Splendid toad

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.

Seeing the sites

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

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

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).

Will we get out of the forest?!

By this morning the rain was absolutely torrential. Definitely no tracking today, in fact the river was now so swollen I was starting to wonder how much of the path through the forest was still intact and whether we would be able to get out! By this afternoon we were getting cabin fever stuck at the Research Station, so headed out in ones and twos for a walk in the rain, which eased off a little. The paths had turned into streams, but I did have a brief encounter with a rock squirrel on the way back to base.

The river swells

After a night of continuous rain which was getting heavier by the hour, the panda trackers didn't go out today. After waiting all morning to see if the weather improved (it didn't!) we attempted a walk in the afternoon towards the golden takin area. The rain got worse and the river was swollen - where we had walked across the exposed rocks two days earlier these had disappeared and there was now nowhere to negotiate the river safely.

More mist, rain, fungi & leaves

The mist and rain persisted today. We did attempt panda tracking, but the rain got heavier and the trackers went home early, soaked from walking through the wet bamboo.

The forest was still picturesque even in the rain, so I went for a longish walk and took some more pictures of leaves, fungi and anything that didn't move and looked vaguely photogenic!

The mists descend

There was only light rain at the Research Station this morning, but it was misty higher up the mountains and this apparently means that the trackers don't go out in case they unintentionally get too close to a panda and disturb it. The rain stopped and we waited for the mist to clear but it didn't, so eventually we went for a general walk in the forest. I enjoyed photographing the leaves and fungi - which looked lovely in the clear light after the rain - and a spider's web 'decorated' with dew.

Takin tracking

This morning, with our guides feeling rather confident about panda sightings, we headed off in another direction in search of golden takins. We saw lots of signs, but no animals. Early clouds burned off and it was warm and sunny - with hindsight, perfect weather for panda-tracking:-/

Panda tracking day 2 - pandas but no photos:-(

Today it was another crisp sunny morning, and I decided to head out on my own before breakfast. I didn't spot any mammals but the autumnal scenery looked fantastic in the early sunlight.
At breakfast we got fresh home-made flatbreads which were scrummy. At mealtimes we are always joined by a variety of dogs including our favourite who we have named 'Stumpy'. She was evidently at the back of the queue when they were giving out legs, and there were only half-size ones left. We walked 5km into the forest and then got word from the trackers that they had found a mother panda and her youngster. We climbed up an impossibly steep mountainside (or I would have said it was if there wasn't a panda somewhere at the top of it), with the aim of getting ahead of where the trackers anticipated the pandas would emerge. It was extremely warm climbing, and the local guide offered to carry my camera-containing rucksack. Our group had got strung out negotiating the steep slope when the mother panda (who evidently was not familiar with the trackers' tactics for delighting tourists) suddenly appeared not far below me and cut across the path of our group - a clear view for me if only for about 10 seconds, but the local guide had disappeared with my camera - no photos even if I had been quick enough! We all regrouped and waited quietly, and eventually the cub (about 12 months old) came bumbling along looking for its mother. It was slightly obscured by the vegetation but close enough to see how cute it was.

Panda tracking day 1

I joined the birders for an early morning walk in the hope of spotting some mammals but no luck. Here we are in the 'restaurant' having our first breakfast at the Research Centre. (Note the little dog in the bottom left-hand corner - more of her soon.)Breakfast was interesting - a grey rice 'porridge' which appeared to be just rice boiled in far too much water, and rice dumplings/dough balls which were freshly-baked but possibly slightly undercooked and didn't taste of much. As the week progresses I shall learn that (a) a dollop of jam makes them more edible and (b) they appear to continue cooking for some time, so a dough ball or two stashed in one's rucksack becomes positively edible at lunchtime especially after an energetic walk!
The skies were blue today and the temperatures climbed as we walked - it was hot for late October. We went about 5km through the forest in several stages, waiting in between for news over the radio from the trackers, but they had nothing to report so we settled down by the beautiful river to eat our lunch.

After lunch, we got word that the trackers were on to a panda so we bushwacked up steep hills and through tall, thick bamboo, but the panda evaded us. All we saw was some panda poo, which is enormous! (Fellow guest Alf's hand included for scale - he wasn't touching it, honest.)

Foping NR and Sanguanmia​o research station

After lunch, we continued to Foping Nature Reserve. No vehicles are permitted inside, so our bags were loaded onto some hard-working little ponies and we started the 8km walk to the Sanguanmiao Research Station which was to be our base in the Reserve. Most of the path was concreted but parts of it and some bridges had washed away earlier this year in the worst floods in around 50 years, so we had to divert onto unmade paths. The forest was beautiful in its autumn colours - a mixed woodland still rich in many of the plant species that failed to survive the last ice age in Britain and never managed to recolonise as they had done in Foping.
We arrived at the Research Station as it was getting dark, but this is our 'hotel', photographed later in the week (when the mists had descended). Hmmm - not quite so 4-star:-)Inside is better, with an LPG heater to warm the room and a big flask of boiling water each day for washing, although the mattresses appear to have been stored at a pressure of several atmospheres and are quite 'firm'. I shall resort to sleeping on top of one duvet and under another - the joys of having a spare bed!

Weird monkeys

Today we set out from Xi'an for Foping Nature Reserve. It was good to escape the smog that unfortunately characterised much of Xi'an and its environs, and after passing through an area of farmland we started to cut through the mountains and the road ran alongside a beautiful turquoise river.

We stopped en route to Foping to visit a group of golden snub-nosed monkeys in another part of the Qinling Mountains. The group is regularly fed by the local people and has become habituated to humans so we got some good photos. This species is endangered and found only in China, so it was quite a bizarre privilege to get so close to them. As well as looking weird, they have a strange call a bit like a plaintive human baby.

Arrival in China

Today I landed in Xi'an city (from Manchester via Amsterdam and Beijing) at the start of an 'expedition' to look for giant pandas in the Qinling Mountains. I say expedition because it wouldn't be most people's idea of a holiday! (See later posts).

I was transferred from the airport to a 4-star hotel at which I had 1 night to stock up on as much luxury and comfort as possible to last me over the next 9 days. En route from the airport, I was surprised at the sheer amount of construction taking place - mostly roads and high-rise buildings to accommodate the huge numbers of people moving into China's cities from the rural areas.

The rest of the group arrived at the hotel from Heathrow via Beijing a little later, and we were taken to the Muslim quarter of Xi'an's old town for our evening meal. Not the best place for a veggie to forage!, but we enjoyed the atmosphere of the market stalls and shops, and saw the Drum Tower - part of the old city wall.

Hauled out on the Brigg

Spotted this young harbour seal today, hauled out at the end of Filey Brigg in North Yorkshire.

My tree bumblebee neighbours

Tree bumblebees first arrived in the south of the UK in 2001 and have been expanding their range northwards.  Now I have tree bees nesting in my garden in East Yorkshire!

 

Springtime flowers & butterflies

Out doing a survey of wildflowers in Nut Wood, East Yorkshire for my Open University course today, and spotted this peacock butterfly on the bluebells.

Festive robin

Snapped this festive robin today in a snow-covered shrub in my back garden.

Hedgehog out and about in the sunshine

Spotted this hedgehog at Sledmere House in East Yorkshire today.  It was out in broad daylight but seemed alert and healthy.  Hope it's OK and gets fattened up ready for winter.

The nest is getting crowded

The swallows' nest next door to my pony's stable is getting crowded - the chicks look a bit grumpy!
 

Stags in velvet

Another visit to Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Deer Park in North Yorkshire. This time the red deer stags were in velvet.

Blue-spotted badger

This weekend I've been helping out with badger monitoring at Wytham Woods in Oxfordshire. The badgers are caught in traps baited with peanuts, so individuals that have been caught once are marked with a harmless dye to identify them should they be tempted by the peanuts a second time.

Ratty feasts on autumn berries

Loitered around near an unremarkable ditch at Far Ings Nature Reserve in Lincolnshire - a good spot for water voles - and was rewarded with the sight of this 'Ratty' feasting on the ripe hawthorn berries that had dropped into the water from the hedgerow above.

What a great team:-)

Well, here's the inevitable group photo on the last day, when the sunshine and blue skies returned to wave us off.
Back row (left-to-right): Melissa, James, Pat, Elisa, Sophia, Bella, Chris.
Hovering half-way!: Mina.
Kneeling: Julia, Ann, Andrew, Christina (with Lycos), Diane.

Also another picture of Lycos - group mascot and expert porcupine-finder (although said porcupine waddled off before I could get a photo of it). Many thanks to all the group for being such great company for two weeks, and special thanks to my room mate Sophia for joining me on most of my early morning walks and sleeping through (or at least politely ignoring) my early rises the rest of the time:-)

The other rainy day

Today the heavens opened again, but for only the second time - we'd been incredibly lucky with the weather. We visited Thomas Raddall Provincial Park, and although we saw lots of mammal tracks and signs the animals themselves were elusive. The animal in this photo is not a grey wolf - unfortunately they're now extinct in Nova Scotia. The clue is that grey wolves don't retrieve sticks from the ocean:-) No, this is Lycos, Christina and Chris's husky/German shepherd cross (although his name is Greek for wolf).
Soaked again today, we returned to Cherry Hill early to start our packing:-(

Nova Scotia's megafauna

I'm talking about the vole there - not Sophia:-) Bet she hates this picture, but someone had to be photographed posing with our 'quarry' and it wasn't going to be me:-) This is a red-backed vole (trust me - I know it's too small to see!). This was the species most likely to be caught in our live traps. Today's work concluded our team's activities at Cook's Lake.

A show-off in the woods

We came across this spruce grouse when we were checking our small mammal traps in the woods today. He was so busy displaying (to no-one in particular) that I managed to get quite close for a photograph.

Monster moth in the making

Whilst we were doing a vegetation survey at Cook's Lake today, we spotted this huge caterpillar. If it doesn't get eaten, it will eventually turn into the largest moth species in North America - the cecropia - with a wingspan of five or six inches. Thank you to Diane for the loan of her little finger to illustrate scale:-)