WonderfulWildlifeUK

It is sad. If you google ‘wolverine’, you get a fictional Marvel character, rather than the stunning mustelid that the cartoon character was named after. Many will have no idea what a wolverine is. Very few will ever see one in their lifetime. I am one of lucky few to have seen a wolverine in the wild. In fact, I saw wolverine on 3 of the 5 nights I spent in the hides. The wolverine is a mulstelid; in the same family as our weasel, stoat and otter.  It is a stocky and muscular carnivore, more closely resembling a small bear than other mustelids. Wolverines are solitary animals and have a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size. This is because they have been known to take prey much larger than themselves, such as reindeer. On the whole, they are scavengers. Small mammals, hares, foxes, birds and frogs are also a part of its diet, as are berries. My views of wolverine were quite distant and they were always partly hidden by foliage. Their distinctive g...

Overcast with a few light showers, 16°, light S. A Merlin (f) over the hill today and flew south towards the Downs, 2 Cormorant , 250+ House Martin , 40+ Swallow , 80’ish Skylark , 60’ish Meadow Pipit and 6 Pied Wagtail also over the hill. A Mistle Thrush , Sparrowhawk and 2 Kestrel present on the hill. Quite a few Chiffchaff around today mainly moving with Tit flocks and a single Blackcap noted. Another 40 House Martin over Church road late afternoon. Mammals: Brown Hare .  Chiffchaff ⇕ from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2019/09/house-martins-still-moving-through.html

Sun, wind and rain again, 17°, moderate SW. Alan ventured out along the Bunk line again today and found 3 Stonechat present. 3 House Martin still visiting a nest site in Church road, not sure if young still present but will keep an eye on it. from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2019/09/normal-0-false-false-false-en-gb-x-none.html

As explained in my previous post, the site I visited last week is in North East Finland, very close to the Russian border. It is one of the wildest, most untouched environments in Europe, and remains one of the last remaining European strongholds of Brown Bear, Wolverine and Wolves. This area was registered as an official conservation site with the Finnish government in 2016. All forms of hunting are strictly prohibited, safeguarding this area for predators to use in the future. It is a pristine and very precious landscape and you can only really appreciate the huge expanse of this wooded wilderness when you look on Google maps. It has been my first trip to Finland and I was bowled over by the beauty of this area. Visiting in Autumn, as the temperatures dropped and the colours changed, meant I was really treated to some spectacular views. The reserve is interspersed by lakes and, with the cold nights, the sun rising produced some spectacular photographic opportunities. I had only t...