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The birds have gone quiet, this is not because lockdown is easing and we’re scaring them all away! After all the raucous calls and songs...

During the short spell of dry weather today, my walk was interrupted with a crunch underfoot. Looking down the path ahead of me, I...

Sadly the marmalade fly didn’t get its name for being the equivalent of Paddington Bear! It is because of its lovely marmalade colour. It...

This cute little jumping spider was on our patio, but we have seen them inside the house on the bathroom windowsill. We don’t need to...

Whilst not as ubiquitous as the Kite, these birds of prey are much more common in the skies above Otley than they used to be. They are...

Whilst out walking along Birdcage Walk at dusk, I spotted a fox eating some supplementary food left out for horses (the second picture)....

One of these settled on our gate in the sun. They feed mostly on honeydew in the tree tops, and rarely on flowers. Honeydew is a...

A beautiful bird with an ugly screech of a call, I seem to see more of them around these days, particularly in the woods on the Chevin....

There are loads of these on the riverbank path between Gallows Hill and Knotford Nook, but they can turn up in your Otley garden, even if...

Another of my favourite birds (how many are you allowed?!). When they’re not bobbing up and down in the manner that gave them their name,...

We saw dozens of these this morning on our walk east of Otley along the old railway track. In the fields beyond, they flew up from the...

A different tone for today’s post: this invasive species is a significant problem around Otley. On the face of it, there’s a lot to like...

Regular exposure to these magnificent birds hasn’t dimmed the awe they inspire in me. I once dragged my family over a hundred miles to...

This remarkable name derives from their defensive mechanism: they squirt foul-tasting red drops from their mouths when threatened. This...

A native of North America’s west coast, the one I saw was in the Holbeck Wood on the Chevin. What drew me to this tall conifer was the...

This moth only flies on warm nights between May and July, but can be found resting on walls, tree trunks and lime tree foliage. The adult...

Not as frequent a visitor to the gardens of Otley as it used to be, due to the effect of a deadly parasite that jumped from pigeons in...

We’re making “elderflower champagne” soon, and later in the year people will use the elderberries to make wine. Historically there have...

The Drone Fly is very common around Otley, this time of year. It is an accomplished honeybee mimic, with brown and orange markings, but...

This very small bird makes a very big noise – a scolding torrent of up to 740 notes a minute. An ancient fable crowned it the king of...