Hello and welcome to my latest blog, I hope you are all well and have some nice plans for the summer holidays which are nearly upon us, lets hope we get that elusive Indian summer we keep being promised !
Personally, my time as a university student recently came to an end after four years of highs and lows, and it was with a great deal of satisfaction tinged with a bit of sadness when I handed in my final year project and said my farewells.
The blog this time around is a bit of a mixed bag, some of you may remember my piece on the potential to reintroduce large carnivores with the majority of the focus on the lynx back to Britain. Since then, Jamie Wyver has informed of his own project on reintroducing lynx to these shores. Not only is his work an excellent read he has also created a film on the subject and the links to both of these can be found below. I've been sent both humorous and factual links on the natural world and these will hopefully add a touch of variety to the blog and of course I'll be providing a brief update on my own wildlife encounters since you last heard from me, once again I hope you enjoy the blog.
After an absence of thousands of years could the Eurasian Lynx prowl our woodlands once more? Jamie Wyver investigates.
Film Link.
http://wildvision.tv/film/rewilding
Blog link.
One man and his lynx.
http://onemanandhislynx.com/
Latest wildlife sightings.
The last few days have offered some great wildlife sightings. I'm lucky that the cafe I work at during the seasonal holiday periods, is situated right next to the beach means it is not uncommon for marine wildlife to be observed from the workplace. This time a seal in the shallows caught the attention of staff and customers alike as the pinniped went about its daily business, I tried to identify whether it was of the grey or common variety. This is a difficult task at the best of times and without binoculars I was unable to clarify the matter. Due to the large number of grey seals around these shores and common seals despite their name are decidedly uncommon, I am fairly confident it assuming a grey seal was culprit. An i.d card courtesy of the Cornwall Seal Group can be found below.
I've also had the pleasure of seeing a wild barn owl for the first time in many a year during the past week. These stunning birds a personal favorite of mine with their ghostly appearance, however the species has sadly been on a steady decline with agriculture being one of the leading causes of this. Sights like these should be cherished and never taken for granted, it certainly put a broad smile on my face.
It's also easy to overlook the smaller aspects of the natural world but during my time on the local nature reserve, the sheer diversity of invertebrate life present is something impossible not to be amazed by. Their miniature world is one crucial for the balance of life as we know it, this quote by Sir David Attenborough emphasizes their importance far better than I can "If we and the rest of the back-boned animals were to disappear overnight, the rest of the world would get on pretty well. But if the invertebrates were to disappear, the world's ecosystems would collapse".
Contrasting links.
My friend Mathew Button has very kindly sent me two contrasting links in terms of their nature one serious, one decidedly not.
Firstly, check out this light hearted animation -http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/06/animator-helene-marchal-adds-animated-flourishes-to-video-of-a-sea-bird/
This though is a vitally important, when people think of lions they think of magnificent, powerful animals which demand respect wherever they roam. All of that is true, however not many may immediately think of them being endangered which sadly is also true and their decline is to say the least alarming. Without projects like this the fate of the lion is at best uncertain. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/06/140611-shivani-bhalla-lions-samburu-kenya-conservation/
That's all for now I hope as always you enjoyed the blog and thanks for reading,
George.
Email grwykes@gmail.com
Twitter @ReallyWildWykes
