Simon’s Cat “Hot Spot”

Those of you who stop by here regularly will know that I have a very soft spot for the Simon’s Cat videos. Well here is the newest one (make sure you have the sound turned on). Short but very sweet… Enjoy!

Hunt for a Special Bee

Are you thinking that there’s no wildlife worth looking for now that September is here? All the good stuff has migrated or is starting to hide itself away? Rubbish. There’s a very special little bee that you might like to look for right now…

Can 29 Women Survive on an Island without a Hairdryer?

“Are you a Hardy Woman?” the Dorset Wildlife Trust press release seemed like it was speaking to me “Can you survive on Brownsea Island for a weekend without your hairdryer and mobile phone?” Easy I thought. That was June when putting my name down for a sponsored weekend under the stars seemed like a good idea. Now it was September 11th and the day of the event had arrived. Why was I doing it? Had I been inflicted by some strange mid-life madness? Would anyone sponsor me? Who knows…

Autumnwatch 2009: BBC Change the Autumnwatch Format to 1 a week!

Autumnwatch 2009 will be spread over a longer period this year but just one hour per week. The first programme will be on Friday 2nd October and the last on Friday 20th November. Is this a good idea?

THIS BLOG IS NOT RUN BY BBC AUTUMNWATCH

The Humble Honey Bee

OK, I’ve got to make a confession. I hadn’t realised quite how gorgeous the humble honey bee actually was until today.

The Beauty of Summer

Sorry! I never seem to have time to blog at the moment. I’m either photographing wildlife, filming it, adding it to Flickr (see my stuff here), Tweeting about it (my Tweets are here) or adding stuff to Facebook. Far too many online thingys to deal with… my life used to be simple!  Anyway, the other day I went for a very wildlife-y walk around my favourite part of Corfe Mullen.

Simon’s Cat ‘Fly Guy’

The new Simon’s Cat film is here! I was worried that this one wouldn’t be as funny as the rest but I needn’t have worried! I especially like the bit after it has caught the fly (and then tears round the room and hides under the newspaper). Pure genius!

Four Hungry Mouths

I was going to wait and see if the Spotted Flycatchers fledged and then write a post about them but I just couldn’t resist showing you a 30 second “taster” of what life is like in the nest at the moment.

done

My Top Six Garden Bumblebees (Plus One!)

Forgive me blogging-friend for I have sinned. It has been 40 days since my last blog. I seek forgiveness by giving you my “Top Six Bumbles” and promise to do many, many hours of penance in front of my computer in the coming months.

Buff Tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) photographed June 2009

Open Day Success… and no rain!

When I woke up on Saturday morning, the morning of the Open Day, the sun was shining – but not for long. Soon the rain was pouring down and the wind was blowing like there was no tomorrow. “Better dig out my waterproofs” I thought

Open Day at the Urban Wildlife Centre, Corfe Mullen

It’s Open Day at the Dorset Wildlife Trust, Urban Wildlife Centre in Corfe Mullen on Saturday 16 May! Come along if you live nearby. As a fully-signed up volunteer (I have the t-shirt as you can see below!) muggins here will be in the Education Room showing people small mammals and reptiles (and trying not to be bitten by them while in front of small children), there will be a BBQ and guided walks on the beautiful Upton Heath. Lets hope the sun shines and we have a great day. I will try to get some pictures!

Wildlife Webcam : Armchair Birdwatching!

What does a pair of common kestrel, an English nature reserve, a wildlife webcam and a website have in common?

To Kill a Mockingbird? More like “Killing me softly with his song”

This post shouldn’t really be on Urban Extension (it should be on FloridaWildlife) but I wanted to upload a recording and I can only do that on ere…

A nestful of osprey

You’ve seen the osprey nests in Scotland (via webcam?) now see them on my KeysWildlife Blog by clicking the following:  Florida Keys Ospreys

Long Walk, Heat Exhaustion & Bitten by Something

If you’d like to have a laugh at my expense and read about how I walked over 10 miles in 80 degree heat and got stung by an unknown “thingy” and didn’t arrive back home until 8pm then click here.

Oh, what big eyes you have!

All the better to see you with…   No, I’m not finding new species of dragonfly in the Dorset countryside, I’m actually thousands of miles away on a small island called Conch Key. I’ve got the Atlantic out of the sitting room window and the Gulf of Mexico out of the bedroom and I’m about as far south as you can get in the good ole US of A. To find out what wildlife I’ve been pestering click on this Florida Keys Wildlife blog link for the next 3 weeks. Hope to see you soon… Jane

Butterflies, Bees & Bumbles

It was a truly beautiful spring day today in Dorset. Perfect blue sky and lots of warm sunshine.

I think the insects appreciated the warmth as much as I did and in-between bouts of gardening, housework and washing I chased them round the garden with my camera.

Green Veined Butterfly, originally uploaded by Nature Watch Corfe Mullen.

Tulip

Tulip, originally uploaded by Nature Watch Corfe Mullen.

OK this isn’t a native wildflower… but it is beautiful and to me it signifies Spring, bright sunny days, pollen and insects!

A Perfect Shade of White : Wood Anemone

Wood Anemone, originally uploaded by Nature Watch Corfe Mullen.

I’m posting a few of the photos I’ve taken recently. These were taken on 31 March under the Remedy Oak (see previous post). I’ve played around with their background colour a little, but their yellow centres were so amazing I just had to make that zing…

Orange Tip Butterfly : Dipped in Paint

My first orange tip of the year seen today basking on a daffodil in my back garden. With wings open above and closed below.