Wildlife
The Yawning Kestrel
This year Kestrels have again nested at my workshop – using the Barn Owl nest box. About a month ago I had thought I heard the smallest chick sounds, and since they have got louder, and the stomping in the box more frequent. In fact, these chicks have been the noisiest I have known […]
Swifts over the meadow
The swifts are hunting for insect food to take back to their growing young and I see them flying over the meadow and hear their screeching in the late evening. What extraordinary and special birds they are. This is a standing stone I’ve carved with a simple Swift in flight outline cut through the […]
Otter in Repose Sculpture
Otter in Repose sculpture carved in Yorkstone. Just completing the finishing touches to my Otter sculpture. When ready, it is going to live somewhere rather special …… The sculpture shows an otter curled up in a reclined pose, with the tail neatly wrapped around its body. Though relaxed and resting, Otter is still alert […]
Shrubbery Bird
Birds love shrubs. Here there’s a rather tangly, unmanaged shrub area, but it is always full of birds and insects who seem very happy with my casual gardening style. The woody shrubs and climbers provide food for wildlife, including berries, fruits, seeds, nuts, leaves, and nectar-rich flowers. The shrubbery also provides shelter and breeding […]
Shakespeare called it a ‘dive-dapper’
I know this bird as a Dabchick, or Little Grebe – a chubby diving waterbird whose habitat of marshes, ponds and lakes supply all the insects, molluscs, tadpoles, small fish and reptiles that it can eat. They’re birds that tend to stay hidden in the reeds and vegetation, but when I’ve seen them, (and […]
The Life of the Shrew
I’m reading a lovely little book The Life of the Shrew by Peter Crowcroft. He was in charge of the Mammal Room at the British Museum from 1956 and was a foundation member of the Mammal Society of the British Isles and observed and studied shrews for many years. I see and hear shrews […]
Short-eared Owl
Short-eared Owl – carved in Yorkstone. They’re impressive owls when you catch a glimpse of one! Short-eared Owls hunt during the day, so can be spotted occasionally here on the North York Moors flying low over the heather, on fence posts, or in the rough moorland grass. It breeds here too, nesting on the […]
Whinbusks in bud
I walked up onto the moor yesterday morning, there had been a hard frost overnight covering the ground dusty white. Through the cold came the birdsong and the gleam of the rising sun and I felt the push of spring despite the chill. Once on the moor path along Lastingham Ridge, I’m aware of […]
Forest and Moor
Goldcrest sculpture ready for showing at the Forest and Moor exhibition – carved in Yorkstone with gold leaf crests. Forest and Moor is the new exhibition opening on March 5th at the Watermark Gallery in Harrogate. The exhibition is showing the expressive artwork of North Yorkshire artist Janine Baldwin. One or two of my […]
Hare Hesitant
‘Mad as a March Hare’ they say…. March is right in the middle of the Hare’s breeding season, the males searching out the females, chasing and circling them. If a male tries to get too close too soon, the female stands up on her hind feet and turns on him striking with her forepaws, […]