Well, that's Christmas out of the way and I await the next month as I have a week off to spend on Anglesey wild camping and finding a few places to camp over the summer to be close to the wilderness. In this blog, I'll be sharing a few encounters I had before Christmas day. While at work on Christmas Eve I got a message from my brother saying a Whooper juvenile had shown up locally with the other mute swans. It's very unusually for the young to leave there parents as its very rare that they breed in the UK. They mainly breed in Iceland so this young one has probably flown non stop with its parents from Iceland to Scotland then move inland to feed on flooded fields. A few weeks ago towards Northwich, there was a pair and possibly this is when they were separated. Hopefully we will get to see this young one get its yellow beak before it journeys back to Iceland.
Close up of our new visitor who is still around 29/12/2018
A visit to Tatton park revealed lots of Otter spraint around the lakes which is great to find
I only had to work Christmas Eve then no more work till New years eve so on one of the days I planned to do a coastal walk but ended having a late get up so I managed to do some winter paddleboarding as the sun popped out for a few hours. You could feel the difference in flow and the amount of energy I had to put into paddling as to get through some points on the river were tough but I made it safely to the woodland where I pack up and do a mile walk home with my gear on my back.
I spotted a pair of Muscovy Ducks resting on an old tree in the middle of the river.
The fat pair stayed still as I paddled by so probably escapees
In the area a few days before I went paddle boarding my brother had this encounter
"I spotted something strange in the water and it turned out to be a woodcock which was floating on the water and came close to the bank for me to pick it up afterward I kept it warm until it flew out of my hands"
Photgraph from my solo trip upto Slackingsloe and there was nobody around as the fog was thick
Thanks for reading and let's make 2019 even wilder than 2018 as I know I will be...
Mike
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