Withow Gap and an ancient beaver dam

Beavers are steadily returning back to the UK, and that’s absolutely fantastic. The more the merrier. But over the weekend I visited a site that provides evidence of their historic presence in Yorkshire.

30 Days Wild – Day 5 – Burnby Hall and Gardens

As I had an event to attend at Burnby Hall, I had a quick wander round the gardens to see what wild moments may be round the corner.

Isles of Scilly Part Two – Birdlife

For nature lovers, the Isles of Scilly are synonymous with birds, in particular the autumn migrants that land on the islands in September and October, opening a spectacular catalogue of rarities. So it was a first for me to see the place in spring when a very different experience awaits. I’ll come on to the floral beauty in a subsequent post, but for today I’m going to look at the resident breeding birds.

30 Days Wild – Day Four – Heslington in the rain

My plan for day four was to have a walk round the lake at Heslington East, the Eastern campus of the University of York. But pouring rain, heavy traffic, and delayed events left me with about 5 minutes to see what I could see.

Isles of Scilly Part One – And I didn’t even leave the boat…

I’ve recently returned from the Isles of Scilly, a naturalists paradise (and a paradise for artists, photographers, really anyone who values natural beauty, peace, and quiet). As such, I’ve got a fair few photos to share, which I’m going to do in a series of posts through this week, beyond the usual 30 Days Wild ones.

I’m going to start with the ferry ride from Penzance to the Scillies, because it featured probably one of my personal top five wildlife watching moments.

30 Days Wild – Day 3 – A flying visit to Flamborough

With the 2nd ever Yorkshire Puffin Festival coming up on the 15th and 16th of June, I went out to Flamborough to see how things were.

30 Days Wild – Day 2 – Train Fail

With a nine hour journey on the cards, I thought I’d at least be able to spend it train birding, always a favourite pastime of mine.

30 Days Wild – Day 1 – Seawatching

A three hour ferry journey from the Isles of Scilly back to the mainland offered the opportunity to see what wildlife was about.

Chaddesden Park, Derby, March 2019

When visiting family in Derby, we will usually have a walk through Chaddesden Park and the wood, in particular checking the ponds for frogs and newts. This has been very productive in the past.

The spread of buzzards

We’ve been fortunate since last year to have a pair of buzzards resident somewhere locally, which means they often go drifting over the house.