Cheshire Badger cull :-(

Where science and facts have been pushed aside the Badger cull has once again started and has now come to Cheshire. I know a few people involved with legally disrupting the cull shooters and making sure they follow the rules where they can.

Those people out there fighting the injustice have my respect I would love to be involved but as I can't drive and the cull area in Cheshire is in the middle of a no bus area. Instead, I have decided to keep an eye on all my local setts and try to check 10 every other day including poo pits for traces of peanuts and sett disturbances as in early 2017 sett diggers were disrupted on my local patch. At nearby Blakemere I spotted these dodger diggers which I reported to Cheshire hunt monitors.

We only the second week of 6 weeks of shooters being allowed to trap and shoot Badgers and hopefully, the quota they won't be met. We will only know that once the 6 weeks are over if the hard work of the sabs (Badger defenders) who are sacrificing their time and own money pays off.

You can donate to them here:

If you can donate anything to there fuel fund they would really appreciate it!
https://gogetfunding.com/badger-cull-fuel-fund-2/

Regards

Mike

"Stay safe Badger warriors, for you are the last stand against the death in the darkness"

End of Summer a few days camping on the coast

I am not doing very well with blogging as I've found myself enjoying the last of the summer sun and with the light disappearing earlier before 8pm now.  My routines changing from a long evening walk to a last light walk then before I relax for the evening. My rule is my PC goes off at 9pm so I don't get stuck into work tasks a few hours before bed and from 8pm onwards it will now be blogging hour to get my thoughts and encounters on here. As I have a week off this week I have a few secret projects in motion that are nature based but I probably wont be blogging about them anytime soon to keep the wildlife/habitats safe. You'll probably be able to read about them in 20 years when I release my own book :-p called "Secrets of a Cheshire wildlife watcher".

But back to my week off and as I had my last morning at work on Friday last week me and my brother packed our bags grabbed the tent with a few supply's but without DSLRS!!!. But why leave your cameras at home I hear you ask well because it was a camping chill out weekend where we needed to keep our bags light yet have a few thick covers, slumit pop up tent, fresh clothes and food/hygiene products to stay fresh. As we dont drive we hopped on the buses to llandudno and Conwy for long walks and breakfast by the Quay which was a little burnt.

Not much wildlife but the sea was calm and migrant birds were increasing probably as the insects were still in good numbers.

Once we left North Wales and returned home the Dolphins suddenly arrived and put on a show next to the Little orme and if your on facebook you can see the photographs one observer took.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/91560190640/permalink/10159255458790641/

Its taking me a few days to write this blog post so I thought I would better publish it before its out of date and as I have so much to blog about especially from earlier in the year I'm sure I'll catch up.

Thank you

Mike

A suprise encounter :-) :-)

 I know I said I would not be posting but last week on the first day of my week off I got the opportunity to get something I've been trying to photograph for a while. If you have followed my blog over the past few years you will know how long I have been trying and all though the shots are not the best they mean the world to me. Last Monday I headed out early with wellies, umbrella and camera in my back pack as I left home the rain poured down and as it was very warm it was quite pleasant. I saw the Otter in an open part of the river stretched out swimming down river diving and surfacing but getting further away and not having my camera out at that point I had to think fast to get anything on my camera. I decided to run further down river to an Open spot where I new the water was shallow and the Otter would have to emerge from the water to enter deeper water. And it did I watched as it left the water skulking low using the balsam as cover it entered a deeper pool and dived for a minute then came to the surface where I got my second shot before it disappeared into the more overgrown parts of the river.

 First photograph I took from under some trees and not wanting to scare I turned the flash off

 Color close up to show this beautiful creature up close a few meters away

After this encounter I returned home elated and with the rain still pouring down I decided I had earned a few more hours in bed after finally getting this close encounter and with a few blurry shots to record the moment was a perfect start to my last week off of the summer season.

The beauty of my local patch on a sunnier morning

Later that week I went to check out some countryside an hour away from home at a town called Macclesfield which is close to some hilly and large areas of forest but we could not stay long due to having to get back to pack for a 2 day camping trip to Wales.

Kind regards

Mike

Archive blog I forgot to post Waxwings still around in Spring!!!!

With Spring in full swing and I have begun to visit my Badgers setts to get ready to photograph the Cubs first emerging from the setts. This year they must have been born late as last year we had 2 bouncing around one of the sett holes.

On the way to the Badgers the other evening I had heard a strange but similar call and as I went to look where it was coming from we spotted 30 plus Waxwings. They were in a high tree on the edge of Middlewich town but they flew off further away from town. Later that week my brother found the flock perched up and relaxed in a tree feeding on the new spring buds.

I got a few photographs but the best I got was posted below and as I had 2% power left on my DSLR I was pleased with what I managed to get especially as its so late in the year to see them.

Seeing so many Waxwings still here makes me wonder that in a few years will Waxwings be breeding here and after seeing them quite happy and healthy makes me think that it could be sooner than we think with summer being just around the corner.

Stay wild and enjoy the Spring while it's here

Mike

No blog posts since spring!!!

Sorry for not posting since Spring but I have had lots of things to deal with personally so I've decided not to post anything about my encounters till the end of summer. I have decided this as in the later months of the year the weather changes and the dark nights, return and in these summer months, I just love being out and rarely turn on my PC. I also find it therapeutic turning on my lamp, shutting the curtains and remembering all my wonderful memories of nature from the summer months. I'll try to blog again soon but if not I'll be back in September.

Regards

Mike

One wonderful Easter Sunday from Dawn to dusk

While most people were tucked up in there beds early on Easter Sunday morning I was out enjoying the peace and the possibility of some wild encounters on my local patch. A few weeks ago I walked into a young Otter down on the local river catching it's breakfast before it saw me and disappeared off upriver leaving only prints on the muddy banks.

My wild encounters started when 2 Badgers ran into me and continued to chase each other into some bushes when I watched them have a roll around in the undergrowth with plenty of calling before returning to there sett at first light.

I continued on across some scrub land where I heard a Grasshopper Warbler and saw some Blackcaps gathering nesting material for there newly built creation in a bramble patch. The smell of the Hawthorn blossom in the fresh morning air was beautiful and combined with a sighting and the smell of a Fox made quite the spring aroma
Hawthorn/Blackthorn

Swans patrolling the canal

Sheep having lambs is wonderful to see at this time of the year

Grebes mating on the canal

A Coot searches for nest material under the surface

I thought I had stumbled into the Otter again but it turned out to be a Mink as the sun rose

A stunning sunrise along the canal

Canada Geese back in the warm sunlight

Sunrise over the picnic benches

When the sunrises under this bridge the light is so warm and refreshing

Lots more to come in the next few weeks as I'm off to Wales for a week!!!!

Stay wild and thanks for reading

Mike

Blogging takes a back seat but were back!!!

Had a few weeks off blogging but I am going to try again but with keeping an eye on local wildlife mainly toads and keeping watch on Badgers setts as baiting has been seen in the area. With better weather coming in my business has been busier than usual so it's been hard to keep up with posting new content. In early February we headed off to Wales for an afternoon by the sea and a nights camping but as I got rid of my larger slumit pop up tent it was quite cramped in a smaller beach tent.

For a couple of week's we ended up relocating Male and female Toads off the canal Towpath from danger and into the water where there respected others await.

 Over the past few day's I've seen and heard so much from Green Woodpeckers to Otters and even Frog spawn up a tree but I'll post that in my next blogs.

 Appreciate spring as its only just the beginning of the wildest and best 2 seasons
of the year in my opinion.

Thank you for your continued support

Mike

My passion and my business is Wildlife!!!

Go Wildlife watching is my online shop that's been in business since 2009 supplying lots of useful wildlife watching products from Wildlife camera traps to Wildlife watching hides. We stock over 500 wildlife watching, wildlife photography, and wildlife filming products. The wildlife watching gear shop is run by me Mike Mottram and I'm involved in many areas of the Natural history field from wildlife observation, wildlife filming, wildlife photography and more recently wildlife conservation and rescue. My passion for wildlife and the Natural world began over 20 years ago. 
I have learned and seen so much since setting up Go wildlife watching while testing the wildlife watching products we sell in our shop. I started Go wildlife watching from nothing and over the years it has enabled me to find the best and most unique wildlife watching kit that will hopefully get you some amazing views and encounters with wildlife in many different habitats in the UK or around the world.

We sell lots of wildlife filming, wildlife photography, and wildlife watching products only available below:

Thank you

Wildlife watcher Mike