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Extra Ears For Listening to the Autumn
by Angel Alma Summer sounds in nature fade once birds have migrated or plan to migrate. Nests are empty; chicks have grown and hang out in their own flocks without parents. Still, if you listen carefully (not wearing headphones whilst walking) you can hear a lot. Tiny tweets and chirps, as tits who are staying,…
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Badger Article 6
Badgers in September The badgers in the UK have had a hard summer this year. The drought hit hard, causing many cubs and older badgers to perish because they could not forage for food or water. Thankfully, we are now getting some rain, which will provide some relief to the suffering wildlife and allow them…
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Sixty Thousand Lakes and More
By Angel Alma This summer the important word is WATER. Nature is thirsty, wildfires rage, and the demand for water grows. Finland has been lucky so far, although we have a history of wildfires too. The South East experiences sporadic, gentle rain, yielding lush greenery in lawns and gardens. We had some heavy showers, with…
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Wildlife Need Water
In the UK, we are in another heatwave pattern, particularly in central and southern areas. We broke temperature records in May and June, and these hot spells have lasted for several days and not just the odd extreme day. Nature and wildlife will struggle. Badger cubs have a high mortality rate anyway, but in dry…
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Suddenly They Were Here
By Angel Alma You wait and wait, and one morning you’ll notice it. Chirps and shouts, cries, songs, all the typical tunes of migratory birds. They are eager to announce their arrival and declare: “This is my territory.” Some species arrive overnight, like fieldfares. Mum usually walks a certain route to listen until she can…
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Badger Article 5
Badgers cubs Cubs having snuggled down in the sett since February, it is time from May to venture above ground Badger cubs in the UK are typically born in February. They spend their first eight to ten weeks underground in a safe sett, only emerging above ground for the first time in late spring, usually…
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Inventing Your Own Seasons
by Angel Alma Finnish humans like to repeat the mantra about how lovely it is to have four proper seasons. You know the rhyme: Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall… But there are more, namely “mid-seasons”. Summer-Fall, Spring-Winter, and so on. Also, crossings between seasons aren’t as clear as they used to be. Mum loves the…
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Weather Article 2
Northern Blocking in the UK Northern blocking is one of the most influential drivers of UK weather. High pressure building interrupts the jet stream’s usual westward flow in the high latitudes of Greenland, Iceland, or Scandinavia. This “block” forces weather systems to divert around it, often locking the UK into a particular pattern for days…
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Badger Article 4
Badgers in Spring….. Badgers are very active in spring after keeping warm and conserving energy throughout winter. February marks prime cub birth season within the UK. A litter normally has 1-5 cubs, and they will remain tucked up in the sett, feeding from their mum. They will stay underground for a few months. February and…
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Dancing in the Dark
Guest Post–Angel Alma Friday the 16th of January was a special day in Lapland. For the first time in roughly six weeks, dawn broke. It peeked above the horizon at 12:02 p.m. and disappeared at 12:43 p.m. This happened in Utsjoki, in the northernmost part of Finland. Winter nights are long in other parts of our…
