Today is the 2nd birthday of this blog, so to celebrate I’ve been back over my posts from the last year, and picked a couple of my favourites from each month. I quite enjoyed looking back – brought back lots of memories!
September 2014
- Photo Special: Isles of Scilly – I had to choose this one, really, as not only do I quite like some of these photos, but, as it happens, I’m actually in the Isles of Scilly at the moment. It’s a beautiful place with excellent wildlife watching opportunities.
- Hedgehog pawprints – I just love hedgehogs really.
October 2014
- Scrumping badgers? – it’s so exciting seeing badgers (even if I didn’t get any photos)!
- Moles: perfectly adapted – I’ve still never seen a mole in the wild (alive, at least), but you can’t help admire how suited they are to their subterranean lifestyle.
November 2014
- Looking for Harvest Mice at an airport – this day of surveying for harvest mice at Gatwick airport was really memorable, even if we didn’t find any in the end. It’s fascinating to see what wildlife can exist even in the most unlikely places.
- How to tell who’s been nibbling your nuts – some close-up photos of nuts nibbled by dormice and other mice, with guidance on how to distinguish between the two.
December 2014
- Dormouse licence! – It took a long time to get enough experience with handling dormice to obtain my licence, so this was quite a significant milestone for me. This year I’ve enjoyed having my own site to survey.
- On the trail of wild beavers – I’ve really enjoyed following the story of England’s first beavers in the wild for hundreds of years, and it was amazing to see signs of them when we were visiting the River Otter.
January 2015
- Weasel words (or in praise of weasels) – I was singing the praises of weasels way before the weaselpecker photo was taken…
- Alien invaders: the Grey Squirrel – a discussion of the pros and cons of the rise of the grey squirrel in Britain
February 2015
- February photography challenge: still life – I was really pleased with some of the still life photos I took in February – it pushed me beyond my usual techniques.
- Choughed to see porpoises – another wildlife adventure where I see something different from what I was aiming for.
March 2015
- Dormouse box cleaning at my new site – getting ready for the dormouse season at my new site!
- How to use a mammal footprint tunnel – A ‘how to’ guide on using a tool to find out what mammals visit your garden.
April 2015
- British Animal Challenge: March and April 2015 – a summary of my progress on seeing every species of British Animal
- Church speaks and acts on climate change – While the new government seems to be implementing as many policies as possible to increase climate change (fracking, cutting subsidies to renewable energy, imposing the climate change levy on green electricity, the list goes on), it’s encouraging to see the church take a strong stance on this issue
May 2015
- Election summary – I spent a couple of months during the election campaign trying to find out where the main British parties stood on various issues relating to nature, the environment and wildlife. I must say, I didn’t enjoy the process much – it was quite dispiriting. But this post summarised all that work.
- In which I learn I need a new approach to seeing bats – another batty adventure.
June 2015
- First dormouse at my new site – this was so exciting – the first dormouse I found at my new site. To add to it, I’d taken my GoPro, so was even able to get some footage!
- How to turn a pallet into a vertical flower planter – this afternoon project has really brightened up a dull bit of my garden, right outside my study. And it was surprisingly easy.
July 2015
- Too darn hot (or how to help wildlife during a heatwave) – I think the rather dull summer we’ve had might be my fault – I wrote this post during a hot period, and since then heat has not been a problem. But still, it’s good advice for if we do get another heat wave.
- My barn owl project – this is a little different from the projects I usually write about on this blog, but I’m enjoying it, and making good progress.
August 2015
- Bird nerd part 12: 2014-15 compared to previous years – I like this post as it presents data from my garden birdwatching in a rather more visual form than usual. I’d like to do some more infographics for this blog.
- A hedgehog in the daytime – disaster or delight? – I was very excited when I learnt what a hedgehog gathering bedding during the day might mean. I haven’t seen any hoglets yet this year, but it could be any day…
Wild South 