Conservation blogger Kate on Conservation challenged her blogger community to write the best 30 Days Wild blog. Here, we share a sample of our favourite entries from winner Barry Madden's (WingSearch) submission as they write about their first ten days of incredible wildlife experiences in Norfolk!
30 Days Wild – The First 10 Days
Welcome to an account of my activities during 30 Days Wild – The First 10 Days. This initiative has been developed by the Wildlife Trusts to encourage people to celebrate the natural world in whatever way they choose, throughout the month of June. You can pitch this wherever and however you like, from simply feeding your garden birds, to undertaking a detailed audit of all creatures across the galaxy. One of the main aims is to inspire people, perhaps not hitherto aware or deeply interested in wildlife, to get creative and experience the wonders of nature all around. Watching a ladybird go about its business is enough – you will be connecting and that’s the important bit. It can be a brilliant way to spend time as a family, and children love looking at wild creatures and getting involved in arts and crafts.
1st June 2022 – photography in the garden using my newly acquired chair hide. It worked very well with the birds accepting it quickly. We tend to gloss over such birds as Goldfinches because they are familiar and common, but how beautiful is this one!
2nd June 2022 – A golden hour watching a pair of Barn Owls hunting to feed their chicks at Strumpshaw Fen. Perfect mellow light, showing off their rich browns and rusts to perfection. Such a tranquil scene to end a summer day. If you sit quietly they will come quite close, but be prepared for long intervals between appearances if they are hunting further afield.
7th June 2022 – a brilliantly warm, sunny day spent at NWT Hickling Broad, where butterflies were the main attraction. Not just any old butterfly of course, no, no, the insect sought after on this lovely day was the swallowtail. I was in the company of a videographer couple who had contacted me with a view to mining my expertise (?) and getting me to star in a production they are putting together about the aforementioned insect and the wildlife of Broadland in general. We duly strolled around the reserve, meandering here and there when we caught sight of something interesting, including several each of drinker and garden tiger moth (woolly bear – top right below) caterpillars. I did a piece to camera on the general status of swallowtails in Norfolk, their habitat requirements, their iconic status, and what they mean to me, before we embarked on something of a swallowtail fest. As the morning heated up, they seemed to be everywhere, including 3 together at one point spiralling in the air above our heads. We must have seen a dozen or so as we completed the circuit, rounding the days filming off with one obliging individual that stayed put on ragged robin for 10 minutes or more. This movie star wannabe posed for close ups, profiles, wings open, wings closed, evening wear, swimsuit and smart casual. I think the video makers were happy to say the least. One interesting point to note, is how effective the eye-spots are at fooling predators into snapping at the butterfly’s wings instead of the juicy body.
9th June 2022 – the regular duck feeding session with our grandson showed how the changing seasons result in a new cast of characters looking for free handouts. Gone are the screeching gulls – not a single one was present today – having moved to breeding grounds within the UK and across Europe. The Mallards seemed quite content to sit about, uninterested in yet more unhealthy food. The drakes are moving into eclipse plumage, their bright, glossy sheen of green and blue now fading, replaced by streaks of brown and buff. Over the coming few weeks they will totally change their appearance to undergo their summer moult, emerging bright and iridescent once more as Autumn nears. A large group of Greylag Geese were hovering around, some with well grown offspring. A male Canada Goose, brutish and obstreperous, engaged himself with pulling a beak full of feathers from any other goose that came near, tugging at the subservient bird until they sped off honking with indignation. Of course our young charge enjoyed all this, engaging in his favourite ploy of piling bread onto Grandad’s shoes in the hope that some hungry bird would peck my shoelaces. As an introduction to basic birdwatching it seems to be paying off, in that he now recognises a goose from a duck, and a pigeon from a Jackdaw. All good fun.
Read the full blog post here.
Header image - barn owl by Barry Madden