This weekend we spent some time away from my local patch. It was my sisters birthday and she wanted to go camping. As the weather didn’t look good we stayed in a woodland Yurt in South Devon.
While lying in bed listening to the rain on the first night, it sounded like we were surrounded by Tawny owls, the too-wit’s and too-woo’s coming from all directions, calling and answering through the darkness. In the morning we opened the door and saw a fox trotting up the path. The woodland was full of birds but other than the fox I didn’t see any mammals. I did see small indentations in the mud where deer had been resting, but never an actual deer.
We visit Devon every year as we have family there. Normally we get chance to snorkel or kayak but this time the weather was too rough.
On Sunday night, we lay awake listening to Storm Katie rage around the wood, hoping that a tree wouldn’t fall on us. The rain was battering the canvas, small branches bouncing off the roof and the wind howled in gusts, in and out of the trees..
Most days we sat around the wood burner playing board games or exploring the woodlands. In the short moments that the sun came out we made the most of it by visiting Brixham and a few other beaches.
Little Egret
Great Northern Diver in Brixham
Turnstones in Brixham
Appleton Wildlife Diary by Alex White 