30 Days Wild - Day 22 - Late night gazing

I nearly had to admit defeat for Day 22 of 30 Days Wild! It had been a busy day at work then out for a meal with some friends and not a wild thing in sight! But as I got ready for bed just before midnight I looked out of the window and the clouds had parted revealing a starry sky.

I love looking at the stars at night - it's mind blowing at times contemplating our little existence in the grand scheme of the universe. It hurts my head thinking about it!

Summer skies are often not dark enough to see things clearly although it is the best time of year to see the Milky Way if you can find a dark spot. Last night though I could see Saturn in the south and the W of Cassiopeia clearly towards the North alongside the easy to spot Ursa Major 'The Plough',

The photos below are from my archive but I went to bed promising myself I would get back into star gazing!

30 Days Wild - Day 20 - Evening Birds

Once again my nature watching has been confined to the garden at dusk! Tomorrow we have a warning for violent thunderstorms so maybe the humidity will break a little after.  In the meantime for 30 Days Wild I have been trying out the app that identifies bird songs and calls that I downloaded a few days ago.

I can't say it was entirely successful. The song needs to be clear and preferably with no other calls going on at the same time but I got one or two good recordings which I know were right as I could see the bird!

Interestingly I kept getting a 30-40% on Nightingales which, although I'd love it to be so, I'm pretty sure we haven't got even in the trees beyond the garden. The song thrush was going up and down the scales though so wonder if they are similar?

So I think it needs trying out a bit more before I can be confident it's giving me the right answer.

30 Days Wild - Day 19 - Evening Viewing

As the heat is still rising and the coolest place is my office I haven't even been out for my regular lunchtime walk, or been inclined to go outdoors at all. However, it looked like it might be a nice sunset and by 9pm it was comfortable enough to sit in the garden, so I took my camera and phone out and waited for the sky to colour up for my 30 Days Wild act.

While I was waiting I thought I'd tick off another random act of wildness and check out some webcams and as it was for 30 Days I looked up the Wildlife Trust to see what they had.

How great it is to be able to turn on and watch wildlife that was previously unaccessible. How many people just a few years ago could say they had seen inside a Peregrine nest? Amazing privilege.

Osprey nest at Rutland Water with two chicks.

A barn owl nest at Blue House Farm nature reserve in Essex.

Peregrines on Buckinghamshire County Council's County Hall in Aylesbury.

And the sunset? By now the sky had become streaked with clouds and vapour trails and a strip of orange hung on the horizon. Not a spectacular sunset in the end but such a pretty sky.

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.

Stormy sunset

We had some glorious skies the other evening. The clouds bubbled up into a heavy threatening mass but as the sun went down it caught the outer edges and we had a glorious fiery sunset, all topped off by a sliver of crescent moon.

Autumn

I love autumn, the colours, the air, wildlife becoming active again - beginning to stock up and hanker down. The later dusks and dawns are easier to view with mists and stormy clouds, pinks, purples and orange skies. Below are a few of my favourites taken over the past few weeks.