A few shots from a windswept July visit can be found here.
Some spring migration photos to follow shortly - but for now here's a video containing a few of the aquatic highlights. Just because I had to post something... Adder (Viper berus) from an area on the edge of Northumberland National Park which I rarely bother to visit any more. The reason? Too many inconsiderate people with all the uncontrolled dogs, loud music and littering that tags along with them. However, this disrespect and ignorance from the general public is just the tip of a much larger problem facing wildlife in the UK: The absolute joke that is our National Park system.
Funded by central government to: Conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage (National Parks UK) Primary objective: To protect natural biodiversity along with its underlying ecological structure and supporting environmental processes, and to promote education and recreation (IUCN, National Park Objectives) In allowing large areas of ‘National Park’ land to be used for shooting estates, over-grazing and uneducated family outings, it is clear we are not following the definitions above. We sometimes appear quite capable of pointing the finger at the removal of natural ecosystems in other parts of the world, but sadly don’t seem to notice that our hectares of muirburn, commercial plantation and ‘rolling’ agricultural land is comparable to palm-oil plantations and cattle ranches elsewhere. There’s too much to be said about the persecution and suppression of our wildlife on shooting estates and agricultural land for me to write here, but for those of you that do share an interest in the butchery of our own island, then Ben Macdonald's 'Rebirding' (2019) provides some essential facts - in addition to some excellent examples on how Britain could get out of this ecological (and economical) mess. A retrospective 're-write' of my travel diary from 2008 can be found here!
In August we spent two weeks roadtrippin' from Alberta over to Vancouver Island. The main target was to try to see orcas, but the route would also throw in some opportunities for other wildlife including bears, marmots, birds and even a few snakes. How did we get on? Click here.
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All images © Neil Rowntree
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