ShySongbird's Nature News

(formerly: ShySongbird's Twitterings) The Occasional View from my Perch

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Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

British Trust for Ornithology

British Garden Birds

British Birds

Birds of Britain

Butterfly Conservation (UK)

UK Butterflies

UK Moths

British Dragonfly Society

British Bugs

UK Safari (British wildlife site)

British Wild Flower Identification

British Wild Flowers

The Mammal Society (British)

Reptiles and Amphibians of the UK

British Arachnological Society (Spiders) 
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Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Welcome!

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog, I hope you enjoy it and I will be delighted if you leave a friendly comment. I will answer each one even though sometimes it may take a few days.

A Little Bit About Me

My photo
ShySongbird
I have been interested in Nature since childhood and have always enjoyed watching the birds and butterflies in my garden and elsewhere. I am happiest in the countryside among natural things and love beauty in all its forms. This blog is a record of my observations of birds and nature in general.
View my complete profile

Purple Emperor

Purple Emperor
Click on the photo to read of my encounter with this special and much sought after butterfly.

BRIAN MAY'S CAMPAIGN AGAINST ANIMAL CRUELTY

BRIAN MAY'S CAMPAIGN AGAINST ANIMAL CRUELTY
'The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.'

(Mahatma Gandhi)

Crow

Crow
'The indifference, callousness and contempt that so many people exhibit toward animals is evil first because it results in great suffering in animals, and second because it results in an incalculably great impoverishment of the human spirit. '

(Ashley Montague)

Silver-spotted Skipper

Silver-spotted Skipper
UK & Eire Natural History Bloggers
Nature Blog Network

My Very Welcome 'Blogland' Friends

'Study Nature,
love Nature,
stay close to it.
It will never fail you.'

(Frank Lloyd Wright)

Wheatear

Wheatear
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Red Kite

Red Kite

Please Don't Copy!

This blog contains my own photographs (unless otherwise credited) and my own writing albeit sometimes with the aid of research from books and the internet. All poetry and quotes are credited. Please don't copy or reproduce my work in any way without asking me first.

Brambling

Brambling

Fieldfare

Fieldfare

Hurt No Living Thing

'Hurt no living thing:
Ladybird, nor butterfly,
Nor moth with dusty wing,
Nor cricket chirping cheerily,
Nor grasshopper so light of leap,
Nor dancing gnat, nor beetle fat,
Nor harmless worms that creep.'

(Christina Georgina Rosetti)

Green Woodpecker

Green Woodpecker

Blackcap

Blackcap

Chiffchaff

Chiffchaff

The Peace of Wild Things

'When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.'

(Wendell Berry)

Common Buzzard

Common Buzzard

Solitude

'To sit on rocks, to muse o'er flood and fell,
To slowly trace the forest's shady scene,
Where things that own not man's dominion dwell,
And mortal foot hath ne'er or rarely been...
This is not Solitude, 'tis --- but to hold
Converse with Nature's charms, and view her stores unrolled...'

(Lord Byron)

Grey Wagtail

Grey Wagtail
'When a man wantonly destroys a work of man we call him a vandal; When a man destroys one of the works of God, we call him a sportsman.'

(Joseph Wood Krutch)

Treecreeper

Treecreeper

Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs
'Look deep,
deep into Nature,
and then you will understand everything better.'

(Albert Einstein)

Yellowhammer

Yellowhammer

Long-tailed Tit

Long-tailed Tit
'Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace.'

(Albert Schweitzer)

Willow Warbler

Willow Warbler

Ruff

Ruff

Blog Archive

  • ▼  2013 (4)
    • ▼  April (1)
      • Small Signs of Spring
    • ►  March (1)
    • ►  January (2)
  • ►  2012 (14)
    • ►  November (1)
    • ►  October (1)
    • ►  August (1)
    • ►  July (2)
    • ►  June (2)
    • ►  May (1)
    • ►  April (2)
    • ►  March (1)
    • ►  February (2)
    • ►  January (1)
  • ►  2011 (14)
    • ►  July (1)
    • ►  June (2)
    • ►  May (2)
    • ►  April (2)
    • ►  March (3)
    • ►  February (3)
    • ►  January (1)
  • ►  2010 (18)
    • ►  November (2)
    • ►  October (3)
    • ►  September (1)
    • ►  August (1)
    • ►  July (2)
    • ►  June (1)
    • ►  May (3)
    • ►  April (1)
    • ►  March (1)
    • ►  February (2)
    • ►  January (1)
  • ►  2009 (38)
    • ►  December (1)
    • ►  November (2)
    • ►  October (2)
    • ►  September (2)
    • ►  August (4)
    • ►  July (1)
    • ►  June (3)
    • ►  May (4)
    • ►  April (6)
    • ►  March (6)
    • ►  February (7)

Reed Bunting

Reed Bunting

Red Kite

Red Kite

Garganey Duck

Garganey Duck
'Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own.'

(Charles Dickens)

Spring Wildflowers

Spring Wildflowers

Grey Partridge

Grey Partridge

Song Thrush

Song Thrush

Ruddy Darter

Ruddy Darter

Blogs I Enjoy

  • Butterfly Pictures
    Three year garden butterflies - It has been almost three years since we moved to our house in the Scottish Borders. We have actually owned the house since 2016, but only popped down at ...
    23 hours ago
  • thequacksoflife
    Rye Meads or the hunt for Bearded Tits - I don't normally head anywhere on a Saturday and on a cloud Saturday ..... but some Bearded Tits had been seen at Rye Meads so.... Instead of setting off...
    2 days ago
  • Ragged Robin's Nature Notes
    Looking for Snowdrops at St John the Baptist, Berkswell - I went along to Berkswell village a few days ago to look for snowdrops in the churchyard there. I've done quite a few posts on this village and church...
    3 days ago
  • ..Roy's Nature Logbook..
    Grey Wags Galore - A few sunny days and the insects are starting to show around the local river. This is a good food source for the Grey Wagtail. I waited around at a loca...
    3 days ago
  • BREATHTAKING
    THE PEACOCK THE WOOD DUCK And THE GREY PARROT - Continuing my visit to the reserve. When I first arrived at the nature reserve, I saw a Peacock strutting along on a path ahead of me, then it seemed to di...
    4 days ago
  • THE WESSEX REIVER
    Late Afternoon Walk To Check On The Crows - Time of day makes a huge difference to what is seen in the countryside. Earlier this week I wrote up on my hour or so walking and looking for corvids at ...
    1 week ago
  • MIKE ATTWOOD LRPS
    Problems - Just completed one of the worst periods in my life. Faulty wiring in my house destroyed my computer at the same time as I was infected by this devastating...
    1 week ago
  • my life my art
    2023 - did i mention i can only type with one hand my left elbow has what i call a pinched nerve and due to that its constant pain and i cant use my walker so no ...
    2 weeks ago
  • MIDMARSH JOTTINGS
    Ground Guard - A couple of days ago I installed a large mesh Ground Guard from CJ Wildlife. It comes as a flat pack which is easily assembled in a few minutes to make a s...
    2 weeks ago
  • Birds and Nature in the Forest of Dean
    - Taken in about 2012. Black-winged Stilt Common Crane chick Flamingo Common Redshank Grey Heron Hooded Merganser female Smew Tufted Duck
    2 weeks ago
  • Pegler Birding
    The Last Days of 2022 - *My last blog post covered a period which terminated on 8th December - the day that Lindsay and I departed on a journey to have her fitted with a new rig...
    3 weeks ago
  • The Purple Empire
    Prospects for 2023... - Happy New Year to all of Purple disposition... I'd like to say that the prospects of an *annus mirabilis* year for the Purple Emperor are looking good, b...
    4 weeks ago
  • Tricia's Tales
    15 - 17 November, 2022 - Last few days in Thailand, in Chaing Mai via Bangkok to Cha-Am - We left Chiang Mai on 15 November and got an internal flight south to Bangkok Airport. From there we went by coach for about at 3 hour drive to Cha-Am whe...
    2 months ago
  • JRandSue
    OSPREY - * I SPENT A FEW HOURS CATCHING UP WITH THE VISITING OSPREY.* *NICE TO SEE ONE SO CLOSE TO HOME.*
    4 months ago
  • wytchwood ramblings
    Middle of May - We had a couple of summer like days last week so I took advantage of it and went to work on the garden. The large bed in front was in an awful state, gra...
    8 months ago
  • shirls gardenwatch
    April hedgehog visitors & videos - April 2022 has been, to date, THE best hedgehog watching via the garden cameras in all my time blogging! What a very special gardenwatching month this ha...
    8 months ago
  • Flying high!
    WWT Slimbridge 11th &12th Feb 2022 continued: - A Glossy Ibis had arrived at the Wetlands late December 2021. So I aimed to hopefully have a sighting, if successful it would be my first UK Glossy Ibis...
    11 months ago
  • Pam's Place
    A New Year..... - A Happy (if slightly belated!) New Year! As usual I was up and out for a walk around town early on the 1st, the highlights being a pair of Goldcrest, 3 ...
    1 year ago
  • Shenstone Birder
    Friday 2nd April to Monday 5th April 2021 - *Friday 2nd April 2021 - Back Garden, Kidderminster* Today the sun was shinning and I decided to spend a little time looking at the wildlife in my back ga...
    1 year ago
  • MONTS CORNWALL/KERNOW
    - *Thought I would Get a post on after along break, these are a few images of some of the old mine workings dotted around Cornwall. Cornwall used to be th...
    1 year ago
  • ** Focusing On Wildlife.**
    ** HOME BIRDING. WEEK 6 ** - At the beginning of week 6, I prepared my bird feeders because they forecast snow and they was right, snow it did. I had quite a few come in, but they w...
    1 year ago
  • Far From the Madding Crowd
    Lots of Walking, no Coffeeing, Saving Money, Getting Fitter :) - Since the lockdown, we have been walking daily, some short, some long, we are getting fitter. We are still avoiding cafes, but what we did not realise is ...
    2 years ago
  • Wilde About Birds
    2020 Heronry Census - Covid-19 has of course had a huge impact on BTO related surveys this year and it was looking very unlikely that we would be able to complete this year's he...
    2 years ago
  • Countryside Tales
    A Catch Up - Apologies for the long absence. Sometimes life gets in the way of blogging I guess. We've been doing all the usual things chez CT: dogs, running, walking...
    3 years ago
  • Jeremy Inglis Photography
    British Badgers Facebook Group - If you have an interest in badgers, and are on Facebook, please join my British Badgers Facebook Group. Thank you.
    3 years ago
  • Nature in the Heart of England
    Moreton Pinkney: 14th year of Breeding Bird Survey - I completed my fourteenth annual BTO Breeding Bird Survey last Saturday. My survey square is just to the west of Moreton Pinkney in south Northamptonshire...
    3 years ago
  • Sharp by Nature
    NEW HYTHE 14TH & 18TH JANUARY 2019 - SOME SNIPE FROM BUCKET WOOD In my last post I mentioned the large influx of Snipe along the river at Bucket Wood. Here's a picture of some of the thirty or...
    4 years ago
  • holdingmoments
    2018 My Year with Cancer - First of all, apologies to anyone who commented on the last post I did and didn't get a reply. For some reason all the comments got lost. This is the firs...
    4 years ago
  • Take time to smell the flowers......
    Hellebore - *We all need sparks of relief from the dull days of Winter.*
    4 years ago
  • Sissinghurst Birds etc...
    Canada 2018 - Ending the day at Hillman Marsh - With Stephen again at the wheel we headed west towards Point Pelee, it was approximately a 3 hour drive, we were looking for flooded fields or anything t...
    4 years ago
  • Hedgeland Tales
    Red-necked Grebe at Ferry Meadows CP, Peterborough - A bird in winter plumage, hence not really a red neck, but showing ridiculously well close to the visitor centre on Overton lake at Ferry Meadows CP.
    4 years ago
  • Prairie Rose's Garden
    Returning to the Garden - It has been awhile since I have written a blog post, but it's also been awhile since I've done much in the garden. When August arrives and dried stalks an...
    4 years ago
  • Three Counties Herald
    Geometry...nature's way - *Rhombus*....an oblique-angled equilateral parrallelogram having four equal sides > *Rhombic*....having the form of a Rhombus > *Rhombic Leatherbug *(Sy...
    4 years ago
  • The Early Worm
    Sharing the Urban Jungle - Human beings are without a doubt the most destructive of earth's many million species. We pride ourselves on our opportunism, our intellect and our ability...
    5 years ago
  • Pittswood Birds
    - A short trip around the sheep pasture and paddocks of Migrant Alley this morning, hoping to find a Wheatear, didn't provide me with one, but I did see my f...
    5 years ago
  • Caldecotte Lake
    Siskins - We had a wander round the lake yesterday; the last day of January. Very dull and not ideal for pictures. The usual birds were there, including a Kingfish...
    5 years ago
  • Blue Borage
    New Year Sunrise - Hadleigh Castle - I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Mine seemed to pass very quickly as we were busy with family and friends visiting. It was lovely to see people ...
    6 years ago
  • Greenie in the wild
    Friday 11th. November 2016 - Earlier this year , a chance meeting with a fellow enthusiast , culminated in a phone call asking if I was interested in a Peregrine Falcon nest with young...
    6 years ago
  • The wild side
    BBC Wildlife, October 2016 - Just a short one. If you happen to buy *BBC Wildlife* magazine this month (or you're a subscriber), check out my 'Island Odyssey' feature, starting on page...
    6 years ago
  • A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF MY WILDLIFE GARDEN
    #30 Days Wild - Apologies for lack of posts recently but just to let you know that I have decided to post all 30 Days Wild Activities - including garden wildlife and the...
    6 years ago
  • Always look on the wild side of life
    The past 12 months in one whirlwind post - Hello! I have not disappeared off the face of the Earth, despite the fact I have not written a post in over a year! It has definitely been a very busy 1...
    6 years ago
  • Dartmoor Ramblings
    INSTAGRAM & A LETTER - Dear all, Thanks so much for all your comments on my last two posts. I miss blogging and you all so much but, realistically, am not going to be able to d...
    7 years ago
  • Gwirrel's Garden
    In a Vase on Monday - Ok ok, so I promise we have something a little different today. First I just have to show yet more Dahlias and Sweet peas. I’m torn between showing them an...
    7 years ago
  • Grammie's Rambling
    ~~~Birding With My Daughter~~~ - My daughter got back from her trip,and my stay with the "Handsome Soccer Player" came to an end. Before heading back to my home, my daughter and I spent a ...
    7 years ago
  • Photography By Ginny
    May 16, 2015-Some Wildlife Photos for May. - I am seeing wildlife again! The deer are coming around and Tilly is still with her group. Since she's three years old now, I'm not sure if she had a baby t...
    7 years ago
  • The Cymbeline Lister
    Purple Patch Day - I seem to be drifting towards tweeting more than blogging but after today’s events then 140 words is never going to describe our day in a million years. ...
    7 years ago
  • The Great Outdoors
    A painting for two special friends. - The two life-long friends in question are Gill and Robert. A few weeks ago Robert had a 'big' birthday and Gill (his wife) commissioned me to paint a pict...
    8 years ago
  • Forest of Dean Wildlife & Nature Diary
    Misguided - I don't know Max Coborn that well, only having ever met him twice. From his past media articles he always came over as level headed, unbiased and respectfu...
    8 years ago
  • Joe's Wildlife Garden
    Whiteknights Campus in Spring - I've now been out walking around the university campus before I've set off for work 4 or 5 times in the last couple of weeks. Each time I seem to have pick...
    8 years ago
  • Nestled In The Singing Woods
    HOPE TO SHARE GARDENING AND WILDLIFE - I WILL BE MOVING SOON. MY NEW PLACE IS SO CLOSE TO THE CITY, BUT IT IS LIKE THE WOODS ON SINGING WOODS AREA. I HAVE SEEDS I HOPE TO SHARE, HOLLYHOCKS . ...
    8 years ago
  • Chris Photo Nature
    Autres beautés - Other beauties - Du jardin de ma sœur... J'ai pu recenser pas moins de 29 espèces dans ce petit jardin ou aux alentours, ce qui n'est pas mal pour un mois de décembre....
    9 years ago
  • Diary of a Birding Medic
    -
Show 25 Show All

Chalkhill Blue

Chalkhill Blue

Chiltern Gentian

Chiltern Gentian

Marbled White

Marbled White

Ringed Plover

Ringed Plover

Emerald Damselfly

Emerald Damselfly

Curlew Sandpiper

Curlew Sandpiper

Green-winged Orchid

Green-winged Orchid

Marsh Tit

Marsh Tit

Roesel's Bush Cricket

Roesel's Bush Cricket

Painted Lady

Painted Lady

Bohemian Waxwing

Bohemian Waxwing

Contact

Email ShySongbird


Mute Swans

Mute Swans

Little Ringed Plover

Little Ringed Plover

AWARD FREE ZONE!

I have been very touched to be given a number of awards since I started blogging but have never picked any of them up partly because of embarrassment but also because I would feel extremely uncomfortable having to pick others (according to the rules) for the award from among all the great blogs I enjoy.

To all those who have awarded me in the past I would like to say a very big thank you for thinking of me.

Red Admiral

Red Admiral

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