Author: Lca_593

Every year, a campaign is run by The Wildlife Trusts, called 30 Days Wild. The aim of this campaign is to encourage people to get out and explore, to see if they can experience the natural world around them. This is done by challenging those who take part, to complete one random act of wildness every day. I have heard of this campaign for a few years, so this time I decided to go for it and see if I could complete the challenge.

I wasn’t sure how easy I was going to find this challenge – on one hand I am used to exploring, and wildlife watching is one of my main hobbies; on the other, I am the first to give in to the easier option when it comes to feeling tired or having a busy day! What I found out, was that giving myself chance to complete a moment of wildness, didn’t actually take up any of my time at all – it simply meant I was using the time more effectively. Throughout the month I saw wildlife that I wouldn’t otherwise have seen; got more exercise during my working week; felt more of the sunshine; and generally felt my day to day mood improve!

Overall I felt a sense of achievement when I completed the month, but also a sense of sadness that it was finished. Although I might not continue to achieve this challenge every day, I will definitely try to make a habit of weaving in the wildness throughout my week!

So, here is the full list of my random acts of wildness – I also took lots of pictures, which you can see on the Facebook or Twitter accounts. I won’t include them here, because I’d like the 30 Days Wild to speak for themselves:

Day 1: I saw orcas on the last day of my holiday to Caithness in Scotland for Seawatch Foundation’s “Orca Watch”.

Day 2: Listened to the beautiful song of a skylark as it flew.

Day 3: Exhausted after my holiday, I caught up on Springwatch and made a list of everything I had seen on my trip.

Day 4: Did some opportunistic bird watching by taking the time to notice the sparrows chirping outside Asda.

Day 5: Escaped the office for a lunchtime walk, and saw my first ducklings of 2018!

Day 6: Joined Ullapool Wildlife Watch group for a pond dipping session (as part of my work – Wildlife Watch is a children’s club!)

Day 7: I was joined by a beautiful juvenile herring gull for lunch (he wanted my chips) and then did a Shorewatch for Whale and Dolphin Conservation, from Stoer Head which I had never been to before.

Day 8: I became a wild bookworm and read some of my current wildlife book- “The Peregrine”.

Day 9: Wrote the wildlife crossword for WOW.

Day 10: I went down to my local park to see if the cygnets had hatched yet – they had indeed, and I got some lovely photos!

Day 11: Made a daisy chain during my lunch break.

Day 12: Took the time to enjoy the warmth of the sun, to actively take notice of it, as I travelled from a to b on foot and by bus.

Day 13: I thought of, and hummed, songs with wildlife in the lyrics – like bare necessities!

Day 14: I could feel the force of the wind from Storm Hector, as I took a short walk.

Day 15: Spotted some urban wildlife in the form of poppies growing by the roadside, next to a building site.

Day 16: Took a detour through a cemetery (during the day!) and noticed facts that people had put out there, about the wildflowers.

Day 17: Explored Callander and Loch Lomond with my family, ending the day by watching red squirrels at Aberfoyle.

Day 18: Took five minutes to explore the nature area which is literally 2 minutes from my office, yet I’d never been before!

Day 19: Got woken in the middle of the night by a terrifying screeching sound. Did some research during the day to confirm my suspicions that it was a fox!

Day 20: I wrote a little wildlife poem.

Day 21: Had a go at identifying some leaves I found (they were from whitebeam).

Day 22: I wrote the Orca Week entry into my wildlife diary (scroll down to read!).

Day 23: Woke up to the sound of chirping sparrows, so feeling inspired decided to draw one.

Day 24: Took a stroll in the sun to soak up some vitamin D!

Day 25: Counted the buzzards during a journey I made for work – I got two this time, often get five or six!

Day 26: Had a cup of tea and listened to the birds from the comfort of my room.

Day 27: After a mindfulness session at work, I went outside in the sunshine and made shadow shapes, making sure I lived in the moment!

Day 28: Saw a creche of Eider ducklings during my lunchtime walk.

Day 29: I had a go at a lunchtime litterpick – just took a bin bag, and wore gloves, and spent twenty minutes tidying the area around my workplace.

Day 30: While in town, I took a diversion through the park and walked under the trees – appreciating their shade on a hot day! Then I watched as bubbles made by a street performer floated and glistened in the sun.

I will be doing this challenge again next year, and I would definitely recommend you give it a go. In the meantime, if you love a challenge why not head to the See and Share section of this site and have a go at Charlie’s Challenges – have fun!

This diary entry is all about an amazing seven days that I recently spent on holiday, in Caithness – right at the top of Scotland. We went to John O’Groats for these specific dates – why? Because this is when a special event was being organised by the Seawatch Foundation, known as Orca Week.

I have known about this annual event for a while, but I’d never been before and I had never seen orca. So this year I thought “why not?!”. I spent the week with friends, and we did everything we could to spot the killer whales. When you go to an event like this, the atmosphere is really friendly and fun. Everyone wants the same thing (to see orca) and so you can just get chatting to people, and help eachother to watch the waves. If you don’t know people at the start of the week, you will by the end – I really enjoyed this side of things, and managed to catch up with friends I had not seen for a while as well as having the chance to meet some lovely new people!

As the week went on, we watched from land, and we watched from the sea (the John O’Groats ferry) but still there were no orca. In the meantime, the surrounding area proved brilliant for a bit of bird watching. I got to see all my favourite seabirds (puffins, fulmars, razorbills, guillemots to name just a few) and even saw my first ever peregrine, and hen harriers!

One special bird sighting happened by complete fluke. Me and my friends were trying to identify a little bird we had seen and we narrowed it down to what it looked most like: a Dartford warbler. However, I knew it wasn’t quite as it should be, as its chest was far too light. So we guessed that it was a juvenile and put a photo on twitter to see if people could help us. People definitely could help, and within hours we had been informed that we had seen a super rare visitor to Scotland – the Moltoni’s warbler. As the days went on, people who had seen the news started to travel from across the UK to see this little bird,it became a local star! It was a special moment for me, and one I’ll never forget.

Photo © Andrew Scullion

On the Wednesday, we took the ferry over to Orkney, planning to come back as usual (we used the ferry as a boat to watch from, rather than to get off at Orkney, which is the usual purpose!). However, when we got there my friend and I decided to get off the boat – we would watch from Orkney and that way more eyes would be on the sea from different places and directions. We moved along the cliff top, and found a great place to watch from, looking out across a vast stretch of water that the orca are known to travel through. It was a beautiful spot, and I enjoyed watching the fulmars as the flew past us, right by our heads. As we were watching and scanning the sea, messages started to come through on my friend’s phone (I turn my phone off when I am wildlife watching, so mine was quiet). Messages during Orca Week mean one thing: a sighting, and this was the most important type of sighting in this context – ORCA. There was a group of them swimming close to the cliff at Duncansby Head – exactly where we had been for three days, and where we could now not get to, until the ferry picked us up in the early evening. We had missed it, and I will be the first to admit that I was VERY disappointed.

Still, as the saying goes: if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. With the help of our friends, old and new, we quickly picked up our spirits and continued to try and spot orca. This was made difficult during the week, by a dense sea fog known as a “haar”. When this rolled in, we usually headed west where it was clearer, or did a spot of birdwatching instead.

On the very last day of our stay (Friday) we decided to catch the ferry one last time. But, as we headed to the harbour, we could see it had already left! “What time is it? Why has it gone?!” we asked eachother, each of us confused by the change in schedule. I went in to ask at the ticket office – it was the 1st of June, the start of the summer timetable. As I said thank you and prepared to go, the helpful lady said “but you can catch the 6pm ferry if you like?” I lifted my head and immediately asked for three tickets and happily returned with the news.

I donned my warm layers and made my way onto the deck. We all chatted happily, making sure to scan the waves as we made our way on the now familiar journey to Orkney. We saw puffins and gannets, skuas and seals – but still no orca. We waited while people got on the ferry at Orkney and then continued our mission as the ferry returned to John O’Groats. It was a lovely boat trip, and everyone was in high spirits, enjoying our last evening together. Then someone phoned one of the organisers, who was on the boat. After a quick conversation and fact check, he shouted “ORCA!” to the boat and told us all where to look. Well, it was every orca watcher for themselves at that point, and people scrambled everywhere in excitement to catch a glimpse. At the same time, those who had spotted the animals helped those who were yet to see them, and before long the whole boat was watching a pod of around five orca swimming through the Pentland Firth (the name for this part of the water).

I was in absolute awe, I could not believe that this had happened, or what I was seeing through my binoculars. Here they were, animals that I heard so much about, seen so much footage of, and countless photos – here they were, in front of my own eyes. We watched as the pod surfaced, saw their graceful and effortless movements through the water, the spray from their blowholes as they took a breath, their close bonds evident as they swam and surfaced alongside each other. This was their water, and a moment in their life – I was privileged to witness it.

Photo © Andrew Scullion

As the boat headed back to the harbour, we couldn’t believe our luck as yet another shout of “ORCA!” rang through the air. Another pod was directly in front of us, and after a quick glimpse they went under the water as we approached. The boat went silent in anticipation, with people facing in all directions to try to spot where the orca would resurface. I remember this moment with fondness – everyone was so happy, and we were collectively wildlife watching, the entire boat looking and hoping together. Eventually the pod of orca popped up some way off the back of the boat, and we watched as they swam into the distance and (I’m not making this up) into the sunset. The perfect end to an amazing encounter.

That night, everyone parted with big smiles, group photos, and cheery goodbyes. I look back on Orca Week as an amazing wildlife holiday – a chance to spend time on my favourite hobby, with like minded, friendly people. As a group you experience the highs and lows, peoples’ first sightings (whether cetacean or other wildlife) and peoples’ latest in a long line – but it never gets boring. Every moment, every hour of watching, every experience, every sighting – is different. There’s no bad kind of different – everything is an experience to enjoy as part of the adventure. Although I would be lying if I didn’t have some stand out moments, and for me they were: the puffins, the Risso’s dolphins, the Moltoni’s warbler the peregrine, the hen harriers and, of course, the ORCA! 🙂

It’s great to get out and about at the weekend, and see you favourite wildlife live in action. Sometimes though, you might not be able to do this – maybe mum and dad are too busy, or you just aren’t up for the cold or rain. This is where an often forgotten source of wildlife adventures can come in extra handy: the museum.

Now, some people, have a fear of any place that ends in the sound “eum”. But these days you really needn’t worry, because museums are vibrant, fun and interactive places to spend a day. If you like wildlife, you want to look for one that has a “Natural History” or “Natural Science” collection. This means it will have lots of interesting artefacts about the natural world for you to look at.

The nearest museum to me that has one of these collections, is the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. I have been a few times, and absolutely love the natural history display, with its three levels of models, skeletons, artefacts and information – you can get totally lost in the beauty and mysteries of the natural world, for hours!

This time though, I deliberately wen to the museum to see an exhibition that I had seen advertised – The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. So, after a quick look around the natural history display, I headed to the exhibition gallery.

I spent the next few hours in a large gallery room, dimly lit so that the photographs could be displayed to their best. Once I had adjusted to the sleepy feeling this initially caused, I got used to the environment and slowly made my way around the pictures, reading the interesting text that came with each one. The photos were though provoking and beautiful in their own right, but some of the stories behind them and how they were taken, increased their impression on me. I’m not usually an art gallery person – I have a quick look around and then get cake. But this was different, I was admiring, learning and being inspired – all at the same time.

You can’t take photos when your are in the gallery, to protect the copyright (quite rightly) of the photographers. However you can buy postcards of some of the photos afterwards, so I bought my favourite, which was called “The Look of a Whale” by Wade Hughes. Once I had finished I decided that I could use a rest and chance to absorb everything I had seen…I was also hungry, so I went and had some cake!

When I got home, I felt like I had explored some of the wildlife from all across the World; I had been on an adventure. And yet to go on that adventure, all I had needed to do was catch a bus into one of the biggest cities in Scotland and go into a museum. You don’t have to be able to physically go to all corners of the World in order to experience it – you just have to go to what is literally on your doorstep, and let the adventure do the rest.

Plan your visit to the National Museum of Scotland by checking out their website here. Other great Natural History museums in the UK include: The Oxford Museum of Natural History; Natural History Museum Tring; Natural History Museum, London; Manchester Museum; Reading Museum.