Audience Participation

June is here which means it's time to encourage everyone to get a little wild. The Wildlife Trust's 30 Days Wild campaign is designed to get people reconnecting with nature by doing a random act of wildness each day on the month.

I don't think many days go by where I don't do something in nature but of course I have signed up and will be making a concerted effort to persuade others to join me and get outdoors even just for a few minutes.

Yesterday was all about my granddaughter who is nearly 4. She played out in the paddling pool, grass beneath her feet and when she was finished she helped in the garden recycling the water onto my flowers.

Today we walked 6 miles around our local National Trust nature reserve - Wicken Fen. We often walk here and today we spotted a little owl, marsh harrier, meadow pipits, skylarks, goldfinches, cuckoo and brown hares. One of the hares was quite close before he/she spotted us.

We also saw a few dragonflies, the first of the season, and a painted lady butterfly.

As well as 30 Days Wild we also have BBC Springwatch back on our screens and they have a citizen science project - Gardenwatch - running with various missions to complete. I completed Mission 1 last week which is just telling them about your garden. You don't need a big garden, all sorts of garden data is helpful. I will be completing the other missions if possible next week.

One other project I noted was this survey to record sightings of 'cuckoo spit'. These contain the spittlebug or froghopper as it feeds on the plant and the data being collected will map the distribution of the insect in a pre-emptive strike against Xylella, a deadly plant disease.

The Beast From the East Brings Snow and Visitors

It's been a while hasn't it! I've been busy with building a new business whilst still working, grandma duties and general life! But I've still been walking and definitely still been watching nature go through her seasonal manoeuvres. One curve ball was thrown at us last week when an icy blast of weather came our way bringing windchill and snow. In Cambridgeshire we got off very lightly with a few centimetres of snow on and off for a few days whilst other areas had drifts of 10 and even 20 feet.

Weather watchers soon nicknamed this front The Beast From the East although towards the end of the week it had also combined with a European storm called Emma - much less fierce sounding but the one that hit us with the most snow.

One advantage of the freezing temperatures and the ground being covered was some new visitors to the gardens. Photos appeared everywhere of people seeing fieldfares and redwings for the first time. And where the little birds feed the bigger birds follow with sparrow hawks and buzzards being seen brazenly sitting on fences and sheds.

I made a point of putting out more food each day, topping it up and keeping the water from freezing.

Watching the birds it was interesting to see their behaviour change. The robin who would normally see off any other robin reserved its energy - at one point we had three in the garden - the blackbirds stopped chasing each other for a few days too. But bring in a few outsiders and the dynamics changed again. The robin took exception to a male blackcap who appeared one afternoon, the jackdaws saw off a stray gull and the blackbirds and a fieldfare fought it out over an apple - the fieldfare arrived on the second day of snow and having found some apple stood guard over it for the next few days.

As the snow eventually thawed and the visitors disappeared back to the woods and the fields the garden became calm again and the regular birds went back to the job in hand - spring!

Perseid Meteor Shower

Every August the Earth passes through the debris of the comet Swift-Tuttle and we can see the resulting meteor shower. These 'shooting stars' peaked Saturday night so I set up the camera in the garden and spent a few hours dodging the clouds and hoping to catch a meteor as it flashed past. It was a good night for them, they didn't peak until after midnight but between 10-11pm I saw quite a few, some faint wisps but a couple of good tailed streaks across the sky. Beautiful.

More plants!

As part of 30 Days Wild I added some more plants to the garden (as if I need any excuse!) specifically bee and butterfly friendly.  I appear to have added some more!

My girls had bought me tickets to Hampton Court Palace Flower Show for my birthday and on Thursday, after sitting in horrendous traffic and with the mercury edging over 30, I found myself overwhelmed with what to purchase next!

Whilst looking at the great gardens on show my eyes were drawn to the hot purples, reds and orange planting - colours I wouldn't normally go for, preferring the pinks and mauves of cottage flowers. This I decided would be ideal for my south facing front garden. Since removing the old huge lavender bushes from the front I have planted a few bits and piece but hadn't really got a grasp on where I wanted this garden to go but now I have in mind tall agapanthus and globular alliums with dark lavender, sea holly, ladybird poppies and hot pink echinacea. A riot of sexy, deep shades and textures.

Well that's the plan!

It was a little too hot to spend lots of time pursuing the stalls but I have photographed the ideas I like and will plant it up gradually. In the meantime I did managed to buy the sea holly (it was covered with bees!), echinacea and a poppy to get going and remind me of a fabulous day. I will definitely go back hopefully on a slightly cooler day!

Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

30 Days Wild - Day 27 - Snail Trail

And then the rain came!  After our heatwave of last week where I couldn't move for sweating today the drips are coming from the skies!

Some people may not enjoy the rain but my garden is crying out for it! My water butt is on empty and the grass is curling at the edges. So welcome the rain! It is forecast to continue for a couple of days, which it needs to soak through - the initial downpours just running off the hard earth.

Today in the office, we saw the lightning light up the dark oppressive sky and we jumped as the crack of thunder came immediately behind. The gutter leaked under the deluge with a waterfall outside the door.

Then the snails came out. Outside one of the office windows the foliage has not been cut back for a while and is covering the glass. Three snails made their way across the windowsill to the tender shoots on the other side. My 30 Days Wild act for today was to encourage my colleagues to put down their pens and stop looking at their screens for a few minutes and come to the window to see the snails. They may have thought I was mad but they came and we watched and we chatted about the rain and the snails and how not a ripple could be seen as they slid over the glass.

A nature break without leaving the office.

30 Days Wild - Day 23 - Researching ponds

Today I have been researching small wildlife ponds for 30 Days Wild. We have a bigger raised pond with fish but I wanted to do something to encourage the frogs more. We used to get quite a few in the garden but in recent years we have struggled to find one.

Obviously we have our granddaughter to consider so it needs to be not easily accessible to her but in a suitable location for the wildlife.  I have read various websites recommending in the sun, not in the sun, semi shade, no shade! The jury seems to be out on that but as our garden is small anyway we have limited options.

I think I have decided it should go up near our bug hotel and the wildflower patch. It has lots of places nearby that frogs could use to hide out, it should be protected from little hands but open enough that she can see it.

I have an old washing up bowl that should be ok to use but I want to bury it so it's flush with the ground to give maximum access. Having an interview today and a wedding tomorrow I didn't want 'gardener's fingernails' so this project will have to be postponed for a few days.

In the meantime though while surveying for suitable sites I was really pleased to see some of the wildflowers I seeded a while ago are beginning to flower. I seem to have some oil seed rape in there too along with niger seedlings from the bird feeders but as long as it flowers I'm not too bothered!

30 Days Wild - Day 21 - Summer Solstice & The Longest Birthday

Summer solstice.
First day of summer.
Longest Day.
My birthday!

One of my 'to dos' on Pinterest is to see the sunrise on my birthday on the solstice at Stonehenge but in the meantime and for 30 Days Wild I made a point of getting up at 4am to watch the sunrise.  I have learnt a few things already this morning:

The times given for sunrises on my weather app can strangely change overnight!
The sun does not rise in the east at this time of year - more north east!
There is a tree directly at north-east from my house!
Summer solstice times given for my town on various websites do not seem to match!
The birds are incredibly loud at 4.30am!
Today will be 16 hours and 38 minutes long.
Solstice comes from the Latin for sun (sol) and stand still (sistere).
I should have got dressed and gone out for a walk for a better view and experience.
The experience was still amazing. Quiet. Peaceful. Well worth getting up.
I'm going to be sooooo tired this afternoon!

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.

30 Days Wild - Day 18 - It's A Bug's Life

Hot! Hot! Hot! I really wanted to get out for a walk this morning and find some butterflies but even early it was too warm and sticky for me so, as we are busy this afternoon, once again I took the camera out in the garden for 30 Days Wild.

All was still amongst the plants except the odd movement of tiny wings. The birds were oddly quiet too as I topped up the water in the bird bowl and the bee watering station. Then I sat under the umbrella's shade with my early morning coffee and silently wished my dad a Happy Fathers Day.

The deep purple salvias and lavender I bought at the garden centre a few weeks ago had come into flower and were welcoming their pollen hunting visitors.

No sound of lawn mowers, no smell of bar-be-ques but they will surely come later. Just me, the insects and my memories.

30 Days Wild - Day 15 - Trail Cam Take Two

Well I put the trail cam out again last night, moved it back a bit so it wasn't so bright on the feeding dish.  I knew the neighbouring cat had been in the garden as he left me a delightful present of vomit on the lawn. He actually threw up right in front of the camera but I'll spare you that for 30 Days Wild!





Anyhow, check out the video and watch out behind the cat in the corner of the lawn!

We do have a hedgehog :) - so pleased to see it and that the cat decided it wasn't worth hassling!

30 Days Wild - Day 14 - Trail Cam

Last year for my birthday my husband bought me a trail cam. Nothing too fancy, we just wanted to see what was coming into the garden at night as we had been feeding what we hoped were hedgehogs. I had also won a hedgehog house from Waitrose and we wanted to see if it was being used.

Since then I have captured a few little videos of hedgehogs and mice.

For today's 30 Days Wild act I thought I'd get the trail cam out again so last night we put the food out as usual - a mixture of crushed peanuts and mealworms - once it was nearly dark otherwise the wood pigeon just takes it all before anyone else gets a look in! I haven't seen a hedgehog in the garden for a few months and the house which was used in the winter doesn't look like it has been disturbed recently. I also haven't seen any hedgehog droppings in the garden for a while. I am hoping that us putting a gate on the garden to keep the granddaughter in hasn't deterred them - we made sure to leave a big enough gap at the bottom.

So this morning I brought the camera in and downloaded the files. As I expected, although with the neighbour's cat staked out most nights I wasn't 100% sure, a mouse visited the food approximate every 5 minutes of the first hour or so and then at regular intervals through the night. The film was very bright though so I need to sort that out. Then at 4:23am the blackbirds I photographed the other day arrived with the mother feeding the baby from the food dish.

No hedgehogs!

I will put the trail cam out again tonight and maybe for the next few nights and move it round the garden a bit. Watch this space!

30 Days Wild - Day 12 - A New Toy

I've been a hobbiest photographer for quite a while but more seriously over the past few years and I especially love wildlife photography, as you can see from this blog.  I have found though that it is not a pastime regularly associated with middle-aged (ahem!) women, even generally photography it is often depicted in adverts and articles as a male interest. Possibly now, with A level and degree courses available, younger women are taking it up but I've certainly not come across many 52 year old females. I'm not saying they aren't out there enjoying the art but I don't come across them out on their own, in the early morning, in the middle of a nature reserve. And this isn't surprising really. It should be but it's not. I often take my husband anyway as we enjoy walking. He is a great 'spotter' but doesn't like to sit still for too long! It sadly, and I accept it is mostly unjustified, feels a bit intimidating sitting in a hide with big men and their big lenses!

This brings me on to my new toy! My birthday is next week and my husband has bought me a new lens. A longer one for the birds and beasties. I had a 300mm but this is 600mm - and it's massive! I am sure there is always going to be an issue to a certain extent with longer lenses and weight, but I wonder how much this is researched and looked into, and if more could be done to loose the lbs? I'm all for equality but there will also men out there, not into weight training, that would struggle carrying some of these around for any length of time!

Then there's the strap - firstly the best ones are shaped and are meant to be worn on the left shoulder with the camera on the right hip. I'm left-handed so that's a disadvantage to start with. There are a few straps for lefties but not much choice. Secondly that choice disappears completely if you happen to be a left-handed woman! There are one or two straps with the shaping designed to sit round our curves but I've yet to find a left-handed version. Perhaps I'm being fussy and there really aren't many women photographers out there who are going to use these heavy lenses. Perhaps there are even less left-handed ones. In the meantime I am seeing the positive and relishing in the exercise my bingo-wings are going to get!

For my 30 Day Wild act today I had a practise with the new lens in the garden after work. Of course when you want a bird to fly in they are conspicuous by their absence, but eventually one or two popped by, along with a beautiful Hummingbird-Hawk Moth. This tested my ability to manoeuvre the lens quickly as it skimmed around the honeysuckle, but the real test was holding the camera up to the sky as a group of Starlings flew over.  Weight aside though I'm really pleased with my present, if I only manage to take it out locally while I build up the strength, and courage to take it to a hide, it should enable me to get some closer images without worrying about disturbing the wildlife. PS - it is irritating me intently that I chopped the tail off the baby Blackbird in the last shot - but they were getting too close for this lens. I know - never satisfied!!