And so marks the end of my 356 days of wildness. Almost a full year – and it would’ve been, too, if I hadn’t thought up the idea a few days late!
This post covers the last week and a half of my wild challenge, starting before Christmas and ending on New Years’ Eve. The highlights are varied, as always, and some artwork has even snuck in again – a hobby I’m determined to keep up in 2022.
I’m going to post a summary of my almost-year-of-wildness soon, but I can’t help but take the opportunity to reflect on some of the things I’ve seen and done. I’ve walked miles and miles, I’ve learnt new facts, figures and bird songs, I’ve read some beautiful new books, I’ve seen peregrines and ospreys grow, I’ve spotted over 100 birds, I’ve discovered the wonder of the moth world and I was lucky enough to have an amazing adventure on the Kennet & Avon Canal. I’ve also learnt much more about my local wild spaces in Shipston in the West Midlands. I won’t ever take these for granted.
It hasn’t always been easy. There have been plenty of laughs and a lot of joy, but there’s also been pain, sadness and more challenging times. The things I’ve learnt about the natural world through podcasts, books, documentaries and magazines have brought both hope and sorrow. Every time I see a bird, tree, butterfly or flower, I thank my good fortune that these natural wonders exist.
If you’ve been with me on any part of my journey, thank you very much for taking the time to read my ramblings and, if you’ve been here from the very start, thank you for sticking with me. Your thoughts, comments and best wishes have meant so much.
I hope you enjoy reading this final round-up of my acts of wildness for 2021 and have a very happy new year! 😊
Monday 20th December 2021
Well, I just really had to share my Christmas wreath today. The little cones and leaves remind me of collecting bits and pieces from outdoors as a kid. I remember I had quite a few shells and fossils and I think I pressed some flowers at some point too. Maybe that’s something to try again?
I also reckon I should try making my own wreath next year. Maybe with some guidance from this.
Tuesday 21st December 2021
I found myself in Stratford-upon-Avon for part of the morning after having my booster jab. I was meeting a colleague for coffee before she finished for Christmas. As I waited for her near the river, I spotted this giant swan-Christmas-light-decoration-thing. I’d seen this in Stratford a few weeks ago but hadn’t managed to get a pic.
Not to bring the mood down for too long (it is Christmas after all!) but I do worry about the swans in Stratford and really hope that people are paying attention to signs and aren’t feeding them at the moment. There’s a pretty bad bird flu outbreak across the country and the swans of Stratford have been hit hard by it.
Wednesday 22nd December 2021
It seems I’m travelling a lot this week! It’s always the way isn’t it – you need to try and squeeze everyone in at Christmas time!
Today’s adventure was a trip into West Oxfordshire to see the young person I support through volunteering. I haven’t seen her for a little while so I thoroughly enjoyed a walk and milkshake with her. On the way back through town, I spotted these very vibrant pink flowers – colours I definitely wasn’t expecting to see. Apparently it’s a Persian cyclamen, so called because it comes from the Greek word ‘kyklos’ meaning ‘circular’ (this refers to the spiralling of the petals).
Thursday 23rd December 2021
I caught up on Samantha Clift’s most recent pencil crayon workshop this morning. This time, she focused on a robin and I’ve really found it useful to learn more about how to build layers of colour on feathers and wings.
Though not a bird, it inspired me to get my snail drawing out which I started a couple of months ago. Pencils are very slow so I’m hoping to dip in and out of this drawing over the Christmas break.
Friday 24th December 2021
Votes are open for Wildlife Photographer of the Year (People’s Choice). There are some absolutely amazing photos in the gallery so I’d strongly encourage you to have a little look and vote for your favourite. For me, it was between ‘Hitching a ride’ by Wim van den Heever and ‘Lynx cub licking’ by Antonio Liebana Navarro. How these photographers capture such images is absolutely beyond me – the patience and skill is incredible.
Saturday 25th December 2021
It’s Christmas! If you celebrate it, I hope you had a wonderful day! It’s also the first day of ’12 Days Wild’ which is sort of where this journey began – a bit weird that I’ve come full circle.
In amongst the food and festive tipples, I did still record a ‘random act of wildness’. My partner bought me the December issue of British Birds magazine and, on an initial flick through, I was drawn to a table outlining Britain’s ‘Red’, ‘Amber’ and ‘Green’ bird lists. I’ve written previously about some of the ‘winners’ when it comes to past reviews, but I was still intrigued. Previous reviews from 1996, 2002, 2009 and 2015 were also included in the table so it was interesting (and also sad) to see some of the changes.
The trajectory of the poor house martin shows how it’s faring quite badly – down from Green in 1996, to Amber in 2002 to 2015 and now to Red in 2020. House martins are annual visitors to us and I very much hope they’ll nest here for years to come.
On a more hopeful note, one bird I saw a lot on my canal adventure is now on the Green list after 25 years on Amber – the Common kingfisher. Hopefully more species will thrive in future reviews.
Sunday 26th December 2021
I am absolutely convinced that the best way to use Boxing Day is to go out for a walk. Christmas has been and gone again (how does time go so quickly?!) and we’ve all pretty much stuffed ourselves to the brim. I imagine I wasn’t the only one to head out for a bit of fresh air today.
It was a longer walk than usual – over to Tredington, then across the Fosse Way to Armscote, Blackwell, Darlingscott and Stretton. Then back through some very muddy fields. It was a rather bleak walk but the blue tits, great tits, chaffinches and great spotted woodpeckers brightened up the trees and hedgerows. A lovely end to my penultimate week of wildness!
Monday 27th December 2021
I don’t think I’ve ever been to a Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust reserve before but the bank holiday gave my partner and I the perfect excuse to visit Slimbridge. It’s such a large site and there’s a real mix of birds here. Some of them are captive birds – like the Nenes, Eiders and some of the other geese and ducks on the ponds in the middle of the reserve.
A large part of the wetland centre is also a reserve, with wild birds roaming around on the Severn estuary. There were hundreds of birds and it was impossible to identify them all but we were lucky enough to add a few more to our list for 2021:
We just about managed to squeeze them in before New Year! The cranes were a ig bonus. And they’re a real conservation success story – they’re totally wild but were bred in Somerset as part of the Great Crane Project.
Tuesday 28th December 2021
I finally completed this autumnal painting today. It’s been on my list for weeks so I got the watercolours out and added the detail that the oak leaf so desperately needed. It was a lovely way to switch off and relax. It isn’t as bright as the one I saw in real life but I let my imagination take control a little more than usual!
Wednesday 29th December 2021
There are always a few round-ups over the Christmas period so I thought I’d have a look through National Geographic’s review of animal discoveries and findings in 2021. Two of these really stood out to me – the discovery of the world’s smallest reptile and the elephants that have somehow evolved to be tuskless.
The reptile was discovered in Madagascar and is a type of chameleon – called Brookesia nana. Incredibly, it’s only the size of a sunflower seed.
The elephants evolved as a result of Mozambique’s civil war. More than 90% of the elephants in Gorongosa National Park were killed for ivory during the conflict. Since the war ended in 1992, around one in three female elephants never developed tusks. Tusklessness apparently usually occurs in only 2-4% of female African elephants and scientists have found that the elephants concerned have mutated copies of two genes involved in tusk development.
Thursday 30th December 2021
There aren’t many hours left of my wild challenge now! Today’s act of wildness was a little different – it involved some beautiful objects from an exhibition at the British Museum in London. I always enjoy looking out for wildlife in ancient – and modern – artefacts and this exhibition on Peruvian history didn’t disappoint.
I’ve picked out a couple for you. One is a human killer whale vessel from the Nazca period (1000BC – 800AD) and the other is also from the Nazca period – a hummingbird textile embroidered with llama/alpaca wool. I’m amazed at how well preserved both of these objects are. Absolutely breathtaking!
Friday 31st December 2021
And here we are – New Years Eve! My final ‘act of wildness’ had to be the start of a new painting. The kingfisher has been on my list ever since my canal adventure in August. I’m taking my time with this watercolour and I’m trying to incorporate some of the lessons I’ve learnt about pencil art – look for the shapes, think about tone and try to keep it simple where you can. This one might take me a little while, but I think he’ll be worth it. Happy New Year everyone!
*For anyone new to my blog, let me explain a bit more about what these posts are about. Every week I share a summary of my daily ‘acts of wildness’. This wildlife challenge was inspired by ’30 Days Wild’ and ’12 Days Wild’ from The Wildlife Trusts. The ‘356’ isn’t a typo – typically, I only thought about doing this after 2021 had already started so I won’t be able to do a full year this time. Next year will be different though! Thank you and I hope you’ve enjoyed the post!
Ramblings of a (very!) amateur artist 