You are browsing the archives of 2006 June.

Little Bee-eater Merops pusillus
Nairobi, Kenya. June 2006
 
The Little Bee-eater is a locally common resident in the highlands of East Africa (Nairobi is situated at 1660 metres (5450 feet) above sea level), south to Malawi and Zambia. It occurs in highland forest, forest margins, and scrub: in Nairobi the Little Bee-eater is a familiar bird in [...]

One beautiful thing about the bird blogging game is that new blood is always welcome. The alleged A-listers may have the glamorous and, dare I say it, lucrative corners of the blogosphere locked up, but the natural history niche is wide open. The last year has seen a boom in brilliant bird blogs, as the [...]

Forster’s Tern Sterna forsteri
California, USA
September 2004 and June 2006

Forster’s Terns typically inhabit fresh and saltwater marshes in the summer, hawking low over the water before either skimming the surface or diving for the fish which make up the bulk of its diet. During migration and in winter, they can be found in a wider variety [...]

Western Screech Owl Otus kennicotti
Rancho San Antonio Park, California
18 June 2006
 
The Western Screech Owl in the photographs below was found about a fortnight before I went to California, roosting right by a main path in Rancho San Antonio Park, a very popular hiking and recreation area along Cristo Rey Drive (just off the Interstate 280 [...]

This has been a banner year for me as far as vireos are concerned. Though I’m always on the alert for new birds, I unintentionally backed into a new personal milestone. I was so fixated on warblers during May’s migratory festivities that I didn’t realize until June that I’d spotted every species of vireo expected [...]

Britain’s Orchids - David Lang (WILDGuides 2004)
Reviewed June 2006
 
Let’s be honest right from the start of this review: Britain is not blessed with an overwhelming variety of orchids and coming to them new is not so daunting as starting looking at moths, for example: there are just (depending on current taxonomy) 51 species of [...]

Fly Orchid Orchis insectifera, Bee Orchid Orchis apifera, and Fly x Bee hybrids
Somerset and Hampshire, UK. June 2005 and 2006
 
Fly Orchids are rather slender plants found typically in the Beech woods of Kent and Surrey, and less often in dry grassland and scrub on calcareous soils. Locally common in southern England and on Anglesey [...]

Pyramidal Orchids Anacamptis pyramidalis
UK, June 2005 and June-July 2006

Pyramidal Orchids are one of the most widespread and familiar members of the orchid family in the UK, mainly because they can be abundant on chalk downs, dune slacks, seaside golf links, cliff tops and on limestone pavements, and are often seen in large groups on roadside [...]

White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher Melaenornis fischeri Nairobi, Kenya. January 2004 and June 2006

A locally common resident in the highlands of East Africa (Nairobi is situated at 1660 metres (5450 feet) above sea level.), south to Malawi and Zambia. Occurs in highland forest, forest margins, and scrub: in Nairobi it is a familiar bird in gardens and [...]

Most orchids in the UK grow from late-May to the end of July: it’s a narrow window, and as it tends to rain heavily here most summers (when was the last time that the Wimbledon Tennis Championship ran to schedule, for example) if the sun shines anyone wanting to see them needs to get out [...]