Robs lockdown goal was to learn one new species a day. He’s a dab hand at photography, so spent lots of time out walking with his binoculars and camera around his local area. He learnt to ID lots of plants that he didn’t know before, including Forget-me-nots, Sea Campion, Red Campion and lots of different Clover species. He also taught himself lots about butterflies and moths such as Wall, Ringlet and Burnet Moths, and saw his first ever Common Blue butterfly. He was lucky enough to come across a small seabird colony close to home, with Guillemots, Kittiwake and Fulmar all nesting on the cliffs, and spotted lots of Kestrels, plus a Peregrine! Back home, he built a bee hotel to hang in the garden.
Where better to spend lockdown?
Rob enjoyed having the time to visit his local seabird colony...
... and watch the Fulmars wheeling above the cliffs.
He's also been teaching himself about butterflies and moths.
As for me, I needed a seabird fix since I wasn’t going to be seeing anywhere near as many seabirds this summer as I would like. I’ve been helping an old colleague from my time out on Gough Island in the South Atlantic on a scientific project about Atlantic Yellow-Nosed Albatrosses, one of my favourites!
An Atlantic Yellow-Nosed Albatross with it's newly hatched chick.
I’ve also been making the most of my postage-stamp sized garden. I decided to try my hand at growing vegetables in pots, since I don’t have enough space for a proper veg patch. I’ve managed to grow potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, leeks and spring onion and am very pleased with my efforts, although my pea plants were destroyed by a neighbour’s cat.
Making the most of my tiny garden!
I've enjoyed seeing more wildlife in my garden too.
That's it for our Lockdown Diaries blog series. We've hoped you've enjoyed it, and we'd love to hear how connecting with nature helped you during these strange times we're living through.
Em
Coast Care Project Assistant