The Adventure of the 30 Days Wild '22 (II)

Previously on The Adventures of Dysfunctional Dan: I began taking part in The Wildlife Trusts 30 Days Wild event, doing one wild thing every day for the month of June. (See Part I)

Before I reflect on my wild month, here's what I got up to in the second half of June. 

Day 16: I needed to pop to the local shop and decided to sit for a while in the churchyard along the way. My local churchyard is a really spot, full of flowers in the spring and home to several sizeable oak trees which provide a home for so much wildlife. 

Day 17: I happened to look about of my kitchen window to see a squirrel running along the back fence. Whilst I have seen the occasional squirrel on my street despite the lack of any trees of note, I've never seen one at the back and I hope my attempts to make my yard more wildlife friendly as well as the growth of some plants along the row of gardens is beginning to attract more wildlife. 

Day 18: A lovely walk along the River Stour today. It's a place which almost guarantees some wildlife and I got a great view of this grey heron which eyed me suspiciously from the far side of the river but was content enough not to be frightened off by my presence. 

Day 19: A walk took me past Coy Pond again today and I spent more time admiring the many moorhen chicks that are around the pond. They seem to have been remarkably successful here this year with chicks being everywhere and extremely confident, happily standing right in front of you.

Day 20: A quick evening walk in the local woods. I haven't really walked through there a great deal before but this challenge has caused me to visit a few times. Despite being right in the middle of an urban area, once you are in the trees it feels very quiet and peaceful which is something we all need from time to time. 

Day 21: With the plants in my yard being in pots I need to water them most days. When conditions are right, as they were today, the watering leads to all sorts of insects and often quite a few moths flying out of the plants when I start watering. The highlight today was this Beautiful Plume Moth. 

Day 22: Circumstances meant that my morning break at work took place whilst we were on a visit to a play park. This allowed be the opportunity to briefly explore and area I didn't know and I found a patch of land with long grass and brambles. I watched a large skipper butterfly feed on buttercups and listened to a cacophony of crickets chirping away. A little nature break was much more refreshing than the normal few minutes in the staff room. 

Day 23: A scabious flower suddenly emerged in my yard today. These are pretty flowers which insects love and this particular plant was one of the first I bought so I was pleased to see it being successful for a second year. 

Day 24: I took a moment to admire some lichens on some local trees. Lichens are on those pieces of nature that even most nature lovers never seem to notice. They are actually two different species in a symbiotic relationship, a fungus and an algae. The presence of lichens usually means the air is fairly clean i.e. there's isn't much pollution at this spot. 

Day 25: Today's walk included lots of butterflies of various species. I love all of nature but for some reason butterflies are one of my favourtie things. They are so beautiful and fragile. I also spotted a bee orchid, a remarkable flower which to a male bee both looks and smells like a female bee as a sneaky way of being pollinated. It blows my mind that something like this could have evolved. 

 

Day 26: I saw some of my favourite birds today on the lakes, the elegant Great Crested Grebes. Like the moorhens, they seem to have a hugely successful breeding season and I've never see so many grebes in one place before.

Day 27: I spotted a buzzard in the distance, soaring over farmland. I watched it float effortlessly on the thermals before it settled down on a telephone pole, a great viewpoint to look for prey from. 

Day 28: On my way home from work I spotted a plant with a gall on it. Galls are created when an insect, usually a type of wasp, chemically induces a plant to grow them as a place for the young wasps to hatch in. Different species of wasp create different types of gall on different types of plant. 

Day 29: Another spot on a walk home from work and this was a magnificent Grey Dagger Moth, obviously named because of the patterns on it's wings. Moths obviously come out at night but if you look carefully you can often spot them on fences or trees during the day as they rest up before another night's activity. 

Day 30: I found a patch of grass that was covered in Field Bindweed. It's generally regarded as a pest by humans as it can spread very quickly but it has really beautiful flowers. 

 

I really enjoyed my wild month though I must admit as the days went it became increasingly difficult to find the time and energy to go and be in nature. I was reminded though of the huge benefits it can give. No matter how stressful life can be, somewhere nearby is something incredible that the natural world has produced. Many of the things I included were quick spots I saw on my way to somewhere but for the time I stood admiring or interacting with it meant I wasn't focused on something more stressful. It's been proven that watching wildlife for just a few minutes can improve your mental health and the NHS is even beginning to prescribe time in nature to help people with mental health problems. 

I'm a huge advocate for encouraging people to spend time in nature. Sure, it's fantastic to go a nature reserve but don't forget that you can connect to nature much closer to home, be in local parks, small wild patches in the middle of our towns and cities or are own gardens. Human beings evolved being deeply connected to the natural world and modern life means that many people are utterly disconnected from it. Nature is out there waiting for everyone, we just have to go and find it.