About this blog

Thank you for visiting Ribble to Amazon and welcome to my website.

Harpy Eagle (juvenile).

Many of the posts feature my local area - the Ribble Estuary in Lancashire. Although it's a marvellous place for birds, the estuary can be a frustrating place to spend a day birding with so many species out of range on the inaccessible salt marshes and mud flats. A few sites on the estuary afford reasonable views of the birds (mainly at high tide) but I concentrate mainly on the inner estuary near Banks and Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB.

Pink-footed Geese.

We spend a considerable amount of our time in Scotland, especially around the Solway shore of Dumfries & Galloway where we have our caravan. During our holidays we like to explore other parts, particularly the Highlands and the Western Isles. 

Barnacle Geese on the Solway.

I am fortunate enough to work in Scotland as a bird surveyor allowing me to do a bit of birding before or after work at times.

Female Hen Harrier.

Every now and then I get tempted away from my regular haunts if there is a good selection of interesting birds somewhere. I have been known to be led astray on a twitch, but this is rare nowadays.

Red-backed Shrike.

Black-headed Bunting.

I've been travelling abroad in search of birds since 1979 when I was lucky enough to be invited on a trip to Mallorca. Birding trips throughout the Western Palearctic and to various countries in Asia and Africa where well before I started blogging. I've already posted many entries from my tour leading experiences in Central and South America (which will continue) and there'll be some "Old World" foreign birding featured soon in addition to the recent Lesvos trips.

Most posts feature primarily birds seen during the outing but I am interested in all aspects of natural history. I particularly enjoy looking for dragonflies and recently purchased a moth trap, although work (and often, weather) prevent me from continued study of these fascinating creatures.

Pine Marten.

Mammal observation is generally difficult so it's always a thrill to encounter a Pine Marten in Scotland or Giant Otters and even a Jaguar in Brazil.

Jaguar in the Pantanal, Brazil.

All photos on this blog were taken by me, unless labelled otherwise. At present I only use digiscoping equipment - Nikon compact camera plus a Swarovski 'scope. Apart from being the main reason for starting a blog digiscoping has had its uses, with some of my photos published including posters for conservation project (Lear's Macaw) and in schools (Bee Hummingbird in Cuba).

I enjoy recording bird vocalisations and every now and then I'll post a call or song if appropriate. It'll appear something like this Goshawk alarm call on the blog ......



Just click and listen.

The sidebar has a few links to other sites, including websites that cover a subject I'm particularly interested in (such as raptor conservation and ecology) and blogs that I find useful or just enjoyable to read.