Great Crested Newt

The Great Crested Newt (Triturus cristatus) is Britain’s largest and most threatened newt. The body is generally dark brown to black in colour with a warty appearance, which gives the species its other common name, the Warty Newt. The underside is bright orange with black markings that are unique to each individual. Females tend to be slightly longer than males, and in the breeding season the latter develop an obvious crest between the head and the tail, and a silver streak along the middle of the tail.

Read More

Common Kingfisher

A Kingfisher with catch. Kingfishers have to eat around 60% of their body weight daily, so by necessity become very territorial of their stretch of river.

Read More

Adonis Blue

The Adonis Blue prefers dry chalk or limestone grassland with abundant foodplants in short turf, but slightly taller vegetation may be used in sheltered quarries. Most colonies occur on warm, south-facing slopes where favoured breeding areas are sheltered hollows (especially old chalk pits and quarries). This one was found yesterday on the lower slopes of Rodborough Common, Gloucestershire.

Read More

Hypsosinga heri

This little spider is no more than a couple of millimetres in size. It doesn't appear to have a common/English name, but it's Latin binomial name is Hypsosinga heri. It has only been recorded in Britain a total of 6 times, and only 3 of those occurred in the last 100 years. However, it is widespread is southern and central Europe. Further info - http://srs.britishspiders.org.uk/portal.php/p/Summary/s/Hypsosinga+heri

Read More

Atlantic Puffin

One of over 20,000 Puffins currently on Skomer island, Pembrokeshire. This one was photographed amongst the Sea Campion which is in abundance on the island.

Read More

Red Grouse

Red Grouse in flight, photographed last month at Lochindorb, Cairngorms. Also seen were a couple of Black-throated Divers, a couple of Common Buzzards and a Rough-legged Buzzard. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there were no Harriers to be seen all week.

Read More

Wild Boar

A male Wild Boar in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire.

Read More

Sand Lizard

Sand Lizard from Ben Locke on Vimeo.

A short video of a male Sand Lizard basking in the sun in Dorset.

Read More

Great Grey Shrike

A Great Grey Shrike in the Forest of Dean, photographed back in February.

Read More

Crested Tit

Photographed last month in Abernethy Forest, Scotland. In Scotland, the crested tit is confined to Caledonian pine forest remnants and pine plantations in Easter Ross, the Beauly catchment (which includes Glen Affric), Strathspey and the Moray Firth coast. It is missing from some of the ancient pinewood remnants, including those on Deeside and at Rannoch, but the reasons for this are not clear, as suitable habitat exists there. The poor dispersal ability of the species has been suggested as one possible reason for this - the geographical isolation of the forest fragments has resulted in large gaps of treeless ground which the birds are unable to cross in sufficient numbers.

Read More

Mountain Hare

A Mountain Hare in partial ermine, photographed a couple of weeks ago in the Findhorn Valley, Scotland. The Mountain Hare is the only native creature to Britian in the lagomorph family, with both Rabbits and Brown Hare's having been introduced by man.

Read More

Otter

A female Otter delivering a freshly caught Perch to her kits on the other side of the river.

Read More

Harvest Mouse

Harvest Mouse, photographed in Cambridgeshire. It is typically found in fields of cereal crops, such as wheat and oats, in reed beds and in other tall ground vegetation, such as long grass and hedgerows. It has reddish-brown fur with white underparts and a naked, highly prehensile tail, which it uses for climbing. It is the smallest European rodent; an adult may weigh as little as 4 grams (0.14 oz).

Read More

Lesser Horseshoe Bat

Lesser Horseshoe Bat in the Forest of Dean. The lesser horseshoe bat is one of the smallest British bat species, about plum-sized. It has a complex noseleaf which is related to its particular type of echolocation system. It eats a variety of small insects including flies (mainly midges), small moths, caddis flies, lace wings and beetles.

Read More

Chinese Water Deer

A female Chinese Water Deer stepping out of the fenland, heading for agricultural land during the last minutes of sunlight in Cambridgeshire.

Read More

Painted Lady

A Painted Lady from last August on Portland, Dorset, prior to migration.

Read More

Harlequin Duck

This is the Harlequin Duck which has been on the River Don since at least early January - one of only ten British records since 1950, so it was a first for me. Another first on this Scottish trip was Eurasian Beaver. It took until nearly 11pm to spot one (in Perthshire), but lots of obstructing branches prevented me using the flash. Next time...

Read More

Weasel

A Weasel seen hunting among the rocks of the scree slopes of the Findhorn Valley in the Cairngorms. Although I've managed crude record shots in the past, the Weasel has been a species that I've struggled with until now. Mustelids are a tricky family of species to photograph in general. Of the species that can be seen in the UK, I'd still like to improve on my Stoat photos, and I still wish for photos of Polecat and American Mink.

Read More

Capercaillie

A male Capercaillie in the Caledonian Pine forest of the Cairngorm National Park, Scotland.

Read More

Ptarmigan

A male Ptarmigan in the Northern Corries on Cairngorm mountain last week, mid-way between the ermine phase and summer plumage.

Read More