My Blog - Jeff Clarke

Picos de Europa 2012 {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/blog/picos2012]} All images unless otherwise stated © Jeff Clarke 2012 My annual wildlife tour to the Picos de Europa in partnership with Teresa Farino of Iberian Wildlife Tours was as interesting and wildlife packed as ever. Combine that with the stunning scenery and you have a recipe for a contented group of 14 wildlife enthusiasts and paying customers. On this tour we also spent a few days in neighbouring Castile. The weather was mostly hot and sunny and something of a contrast with the UK.The big highlight of the first full day was the magical setting of the high mountains accessed by the cable car at Fuente de and here we revelled in a full suite of mountain birds including amazing ...

Uist {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/blog/uist]} All images unless otherwise stated © Jeff Clarke 2012 In recent weeks I've been fortunate enough to visit some scenically spectacular places. None more so than the Islands of North and South Uist, Benbecula and Berneray. I spent a week there co-leading an FSC Holiday with my old friend Martyn Jamieson. We had a lovely group of 11 people with us and enjoyed showing them everything from leaping Common Dolphins to 'krecking' Corncrakes, rare bumblebees, orchid filled coastal grasslands. What follows is not a poem but just few of the observations made in the bewitching Western Isles. Ice crystals strewn across a vast wind-ripped sky,silver dappled wavelets lapping on the pristine shoreThe 'Hea...

Rock Nightmares! {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/blog/rocknightmares]} All images unless otherwise stated © Jeff Clarke 2012 One of the fun things about turning over rocks is the frisson of uncertainty you get from never being 100% sure if the creature that resides below is capable of expressing its annoyance at having the roof lifted of its abode by indulging in a bout of physical retaliation. Even veterans of the pastime sometimes get a little jumpy when you uncover something with a potent bite, or sting.Whilst Co-leading a wildife tour in Grazalema with Teresa Farino we managed to reveal some fearsome invertebrates capable of getting your instant respect and a degree of circumspection in your approach due to their impressive weaponry. A...

Blissful Blue {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/blog/blissfulblue]} All images unless otherwise stated © Jeff Clarke 2012 There can be few more pleasant places to be in the world than the British Countryside on a perfect day in May and better still when it extends over long weekend. I worked for most of it but I can't complain as it involved showing various groups of people our wonderful birdlife. It began on Friday evening, under the azure sky that persited the whole weekend, at Budby Common where a small group of my adult education folk joined me to explore this extensive heathland in North Notts. We missed out on the Nightjar, perhaps we were a few days early, but we had close encounters with other classic heathland birds, including parac...

Reptile Tales from Andalucia {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/blog/Grazalemareptiles]} All images unless otherwise stated © Jeff Clarke 2012 Southern Spain is richly endowed with a reptilian fauna but some of them still require dedication and skill to winkle out. My recent tour of the Sierra de Grazalema area in partnership with Teresa Farino of Iberian Wildlife Tours provided an opportunity to get to grips with some of this regions hidden 'herptiles'. To get the best out of such tour possibilities it helps to have equally enthusiastic and experienced reptile hunters among the clients and on this trip we were fortunate to have a veritable zealot in the form of Alan Harrison, whose stone turning inclinations seemed boundless and who by dint ...