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Life in the UK

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A Very Lucky Night to See 3 Different Species of Wildlife: Badger, Fox and Hedgehog (Part 2) Getting ready for the badger watching night Our badger watching evening came, 15th September, as we set after finding the perfect evidence of badger activities. We started getting ready from 4-5 pm. Things we prepared were a mini step ladder, a flat sheet, 2 sets of binoculars, a red light head torch, the fatty parts of sliced ham and meatballs. As animals have a much better sense of smell, we also had a quick shower. We didn’t use a shower gel or shampoo but just water, as they could leave another scent! Josh cooked pasta for a quick supper at 6-ish, then we set off for an evening adventure. We were a bit concerned about timing, as a reference said arriving an hour before sunset but we left later than we planned… But…

A Very Lucky Night to See 3 Different Species of Wildlife: Badger, Fox and Hedgehog (Part 1) Early last month, Josh and I had a stroll in the woods near where we live. Not only do foxes and deer live here, but also badgers, so he suggested we pick a day and come back at dusk for badger watching. Being excited about the idea, I said yes! and we focused on finding evidence of badgers as we walked. The traces of badgers we were looking for included badger setts and pits, which would play an important role to determine where we should return to have the maximum chance to spot a badger. One of the clues for working out where badgers live is arc-shaped setts with a clear path leading to the entrance, like above. On this occasion, this group of badgers cleverly used a tree trunk that had fallen…

Living in the UK has made me really interested in nature and wildlife! Especially, spending time in the Welsh countryside from spring to early summer this year gave me plenty of encounters with various wildlife, which helped me memorise some species of birds such as blue tit, yellow wagtail, robin and more. Most of those encounters with birds happened in front of the house or in the garden, except, this one incident. The ‘accidental meeting’ a couple of months ago occurred inside the house… A story about a European robin pooing on the toilet (cover) in the house. It was around 8 a.m. (BST) on the 2nd of June. Having let Josh’s family dog out for his morning business somewhere at the edge of the garden, we kept the french door open for some fresh air. A bold European robin gatecrashed our breakfast when we all were in the kitchen…

2 weekends ago, I went wild blackberry picking for the first time ever. I heard that normally the peak season for blackberries in the UK is between mid-July and September; but I wasn’t sure how good they would be this year, due to the lack of rain and hot weather. We ventured out with 3 containers, 15~20 minutes away from home, where Josh’s grandmother had seen a lot of wild blackberries. Indeed, we saw many in various conditions on a hill slope where few people would choose to walk. Alongside the wild blackberries was plenty of evidence of rabbits and foxes. They must’ve been very happy seeing all these foods and tucking in! I asked Josh which ones I should take, to which he advised me to pick ones that were not mushy, but instead fairly firm and a rich black. He also added that I should avoid ones that…