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The Bank Vole –Myodes glareolus Bank voles are small chestnut-brown rodents with a cream-coloured underbelly and a short hairy tail. The Bank voles has small dark eyes, a short tail typically about 30% of their body length and a rounded snout. Bank voles have the largest ears of any UK vole species. Bank voles are common and widespread across the UK. They don’t hibernate so you can spot them all…

We are back ! After a short break its back to work at the meadow , cutting the path and carrying in water , a lot of water . The prolonged period of hot weather has taken its toll on are limited water storage at the meadow , the result of which is us having to carry in nearly 300 litres of water, no small task. We have also only filled one out of three ponds in an effort to make the water…

It’s Saturday , still rather hot and my wife is away visiting her Dad so i have a totally free day. I decided to set up my camera in our back garden ( rear yard ) and sat down with a cold drink and settled down , waiting to see if we had any visitors. As expected the Grey Squirrels arrived , demanding nuts , closely followed by a Robin , Blue tit’s , Great tits , Pigeon , Magpie and a bunch of…

The Dunnock – Prunella modularis Dunnocks , Prunella modularis are native to the UK and large areas of Europe with their range spreading as far as Lebanon, northern Iran, and the Caucasus. The ground feeding dunnock’s favoured habitats include woodlands, shrubs, gardens, and hedgerows. The dunnock looks from a distance similar to a house sparrow but the easiest way to tell them apart is the…

The Barn Owl – Tyto alba With its heart shaped face the Barn Owl is probably the most popular owl in the UK. It is also one of the most widely distributed of owls throughout the world although its colouration does vary. The Barn Owls call is a far less attractive screech not the Twit Twoo sound which is actually a Tawny Owl. In some areas barn owls were known as ‘demon owls’, due to the…

 The Robin – Erithacus rubecula The Robin , a familiar sight in British gardens and parks is a small rounded bird with a distinctive red plumage on it’s breast. A firm favourite in our garden and a regular visitor to the wildflower meadow hide this little bird sometimes called the Robin Redbreast  is embedded deep into British folklore, and has a strong association with winter life here and in…

The Redshank – Tringa tetanus Redshank The Common Redshank is a large sandpiper with long, bright red legs or “ shanks “ It is a typical wader, feeding in shallow water around lakes, marshes, mudflats , coastal wetlands and estuaries. It breeds on open marshes and estuary grasslands. Redshanks are wary and noisy birds. Their calls will alert everything else in the vicinity to danger and they…

With Thomas Orrin , Wildlife Photographer During the Easter holidays I went on a trip to Weald Country Park which was filled with wildlife, the lake had such a great variety of waterfowl, birds of prey flying above the trees and deer wandering through the forests. My visit kicked off at the deer enclosure section which we stayed at for a while. As I walked along the path parallel to the fence I…

Honestly we only had the one ! This week we escaped from the now constant damp weather for a quick break to an even wetter ( if that’s possible ) Munich for a few days R & R with the co-owner of the meadow and fellow wildlife photographer Graham and our wife’s . It’s always great to get away and relax with friends , but it wasn’t all play, it’s time to plan……. Because we were celebrating , we…

Once a chalk quarry, College Lake is now one of the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust’s flagship nature reserves. The transformation is a fantastic example of what people passionate about wildlife can bring about through a shared vision and sheer determination. Thanks to the hard work of BBOWT staff and volunteers, this thriving nature reserve now supports more than 1,000 different wildlife…

Abberton Reservoir Nature Discovery Park is a 25 hectare site managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. Situated just 6 miles from Colchester, it is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is internationally important for a wide variety of water birds. Abberton Reservoir itself is the largest body of freshwater in Essex and is owned by Essex and Suffolk Water. It was constructed in the…

The Grey Heron – Ardea Cinerea Words and pictures by Graham Stewart Now I know what you are all thinking, the big dummy has spelt Garry wrong. But have I? My friends Larry, Harry, Barry and Mary all think I am correct! I always love seeing this bird for two reasons, firstly when it flies it reminds me a bit of a Pterodactyl and secondly because it is such a patient bird (a trait that escapes me…

The Greenfinch – Chloris chloris A common, large finch of gardens, parks, woodland and farmland. The Greenfinch is a chunky-looking finch, with the male bird having an olive-green back and bright yellow patches on its wings and tail, and the female having duller plumage with streaky upper parts. Juvenile Greenfinches are similar to the female, but browner. In the U.K. there are around 1,700,000…

Blue tit Ok , who said the weather needed to change , oh that would have been me then. Well since the last post it has rained every single day ! One upside is the meadow smells fantastic after rain , that sweet damp grass smell if you know what i mean. And the drop in temperature and general dampness has had a dramatic effect on visitor numbers at the meadow with far more activity , especially…

The Brown Hare – Lepus europaeus The Brown hare is one of the largest of the lagomorphs. Its head and body length can range from 60 to 75 cm. The Brown hares weight is typically between 3 and 5 kg The hare’s elongated ears range from 9.4 to 11.0 cm in length. It also has long hind feet that have a length of between 14 and 16 cm. They are distinguished from other leporids (hares and rabbits) by…

RF 100-500 IS USM ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ My new go to lens the Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L IS USM , has been a permanent addition to my kit bag. The upgrade in focal length has made a real difference compared to my old 100-400mm and the lens has Canon’s L series legendary build quality 5-stop image stabilisation and advanced optics and unrivalled performance thanks to Super US and UD lens elements and ASC…

Time to cool the paws in the pond. A chilled Rat at the meadow At last as we come towards the end of May , a little reprieve from the recent hot spell , the temperature here in North Wiltshire has dropped from 34c to a much more agreeable mid 20’s . Better sleep and definitely more activity from the feather and furries at the meadow ! Hopefully we might even get a little rain , the wildlife…