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Get set for twitching

January 24, 2012 By

Twitching used to be one of Britain’s biggest pastimes until tweeting came along! In case you’re not familiar with the phrase, twitching is British terminology for “the pursuit of a previously-located rare bird.”

 

Bird watching in the UK has witnessed a comeback in recent years, thanks to the popularity of the BBC’s Autumn and Spring Watch which began in 2005. Bill Oddie, of The Goodies fame, won over the nation because of his comical banter with fellow presenter Kate Humble, during the first four years of the show, and really encouraged the British population to get involved first hand in nature watching. Oddie quit the programme in 2009, but the show is still going strong.

 

Many people have started feeding birds in their gardens and others have gone out exploring their local area to see what species they can spot.

 

If you’re going out bird watching during the winter, you need to wrap up well. It isn’t the kind of activity you can run around to keep warm – any sudden movements and you’ll scare off the birds. So, it’s important to layer up and make sure you can preserve your core body warmth.

 

As well as putting on base layers and middle insulating layers, you’ll need a waterproof shell to protect you from the elements. The North Face stocks a huge range of jackets and these come in the brightest to the most subdued colours. Twitchers generally pick the darker hues, so they don’t stand out against the background and give the birds cause to take flight.

 

You’ll also need a hat, a good pair of thermal gloves and thermal socks to protect your extremities.

 

As well exploring local nature trails, many people go bird watching at one of the Wildlife and Wetland Trust nature reserves that can be found across Britain – there are currently nine in the UK and Ireland.

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Check out the wildlife in the UK

September 20, 2011 By

The wildlife in the UK may not be comparable to that in Africa or Asia, but there are still some interesting creatures living in the countryside in Blighty.

If you’re heading out and about to find them this autumn, you’ll probably be best off taking some waterproof jackets with you, as the weather tends to be a bit invariable at this time of year.

Whether you’re on the hunt for elusive badgers in the countryside or seals on the British coastline, there are a great variety of creatures to try and find.

If you’re heading to boggy land to hunt for marine life in the rain some time this autumn, you definitely need to have some waterproof trousers with you, as it’s likely to get a bit messy otherwise. There are plenty of frogs around the countryside in the UK, as well as the city in some cases, so that’s just one of the things you’re likely to find on your exploration.

One of the things the UK is really famed for is its wide range of birdlife, on top of all the mammals and amphibians in the country.

If you head to Scotland, there are some really interesting birds around, from the Sea Eagle to the Osprey and Puffin. There are also some spectacular birds of prey resident in England with the Kestrel, Harrier and Peregine Falcon among them.

Autumn is a great time to explore the country for wildlife, before many of them go into hibernation during the cold winter months of the year. Whether you head to the countryside or the coastline, you’re bound to find a whole range of animals just waiting to be spotted when you’re out and about.

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And the most dangerous animal in Africa is….?

July 28, 2011 By

Incredibly, among massive animals, the one which kills the the general public in Africa is the hippo.

There are many hundreds of hippo fatal injuries reported a year, it is thought that many more go unreported. The mosquito is said to be the most hazardous animal of any size in Africa, as it spreads of malaria and other sicknesses. Malaria alone kills more than 1,000,000 Africans yearly.

More about hippos: Hippos are very territorial. They’re the second-biggest land animal in Africa, behind only the African elephant, and they’ve been known to walk anything that comes into their territory, including water buffaloes (the second most threatening giant animal in Africa), crocodiles and humans. The average hippo can run as quick as twenty mph (32 kph). That is pretty electrifying for an animal that weighs about eight thousand pounds (about 3,600 kg) and can have dog teeth that are up to twenty inches (fifty cm) in length. The hippo’s nearest relative in the animal dominion is the whale.

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