Welcome to Mike Langman Art
Full time bird illustrator since 1992
With an impressive catalogue of 88 published books featuring his artwork, Mike is also commissioned to illustrate for numerous national magazines.
His work regularly appears in birdwatching magazines, BBC Wildlife and Countryfile Magazines.
Information board work can be seen all over the UK at virtually every RSPB reserve and many Wildlife Trust sites too.
A birder since the age of 11 Mike’s knowledge of birds and indeed other natural history has made him a popular walks/tour guide leader and speaker.
Summer, Autumn & winter walks, watches and cruises
now taking bookings
NEW – Gift Vouchers
Redeemable on walks, cruises or private tours for an amount of your choice Contact Mike for more information.
Reports on previous walks and cruises and be found on my Facebook site:
Summary reports with photos here: Facebook site
Also reports, photos and news on (click link): X (formerly Twitter)
2024 Guided Walks and Guided Cruises
note this year I’ve given a whole new page to Guided Cruises: https://mikelangman.co.uk/guided-cruises/
separating them from the Guided Walks: https://mikelangman.co.uk/walks/
Spaces on all of my walks and cruises are limited – booking is essential.
Contact Mike for more information or to book a place.
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The first two of my guided Dart 'Osprey' cruises on 30th & 31st August.![]()
boarding African Queen Dartmouth at Kingswear we first headed out to sea and around the rocky islands of East Blackstone and the Mew Stones. At sea the regular seabirds were seen; Guillemots, Gannets, Kittiwake, Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls plus scarcer Mediterranean Gull, Fulmar, Manx and Balearic Shearwater. The rarest seabirds seen were Pomarine Skua and Great Skua sadly a rare bird now following the devastating results of bird flu. ![]()
The East Blackstone had resting Shags, Cormorants and a good number of Kittiwakes, at least 3 colour ringed kittiwakes all appearing to originate from the French ringing schemes. ![]()
At Mew Stones a few Grey seals were hauled out on the low tide but the choppy sea meant not as many as normal were present.![]()
Entering the Dart Estuary a young Goshawk was picked up being mobbed by a Kestrel, the first time we had seen one at this location.![]()
Oystercatchers were busy feeding on the exposed rocks approaching Dartmouth but sadly no young birds with them this year. ![]()
Further up the Dart our first Kingfisher was spotted then our first Harbour Seals and a couple more Grey Seals. Another Goshawk was spotted (probably the same one again on our return journey). Then two Ospreys one taking a couple of plunges into the river the other flying further up and around the wooded bend in the river.![]()
A few distant Curlew were seen also Shelducks, Lots of Canada Geese, Cormorants, Shag and plenty of Grey Herons and Little Egrets, including some green legged juveniles.![]()
The cruise on the 31st was unable to go out to sea due to a fresh NE breeze blowing right into the shore line. however we managed to cruise further up river. The hoped for Osprey put in an appearance - just one bird today but again it made a couple of dives for us to watch. Moving further up river we found more kingfishers, at least 8 Harbour Seals 3 Grey seals, Curlews, Raven, Buzzards and Sparrowhawk a small party of moulting male Mandarin ducks were good to see and a single Little Grebe. there was much more feeding activity on the river today with Little Egrets, Grey Heron and hundreds of Black-headed Gulls plus a single Mediterranean Gull. A cormorant provided some amusement as it tried to swallow a large flat fish - possibly a Flounder.![]()
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Looking forward the several more of these Dart 'Osprey' cruises this week. Due to a cancellation there's still a single place left on Friday 6th September and 3 places on the additional Sunday 8th September cruise.
Lyme Bay 6hr Pelagic Cruise 28th August![]()
The rescheduled cruise from 23rd August (due to bad weather on the day) went very well yesterday afternoon on Kellys Hero Charters. A lovely group, lots of tea, coffee and biscuits, hopefully those on board got some better photos than me..![]()
Heading out into Lyme Bay at 2pm our hopes were high. after a slightly slow start it all started to happen when we got in among the feeding seabirds.: Highlights: 10+ Great Shearwaters, 23 Balearic, Hundreds of Manx, 4 Pomarine Skuas (too close for comfort!), Arctic Skua, Yellow-legged, Mediterranean Gulls, Bluefin Tuna, Common Dolphins and Harbour Porpoise.
Due to the popularity of my previously fully booked 4hour guided Dart Estuary 'Osprey' Cruises on African Queen Dartmouth , I've put on one last date - 8th September 2pm start - £40 per person. It will include a visit to the offshore islands if sea conditions allow before heading up river.![]()
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There have also been a couple cancellations this week for a two of the other Dart cruises so an extra three places are available.![]()
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If you are interested see: mikelangman.co.uk/guided-cruises/
Naturetrek Wildlife Holidays Dart & Man Sands Day tour ![]()
23 August 2024![]()
Meeting at Man Sands at 9am on a bright breezy day, butterflies noted included Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Red Admiral later also Small Copper and Painted Lady. By the bird hide a family of Firecrest showed well. The marsh held Gadwall, Little Grebe and Cetti’s Warblers. Behind the marsh were Stonechats, Raven, Chiffchaffs and a Kestrel. One young Wall Lizard showed on the cliffs. Offshore Common Dolphin jumped. Dragonflies on the wing included Common Darter, Emperor, Migrant, and Black-tailed Skimmers ![]()
The afternoon boat trip headed out to sea on African Queen Dartmouth; lumpy seas restricted our adventure. On the islands several Grey Seals were hauled out. Kittiwake and Gannet flew past. Heading up the Dart Estuary a couple of Peregrines cruised over woodland. Oystercatchers, Grey Herons and Little Egrets were feeding. A single Curlew was seen. Further up the estuary several Harbour Seals were hauled out on a pontoon with two Grey Seals. A single Egyptian Goose was an oddity to finish our estuary cruise.
"Whilst carrying out passage seabird counts recently I noticed a large strange shape in the water about 120m off the headland at Berry Head National Nature Reserve. I couldn’t work out what it was until suddenly a head appeared out of the water - a leatherback Turtle!! 🐢![]()
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This was a first sighting for me in the UK - I quickly got the other two watchers onto the reptile who were as excited as me to see this magnificent creature. It dived before I could get the camera out so I've drawn this sketch."![]()
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Mike Langman Art, Illustrations & Wildlife Guide ![]()
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Thank you for sending this amazing discovery and sketch to us Mike. What a find!