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Waxwing Hunt
On Friday Zahrah and I seized the day and drove out to Brampton, a town a short drive from Carlisle. We’d heard that the waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) had been sighted there and we both wanted to tick this incredible bird off our wish lists, do decided to try our luck finding them. Waxwings arrive in Britain in…
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Whale Bones and Walking Stones
As usual, I trundled to Tullie House Museum for my weekly volunteer shift. Right now everything is focussed on the whale project. Following the discovery of a 16m fin whale skeleton on a beach in Cumbria, Tullie House now has the makings of a smart new welcome feature in their entrance hall. The bones are being…
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Sunset Sunday (on Tuesday)
Yesterday my lovely boyfriend cooked me sausages and the most incredible fried bread for breakfast because the horrid lurgy that had been lingering menacingly had finally reared its ugly head. For the majority of the day we watched Sherlock and ate the cake we were up until 2am making the previous night, while I wheezed…
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Birds at the bottom of the garden
As of today, I’ve been living in my new house a week! It’s not the biggest or the most glamorous, but it’s certainly enough to feel like home. There is also a generously sized garden that oozes potential. Currently, the grass is several feet high and tickles the midriffs of the two apple trees, but…
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Nick Baker at Birdfair
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Our Day On May
When the May Princess left Anstruther harbour the sun was at its highest, so as we headed out into open water we were slowly baking but not daring to complain in case the rain came back. As I watched my fellow passengers slap on the sun cream, I was geographically disorientated, not quite believing I…
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Urban Nature
Last Wednesday, I caught the train to Hammersmith to meet up with Zahrah and embark on another of our wildlife excursions. Today we visited the London Wetland Centre, something I’d heard lots of good things about but never been. Upon arrival we were greeted by a lovely volunteer who explained the site map to us.…
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Carna – Day Five
Species seen: Chaffinch – Fringilla coelebs Common Porpoise – Phocoena phocoena Common Seal – Phoca vitulina Common Shag – Phalacrocorax aristotelis Common Tern – Sterna hirundo Golden eagle – Aquila chrysaetos Grey Heron – Ardea cinerea Herring Gull – Larus argentatus Hooded Crow – Corvus cornix Lesser Redpoll – Acanthis cabaret Oystercatcher – Haematopus…
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Carna – Day Four
Species seen: Barn Owl – Tyto alba Bladder-wrack – Fucus vesiculosus Butterfish – Pholis gunnellus Chaffinch – Fringilla coelebs Common Blenny – Lipophrys pholis Common Hermit crab – Pagurus bernhardus Common Pipistrelle – Pipistrellus pipistrellus Common Sandpiper – Actitis hypoleucos Common Tern – Sterna hirundo Eurasian Otter – Lutra lutra Eurasian Rock Pipit – Anthus…
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Carna – Day Three
Species seen: Bog Myrtle – Myrica gale Chaffinch – Fringilla coelebs Common Frog – Rana temporaria Common Porpoise – Phocoena phocoena Common Shag – Phalacrocorax aristotelis Common Tern – Sterna hirundo Common Wood Sorrel – Oxalis acetosella Cormorant – Phalacrocorax carbo Eurasian Otter – Lutra lutra Green-Veined Butterfly – Pieris napi Grey Heron – Ardea…