52 Weeks Wild #31

A collection of my wild moments from the past week...

Another busy week with just a few minutes in the garden on a couple of days. I love the variety of bugs I've seen in my garden over the last few months, these are a few of the bugs I've seen this week...

In the pond, there are pond skaters in various instars.

I had a pleasant hour outdoors in Ecclesall Woods on Friday afternoon and (of course!) a visit to the Woodland Coffee Stop for cake :)

I was attending Hen Harrrier Day in Sheffield on Saturday and, as I could get a cheap Premier Inn room, decided to do an overnight stay in Sheffield on Friday night to make Saturday morning easier and also provide a little break from all the mess at my house. An hour browsing in Waterstones, some house shopping in John Lewis and a walk in the woods was the Friday afternoon plan.

Hen Harrier Day was good. Around 300 people attended the event in Sheffield. Speakers included Mark Avery, Natalie Bennet, Iolo Williams, Blanaid Denman and Ross Cameron from the University.

Findlay Wilde & Mark Avery

Blanaid Denman

Natalie Bennet

Iolo Williams

This is not my video (it's from youtube) but here is Iolo's speech, ten minutes long and very good.


I can't find a video of Natalie Bennet's speech from either of the events. Here's Chris Packham's from the Rainham Marshes event instead (again from youtube). I don't think it's complete (just 6 minutes) but it is - as you'd expect - eloquent and  inspiring.


And for good measure, here's Mark Avery in Sheffield. Another good speech (source).

From Sheffield, I headed North East to stay overnight with family who, very conveniently, live 15 minutes away from Dunsop Bridge, where there was another Hen Harrier Day taking place on Sunday.  Thanks to having a free bed and breakfast available so close, I was able to attend and take along a couple of extra people too :) 

Brian Etheridge

A good weekend but a long and busy one. I could do with a day off but this week is a very busy one too so I feel like I'm just rushing from one thing to the next at the moment! I do have some Wildlife Trust events over the next week which will add nicely to my time outdoors in the week ahead.