30 Days Wild:Day 30 - A Wildlife Trust Walk

  The last day of The Wildlife Trusts #30DaysWild challenge is here.It has been great fun doing, if a little tough at times to get a blog sorted and posted before Midnight.I have to admit that if I hadn't signed up to do this, probably two thirds of the last 30 days would not have included spending time with Nature so I have to thank The Wildlife Trusts and Lucy McRobert for the fantastic idea to help us get out and embrace our natural world.

  So, what to do on the final day? A few hours at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust's flagship reserve seemed to be the thing to do so it was a short 40 minute drive to Potteric Carr near Doncaster.

  To make the day even better I got to spend it with a couple of online friends I have been conversing with for a few years about Wildlife:)

  With Andy after our walk around the reserve.(His wife Cheryll was a bit camera shy;))

  On leaving the visitor centre and heading through the Butterfly gardens all you could hear were singing Willow Warblers and Blackcaps.After an extensive search of a couple of Oak trees I finally spotted the Male Blackcap.

  Also up in the Oak tree while looking for the Blackcap I saw this Spider's web glittering with colours of the rainbow.

  Next I have to mention the Dragonflies of which there were many, even larger in number were the Damselflies.Dragonflies on the wing were 4-spot Chasers, Common Darters, Emperors and Broad-bodied Chasers.

Emperor Dragonfly

The Emperor Dragonfly Ovipositing.(laying her eggs)

4-spot Chaser.

  Female Broad-bodied Chaser.What a stunningly coloured creature:)

 Banded Demoiselle.

   Due to the very hot day there were also several species of Butterfly in attendance, Red Admirals, Large Whites, Small Skippers, Ringlets, Small Tortoiseshells, Meadow Browns and Commas.

Comma Butterfly.

  A pair of mating Meadow Brown Butterflies.(photo by Majella Fox)

  A total count of 25 Bird species over the 5 hours at the reserve including the blue flash of a Kingfisher, Reed Buntings and Warblers, Song Thrush, a pair of Marsh Harriers & a Great Crested Grebe.

 Canada Gosling.

  Reed Warbler.

  One of the pair of Marsh harriers seen at the Piper Marsh hide, getting mobbed by Black-headed Gulls.

  So over the 5 hours walk we saw 25 Bird species, 7 Butterfly species, 7 Dragonfly/Damselfly species and 2 fish species(Perch & Roach).
  A fantastic day to end my #30dayswild challenge on.Thank you again to The Wildlife Trusts for coming up with the idea and I hope it has inspired lots of people to get out more and enjoy Nature.If any of my last 30 blogs have helped 1 person go outdoors and embrace our Natural World, whether it be Moth Trapping, Bird Watching, Cleaning the beaches or just spending that 10 minutes in your own garden taking in the beauty we have around us then it will have all been worth it:)
  Thank you so much for reading my blogs and I hope to continue this, "Do something wild everyday plan" even if I don't blog it everyday.It makes each day seem better and I have seen things I otherwise wouldn't have if I had just stayed indoors.

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to look through my blogs:)
Take care and go out and enjoy our wildlife.
Kindest regards
Stuart Pike