Badgers sett for a quiet Christmas.

When I returned from school yesterday I found out that the badger cull in Gloucestershire had been stopped. At first this was a relief until I realized that it would continue next year, there are probably still badgers being killed illegally and the badgers which have been killed so far have been killed for no reason! As a young wildlife enthusiast I find this is quite a worry for the future of badgers in the UK, will there be any left in years to come or would they all of been killed for not much point? This isn't just the case with the cull of badgers it also applies to a lot of species which are being legally or illegally killed for no reason.

A few months back when I wanted to find some information out about the cull I found out some facts which made me even more shocked into why they are killing them. One is that badgers aren't the only animal which carry TB (Bovine Tuberculosis) also the badgers they kill don't always carry the disease. Another thing which I found out is that the culling of badgers could make the bovine TB situation worse and not better.

About the stop.  

At midday today the badger cull in Gloucester was called off because not enough badgers are expected to be killed to meet targets.After the recent eight week extension the cull wasn't meant to end until the 18th of December but it has been stopped just over two weeks early. The cull was supposed to last six weeks and was aimed at reducing the local badger population by 70 per cent. However during that period only 30 per cent were killed which led to an eight week extension and lowering the culling target to 58 per cent. Figures have not been released to show how many badgers were killed but it will be announced on Monday.

Here are some screen shots from the badgers which I have filmed on my trail camera:

One year on!

Today (18th November) is exactly one year since I first started my wildlife blog. So far it's been very enjoyable and I've managed to show people what I like doing best, share all my sightings, give people advice and much more!
Over the last year I've had lots of different people viewing my blog and leaving comments like the wildlife TV presenters Chris Packham and Mike Dilger. As well as being contacted by the BBC WM radio presenter, Adrian Goldberg and BBC Autumnwatch because of the things that I posted about. On the radio I was talking about how to look after garden wildlife in hot conditions which had featured on my blog and on BBC Autumnwatch some of my badger footage was shown on the program which was found on my blog too! My blog has also appeared in my local newspaper, websites and magazines.
So far I've done blog posts about all manner of things from footage I've captured on my trail camera to a visit to Kate MacRae's patch.
I hope the next year is just as good and better!

Another day walking in Derbyshire.

As the weather for Saturday looked promising we decided to make the most of it and go for a day walking in the Peak District. Our walk started off in Belper and ended there too. At this time of year there are all sorts of interesting fungi species about and I managed to photograph some whilst out walking. Here are some that I took along with some scenic photos.

 Belper Mill.

 A rose hip.

 An Autumnal lane.

 Not what you usually expect to find under some fungi!

 The view over Belper.

Where do all the harlequin ladybirds go for the winter?

This morning I noticed a massive clump of harlequin ladybirds, all together there were about 100 and they were all different interesting colours and patterns.
In the late Autumn and early winter it's very likely you'll see large amounts of ladybirds huddled together, sometimes thousands. The ladybugs hibernate throughout the winter and different species hibernate in different places. Some under tree bark, in houses, under windows and under leafs etc. They will now be sleeping through until March to April which is when the aphids are around for them to eat and survive on. In the winter there aren't any around and this is why they go into hibernation, where they can survive.
Here are some of the photos I took.

My local newspaper appearance.

After all of the BBC Autumnwatch excitement a few weeks back, I had an e-mail from a local newspaper reporter (for the Lichfield Mercury) asking me questions so that a story could be put together about myself and Kate MacRae (WildlifeKate), who also had an appearance on Autumnwatch.
I had my photo on the front page and on page 3 where some of my badger footage screenshots were featured along with some of Kate's wildlife photos. We also featured on the Mercury website.
You can read more about it on the Mercury website - http://www.lichfieldmercury.co.uk/Wildlife-films-Georgia-Kate-TV-spotlight/story-20044389-detail/story.html

 

 Our section in the paper.

Myself on the front page.

A screenshot of the Lichfield Mercury website with us as the main story.

A visit to Kate MacRae's patch.

After last weeks Autumnwatch excitement, I was invited by Kate MacRae (WildlifeKate) to her patch to get some photos of ourselves to go into our local newspaper. Not only did we get some photos but she also showed me around her patch where I saw some of the cameras and bird feeders she has out, which was brilliant! It was all very interesting and you can check out some of her stuff out on her website which is http://wildlifekate.co.uk/
Here are some of the photographs we took.

 Myself and Kate.

 The view out of her hub.

 

 The famous Prickly Diner!

Kate and myself in her hub.

My Autumnwatch Excitement!

A few weeks ago I had an e-mail from a BBC Autumnwatch researcher asking if they could use some of my badger footage on one of their Unsprung programs. Although my footage wasn't shown the night it was scheduled, because they ran out of time, it was shown on Wednesday night. A few hours before the show on Wednesday I had another e-mail from an Autumnwatch producer saying they would be showing my footage on that nights show and one of the presenters, Nick Baker, thought it was brilliant!
Also, earlier that day on Autumnwatch Extra one of my fungi photos was discussed.

The photograph they discussed, Witches Butter.