Purple Heron
More often than not, whenever I came across Purple Herons (Ardea purpurea) around ponds and waterways in Portugal it was usually them, with exceptional eyesight, who saw me first and…
Portuguese Postcard
Sitting amongst a carpet of yellow chamomile an almost intact ‘Moinho de Vento’ stands motionless in the dying light of a spring day. Traditionally, in the not too distant past,…
Never Look Back…
...why not? Many optimists say you should ‘never look back’, but when you’re a chameleon it really isn’t a problem! These fascinating reptiles have independent moveable eyes, so they can…
Yellow Iris
This attractive bright yellow flower - the ‘Yellow Iris’ (Iris pseudacorus), is also known as the ‘Yellow Flag Iris’ in some parts. It is a native plant of European wetlands,…
The Amazing Pin-tailed Whydah
As I’m sure a lot of you will already know, many birds can take on quite a transformation during the breeding season. More often than not, especially when I’m travelling,…
Bohemian Truffle
You would not be wrong if you came across this fungi on a trail in southern Europe and thought you’d found a ‘truffle’. I certainly did when I first saw…
Little Egrets
Here we see a couple of shots of a Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) - one fishing for a mighty morsel in a tidal pool and one flying low over and…
The Invaders!
Here are four invasive wild flowers that I came across growing in Portugal last year (left to right) - Chicory (Cichorium intybus) - although native to some parts of Europe,…
Little Bittern
I was pleasantly surprised when I spotted for the first time this Little Bittern (Botaurus minutus) whilst visiting a nature area in the Algarve region of Portugal early last spring.…
Egret King
Look at this guy, showing his all more like a ‘king’ egret rather than a cattle egret! This guy is in his full mating plumage, taken last spring in the…
There Goes 2025!
Wow - where did 2025 go? Photographically I’ve been very lucky and my backlog of work is immense, but adding to the work pile this year are shots from the…
Barbary Nut
The Barbary Nut (Gymnandriris sisyrinchium) is an attractive, almost ‘miniature’ looking member of the iris family of flora. These plants are fairly common and can be found along the sandy…
Surf’s Up!
Nazaré is located on Portugal’s ‘Silver Coast’ between Porto and Lisbon and, as well as being a very special place to visit, is also a hotspot and primary destination for…
An Old Boot!
Here’s a view from Portugal’s ‘Cabo de Sao Vicente’ (Cape St. Vincent) and on first glance I’d say it was another piece of ‘natural art’, this time representing the form…
Iberian Water Frog
The Iberian Water Frog (Pelophylax perezi), also known as 'Perez's Frog', can be found in most fresh water habitats across Portugal and Spain. I came across this guy in a…
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