Day 16: I had a close look at some local hedgerows. Often when people talk about watching wildlife they are referring to bird watching or looking for our larger mammals. But I find just standing next to a flowering hedgerow just as fascinating. There are so many species of invertebrates that you will almost always see something new and it's great to observe this tiny world we often overlook.
Day 17: I was sat in the garden and was surprised my cat seemed interested in something in the bushes. To my surprise, it was a small grass snake! We haven't seen one in our garden for well over ten years and it's a sign our efforts to attract more wildlife is working. Grass snakes are high up in the food chain so that means we likely have most things below it.
Day 18: After a day at work, I went for a walk in the evening and noticed there were lots of rabbits out in the field so I stood for a few minutes and watched them. They look well at the moment and there were quite a few kittens around.
Day 19: I wrote a poem about blackbirds:
Morning has broken,
A song enters my sleeping ears.
A charming melody,
As the blackbird appears.
Hopping across the lawn,
Digging up worms and food,
The sight of the yellow beak,
Always lifts my mood.
A blue/green eggshell,
Seen on the floor,
Sprinkled with brown speckles
And the promise of much more.
Then the bird has a shadow,
Hopping after it's Mum.
Brown, speckly and clumsy,
And keen to fill its tum.
The family made me happy,
Whilst I was stuck at home.
There's a smile on my face,
When I watch the blackbirds roam.
It's not exactly Wordsworth but it was a fun experiment.
Day 20: I found this stunning, iridescent feather in the garden which I think came from a magpie:
Day 21: A trip a bit further afield as I visited Winchester Cathedral to see the Peregrine falcons that have been nesting there. They've had a successful year and have managed to raise five young and I was lucky enough to see them on all resting on the side of the cathedral.
Day 22: Another garden encounter and a really close on too. Suddenly a wood mouse ran under my feet and made it's way around the garden, even climbing up the wall behind the bird feeders. I wondered if it was going to eat from them but it didn't and climbed down again before vanishing in the undergrowth.
Day 23: I did some bat detecting. The bat detector is one of the best presents I've ever been bought; it converts the inaudible sonar of bats to a sound audible to the human ear. It's actually quite useful as a tool to help you see bats that are flying over. This wasn't the best night but I still managed to get a few pipistrelles flying over.
Day 24: On my walk today I came across a family of swans with four young cygnets. I walk this way regularly but the river winds into private farmland so I suspect they are normally not visible from the path.
Day 25: Today I spotted a beautiful demoiselle, a stunning species of damselfly and one of the less common (though not rare) ones.
Day 26: I visited my grandad and outside his block of flats this gull chick was wandering around. I can only assume it fell off one of the buildings though it appeared to be uninjured if a little confused.
Day 27: A walk close to home led me to a pair of red-legged partridges on the edge of a field. These are an introduced bird for game but are one of our best looking game birds.
Day 28: Today there seemed to be a mass emergence of red admiral butterflies. I've saw well over a hundred along a row of bushes. It generally appears to have been a good year for British butterflies.
Day 29: On a walk in the New Forest I saw a few dragonflies, always magnificent, including this golden-ringed dragonfly.
Day 30: A wet day so I just did a short walk and attempted to fill as much of an alphabet of wild things. I didn't complete it but it wasn't too bad an effort given the poor weather.
That's it for 30 Days Wild 2020! It's been especially timely this year as having a motivation to connect with nature during lockdown was wonderful. Whilst I have been out and about a lot, this challenge ensured I did wild things even if I was working or the weather was poor which was great. Is it June 2021 yet?
