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Tresco Abbey gardens
People have been living on the island of Tresco, in the Scilly Islands, for over 5000 years, and visiting these islands by boats from the Cornish mainland as long ago as 6000/7000 BC. The islands would have looked very different back then, covered in oak, ash and elder trees, with roe deer and wild boar…
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Birds at the table
The birds at Tresco Abbey Gardens in the Scilly Islands were extraordinarily tame and clearly used to helping themselves to whatever was left over on the tables in the cafe! I took a few portraits as I was having my tea. It’s not often that birds will let you get so close to them. I…
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Soay sheep on St. Kilda
Soay lamb in May 2023. Photo by Raymond JC Cannon St Kilda is an isolated archipelago situated about 40 miles west of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. The three main islands, of which the largest is Hirta, are the remains of an ancient volcano which blew its top about 55 million years ago. The other main islands are Soay…
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Painful wildlife encounters (on a scale of 1-10).
Doctors, and other heath professionals, often ask patients: “how bad is the pain, on a scale of one to ten?” I invariably give a rather low number, say two or three, because I know – or at least I can imagine – how bad pain can be. Being a pedantic scientist, I also ask them…
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Enough to go round?
I’m reading Kim Stanley Robinson’s excellent novel, if you can call the unfolding of the pending climate catastrophe a work of fiction, “The Ministry for the Future.” He interweaves scenes of unfolding climate emergencies – a devastating heat wave in India which kills millions – with short vignettes describing our current circumstances. For example, concerning…
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The pure joy of simple pleasures
This blog was inspired by seeing some small children enjoying themselves by sitting on a seat. I had just walked past this comfortable looking bench (outside a pizza shop), thinking it would be nice to sit down, but a sensible adult voice in my head said: “that seat is reserved for customers”. But that didn’t…
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Armed Forces Day National Event 2022 Scarborough
Some photographs of the Armed Forces Day in Scarborough on 25th July 2022.
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Patterns: ancient and modern
Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day with a rich evening light. Evening being between 2-3 pm at this time of year in North Yorkshire! I strolled around the harbour here in Scarborough, a very familiar tramping ground, as there is always something to photograph: fishing boats, birds, people, reflections, the list goes on. The light…
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Why do ducks have blue wing flashes?
Many types of dabbling ducks have iridescent wing patches called specula (singular: speculum). These flashes are usually blue or green, although the colour can vary somewhat according to the angle and the lighting conditions. Ducks can also control the extent to which these flashes are visible when their wings are folded (see below). In Mallards…
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Ray Cannon's travel and photography blog 