This is my first 'official' 30 Days Wild, and I'm hoping to write something every day about my random acts of wildness. Birds are where most of my knowledge lies at present, but I would like to use this month as an opportunity to develop my invertebrate and plant skills. I've always been obsessed with dragonflies, but have never mastered the art of identification. I also really want to teach myself more wildflower names and to identify at least a few species of bees. I do not think I will become an expert in only 30 days, but I'm hoping to make a good start. Saying that, Day 1 has begun with my comfort zone, although I am going to blame the weather for that!
The very un-June-like weather caused us to abandon our grand wildlife plans of venturing to Lakenheath Fen today, but our developing wildlife garden did not disappoint. As I've mentioned previously on my blog, we have recently moved house and now have a garden. Gradually, we are hoping to transform this into a wildlife haven. So far, we have several bird feeders which we brought along from our old flat, and a newly added bird bath. The shrubs and plants I am growing and planting should attract lots of beneficial insects eventually. Birds are our main visitors at present, with some new additions today. Even if the weather has not been spring-like, the bird behaviour certainly has been. We've had two pied wagtail fledglings in our garden for most of the day, either foraging themselves, or chasing one of the parent birds for food. They've been wonderful to watch and have been fairly trusting when we've needed to be outside. They're even more welcome if they are, as it appears from the photo below, feeding on slugs. I'm hoping we'll see more fledgling birds in our garden as the month develops.
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| Pied wagtail parent feeding a fledgling what appears to be a slug. |
