A Heartbreaking Walk at Primrose Nature Reserve

Ah, this post isn't the most fun to write but I still want to share these photos.

In January we popped along to a so-called 'Nature reserve' just about a mile from our house that we hadn't visited for three years. And to be honest, I wish we hadn't gone.

You won't see it in these photos, but I have never seen such complete and utter disregard for a 'nature reserve' in my life. The state of this place is a heartbreaking disgrace. There is so much rubbish piled up and strewn around all over the place, especially in the water. 

Animals live here. This is an area off of the River Don with many species of bird who call it home.

It is always unnecessary to litter, but it is atrocious to allow a place that should be protected to get to this point.

It has definitely had an effect too because, between our previous visit and now, the amount of wildlife spotted has decreased significantly. I struggled to find many things to photograph. Usually, a post like this would be split between two as I'd have so many photos but other than one Chaffinch and two Moor Hens, there were only a few Mallards. 

As if that wasn't bad enough, toward the end of our walk we were passed by a man with four dogs. 

A few minutes later we heard a noise a turned to see that he had sent them all into the fenced-off area where all the water birds were relaxing. I left the walk sobbing and distraught at the thought of what happened.

So yeah, an awful walk. A terrible time. I am sharing these photos and this story to show that these beautiful natural places need extra protection and the general public need to be held accountable for the way they are abusing, neglecting and downright killing our precious nature and wildlife.

The photos above are a mixture of strategically taken angles and photoshop to remove the rubbish.
This place is a magical, beautiful wildlife haven - or it could and should be.

I actually managed to find one photo that I had taken to report this disgrace to someone which I will post below. This doesn't even capture a small fraction of the problem.
Do better humans!

10 BIG Books I Want to Read in 2023

 

Recently I was looking at both Mr H and I's Goodread's Year in Books. Though I read 55 books and he read 38, my annual page total was only 14,326 compared to his 16,372 with my average book length being 260 pages and his 430.
Now, of course, it is no competition and I only mention it because Mr H works full time, has way less free time to read, and still managed a fantastic number of pages. I have a few larger books on my shelves that I put off and put off, intimidated to pick them up...but why?! Therefore this year I've been inspired by Mr H and set my reading goal much lower in the hopes I can get through at least half of the list below.
Everyone will class a book 'big' at different lengths, so for the purpose of this I am listing books of 450 pages or more seeing as my average read last year was only 260! For quite a while now I have also not been making monthly TBR's and instead reading completely what I feel like when I feel like it so we'll see when I make myself pick any of these up haha!
 

The Book of Dust Vol.2 by Philip Pullman
I've actually already ticked Vol.1 off my list in January and I read it much quicker than expected.
I look forward to getting around to volume 2.

Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
This has sat on my shelf for years and if I don't read it this year, I will be donating it. 

I am interested in things set around Carnivals/Circuses etc and thought the blurb sounded good.

The Ill-Made Mute by Cecilia Dart-Thornton
I picked this up at a used bookstore purely because I liked the cover (don't tell me you have never done the same!).
I did read the first chapter so hope to get around to this book soon.

The Primrose Railway Children by Jacqueline Wilson

I haven't read Jacqueline Wilson since I was a child, however, I am a huge E. Nesbit fan and I'm intrigued to read something inspired by such a classic.

Sepulchre by Kate Mosse
It was back in 2019 when I read Labyrinth and have wanted to read the next in this series since.
It really isn't my usual genre but I '3-starred' the first book so as I own the following two, I do want to at least try them.

A Clock of Stars: The Shadow Moth by Francesca Gibbons

Probably the most recent publication on my list and another I'm really excited to get around to!
I read the sentence ''...with all the magic of Narnia and the humour of Mary Poppins...'' and was immediately invested!

The Garden of Lost and Found by Harriet Evans
Another I chose purely by title and cover haha.
A charity shop find and I didn't really know what it was about until putting together this post. 

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
This series is another I have owned for far too many years.
I had actually already planned to read it this year and then, like many others, we watched the movie on Netflix in December so now I need to prioritize it and the sequels.

Dracul by Dacre Stoker & J.D. Barker
A long-standing 'joke' with Mr H surrounds this book because I went on and on about it and needed to buy it straight away,
yet it has sat on the shelf since it came out and the sun has even bleached the red from the spine to pink ha.

The Wizards of Once: Twice Magic
My current read after reading the first book at the end of 2020. 
It isn't 460 pages of just writing either and is full of wonderful illustrations and the like breaking it up.

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So that's my list of bigger books from my shelves that I hope to work through this year. I'll perhaps do a check-in later in the year with how I'm getting on but as I've started off the year quite well, I am hopeful! 

Until next time...

The Birds of 2022! // February

 

It's year 3 of birds!! 
At the end of 2021 I decided that 2022 was going to be my first real attempt at a 'Big Year', or at least the biggest big year I could really practically do.
A Big Year in simple terms is where bird watchers/enthusiasts spend the year attempting to see and identify as many different species of birds in the wild as possible. There are leader tables that include the US & Canada and Worldwide birders but the traditional Big Year can end up being terrible for the environment, of which is home to the beautiful birds being spotted, due to the amount of travel undertaken, including numerous flights throughout out the year.

That being said, my Big Year will probably seem like a very Little Year to many as I only stuck to my home counties as well as a couple of places we drove to on small holidays. I have neither the time nor money to dedicate a full 365 to doing nothing but traveling the width and breadth of the UK in search of birds but I can still compete with myself and previous years haha!
Some people also count birds they have physically seen, however, I am only counting those who I have photographed. There were a few awesome bird encounters had in 2022 that were sadly not caught on camera but that's just tough ha.

In 2020 my annual total was 34, with 4 more at 38 in 2021. See the birds I photographed in both 2020 and 2021 in the posts below. 

The Birds of 2020:

January - March

April - June

July - September

October - December

The Birds of 2021:

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

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Birds Photographed in February!
Great Tit
Herring Gull
Cormorant
Rock Dove
Total - 4
Yearly Total - 16

Though January was a super kick-off for the year with 14 species photographed, February was evidently the opposite with only 4, 1 of which was our little rescue pigeon Rhea who we released this month. Read more about her here > Rhea the Rescue Pigeon. 
Hopefully, March adds a few more to the annual total!

Until next time...

Cats I Loved in September

 

As of last October, I have been with my Cats Protection Adoption Centre as a Desensitization Volunteer for a whole year! I originally applied to volunteer in 2019, had my phone interviews etc and had a meeting booked to go into the centre in February 2020 but of course that was the year that time stood still. I was re-contacted in September 2021 and although I hadn't left my house for over a year and a half at that point, I pushed myself to do this because it was such a special opportunity. Once a week I pop in to spend time with beautiful fur babies, hugging those that want to be hugged, playing with those who want to play and just sitting with those who may be afraid or are timid to help 'desensitize' them and give them company. The latter are the ones I do this for most and get such satisfaction seeing the difference in some cats over time.
While there I always take photos and videos, some of which are used on social media to help spotlight any cats who may have been overlooked or have waited longer than others for their furrever homes. However, of course, these photos also feature in my daily photos - I've just completed year 10! - and so I thought it would be nice for me to look back on and remember every cat I've had the pleasure of meeting by sharing them here too. I am aware it is in fact February and these photos are from September. I decided to post them on a 6-month delay. Here are the cats I loved in September.

Barrett
Maxine & Billy
Will & Dustin

Tommy
Alabama
Pearl
Binx
Chutney
Poppy

Aurora
Zeva
Alabama
Pearl

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I tell each and every cat ' I love you' when I leave and my heart always breaks to close the door behind me whether they are sitting cosy in their hide or clawing and meowing at the glass. This volunteer placement has become a huge part of my life and part of my weekly routine. I can't wait to continue my journey with Cats Protection and urge you to check out your local centre!

Pop on over to Cats Protection | UK’s Largest Cat Welfare Charity to find the centre closest to you. Donate, shop online, buy from the centres' Amazon wishlist and most importantly ADOPT DON'T SHOP!!! Oh, and spay and neuter you're bloomin' pets. Rescue centres all over the country are really struggling right now and they all need your support. Thanks!

Check out lots more cute cats in the previous post in this series here >
Cats I Loved in January
Cats I Loved in February
Cats I Loved in March
Cats I Loved in April
Cats I Loved in May
Cats I Loved in June
Cats I Loved in July
Cats I Loved in August

Big Garden Birdwatch 2023

 

The very first RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch was held in 1979 making 2023 its 44th year. 

It was my 10th year taking part this year which I thought was a pretty big achievement but seems to pale in comparison when you see it next to the number 44!
For those who don't know, it's an annual survey held on the same weekend to count the number of birds across the UK. Last year almost 700,000 people took part.

Of course, birds are a huge part of my life and their protection is of high importance to me. I spend much of my days not only watching the birds but feeding and photographing them too so I always look forward to the Big Garden Birdwatch. Over the past 10 years, I've lived in at least 5 different places with varying amounts of wildlife, and considering that we currently live suburban-ly, around 5 miles away from farmland and a mile away from a river this is probably the biggest range of birds and wildlife we've ever had as regular visitors.

Below are the photos taken during our Big Garden Birdwatch 2023!

As usual, just like every other year, our usual daily visitors seem to know it's the weekend that I count them and far fewer than normal stopped by.

2023 Big Garden Birdwatch Results
Pigeon - 14
House Sparrow - 3
Starling - 5
Robin - 1
Great Tit - 2
Blue Tit - 2
Coal Tit - 1
Blackbird - 3
Magpie - 2
Herring Gull - 6
Jackdaw - 1
Wood Pigeon - 1

That might seem like a good amount of birds to some people but compared to normal it really isn't. I've known there to be up to 40 Pigeons in my garden at once, at least 10 Sparrows playing in the bushes and other birds like Dunnocks and Collared Doves stopping by too. 
The turnout was so poor on the day I originally set out to count that I had to wait until the next day to try again so I'm glad that I was able to welcome those I did. 

Oh, I also wanted to mention that the photo of the Magpies is on my neighbour's garden wall. I have no idea what was put out. They occasionally put bits out on their wall but don't get many takers though obviously on this day two Magpies did pop by to have a nose about. 
Our birds are only fed seed mixes, suet pellets, suet blocks and balls, and nuts. I have a mix of different feeders in lots of different locations to appeal to as many species as possible.

If you can, I encourage you to feed your local birds. Please also put out fresh clean water for them at all times of the year but especially in the hot summers and super cold winters when natural sources may by dried up or frozen over. 

Check out last year's post and see how different my results were here > RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 2022



Read more about the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch here.