:: Wild Places Blog ::

A couple of weeks hard work getting a new kitchen sorted for Ian’s mum - although most of the hard work was on Ian’s part. As mum is 88 we didn’t think it would be a good idea for her to cope with all the dirt, noise and dust at her house while the kitchen [...]

We didn’t hold out much hope for a bumper moth night as we had already had the trap out twice this week - on the 9th and 11th May and had caught precisely nothing. Although it had been warm during the daytime the temperature was due to fall as low as 3′C during the night. [...]

Well folks, i think we all know about the carnage that happens in Malta during the Spring and Autumn hunting seasons. For many years i’ve tried to discourage friends from holidaying there, passing on to them my reasons for boycotting the place. The Times of Malta is currently running an online poll to vote as [...]

Just received this incredible photo from Heidi who run the Bird Observatory at Delta Marsh in Manitoba where we will be in less than one months time. It was taken just a couple of days ago and shows her on the snow in front of the barn where all the bikes and other station equipment [...]

Well here i am folks with my begging bowl out. Its all in a good cause though, my daughter Sara will be running the Race for Life on the 12th July 2009 to raise money for the charity Cancer Research - a good cause, i don’t think there can be anyone who doesn’t know someone [...]

Don’t forget folks, get your candles ready because tomorrow is Earth Hour Day:-

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia with 2.2 million homes and businesses turning their lights off for one whole hour. Only a year later and this event had become a global sustainability movement with up to 100 million people across 35 [...]

The Outer Hebrides Bird Report 2005-2006 is now available and has just been printed. It is over 250 pages with a number of colour photos.
Price is £8.50 which includes p & p.
Reports are available from Brian Rabbitts, 6 Carinish, Isle of North Uist, Western Isles, HS6 5HL
- cheques payable to ‘Outer Hebrides Bird Report’

A pleasant afternoons walk in the grounds of Hatfield House. The smaller birds were quite active - Long-tailed Tits, Blue Tits, Great Tits, lots Robins. Nice spots were Nuthatch and Treecreeper.
I decided to take the camera and tooke the opportunity to do something i’ve wanted to for a while - take some photos of the [...]

Had an email from Lars who co-ordinates the bird ringing at Annsjon Bird Observatory, Handol, Sweden where we spent a month last year. He had news of the recovery of a Great Tit (Talgoxe in Swedish) that i had ringed on the 29th June 2008. The bird was then still an unfledged nestling and was [...]

Isn’t it strange how a mundane shopping trip can turn into something much more enjoyable and interesting.
At the local Tesco’s store late this afternoon we sat for 45 minutes and watched the Pied Wagtails getting ready to roost. There must have been a couple of hundred birds there - a small number really by Wagtail [...]