30 Days Wild 2019 – Day Twenty-nine.

Day 29: Sorry this post is a day late! (Day 30 will be too!)

This weekend we had a friend staying with us from America and Saturday was a planned fun filled day in North Snowdonia. Our destination for the day was Llyn Idwal and Llyn Bochlwyd. We actually did two #ramdomactsofwildness during our day. 1. climb for a better view and 2. making a splash!

We took an hour long slog up a rough, steep hill towards Llyn Bochlwyd, and had wonderful vistas of Llyn Ogwen and Cwm Idwal below.

Climbing up that big hill!

Llyn Bochlwyd

Llyn Idwal

We swam in Llyn Bochlwyd and Llyn Idwal, (where I caught the wild swim bug three years ago!) and had spectacular views of the Glyderau mountains. It was a fulfilling day out!

Have you visited this region of Snowdonia?

Thanks for reading, and stay wild!

Christine x

30 Days Wild 2019 – Day Twenty-eight.

Day 28: Everyday on my walk to work, I pass a raspberry cane just growing at the side of the path. I’ve noticed recently that the fruit have begun to turn red, so for today’s 30 Days Wild, I decided to go foraging and pick a few.

I only took a few berries as I wanted to leave some for the birds. The raspberries I tasted were quite bitter. Perhaps due to the lack of sunshine this June?

Raspberries

Do you go foraging? If so what fruits do you collect?

Thanks for reading, and stay wild!

Christine x

30 Days Wild 2019 – Day Twenty-seven.

Day 27: For today’s Throw Back Thursday I shall be sipping something in the wild, well the back yarden!

I did the same in 2016, and in 2015 I spotted birds of prey from a long journey on a motorway. I joined the RSPB Wild Challenge in 2017 and last year I focused on ferns.

After a long day at work there’s nothing better than to come home, catch some rays and sip at a cool glass of wine. The weather is looking promising for the weekend.

Sipping in the wild (yarden!)

Do you have any plans this weekend?

Thanks for reading, and stay wild!

Christine x

30 Days Wild 2019 – Day Twenty-six.

Day 26: The Wildlife Trust’s 30 Day’s Wild is almost at a close. In some ways 2019’s challenge has been difficult. I had planned on so many great days out but unfortunately illness put a stop to that. However what I have managed to achieve I am proud off. I hope you have enjoyed the journey too?

Today’s post is about Tuning in by switching off.

I won’t be able to completely turn off electronic devises until after work as I use a travel app on my phone for bus journeys. However I am switching off once I get home at 5pm.

No technology!

Instead of switching on the radio, I will listen to the bird song in the yarden. Most evenings David and I will watch a film on the laptop. Tonight I shall sit and read a book.

Have you ever had a day off technology? How successful was it? Did you feel more relaxed away from the madness of social media, felt more connected to nature?

Thanks for reading, and stay wild!

Christine x

 

30 Days Wild 2019 – Day Twenty-five.

Day 25: Today’s 30 Days Wild is all about trees.

I find it difficult to ID trees, so I decided to make an attempt at some identification. I pass lots of trees on my route to work, so collected some leaves as I walked.

If you think I may have got these wrong please correct me. Thanks.

Leaves

1. 1. Oak: I was ok identifying this native leaf but then I read that there are two types of oak in the UK, English oak and sessile. Possibly this is a sessile oak which prefers the north? Oak trees can grow up to 40m in height and won’t produce acorns until 40 years of age!
   2. Ash: I think this is a compound ash leaf but not 100%. They can live up to 400 years, longer if coppiced.
   3. Sycamore: Again not 100% on this. It could be a maple or guelder rose. Another long lived tree. Fruits are known as samaras, or helicopters in Liverpool. Do you know them by a different name?
   4. Hawthorn: I thought I would finish on an easy one, as I’ve just ordered one from The Woodland Trust. Hawthorns are native and in spring their leaves are edible. They can grow to 15m but are usually used as hedgerows.

These were just a few of the leaves I collected. I think a couple more were from a hazel and silver birch but not certain. I really need to buy a book on tree identification. If you have any suggestions let me know.

What’s your favourite tree?

Thanks for reading, and stay wild!

Christine x

30 Days Wild 2019 – Day Twenty-four.

Day 24: For the last Close Up Monday of 2019’s 30 Days Wild, I am focusing on dragonflies.

My interest was piqued after reading that these large, colourful insects spend most of their larval stage in water. When they emerge as adults they shed their exoskeleton and are found clinging to nearby foliage for two hours whilst they pump blood into their wings for flight.

There are three stages to the life cycle of a dragonfly: egg, nymph and adult.

egg: mating occurs whilst flying and afterwards the female will lay her eggs on or near water.

nymph: or larvae is the longest stage of the dragonfly life cycle and can take up to four years. During this time the nymph is aquatic and eats other nymphs.

adult: once the time and conditions are right the nymph will crawl out of the water and shed it’s exoskeleton or exuvia, whilst resting on a plant. On the wing they look for food (they are voracious hunters) and to mate (to begin the cycle again). The lifespan of an adult is two months.

There are 23 species of dragonfly in the UK. Along with damselflies, dragonflies are of the Odonata order, meaning ‘toothed jaws. Both species have four sets of wings. Dragonflies can beat each pair of wings together or separately, and can fly at almost 30mph. They breathe through spiracles in the side of the abdomen. Dragonflies predate on flies, mosquitoes, bees and butterflies. Dragonflies have the largest eyes of the insect world and 80% of their brain is devoted to vision.

It was during the hot summer of 2018 when I saw the most dragonflies.

Migrant Hawker

Yellow Darter

Broad Bodied Chaser

Golden Ringed Dragonfly

Have you seen any dragonflies this year? What’s your favourite?

Thanks for reading, and stay wild!

Christine x

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Further Reading:

The Wildlife Trusts

The Woodland Trust

British Dragonflies

Animal Corner

YPTE Factsheet

Dragonfly Site

30 Days Wild 2019 – Day Twenty-three.

Day 23: Today’s blog is all about bees, honeybees. David and I drove to The Bee Centre in the grounds of Samlesbury Hall, Lancashire, for a two hour pre-booked bee experience. After donning our bee suits and taking the obligatory photos, we (of a group of nine) were escorted to the outdoor hives. Kath opened up a hive and explained what was happening in the frames.

David in bee suit

Honey bee

Christine in bee suit

Christine and hive frame

Honey Bees

Kath used smoke to make the bees (native black bees) more docile, while she inspected the hive. The bees gorge on honey, thinking there’s a fire so that they can take stores with them when they set up a new colony. We witnessed a drone (male) being born and lots of male/female brood cells and also the odd queen cell. It was fascinating to learn so much about life in a hive! Everyone has their own role and worker bees can fly up to three miles for food. The queen lays 2,000 eggs a day and is solely dependent on being cared for by the other bees. A worker bee can live up to six weeks whereas a queen can live to five years.

After meeting the bees we returned to the centre for honey tasting. The centre has an ethical and sustainable view on beekeeping and only extract honey when there is a genuine surplus. Due to this year’s wet June the bees are having a hard time and need our help! You can do this by planting more bee friendly plants, a helpful list can be found here.

Our experience really whetted our appetite for beekeeping and whether a hive would be something our yarden could accommodate?

Have you ever kept bees? Like the idea?

Thanks for reading, and stay wild!

Christine x

30 Days Wild 2019 – Day Twenty-two.

Day 22: Today, David and I, (with Riley in tow), drove to Warrington’s Moore Nature Reserve, situated between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal. This 200 acre site boasts miles of woodland paths, meadows and wetlands. We walked 3.5 miles around the reserve but could have stayed longer. We saw speckled wood butterflies, a great crested grebe and damselflies.

Map

Azure Damselfly

Grebe Hide

Great Crested Grebe

Speckled Wood

Christine and Riley

Cinnabar Moth

Stitchwort

David and Riley

Have you visited this nature reserve? Which is your favourite reserve?

Thanks for reading, and stay wild!

Christine x

30 Days Wild 2019 – Day Twenty-one.

Day 21: Happy Litha or Summer Solstice!

2019’s longest day, saw the UK welcome 16 hours and 38 minutes of daylight. However, after all this celebration of light, the shorter days and darker nights begin from here. Today the weather for the NW of England has been fair and warm. Perfect weather to release my painted lady butterflies.

I was sad to see my butterflies fly but knew I had given them the best start in life.

Painted Lady Butterfly

After coming home from work David and I headed out to a sun drenched yarden. The chirrup of sparrows and the cooing of pigeons sounded in the air. Once I had opened the habitat one butterfly, (I would like to think it was my little caterpillar who hadn’t made it to the top of the cup), flew straight up into the air! The other four butterflies needed a little more coaxing. I noticed one feeding on the watermelon I had given them before he/she took to the wing.

All five butterflies safely flew away. I hope they enjoy the sunshine on this solstice and manage to breed and begin the cycle again.

It has been a wonderful experience. I was amazed at how quickly I grew attached to the caterpillars and then saddened when they became chrysalids, but soon celebrated the emergence of them as butterflies. Nature is truly miraculous!

Day 9 – caterpillar

Getting ready to Chrysalise

Chrysalids

Painted Lady Butterflies

Would I do it all again? Probably, though I stressed about feeding the butterflies and when I couldn’t release them. But the positive experience more than out weighed the worries.

Have you been inspired to give the experience a go? If so, you can read more about butterfly gardens from Insect Lore.

Thanks for following my caterpillars to butterflies,

Stay wild!

Christine x

30 Days Wild 2019 – Day Twenty.

Day 20: For today’s Throw Back Thursday I will be returning to the theme of planting for wildlife as I did in 2015. 2016 saw me celebrate the summer solstice. In 2017 I showcased bees and in 2018 I walked alpacas.

Planting for wildlife can be so rewarding. My little yarden is five years old and has some wonderful plants for birds and insects.

Such as ivy, polemonium, crocus, salvia, hellebore, red campion, passion flower and delilah.

Salvia

Passion Flower

Red Campion

Polemonium

Crocus

Honey bee

Hellebore

What flowers do you grow for pollinators and birds?

Thanks for reading, and stay wild!

Christine x