GWT Photo comp

P.s. any nice person who would spare one of my pictures a vote would be very well appreciated!

Gloucestershire Wildlife trust Photo Comp

Lets get this up to date

7/08/11 - Great Crested Newt Training

Last of three sessions towards my training course. This one was based on identifying newt species Larvae. Found plenty of them in the different ponds up on Rocksavage Power Plant NR. Brilliant day. Absolutely recommend this course to anyone who wants to go into newt work. Not only does it include EVERYTHING you need to know, you can also get one of your two references needed towards your newt license. Check out the Cheshire Active Naturalists.


9/08/11 - Otter Spraint Surveying

As a Gloucestershire Wildlife Volunteer I got involved with the species surveying programme developing for the Forest of Dean. I was given a route with numerous points on it to be monitored for signs of otter (esp spraints). This was very much an all day job, as there were around twenty points down a 4km stretch. All in all quite successful as managed to find, identify and photograph four spraints.

NBMP Waterways Survey - Ryeford
Had to re-route this survey as the riverside path was so overgrown it was completely inaccessible, which was quite frustrating. However! Plenty of bat activity on the canal, including lots of Daubenton passes.


11/08/11 - Bechstein radiotracking

Not going to mention too much, such as the site because I am not sure how hush hush it is. But must say it was an absolutely brilliant opportunity to meet and learn from such experienced and nice people. Plenty of Bechstein activity, emergence counts were fascinating to see, as was learning about the behaviour of the bats that had been tracked.


18/08/11 - Dormice Box Checks

Unfortunately no dormice, but nibbled hazelnuts and even nests were good to see. Old scabby birds nests were not so nice and made me feel itchy! But really appreciated the opportunity and hope to go again.

Bat Harp Trapping

What a superb evening. Numerous different species:
Daubentons, Long Eared, Brandts, Whiskered and Pips.

Got handling experience and released a whiskers :) The combined knowledge in the group was overwhelming and I learnt alot from being there. Brilliant people can't wait for the next meet!

Look on my flickr page for new pictures.

Collin Park Wood Bat Box Checks

17/07/11

Gloucestershire Bat Group :)

Found a whole nursery of Natterers Bats
A very rare Brandts!!
And a soprano Pip, which thanks to Will Ponting I will forever associate with Britvit 55

Got to handle a Natterers bat which was amazing





17/7/11 BCT National Bat Monitoring Programme, Survey Site: Walford, Ross on Wye

Badger
Tawny Owl
Lots of Common Toads
Serotine
Noctule
Common Pipistrelle


22/7/11 BCT National Bat Monitoring Programme, Survey Site: Walford, Ross on Wye

Tawny Owl (metres away!)
Soprano Pipistrelle
Common pip
Noctule
Serotine

Daneway Banks 26/06/11

I visited the three reserves in the are: Daneway Banks, Siccarage Wood and Sapperton Valley.

1 Female Fallow Deer
Dark Green Frittillary
Marbled White Butterfly
Small TortoiseShell
Ringlet
Meadow Brown
Small Copper Butterfly
Blue butterfly species unknown
Small Skipper
Pyramid Orchid
Perfumed Orchid



Also visited Highnam Woods RSPB reserve earlier last month

1 dead Bank Vole :(
Wood White
Orange Tip
Common Blue
Meadow Brown
Ringlet
Comma
Speckled Wood
Red Admiral
Painted Lady
Peacock Butterfly

We also went to Cheddar Gorge the weekend  2/3 July and saw the most spectacular show of a Peregrine Falcon high in the sky above us :)

Coombe Hill Species List

18/6/11

2 buzzards
2 little egret
13 lapwing
1 common sandpiper
2 curlew
4 hare
1 grey heron
1 greylag goose
1 canada goose
1 juv grey heron
2 woodpigeon


20/6/11

5 Curlew
1 Greylag Goose pink legband on right leg
1 Little Egret
23 Lapwing + two chicks
1 grey heron
8 black headed gulls
cuckoo heard
2 brown hare
common blue damselflies
Small tortoise shell butterfly

Summer Project 2011

I've been doing alot of thinking recently. Whether I did the right thing leaving two jobs to move here, whether it is worth it, if it's going to get me anywhere, whether I'll ever get the job I want. And I came to a few conclusions: that whether or not I do get a job this year out of my voluntary work, and whatever it is I decide to do after these six months (stay, move home, move away somewhere new) I should be proud of myself for having the guts to drop two jobs and move to pursue something that I really want to do. I need to stop getting so depressed and unhappy if I haven't as much work as I hoped and so on so forth, and make the most of this. Because if I get to the end of it and I've spent the whole of it miserable and unhappy, then it won't have been worth it. So I decided to try and come up with something that would motivate me. Something I could turn around at the end and say 'I did that'.

Gloucestershire is gorgeous. The Cotswolds, Tewkesbury, Forest of Dean, Wye Valley. And I plan to see as much of it as possible.

There's 59 Wildlife Trust reserves within this county. And two big RSPB reserves. I'm going to go to them all before October. Or at least that's the plan.

So far I have been to:

1. Chaceley Meadow
2. Collin Park Wood
3. Coombe Hill
4. Greystones Farm
5. Mythe Railway

Which leaves me with 56 reserves in four months. 3 1/2 a week :)

Definately do-able.

 

My camera will always go with me. So if nothing else my photography skills should hopefully benefit from this! Lets get cracking..

More gloucestershire wildlife

A few butterflies on flickr and I've attempted to ID them. Not too sure on the white or blue species but I've had a guess.

I thought I might start blogging where and what I see when I'm out. It might be nice to have a collection to look back on.

So first of all:

11/06/2011
Symonds Yat
15/06/2011
Peregrine Falcon
Nuthatch
Great/Coal/Blue Tits
Chaffinch
Robin
Sparrowhawk
Buzzard


Chaceley Meadows
Meadow Vetchling
Tufted Vetch
Greater Burnett
Red Clover
Meadow Sweet
Yorkshire Fog
Meadow Barley
Perennial Rye
Wood Mouse
Silver Weed
Yellow Rattle
Crested Dogstail
Knapweed

Tewkesbury (out and about so far)
Swallow
Sand Martin
House Martin
Goldfinch
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Comorant
Banded Demoiselle
Wood White Butterfly

16/06/2011
Chaceley Meadow
Bank Vole
Wood Mouse
Comma Butterfly
Meadow Brown Butterfly
Ringlet Butterfly
Common Blue Butterfly
Marble White Butterfly
Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly

I thought I knew you once

A lump, a bruise
a poor excuse
Teeth trying to tear skin

Fingers curled, clenched fist
..where did this start?
Please excuse me but I dont remember
before the pain,
this broken heart

I just know these hands
were capable of a warm loving touch
These lips had a soft kiss
before the learned to spit poison

And you have such a bitter taste now
My tongue catches on all the sharp words
How absurd that here I am still
stuck in wanting you


I thought I knew you once,
but now you're screaming the truth

Photographs

My flickr feed at the side shows any photos I upload. I've added a good few since moving down here. I'd love to know what species that caterpillar belongs to. Might have to look it up! Enjoy :)

Good old Tewkesbury

I've been here about three weeks and it feels like home really. It's such a lovely place to be around, scenic, relaxed.
Hopefully I'm going to have a lot more to do soon, with the Gloucestershire Bat Group, and the Forest of Dean surveying upcoming.
It is so so hard to even get unpaid work with anyone, seems like noone is willing to help. Fingers crossed.

I've been taking lots of photographs while i've been down here. Theres a competition going on here and I think the deadline is July. Best get snapping!

I might add some on here..

You fought us every step of the way, but today you said we had to let you go

On the 25th February we had to say goodbye to our cat Poppy.
She was more than 'just a pet'. At 18 years old she was a very long-lived part of the family.
I remember her scraggy little wild self at nans, hissing and spitting.
I remember when we first brought her to ours.
I remember her running across the garden because a leaf fell and scared her.

I feel so aweful for ever shouting at her, or making her go down the stairs, or leaving her outside that bit longer when she wanted to come back in.

I'm sorry, and I told her that as mom held her while they sent her to sleep. And she looked at me while i was stroking her, that moment before she was gone, and I knew it was okay.

But I can still hear her meowing at my door. Miss you and love you xxxx

First drawing for months

Whether to walk with earphones or without?

So, which is best? When you go on a walk do you always have your music in your ears, or do you like to absorb the surrounding atmosphere? Does it depend on where you are or where you're going? Does it depend on the mood you're in?

I went on a walk a couple of weekends ago to Cannock Chase. Not a massive walk, just a couple of hours around the big open land in the middle of brindley heath. That's my favourite part about this place. And i must admit i don't like to listen to music when i'm walking here. I like to just take in the curves and dips of the hills, and just the whole silence of it; only broken by the songs of birds darting in the trees. It is so relaxing, and after a few minutes my shoulders untense, as if the toils of the day were left back in the car. If i fancy i'll take the camera with me; i guess it makes me concentrate more on all the finer pieces. Like a perfect little spiders web, or dewdrops hanging delicately off a leaf. Or the way the light pierces through the clouds, and the contrast of the evergreen trees against the red of the wilted bracken.

Today i went for a walk up to northycote woods, just an hours-worth, so i didn't feel like i hadn't done any kind of exercise. And today i had my music on. It kind of gives a purpose to the walk, as if it's encouraging you to keep going, giving you a background noise. I wasn't in the mood to just head through the woods and listen to what was going on. I was content to just look and move on. It wasn't the surroundings that were important. I just wanted to get from A to B. I must admit when i got to the end of the woods i did turn back and notice all the little birds dotted about the floor. And i did take out my earphones for a good ten minutes and just lean against the gate, watching. Which was really nice.

So i guess it does depend on numerous different things. If i go to town on my own for a wander then my music is always there. Or walking up to the shops, unless i'm in a rush. Or if i just don't fancy being bothered listening to anything. But there is nothing better than being in the middle of all this green, all this nature, and just closing your eyes to the sound of absolutely nothing.

Attempt 50000000 at dieting

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

A list of good things

Before I go to bed I wanted to write a little about what i've liked today. Too often are the little things overlooked and negativity takes over, dulling, blurring and merging days into a bad mood. At least I can look back and go, hey, that WAS nice.

1] Being so comfortable when you wake up that you spend at least an hour convincing yourself it is deadly important to get out of bed. And failing. I love being completely wrapped up to my nose, tucked under my legs, sides and feet. God, definately the feet. I get such an overwhelming feeling that if my feet aren't covered something will eat my toes. I think it was a poem/book I read when i was young..but I don't know what it was called.

2] Four kisses on a text.

3] The noise the application tape made when I ripped it off the door of my car :). He now has big flowers on and I am -so- happy how funky he looks!

4] Taking a bite out of an apple and it's exactly how you wanted it to be. Not too soft, too grainy or too sweet. Perfection!

5] Tight skin after a couple hours in the swimming pool, complete with steam and sauna. Cleanliness. Brilliant.


That'll do, because i'm tired. Which i guess could be a sixth thing good about today. I love going to bed tired. Then you don't have to try so hard to get to sleep!

P.s. Clover is due tomorrow; baby rabbits! <3

The start

Hello!
For some strange reason you've decided to take a gander at this blog. I'm not sure what made me think about making it. Maybe because I thought it would be nice to have somewhere to keep a collection of photos, thoughts, events, things. So that whatever happens, anyone that fancies [including me], can see what's been going on :)
And that's about it really. It's a lovely sunny day, so I'm considering going to the car wash then attempting to put the flowers on the sides of Bugsy. Good stuff.