30 Days Wild:Day 29 - Tigers at 100

                                                               










  Before we get on to Day 29 I would just like to say that this is my 100th blog post with more than half been posted during 30 Days Wild 2015 & 2016 so I just want to say a massive Thank You to everyone who is one of the 8760 views and has taken the time to read through any of my blog posts and look at my photos since I began my wildlife blog. :)

  As you can see from the pic above today was a slightly wet day but even with the pouring rain we wanted to get out and spend some time with the Big Cats and maybe a Bear or two so off we set for the Yorkshire Wildlife Park.We have been annual members since just after its opening and it has changed a lot from a park with a few old wooden aviaries containing Squirrels and then the rescue of the Lion pride from Europe.It is now one of the best managed Wildlife parks in the UK that also does a lot for conservation through the Yorkshire Wildlife Foundation.

  

https://yorkshirewildlifepark.com/

  Of course we would all prefer to see wild animals like Amur Tigers, Leopards & Lions in the wild but due to the destructive nature of the Human Race their populations continue to decline.

  Anyway back to the Park :) I always looks for birds(wild ones) when wandering around and am at 42 species so far seen at the Park.Today though due to the heavy rain I didn't see much bar a few Jackdaws, Swallows, Mallards, Mute Swans and Pied Wagtails.
  Pied Wagtail with food.

  One of the recent additions to the park are a pair of Giant Otters, though today and not for the first time, a person next to us watching them said they were Seals lol.I thought the large sign next to them saying "Giant Otters" might've given it away.

 
    The majority of the Lion pride were not too impressed with the weather and prefered to stay snug in their shelter and catch a nap.

but the mischievous Brothers were out keeping an eye on things.

  A quick shake to disperse some of the excess rain water.

  Three of the four Polar Bears now at the park were slowly following each other between the large enclosures.

  The main reason of our visit though was to see the Amur Tigers.Vladimir, the two girls, Sayan and Tschuna and the three very grown up cubs.Vladimir , we have known nearly all his life as we first saw him at a few weeks old in Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore before he was transferred to Yorkshire. They are part of the European Breeding Program as there are thought to be less than 500 Amur Tigers left in the wild.
  Vladimir

   Vladimir getting some love.....

 ...though I don't think he was too impressed with getting a love bite lol

  More pics of the Amur Tigers.

  These are just stunning animals and need our help.You can help too :) There are a few Tiger charities that work to protect Tigers and their habitats in areas such as India, Sumatra and Russia.
 We are walking to raise money to help Tigers in India through projects done by Tiger Awareness, just 3 weeks til our walk so still time if you would like to donate and help protect these iconic animals and their habitats and help reduce Tiger-Human conflicts.
  Your help will be very much appreciated :)

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/StuartPike-MajellaFox

http://www.tigerawareness.co.uk/

  So that's it, blog 100 done with just one day of 30 Days Wild to go. Let's keep it going beyond June and see if we can help more people become aware of the beauty to be found in our Natural World and motivate them to help protect it :)

  Thanks again for reading and I hope you are still here for blog number 200 ;)

30 Days Wild:Day 27 & 28 - Bye To The Kites & Beauty By The Roadside

                                               











  Two blogs for the price of one today as both are quite brief.
  Nothing was done on Day 27 as it mainly involved our 6hr journey back from Wales to Lincolnshire.The only photos I took were the Red Kites seeing us off in the gloomy morning at Gigrin Farm.

  So goodbye to another Welsh adventure and home to work and find Nature nearer to home.

  Beauty By The Roadside....

  We did hope to meet up with a friend at RSPB Bempton Cliffs this morning to see the Gannets and more Puffins.Unfortunately the toll of the 6hr journey yesterday meant another 3hr round trip today was pushing it a bit too far :( My friend did go and had a great time though :)

  Lucky me got to spend 10-15 minutes at the side of a busy road into town on a grass verge and a bit of waste ground ;)

Thankfully the local council saw sense on their recent grass cutting expedition and actually went around the areas of wildflowers on the grass verge near the roundabout.

  There were some strange looks from people driving by wondering why I had my head in the flowers lol

  On the opposite side of the road from here is a larger area of waste ground filled with Thistles, Poppies, Ragwort and other assorted plants, all next to a Morrisons and retail park.

  Due to the drizzly weather there were not as many insects about as I'd hoped for but we did see Large Skippers.....

...and Ringlets.

  I was happy enough to get to spend 15 minutes wandering through the unexpected meadow to calm myself before the hassle of grocery shopping lol

 I am hoping to be out more tomorrow despite the weather forecast predicting heavy rain all day.
#Itsjustwater ;)

30 Days Wild:Day 26 - A Walk Along The River Wye

                                                 











  It was our second day in Rhayader and despite the heavy rain it didn't dampen our spirits(too much) and so we left the farm to walk along the River Wye into Rhayader to get a pub meal.It is a gorgeous walk along the river surrounded by trees and bird song and I hoped to spot 3 species of bird.

  We had not been at the riverside for more than a couple of minutes before we saw a bounce of white under some dark foliage on the opposite bank.It was of course one of my favourite birds, the Dipper.1 of 3 :)
Not a great photo as couldn't get any closer without going wading ;)
Spot the Dipper

  After watching it search for larvae under the surface for a few minutes we continued on.A flash of brilliant blue announced the arrival and departure of the Kingfisher.Species 2 of 3 :) It sped past low over the river of nothing short of Mach 4 so no chance of any photos.
  Seconds later movement was spotted on the pebbles opposite us and Species 3 of 3 was sighted.Another stunning bird, the Grey Wagtail.

  So I was very happy to get 3 out of 3 for the species I wanted to find but I didn't expect to get a fourth.Two birds flying from a branch looked to be catching flies and then returning further into the tree.We managed to edge closer and watched as the 2 Spotted Flycatchers danced in the air plucking flies in flight.

   A fantastic end to our walk into Rhayader and it was followed by great food at the Crown Inn, the beer wasn't bad too :)