Wednesday 31 May 2017

Countdown to 30 Days Wild



Tomorrow's the start of The Wildlife Trust's Random Acts of Wildness campaign - 30 Days Wild - designed to connect more people with nature and the world around them, encourage people to care about wildlife and the environment and enjoy themselves along the way.

As it happens I will not be at home tomorrow in my own little garden - I'll be In The Night Garden. I am swapping my small rural village on the edge of the fens in Cambridgeshire for the city. We are off for a day in London with my granddaughter to see a Ninky Nonk, Igglepiggle and Upsy Daisy! (If you don't have small children around you regularly you probably haven't a clue what I'm referring to!)

It's a live show taking place near Greenwich Park, a lovely green area of London we used to visit regularly when my daughter was at university. So my challenge for the first day of #30dayswild will be to see what urban wildlife I can find - other than a stray Macca Pakka that is!!

Exposed!

I haven't walked through my local woods for a few weeks and was expecting a bit of a battle through the spent cow parsley, nettles and brambles that encroach on an ever narrowing pathway during the summer. However, it appeared that over the last few days either the parish or county council have been and cut back the undergrowth. Great for walking and not getting stung but not so good for the wildlife! I spotted this nest just at the edge of the path. When it was built it would have been a good foot inside the brambles and almost completely hidden. Now it is scarily exposed and with the brilliance of the blue eggs was quite easily seen.  I looked and listened for any obvious signs of blackbird parents but they were not close by so at first I assumed it had been abandoned but gently laying the back of my hand on the eggs I could feel some warmth so fingers crossed they might hatch and the undergrowth grows back quickly!

Blackbird Nest, Cambridgeshire



Tuesday 30 May 2017

Beach hare

During the spring I am always on the lookout for hares. I follow a few people on Twitter etc who take fabulous photos of these magical animals and I have never come even close! Whilst in Devon though I saw two in as many days and not a field of crops in sight! The first was spotted just as I was leaving the beach after photographing the sunset. I was standing with my daughter looking back down the beach and she said there was a dog running loose (they not being allowed on the beach at the moment). As it came closer though I could see it was a hare. It was running quite fast and crossed right in front of us, going between the rocks and then up some steps into a meadow. I fired off the camera quickly although I knew the settings would be wrong as it had gotten quite dark by then.
Back home and I've edited them as best I can. I have been going to this beach since I was a child and have never seen a hare there!

Hare on Croyde Beach
The second sighting the next day was just as we were about to come home. We had parked the car under some trees for the day right up at the top of the park. Walking back to collect the car we went passed a caravan tucked away on a corner and there was another (or maybe the same) hare resting in a hollow in the grass outside. He sat perfectly still I grabbed a shot on my phone, not seeming at all bothered. Next time I visit I will be on the lookout!

Hare in caravan park, Croyde



A change of scene

We spent last week in North Devon on a family break. We stayed in Croyde, a special place our family in one form or an other have visited for over 40 years. On one of the evenings the sky looked promising for a sunset so I grabbed the camera. The sun was tucked away behind Baggy Point but the tide was out so I could walk right down the beach to catch the light. The sea had left a landscape of salty puddles leading down to the edge of the water which made for some great interest in the shots.









Sunday 21 May 2017

The garden is alive!

After a few dismal days and lots of rain - it was needed I know - today the sun is out and the garden it quite literally buzzing. The ceanothus is ladened with blue flowers now and the bees are heavy with pollen sacs. Hover flies are in the air and I am just waiting for the butterflies to warm up and take off to join them. Looks like it's going to be a beautiful day 😃




Friday 19 May 2017

30 Days Wild 2017

June is 30 Days Wild time! I have signed up and hope to include my granddaughter who will be two in June in as many activities as I can. She already loves feeding the birds, stamping in puddles and digging in the garden. we have already started growing sunflowers, daisies, sweet peas, lettuce, radishes and spring onions in the garden, and we have a small patch of wild flowers coming through ,now we've finally had some rain! She's recently got up close and personal with piglets and ducklings and fed a lamb and loves looking for ladybirds so I'm confident we will have some more wild toddler experiences! I'll be blogging throughout June about our 'random acts of wildness' so be sure to check back and why not sign up too!





Spring flowers

After the snowdrops and aconites, which although extremely welcome often lull us into a false sense of security, it is lovely a few months later to really see the meadows and woodlands come alive with colour. First the cowslips in their easter yellow and then tentatively the bluebells. Forget-me-knots, red campion - ours is mostly pink - and the froth of cow parsley growing so high to reach the light through the thickening canopy.







Chiffchaff

Walking in the woods as spring gets hold there is one visiting bird who dominates the airwaves. Easily confused with other warblers by sight but unmistakable when it calls, the chiffchaff insistently two-tones across the tops of the trees. I think I read it has to be a certain height before it sings but I haven't checked that although the ones I have heard, and subsequently seen, have been on boughs demanding neck ache! Once you have heard one in the wood, and realised who the call belongs to, it is impossible to tune out and only maybe the high pitched sharp cry of the wren competes.

Chiffchaff, Cambridgeshire

Chiffchaff, Cambridgeshire