Owls, moss and sharing nature

It's impossible to pick one highlight

I wasn’t intending to write again until late January, but earlier this week I had the idea to ask you to share some of your nature highlights and memorable moments from 2024. It was a little last-minute I must admit, so I only got two responses, but they are both lovely!

Thank you to

Burhinus

for sharing this:

A special moment for me was just yesterday on a birding trip to the Nene Washes in Cambridgeshire.

We saw a tawny owl roosting in a hollow in a tree. Returning to the car park after watching massing of waterfowl and lapwings we saw a roosting long-eared owl in a hedge, then just before the car park we spotted two roosting short eared owls. Three species of owl on one trip. Fantastic.

Seeing an owl always feels like a privilege - THREE owls is pretty impressive!

Reading this, I was reminded of

Janelle Hardacre

’s recent owl encounter - an absolute stunner. Apparently the owl flew past as she was writing too!

I think I’ve recommended this before, but I also highly recommend this lovely piece of writing on owls by

Thomas Winward

:

Owl prowl

Eleanor

said she had “SO many wonderful nature interactions this year, it's too hard to only pick one” and I quite agree! I’ve never been any good at picking favourites, so I’m not sure why I thought it was a good idea to ask you to pick yours. Each and every interaction with and in nature this year has been valuable for me, even if I’ve not acknowledged that at the time. I run Wild South London with Eleanor (alongside a bunch of other wonderful humans) and I agree with her saying that “bringing people together to enjoy [nature] communally that has been the biggest win”.

Most of my time in nature is spent on my own (other than Noushi of course), so to be able to share the natural world with others, whether on Wild South London walks, or with friends and family, always feels special. We each have our own perspectives to bring, and everyone notices different things at different times. I’ve really enjoyed learning alongside people this year, both on Wild South London walks and here on Substack.

By the way, here’s a Wild South London walk in Crystal Palace Park this Saturday to celebrate Winter Solstice - there are only a few (free) tickets left!

I’ll leave you with this post, which has had the most interaction of anything I’ve ever shared on Substack! I’ve absolutely loved seeing people’s mossy pics in the comments:

Thank you for reading, commenting and sharing this year. It’s a joy to share this space with you. I leave you in the capable hands of several guest writers - please show them some love in the comments when their posts hit your inboxes.

Have a lovely, restful end to 2024 and a calm start to 2025. Enjoy the Solstice this weekend - longer days are on their way!

Zabby x

P.S. If you’ve enjoyed reading Nature Notice Board this year, and you have the cost of a cuppa to spare, you can buy me a coffee here (or become a paid subscriber of course!). Cheers!