Deancombe and Down Tor, 21st April

Here are some pictures from yesterday's walk in the Burrator area.  Windy and fresh, as every day seems to be at the moment, but still some great sights, including Redstart and Wheatear (5 males at Down Tor), giant quartz crystals, ruined farms, lambs, foals, a badger sett, feathers from a Magpie killed by a bird of prey (possibly Peregrine) and some magnificent views.

Grace knocked her head on the branch of a lichen-festooned hawthorn and a Mistle Thrush flew quietly away.  We found this nest with five eggs hidden amongst the curtains of string-of-sausages lichen.  What a magical spot for a nest!

 Looking towards Burrator Reservoir from Down Tor.

 Grace and Gus being deer on Down Tor.

 Woodpecker hole (presumed Green) in a dead beech with magnificent bracket fungus attached.

Sheeps Tor in a fast moving patch of sunlight.

Testimonial from the Harrises

Not usually one to blow my own trumpet, so I'll let someone else do it for me.  This is what Steve and Ann Harris had to say about their recent guided walk with me at Prince Hall (see previous post):

Over the years we have been on quite a few bird watching and wild life walks and, really, our evening with Richard is up there with the very best of them. His enthusiasm, attention to detail and willingness to answer any question made our walk with him a great experience. He opened our eyes to many different aspects of Dartmoor and we will be queuing up for more as soon as we return to Prince Hall Hotel. Well done for finding him and adding him to this wonderful hotel’s many assets!!

Osprey and more

I was lucky enough to see an Osprey on 30 March, rising up out of the West Dart valley near Brownberry, and circling slowly north on the thermals towards Laughter Tor.


Then a trip to South East Cornwall over Easter produced Red Kite, Eider (waddling around amongst the tourists on a busy Looe beach!) and a fine adult male Peregrine.


Now the weather has turned sharper and more blustery, with some pretty fierce hail showers yesterday, but the summer migrants are starting to make it up onto Dartmoor in bigger numbers now, with plenty of Blackcaps and a few Willow Warblers, and a lone Swallow over Holne Moor today.

Guided walk with Ann and Stephen Harris

A fantastic walk, this one, on a very warm and still evening.  I met the Harrises at Prince Hall Hotel and took them on a leisurely three hour walk up the West Dart to Prince Hall Rocks and back in time for dinner.  Some of the highlights of a hugely enjoyable evening included Tortoiseshell butterfly, Common Lizard, an early Swallow and some late Fieldfares, Raven and Siskin, as well as a beautiful sunset (see below).  My guests were lovely company and seemed to enjoy their evening as much as I did.  

If you would like to arrange a guided walk like this one please contact me on 

dartbirds@gmail.com .

Sunrise, 28th March

 The sun comes up over the sea beyond Teignmouth

 'Brownhead' Goosanders at Venford Reservoir

 Combestone Tor

Guided walk with the Gebhardts

Here are some pictures from my guided walk on Monday with Karsten and Renate Gebhardt, from Bielefeld, Germany.  The Gebhardts were excellent company and we had a very interesting cultural exchange - not least in working out the names of birds and flowers in the other language.  My favourite was Wren -  Zaunkönig - which translates as 'fence king.'  What an apt name - the tyrant of the fence!  Goosander is Gänsesäger - 'saw goose.' Mistle Thrush, once we established the fact that it wasn't 'Missile Thrush', is Misteldrossel, which translates as the same.  Jay is Eichelhäher  - 'acorn jay.'  I love the functional yet poetic nature of these words.


We walked around Huccaby and the O Brook, and saw Goosander, Mandarin, Dipper (Wasseramsel), Grey Wagtail, Siskin and Buzzard, among others.