2012
Where does the time go?! It's been a crazy few months with so much going on, my new year's resolution must be to update the blog regardless of workload. I don't really have an excuse, it's not as if days go by with nothing happening!

Pretty....
More nocturnal goings on - Click here to view this news entry

More nocturnal goings on

Mon Jan 9 2012
Monday January 16th 2012
I have to say, the trailcam is providing a lot of fun. The animals were slightly wary of the LEDs at first but have got used to it being there. Behaviour patterns have become fairly unpredictable as the badgers now turn up just after dark and seem to stay all night. In ....
Unpredictable insects - Click here to view this news entry

Unpredictable insects

Mon Sep 19 2011
Monday September 19th 2011
I have all sorts going on at the moment but thought these beautiful creatures were worth sharing. There are various species of green lacewing but usually their eggs are rounded. I found these tiny pointed eggs ( the pods are nearly two millimetres long) on a dry grass....
More close encounters - Click here to view this news entry

More close encounters

Thu Aug 4 2011
Monday June 20th 2011
Well, the boar keeps coming back and last night he let me get really close. It must be something in the nonsense I keep telling him. It's not a great picture but difficult working in the dark using a timer and trying to guess framing (note to self: Bring lamp).
<....
Parasites - a bit hard to like - Click here to view this news entry

Parasites - a bit hard to like

Sun Jun 19 2011
Thursday August 4th 2011
It's been a hectic few weeks and the lack of posts is purely down to that - it certainly isn't because nothing's been happening! The main reason for not posting for weeks is that I've just started my next book. It's called 'Metamorphosis�....
Close encounters - Click here to view this news entry

Close encounters

Fri Jun 17 2011
Saturday June 18th 2011
A magical evening. Just as dusk was falling a young boar came trotting across my field, the first in two years that dared to venture out before dark. It started digging for roots under some bushes so I walked towards it as quickly as I could in a slow non-predatory way, ....
A Sad One Today - Click here to view this news entry

A Sad One Today

Sat Jun 11 2011
Saturday June 11th 2011
Driving through the woods today I spotted this grass snake motionless by the road. I pulled over to see if it was dead and saw that it had some pretty serious injuries. It had clearly been caught by a raptor and either been dropped or the bird had been frightened off by ....
 - Click here to view this news entry

Thu Jun 9 2011
Thursday June 9th 2011
It's the first dry, sunny day in a week and I came over to the studio to grab my gear and get shooting. The first thing I noticed was a cluster of tell-tale droppings on the floor by my door mat. Looking up I saw this little chap (or chapess) sleeping between the bea....
 - Click here to view this news entry

Mon Jun 6 2011
Monday June 6th 2011
Just back from a week on the coast in England. It's pouring with rain in the 'sunny' south of France and the wasp nest I've been photographing for a month has been totally destroyed by the downpours. Oh well, at least the herring gulls were on good form!....
 - Click here to view this news entry

Fri May 20 2011
The frustrations of a nature photographer

You don't really see the unpredictability of nature without watching it closely and I have to confess that over the last couple of weeks, despite a lifetime of observing, the level of uncertainty has been a surprise to me. I have been watchin....

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