A long over-due update from me on wildlife wanderings with Luc!
Recent weeks and months have seen a step-change in Luc's interest in nature. He has really started to notice things, be inspired, captivated - all promising signs. I have tried not to push it as I want to facilitate rather than force it on him!
I bought him some 6x binoculars a few weeks back which he has shown some interest in looking though, though it is obviously a hard thing to master.
Much more successful, understandably, have been opportunities for him to see things without optical aids. Herons are good - nice and obvious, interesting behaviour...
Spurred on by some recent successes I took Luc to RSPB's Vane Farm reserve - not with a great expectation that he would be interested in individual birds (or birds at all) more for the experience. He'd never been into a hide before and peered out of the window, for example.
Overall, the day was a great success. Highlights included pond-dipping (Daddy caught a nice big stickleback which went down well)
We were having fun balancing along the top of a fence (Luc balancing, Daddy not!) when Luc spotted (before I had) a lovely Common Darter dragonfly on the fence ahead of him. It was warm and active but Luc managed to lie down on his tummy and get a very close view:
We also got nice views of a frog, though what it was doing on a sunny day in the middle of a gravel path I'm not sure!
Yesterday (back home) a squirrel spent ages perched on top of a neighbouring block of flats (scared there by a cat?) and, after being shown it by me, Luc spent the next couple of hours periodically checking and announcing "squirrel still there daddy!". Then this morning, on the way our to the car, he saw a squirrel on a wall and told me about it. It dived down into a garden and he wanted to go and find it to see it again. Encouraging signs!!!
Over and out for now...
