The
Wildlife Trusts in the UK have an annual campaign - 30 Days Wild (#30DaysWild) - in June, to encourage people (and especially families) to spend some time outside in the great outdoors. Here's what I've been up to (batches of 5 days at a time!)
Day 1 - spiders in the garden
I have made two recent purchases, both of which are FAB. One is an excellent new
field guide to British Spiders (I had it pre-ordered for ages!). It is really very good, I recommend it. The other is a macro attachment for the camera, a
Raynox 150 adapter. It clips onto the front of the camera lens. Takes a bit of getting used to but you can get some half-decent pictures for considerably less than a dedicated macro lens would cost. So the combination of these two things meant that some spider photography was top of the list for #30DaysWild! If you are on facebook I would also recommend looking at the British Spider Identification group, super helpful!
Day 2 - bats!
The bat detector is a
DIY kit (you need access to someone who can follow a circuit diagram and who can solder to put it together). Listened to pipistrelles flying around the garden for day 2.
Day 3 - nature journalling
This is what I really enjoy doing - sitting in the sunshine, drawing :-) The pyrocantha shrub in the corner of the garden is covered in blossom at the moment and is also covered with insects...
Day 4 - fungi after rain
These tiny fungi appeared at the edge of the lawn near the log pile after some thundery rain. Unidentified as yet...
Day 5 - elderflowers and a pheasant
Rain and wind forecast for today, and it's quite a bit cooler than it has been too. I collected some elderflowers to make elderflower cordial. The pheasant has been a regular visitor for a few weeks, along with two hen pheasants.
On to the rest of #30DaysWild!
I love your nature journal and will check out the spider book. Was just thinking yesterday that I don't have a decent one.
ReplyDeleteIt's really good. It has only just been published so is bang up to date.
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