Emotional connection to a single species

[bobbarber]

Mine must be the Mistle Thrush, it cheers me up no end to see and hear one singing from the top of a tree in the teeth of a gale. No wonder it`s country name is Storm Cock...Bob

[Tracey.A]

There are so many things that make me think 'wow', but as I can only pick one I'll choose the Tawny owl. Two or three years ago I walked right up to one when I was doing a survey to determine what woodland birds were using the nest boxes. I'd heard it during the day and just followed the direction from which I thought it was coming from. I really didn't expect to see it, but there it was! It was so close that I could see just how truly beautiful it was. We just stared at each other for about a minute, then I tried to raise my camera to take a picture and it flew off to another tree. I decided not to follow it, as I didn't want to alarm it in case it had young. It was one of those moments that was so special and one I'll never forget

Tracey

[RangerSarah]

Any mammal - probably because they are so difficult to spot. And robins and newts

[Jim Ford]

Ptarmigan - because they live in the high and wild places that I love!

Jim

[hammock monkey]

Every time I think of one animal, I think of another that is just as special, but in a different way. Hard to narrow down but Scottish Wildcat, Fox and Nightingale would be a good start

[Joyzerelly]

Hares - there's something very mysterious and intelligent about them.

[Fritillary]

I think plants in general, I feel really connected when I put seeds to germinate, see the little leaves growing it is great.
I had a cyca that I took care since it was a seed, however I had to give it away because it was too big (after 4 years and a half). I left it in a botanical garden where I think it will be happy. I almost cried to leave it there, it was like I was going to abandon my dog or cat but I had to do it because the plant needs espace that I could not give any more. Of course I will go to visit it at least twice a year to see it grow. Thinking these plants live hundreds of years, it needs to learn to live without me

[Amoeba]

It's been fascinating to read all the responses, particularly heart-warming the plant and fungi related responses. So many people disregard them and are unable to grow attached to them, because they don't express feelings like an animal does. However, it's possible they might have their own unique form of conciousness.

For my own, it has to be the call of a raven. There's something about a raven's varied call that gives me butterflies in my stomach (the good kind) and goose-bumps all over my skin.

[Greenish]

I adore squirrels. I'm not sure why, I just known I've always taken much interest in observing them.

[PMG]

Like Stinky Bob one of the closest to the top of my list of 'attachments' (and its a long list of favourite things!) is the screaming of swifts - makes the hair go up on the back of my neck and my eyes moisten

[dickybird]

the calling of flocks of geese at this time of year whilst they fly overhead always brings a tear to my eye........and the call of the cuckoo.


dickybird

[Dutchess]

The Wolf......

On a more day to day basis, it is the Crow. I swear, they "speak" to me.

Blackbirds have a special spot in my heart, mainly due to their devotion as parents.

D.

[Garden Carpet]

I am going to be really soft here and say anything I have heard or seen when with Henry, especially the Tawny Owl that sits in the tree beside the caravan in his woods.

Jaki

[Fritillary]

Today (some hours ago) I saw an owl flying over me. I am taking care of some animals in a farm this week and when taking the dogs for a pee at night, I see things I dont see other days in my home.
Also, yesterday I saw a hare but dead by a car . It was still fresh could I take it for supper? Naah I couldnt, but the dogs were keen to.

[Andestine]

Dunnocks (for so many reasons )

.....and swifts.

Andestine

[Hedera]

I think the song of a thrush is most evocative, especially early in the morning sunshine in spring. The melodies are so varied, and it amazes me the amount of energy expended by such a slender bird singing for an hour or more. The blackbird runs a close second!

[Joyzerelly]

Originally Posted by Andestine

Dunnocks (for so many reasons )

.....and swifts.

Andestine

Ooh, I hand raised a dunnock a few years ago. A nest of them, all pink and blind and newly hatched had been up turned in the garden, all had died except this one. I hand raised it, which was very hard work (he/she would scream for food in the darkness at about 4am every morning, and came everywhere with me. I eventually released him in a neighbour's garden (one whose cat wasn't a hunter, he'd share his cat food with the wild black birds) :~)

[Andestine]

Originally Posted by Joyzerelly

Ooh, I hand raised a dunnock a few years ago. A nest of them, all pink and blind and newly hatched had been up turned in the garden, all had died except this one. I hand raised it, which was very hard work (he/she would scream for food in the darkness at about 4am every morning, and came everywhere with me. I eventually released him in a neighbour's garden (one whose cat wasn't a hunter, he'd share his cat food with the wild black birds) :~)

Hello Joyzerelly

I can empathis with the early morning feed routines. Years ago, in Sark, the island kids used to bring me any injured animals they found, or managed to wrestle from the jaws of cats.

I remember sitting half-awake, in the early hours, hand-feeding bunches of baby rabbits using a dropper. What a warm feeling it gives though. And taking them for their daily exercise in my kind employers large greenhouse was always fun - especially the retrieval process

Wish all cats were like your neighbour's pet. Did your dunnock come back and visit you?

Cheers,

Andestine

[evilgrayson]

Birds of prey, especially the medium-to-large ones.

They're majestic, and perfectly designed for their purpose.

[canny]

For me it has to be the white-tailed sea eagle. Such an awesome bird, every time I see one I always say WOW!!!

[sunnydale]

Something a lot smaller for me...

The beautiful ball of feathers that is the Long Tailed Tit We get flocks of them along the Monsal Trail in Bakewell, especially during the Winter.
Their collective twittering noise and their acrobatics in the branches.....well, it's just fab to watch them.
I got so close to them last year, I could have touched them! Incredible.

[posie]

PRIMROSES the real wild ones. even the colour on something else swirls my tummy, and makes my legs go weak. Precious Memories,How they Linger. Now I feel all emotional and unnecessary ! ! Thankyou for the very interesting and unusual thread ,AMOEBA. It's nice to look at what wildlife means to us , emotionally , not just looking at the scientific or botanical side of it . A Very original and rewarding exercise . POSIE.

[Dutchess]

Interesting that you chose a flower, Posie! What a lovely take on the subject That's what I love about WAB, so much diversity...always something to provoke a new train of thought.


D.

[tcvarlh]

Not truly an animal but the sound associated with somewhere lost to me; beaten brass, low, deep and sonorous, followed by a faint and subtle lowing, the cow bells of the Hoch Sattel Alm across the valley, clonking gently, almost out of hearing, carried on the breeze, then the warm wonderful smell of bovines mixed with alpine blossom, fungus and cembra-pines right behind the sound. When I hear that next I will know I am almost safely home, just one small rise to climb.

[posie]

That was beautiful, the way you wrote it took me right there, to a place I have never been,and it then stirred up in me memories of comparable experiences that I HAVE had. The sound of the voice of the farmer's son across the way, calling in the cows for milking, that same farmer's son who made my heart race, whenever I had the fortune to 'bump into' him......... Sorry folks, got carried away a bit there......