On the Wanamangura in the Dream Time.

 I had originally intended to tell the tale of our trip to Australia, via the personal and revelatory diaries of Alan Bushman - an intrepid explorer who, in the early days of 2021, discovered the never-before-seen and perfectly exquisite ornithological marvels of the West Coast - relying on nothing but cans of coke, sweat, and his trusty porters, Janice and Hillary. Braving the hot steamy nights, naked under a flimsy mosquito net, fuelled by cigarettes and various viruses and the obsessive desire to lay eyes on, and eventually capture, the legendary B'Toon. It would have been hilarious. And probably very, very racist. And sexist.

Well. It turns out that I simply cannot do justice to Alan within the restrictions of this simple medium, and so, instead, I shall present here a pictorial journey in five parts - a symphony of sights and smells and sounds and the odd rock here and there. Here then, is Alan Bushman the Musical.

One Ringing to rule them all, and in the Darkness bind them

 The silver skin of dawn parted the darkened reed lined avenue. Up ahead , a point of pink energy. Hanging, loaded with mechanical intent, ready to spark. It had com to this. This thing, like a gaping yaw, at once there and not there - visible only to the touch. Softness blurring boundaries of dimension. It was the very ground, and it would emerge and engulf the universe, leading its mortal armies of the night - the Path Finder. The Machine of the Night. The Eye.

AND THEN A BAT BIT ME!

ho-hoah - man those teeth are sharp, and yet strangely unable to pierce the skin - and believe me it tried really hard. It gave me a right gnaw for a second as I held it while Rich unlatched its claws from the net. What a tiny demon it was. Watch the video on loop for best effect. Absolute nutter. We figured it was a Daubenton's Bat - bigger than a Pip, but maybe not as big as the larger nightbeasts. But we dug into it and found out it was a Leisler's Bat.

Actual rarity.

But that was the added bonus of a morning that had peaked almost before it had begun.

Nightjar! Get in!. I mean, it got in! With nets unfurled for mere minutes, it had changed human history for ever.

and away!

Fenland Nature

I'm pleased to share that the book Simon Stirrup and I have been working on over the last couple of years is now avaliable for pre-order through our publishers Pelagic.  

https://pelagicpublishing.com/products/fenland-nature

or Natural History Book Service

or Waterstones

or Blackwells

or WHSmith

or if you really must Amazon

We will be doing more publicity leading up to the publication of Fenland Nature this autumn, which will include talks and other promotional events.  We are over the moon that our little project has developed so far and feel very proud of what we have achieved in the publication of our first book.  

Morrocco 2014

https://youtu.be/7_pGgH0okDc?si=X0vlFTZN6BHBdPdM

It's been a decade since making a return trip, solely birding, to Morrocco with Simon Patient, Ben Green and Mark Hawkes.  I had visited before in 2009 and loved the country - so much to offer.  As a family we were ready for departure to Marrakesh for a scaled back road trip over Easter 2020 when Morrocco shut it's borders to UK visitors due to the surge in Coronavirus cases.  We really need to re-organise that trip before the kids get too cool for the adventure.

Our road trip in 2014 took in coast, forest, steppe, mountain and desert and a wealth of great birds - a classic birding expedition.

Madeira 2022

https://youtu.be/ltL0OBj-EUc?si=K4ikTOkhiPiJYgFI

It's been awhile but I've put together some images for a video of a memorable trip to Madeira in July 2022 in search of enigmatic pelagic seabirds.  

We had some incredible encounters with Fea's,Desertas and Zino's Petrels at sea between flocks of Cory's Shearwaters, Bulwers Petrels, Madeiran Band-rumped Petrel and a wonderful White-faced Storm Petrel.  Included is thermal imaging video of Zino's Petrel riding the updrafts at their nocturnal return to their mountain top breeding site and a few images of the Madeiran endemic species such as Trocaz Pigeon, Madeiran Firecrest, Maderian Chaffinch, Madeiran Brimstone and Madeira Lizard.