Gill Sinclair's Wildlife Blog

A newt under the wheelie bin

12 May 2012 08:00:00

Found this cute newt under the wheelie bin in my garden today.

Splendid toad

01 April 2012 13:00:00

Walking along Riccal Dale in North Yorkshire today, we saw roe deer and grey squirrels disappearing through the trees, but this splendid common toad was more obliging as it warmed itself in the sun.

This morning we did the conventional touristy bit and drove out of the city through the smog and crazy traffic to visit the Terracotta Army (impressive, but I haven't posted any pictures because there are zillions on the web that all look the same). Unfortunately my most enduring memory of the visit to the Army was the dogs skins for sale at several market stalls on the site - some of the stall holders claimed they were wolf skins (which wouldn't have made it any better), but the larger ones were clearly from German shepherd dogs.
We then went back to Xi'an and visited the Wild Goose Pagoda which is a focal point for Buddhists and was very atmospheric but quite crowded. This lovely elephant statue graced one of the many courtyards.
The drizzly rain cleared and we walked around part of the old city wall, then meandered back to the hotel via narrow streets full of small shops. We bought gifts and I did my best to turn a blind eye to a trussed-up sheep being wheelbarrowed of to some no doubt grisly end.
Our trip ended this evening with a dumpling banquet.

Farewell to Foping

05 November 2011 13:00:00

Today we bid farewell to Sanguanmiao Research Station and walked the 8km back out of the Reserve, taking in the atmosphere of the forest for the last time. We then continued our journey by road back to Xi'an, hot showers and softer beds! Although it's 5th November and the Chinese did invent fireworks, it wasn't their parliament that someone tried to blow up in 1605 so there'll be no celebrations in Xi'an tonight.

A last search for pandas

04 November 2011 09:00:00

Today was our last opportunity for panda tracking, and thankfully the rain stopped. The paths were still streams as the rainwater continued to drain off the steep mountain sides. We bushwacked through the wet bamboo (tip - go near the back of the group so the people in front get the worst soaking!) to a beautiful wooded valley where there are resident red and white giant flying squirrels. They are pretty much guaranteed to put in an appearance when the guides bang on the bottom of their nest tree - fortunately there are still so few visitors to Foping that the squirrels don't get disturbed too often.I didn't manage to get any photos 'in flight' (which is impressive because at full stretch these animals are more than a metre across), but we climbed a steep slope to get on a level with the squirrels' home. Here is one showing neither its red and white coat nor its 'flying' abilities.In the meantime the trackers had had no luck with pandas, so we had lunch in the valley and headed home. One last Foping picture of some random moss (actually it did have takin hair caught on the underside, but not visible here).