My take of the Aurora from a couple of photos taken on a recent trip to Norway. The aurora, takes its name from the Latin, meaning mystic dawn, and is brought about by charged particles from the sun reacting with gases in the atmosphere around the magnetic poles of the earth. As well as having the midnight sun through from May to July, it is a yet a further spectacle enjoyed by the four million people who call the Arctic their home. The lighthouse is that on the island of Godøya, a small island on the west coast, near the art nouveau town of Ålesund. It is the Alnes lighthouse, which takes its name from the small fishing village in where it is situated.

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If you have not done so already, meet Albie, the lone albatross in the northern hemisphere, which at some point has flown off course from the southern oceans.

It spends much of it time around the Baltic Sea, near Denmark and Germany, but more recently has spent the occasional spring and summer at Bempton Cliffs in East Yorkshire, making its home among a large colony of breeding gannets. It must be clearly longing for a mate.

Inspite of its 2.4 metre wingspan and aerodynamic glider-like wings which they rarely flap, it is highly unlikely it will ever make its way back to where it belongs, because of the effort involved and crossing the windless equator.

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This spectacular beauty, the male of the species, is widespread throughout Europe, but also extends into Africa and Asia, north of ther tropics.

Often mistaken for a butterfly, it spends the daylight hours frantically searching for the larger, but dowdier blue-grey female. With the help of feathery antennae they able to detect them several miles away. Fuelled by fat reserves, it has no mouthparts and survives only for a short period of time in order to mate.

Now is the time to see them. To attract them you need to use pheromones. Getting them to open their wings is the next step in the process; some are more obliging than others. This one seemed to be just peeping through!

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Natural, unassuming beauty on a relaxed sunny day with friends in the park.

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This beautiful bird is about the size of a moorhen, because of which it can be easily overlooked. Its golden ear tufts, which in America gives it the name 'Eared Grebe', contrasts strikingly with its black head and neck and piercing red eyes. A diving waterbird, it feeds on small fish and aquatic invertebrates. Although widley distributed thoughout the world, it flies thousands of miles to its breeding ground, which tend to be shallow, well-vegetated lakes and water courses. Typically, towards the end of May young chicks can be seen on their parents' back, one each on the male and female alike. Happy days ahead for these two!

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