Natures Top 40: How many have you seen?

[pressld2]

Only five to go Pauline - you should be able to knock one or two of them off in 2011. Are there any of the five that particularly take your fancy?

Dave P.

[PMG]

Originally Posted by pressld2

Only five to go Pauline - you should be able to knock one or two of them off in 2011. Are there any of the five that particularly take your fancy?

Dave P.

The adders have taken my attention this last two years in April - but I;ve found it hard here in the north to even see adders - its taken real persistance and hard, slow, very quiet work to just see one. I've literally walked right up to them in Dorset - they are a much more laid back species in the south!

I would love to see whales - any whale would do - but no plans to make this one happen!

Of the other three I'm not fussed! I think I will still operate to my own wish list and of course the things I;ve already seen on this top 40 get repeated quite happily year in year out - there are certain wildlife watching experiences I couldn't contemplate living for 12 months without seeing ........ and that sounds like the start of a new thread ..... What Wildlife Experience Can You Not Live Without .............

[Brocakat]

Originally Posted by susie

i would have thought you could add a few more to that list, have you never seen spiders or birds of prey or a flower meadow?

......#21 ?

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by Brocakat

......#21 ?

Some people just walk straight through them without seeing them...

[pressld2]

Just resuscitating this thread to say I can definitely tick off diving gannets now. See A Horizontal Tour of Scotland for full details...

And that one is still my number 1 as well as the book's!

Dave P.

[Dorts]

Before they became scarce, a friend and I photographed Natterjacks Toads calling at night with their vocal-sacs distended. This was down on the Longmoor Ranges in Hampshire in the late 60's.
It was quite an ordeal. Red light on the torch, tape-recorder to decoy them, focusing was very difficult, it was necessary to hold a Swan Vesta match-box as near to the toad as possible with the red light shining on it, as you could't see the toad through the veiwfinder on the old Roliflex. They were in shallow water and every movement stopped them from calling.
But we got some superb photo's after many nights and many hours in the dark!
Dorts.

[pressld2]

After yesterday at Stainforth I can claim leaping salmon too! See leaping Salmon at Stainforth Force. Well worth the round trip and a night in the car!

Dave P.

[aeshna5]

I've been fortunate to see most of that list but I've never seen a wild Salmon yet alone one migrating.

For a couple of others some qualification- I've seen quite a few feral Goats including some a few months ago in the Findhorn Valley but not seen them rutting.

I've only seen one White-tailed Eagle in the UK which was flying over the valley mentioned above but have seen quite a few hunting in Europe. One of the most spectacular was the beginning of last year in the French lakes where this juvenile put up c100 Great Egrets, many Greylags + many other wildfowl- pandemonium as the flying barn door came round the corner of the reservoir!