A nocturnal visitor a national icon and dedication.

Hello and welcome to my latest blog, I hope you have all been enjoying the summer although the weather has somewhat worsened  from the glorious sunshine we had all naively become accustomed to. I was recently delighted to have this blog added to the UK and Eire Natural History Bloggers site, by following the link on my homepage, you can also read the other fine work of fellow enthusiasts of the natural world. Regular readers may remember in previous blogs features on the wildlife we are lucky enough to have visit our garden. The latest species to see the garden as a potential food source however may well have caused the most excitement amongst the household yet, more on that later. As always any feedback on improvements you think could be made or suggestions for what you would like to see included are most welcome I hope you enjoy this edition.

A very special visitor.

A while ago I believe I mentioned a chance encounter in our garden between my brother and a Badger feeding on slugs and any other morsels it could find. Since then however thanks to the providing Hovis sliced loaf and Tesco's trusty crunchy peanut butter, we have become privileged enough to have some truly remarkable encounters.

It's approaching 10 o'clock and the last of the light is just beginning to fade. The bread and peanut butter laid on the lawn is soon to be devoured. Suddenly a rustle of branches announces the arrival of our first nocturnal visitor, cautiously to start with, the Badger begins to appear, firstly only its trademark black and white facial markings visible in the gloomy darkness. Soon however, the lure of the peanut butter is to much, the smell wafting up the nostrils of its highly sensitive nose and the search is on. The peanut butter never stood a chance each mouthful consumed with even more relish than the first and all the time the Badger comes closer, ever closer to us sitting in the conservatory trying to keep noise to an absolute minimum, as our garden guest continues to feast on our offerings all the time growing in confidence.  A few minutes later and we our almost within two feet of the Badger and completely captivated by it's beauty and then another appears, far more nervous but again the smell of Tesco's peanut butter is irresistible. Searching for offerings which have so far escaped the attentions of the first Badger its keen sense of smell working overtime in now almost complete darkness its snuffling as the feeding intensifies clearly audible . Eventually with peanut butter well and truly demolished, they move on in search of more natural food sources in the garden and then in other parts of the local area. These encounters which happen now almost every night are truly incredible, and we are privileged to have the opportunity to witness some amazing creatures from such a close distance.


Photo taken by Mary Wykes

And on the subject of garden wildlife....

Please be sure to leave a bowl of fresh water in your garden through the summer this could prove to be an invaluable source of refreshment for our wildlife such as the charismatic Hedgehog. This lovable species has recently  been named Britain's National Species winning a poll organised by BBC Wildlife Magazine with 42% of the vote. The Badger finished the poll in second with the Ash tree completing the top three in third.  With the species in decline this is a fantastic boost for the species.

World Ranger Day.

Today is World Ranger Day a day where the hard work, bravery and dedication of so many inspirational people around the world is given the recognition it deserves, without these wonderful people, our wildlife would be exposed and terribly vulnerable to the greed of poachers.
For further reading on this subject which has deservedly gained Royal attention follow this link:
http://www.iucn.org/?13478/IUCN-celebrates-World-Ranger-Day-as-Prince-William-salutes-park-rangers-brave-and-tireless-work


Trails and Tails Travel

Looking for a truly wild and wonderful adventure? want to see some natures most amazing natural creations ? Trails and Tails Travel offers a wide range of once in a lifetime opportunity to visit some of the most amazing locations on the planet run by Nicole and Matthew, you can loo at their website by following this link http://www.trailsandtailstravel.com/ you can also connect with them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/george.wykes?ref=tn_tnmn#!/TrailsAndTailsTravel?fref=ts.

Twitter

You can follow me on Twitter @ReallyWildWykes where I will be posting regular sources of wildlife news, images and of course my blog updates direct to my Twitter account.
That is all for now everyone thank you for reading and all the best,
George.

That is all for this week I hope you enjoyed the blog and thank you for reading, all the best,
George