30 Days Wild:Day 7 - An Evening Walk Down The Lane

                                                                   

  I didn't think I would get anything much "wild" done today as I have been in quite a lot of pain so ended up being indoors most of the day :( I did however manage to catch up on some entertaining reading "My Garden And Other Animals" by Mike Dilger, a great read.

http://mikedilger.co.uk/writing.php

  Lots of painkillers later and with the temperature becoming more bearable I decided I would go for an evening walk out the village so set off around 7.45pm.

The view from the edge of our village in North Lincolnshire.

  I walk down the road before going into the field til I get to the far tree line, then cross a road and follow the lane down to the River Ancholme.It was great to see the dog walkers field had only been cut back enough to allow a track with the rest left to grow wild.

  There were still dog walkers around with their dogs off the lead but the songs of Chaffinches and Dunnocks filled the air and a Buzzard glided over the meadow.

  When I got down the lane it was busy :( People were cycling, jogging or just walking their dogs.I stopped at the entrance to one of the fields where I usually see Hares and spotted 2 before they were disturbed by the noisy cyclists.

  The next field still had crops in it so was more difficult to pick any wildlife out but this is the place where I did my first wildlife film, filming a Barn Owl quartering the field.

  My Barn Owl film from 7 years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2i4nmkoBe4

  Rooks, Jackdaws, Wood Pigeons were numerous but I also saw 4 Lapwings, a Red-legged Partridge and a couple of these stunning Yellowhammers.

  The long grasses at the field's edge held a large number of Silver Ground Carpet Moths as well as a few Straw Dots.

Silver Ground Carpet

  This horse seemed to be curious as to what I was up to at the edge of its paddock.

    About an hour into my walk and Majella had driven down in the car so I actually made it the whole way to the river.This is the River Ancholme, the path on the right is actually part of the sponsored walk I will be doing in July for Tiger Awareness.Its just another 7 miles up that river to get to the midway point and pub and I'm starting 3 miles from the other direction lol ;)

  On the way back home another Hare had come out of the field and onto the roads edge.

  A few minutes later I was back home and getting out of the car to the sound of screaming Swifts over the garden, quickly followed by a cold beer ;) 

  

30 Days Wild:Day 6 - A Walk In The Yorkshire Sun

                                                                  

  It was a very warm , sunny day in Yorkshire so we headed over to YWT Potteric Carr for a mixture of bird watching and bug hunting.

First Bug of the day, a Green Shieldbug

  Around the ponds there were lots of Dragonflies, all Four-spotted Chasers.Majella took this photo of me taking the photos below.

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  Lots of birds were heard but not seen including Blackcaps and a Cuckoo.Viewing was easier at the Willow Pool Feeding station.

  A couple of young Coots.

    A Magpie that had decided the original holes in the feeder were not to his liking lol

  The water in the Mother Drain was beautifully clear as usual , no Grass Snakes there this time but nice to have good views of the Roach and Perch.

  Butterflies on the wing included Brimstones, Large Whites, Orange Tips and Speckled Woods.This Speckled Wood looking a bit worse for wear.

  Walking down a trail I noticed a lot of movement in the nearby vegetation and was excited to see newly fledged Willow Warblers, 4 of them with an Adult.

    Plenty of other birds around such s Grey Herons, Tufted Ducks, Moorhen, Black-headed Gulls, Greylag & Canada Geese.

  Female Mallard, you can see the meaning "water off a Duck's back" ;) (photo by Majella Fox)

  Mute Swan

  We were hoping to see a Bittern fly by but no luck so had to be happy just watching this Marsh Harrier hunting over the reed beds.

  A few photos of different parts of the reserve.

  So overall a fantastic 3 hour walk around part of YWT Potteric Carr and worth all the (now itchy) Midge bites lol Something that really ended the walk on a high was a Mammal encounter on the access road back to the centre.Unfortunately I didn't get a photo but it was a Common Shrew rummaging in the grass at the edge of the road, amazing to see :)

  Thanks again for taking the time to check out my blog, lots more to come over the next 3+ weeks.

30 Days Wild:Day 5 - What You Can Do For Wildlife

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       



  A quick blog to catch up ;)
  If you cannot get out to do something "wild" then why not do something, to help something "wild"? A lot of our wildlife both in the UK and globally is in severe decline from either poaching, habitat destruction for palm oil or urban developments or illegal persecution such as Hen Harriers on our UK uplands and it needs your help.
  It is easy to do and can be done without having to leave the house.Get online and register to support your local Wildlife Trust, RSPB, WWT, Butterfly Conservation, Birders Against Wildlife Crime, Tiger Awareness, Birdlife International and many more that need your donations to help fund their important projects to protect and save wildlife.

  Pick something you are passionate about and try to do some fundraising for them to help fund their important projects to protect and save wildlife.
  Do a yard sale or carboot and sell your unwanted items, a sponsored walk or maybe get people to sponsor you for each "wild" activity you do throughout June and beyond.
  Today we did a carboot to add funds to our target towards our Walk4Wildlife event in July in aid of Tiger Awareness.
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/StuartPike-MajellaFox

  I have also had an online auction running for a couple of my Tiger pictures.The one below sold for £10 :)

  There is still time to register with a walk before September or suggest one in your own area and help raise money for a number of important animal welfare charities such as Tiger Awareness, Lion Aid, Save The Rhinos, Cheetah Conservation Fund & David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
  If you are passionate about our Natural World and saving our declining wildlife then please do something to help.Every little thing you do can make a big difference to the survival of wildlife around the world.

Sites to check out:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/

http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/

http://birdersagainst.org/

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

http://www.walk-a-thon.net/#!join-a-walk/c1k5m

http://www.badger.org.uk/

http://www.wwt.org.uk/

http://butterfly-conservation.org/

http://birdlifemalta.org/

Thank you for reading :)

30 Days Wild:Day 4 - Moths In the Garden

  Day 4 meant getting up at 5.30am to empty the garden Moth trap.It is always an exciting time as you never know what you're going to get, a bit like a box of chocolates as Forrest Gump said and indeed I did get one in the form of this stunning Chocolate Tip moth(non-edible) ;)

  The massive influx from France of Diamond-back Moths had not missed our area as I found over 30 in the trap.

  One of my favourite moths was hiding among the egg trays, the Peach Blossom.

  The furry front end of the Pale Tussock.

  A few more moths from the trap.
Scalloped Hazel

  Flame Shoulder

Treble Lines

Bee Moth

Spectacle

Clouded Bordered Brindle

Phtheochroa Rugosana

  I also had Shears, Dark Barred twin-spot, Garden carpet, Scalloped Hook Tip, Cream Wave, Bright Line Brown Eye  and a lot of Light Brown Apple Moths.

  It's also that time of year you get non-mothy wildlife in the trap and one of the regular visitors are the Garden Cockchafers.

  If you do not have your own moth trap yet but want one you can buy them from quite a few online places.

I got mine from Paul at http://www.pwbelg.clara.net/mercury/index.html

  If you cannot afford one at the moment then you can just try with an outside light directed at a white bed sheet hung out or try sugaring with a syrup, brown sugar, wine and beer mixture.The extra wine comes in handy while waiting for the moths to arrive ;)

  It is well worth it to see what moth species you have in your garden.I have recorded nearly 200 so far in my garden in North Lincolnshire.

There will be more Moths later in the month as I will be taking my trap down to Pembrokeshire and also running at Gigrin Red Kite Station :)

  Thanks again for browsing my photos and reading through the blogs :)