30 Days Wild 2021 – Day Seven.

07Day 7: A new series for 30 Days Wild 2021, Mindful Mondays, were we take time out of our busy days and slow down, breathe and experience nature each sense at a time. 

Today’s theme for Mindful Monday is to visit a wild place. Over the weekend I decided to visit the RSPB’s Burton Mere on the Wirral. Since David has a new camera he let me take out his old Nikon. It was my first time using a SLR so some of my photos weren’t great but I did get some decent shots of a shelduck, reed warbler and black headed gull chicks. There was a strange gurgling sound from trees high up in the canopy and a host of spoonbills were sunning themselves there. They are curious birds and were getting a lot of attention from the visitors that day.

During our visit we had a fly by from a secretive bittern but both David and I were too slow to photograph this enigmatic bird. 

While walking the boardwalks there were many bees buzzing around and small white butterflies fed on green alkanet, which is a very popular plant for insects. The sound of warblers punctured the sun baked air with their shrill calls and squabbles between coots and moorhens were abundant. 

We only spent a couple of hours at the reserve, but we see something different each time we visit.

What’s your favourite nature reserve near you?

Thanks for reading, and stay wild!

Christine xx

Sunday Sevens #29

Once again I thought I would participate in this weeks, Sunday Sevens, devised by Natalie.

Delamere Forest: The bank holiday Monday saw David and I venture to Delamere Forestfor a six mile walk. Neither of us had been since we were children. We had never seen a forest so busy! Families Gruffalo hunting, cyclists and joggers all jostled along the woodland paths. Instead of a leisurely walk in nature it became too overwhelming for David! The only wildlife we did spot was black headed gulls squawking on Blakemere Moss, speckled wood and orange tip butterflies.

#walk1000miles: The walk around Delamere aided my rather sedate week of walking, and has brought my mileage for the week to 25 miles, meaning I have passed the 400 mile mark!

o0OhgWNN30 Days Wild: I applied to be a featured blog on this years Wildlife Trusts’ My Wild LifeLast year I followed many bloggers who were participating in June’s 30 Days Wild and learned something new almost daily. For me, part of the experience was the camaraderie in blog-land, everyone was just so lovely and the sharing of nature enriched my June. I look forward to this years 30 Days Wild and hope to make some more wildlife friend bloggers. Why not follow the link above to join in!

Wildlife: Linking in with the above, David and I have recently bought a bird box for robins. Hopefully we can encourage them to nest or at least give some shelter to those in the area.

I also purchased some marbles this week and placed them in my poppy feeder. I topped the feeder up with water and hopefully it will be a restful oasis for passing bees. The marbles I read, give the bees something to stand on while drinking, save them drowning.

Yarden: The yarden at the moment is looking verdant. One particular plant that seems to be doing well this year is the clematis.

Book I am reading: I’m 100 pages into Andrew Michael Hurley’s The Lonely. It’s a slow burn at the moment. Hope the narrative picks up!

Collecting: I managed to find my first Beatrix Potter 50p! David collects the 50p’s but he didn’t have any Beatrix Potter ones, until Friday, when I found Peter Rabbit!

Peter Rabbit

Peter Rabbit 50p

Do you collect any of the Beatrix Potter 50p’s? If so which ones have you got?

Well, that was my week, how was yours?

Until the next Sunday Sevens!

Christine x