Tag: uk

Save our Badgers!

Posted on by Georgia Locock

A few months back I heard about a Wildlife Festival and Badger March which would be taking place in the centre of Birmingham, as Birmingham isn’t far from where I live I was eager to attend.

We arrived in Birmingham just before 10am and made our way to Centenary Square which was about ten minutes from the train station. When we got there all the stalls were set up and the speakers for the day were getting ready. By about 11am it was in full swing and it was great to see so many people who cared so passionately about saving not only British wildlife but wildlife from around the World. All the talks were fantastic and they were very inspiring, I can’t pick a favorite one as they were all so good and about very important subjects, from animal therapy and depression to stopping the cull and wildlife crimes. There was even some singing involved!

At 1.30pm the Badger March began. I was quite close the front and as I looked back it was so brilliant to see so many people on the march. Everyone made a great effort as there was lots of fantastic costumes, signs, banners and hats too. It was also great to see some other young people joining in. The march went down into the very centre of Birmingham then back to Centenary Square, as they shouted ‘Save our Badgers, Stop the Cull!’.

Once the march was back to Centenary Square Dominic Dyer, CEO Badger Trust, gave a very impassioned talk followed by many more speakers until about 4.30 when the day of talks finished with Charlie Moores from Birders against Wildlife Crime.

On Saturday all the speakers, stalls and people that went along all expressed a very important message about how we need to protect and care for our wildlife and I was very proud to be a part of that.

Here are some of the photos from the day.

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Town and city bird roosts

Posted on by Georgia Locock

Recently I’ve been very busy with school work and a couple of other things but that hasn’t stopped me from getting out and about. One wildlife spectacular that I have been observing in my local city centre is a pied wagtail roost. In Lichfield city centre, as it gets dark, all the nearby pied wagtails group together to form a roost for the night.

Not only does this happen in my city centre or with pied wagtails but they take place everywhere and with other bird species too, like starlings. They are really worth looking out for as they are fantastic to watch. The noise they make when they’re settling down is incredible. If you watch all the individual birds closely you’ll see how they’re all trying to get their own spot, then settle down for the cold night ahead.

There are many reasons why they gather in our towns and cities like this. For example by roosting here they are less vulnerable to predators and in rural areas temperatures can be several degrees above those in the open countryside. This can be a difference between life or death to a small bird in the winter.

You’re most likely to see these roosts in the trees right outside the shops. So next time you’re in town at night or just as it’s getting dark during the cold months look up at the tress and you’ll be in for a real treat!

Here’s a video I got of the pied wagtail roost in Lichfield city centre.

More local fox footage.

Posted on by Georgia Locock

A few weeks back I set my trail camera up on an area of land which isn’t far from where I live for the first time. Unfortunately we didn’t get anything but when we set it up last week we managed to get some footage of a fox. We were thrilled by this so decided to set the camera up again this weekend.

When I collected my camera I noticed that all the food had gone which is always a good sign! Then when I got home I discovered that I had almost 30 minutes worth of fox footage and I’d filmed two different foxes. Back in the summer I filmed a fox family whilst on holiday and some cubs on my school field but this time I have filmed two adults. They seem to be in great condition and their bushy tails are beautiful! Here’s some of the footage.

City gathering.

Posted on by Georgia Locock

For the last few years, during the winter months, I have observed and watched a pied wagtail roost in my city centre. This year though I decided that I wanted to film them as they’re so fascinating and lovely to watch. So I headed down to Lichfield city centre at about 3:00. First of all I got a few shots around the shopping precinct then I got ready for the pied wagtails to start turning up.

At 3:56 the first few arrived and were calling from the shop roof tops. This continued for the next 20 minutes until there were big flocks sitting on the roof tops. This was great to watch and the sound was amazing but it got better, as suddenly all the birds fled and were nowhere to be seen then a sparrowhawk flew above my head. Unfortunately I was too slow to film it. It was great how everyone was getting on with their shopping and just above them one of natures dramas was unfolding.

Once everything had calmed down the birds returned and started collecting in one of the trees. This was at about 4.30 when it was almost dark. The noise got louder and louder and more birds started turning up. As I looked closely at what every bird was doing it was very interesting. Some were preening, some were fighting for a place and others were just arriving. As the noise got louder more people started to notice and look up.

By about 5:00 everything had calmed down. Here’s the video I got.