What is your all time top UK wildlife?

[orangeleavesinautumn]

Mine is probably the starling murmurations in Brighton, but also eagles on Scottish islands. Seals in East Anglia too.

What are yours?

Planning some trips over the summer, and wondering if there is any special UK wildlife we have missed out on so far.

Seals in East Anglia and red squirrels on the Isle of Wight are probably my favourites so far, but what I really want to see is puffins. I think Skomer Island is the closest spot to me so I hope to go there one day.

Seals in Scotland. Just sunbathing on the rocks.

Mine is our local otters (lake District) I've only seen them twice in 10 years though 🙄

Frogs and Sparrows here.

Hedgehogs - I wish everyone with a garden would create a hedgehog highway to help the poor things

The dolphins I saw off Bridlington a few weeks ago. It was the fact they actually came and showed off at us, jumping out of the water right round the boat!
It was super considerate of them because the boat is a much loved heritage vessel which costs a fortune to keep afloat and the owners don’t have an easy time of it so some bonus dolphin shows are exactly what they need. (Yorkshire Belle, if you’re ever in East Yorkshire looking for ideas for things to do.)
There were also puffins and seals but the dolphins were the stars.

Golden Eagles on the Isle of Skye - breathtaking!

Muntjac deer in Suffolk - cute!

Sea Eagles on Mull.
Basking shark in the Sound of Mull.

Pine martens feeding, from the window of my cottage when on holiday in Scotland.
Pair of short eared owls doing aerial courtship display of wing clapping, Yorkshire.
Basking sharks off the Scottish coast
Puffins on the Isle of Staffa
Gannets diving to feed, watched on a boat off the coast of Scotland
Red deer and young fawns, Isle of Mull

Snipe drumming, on warm midsummers evenings, above the meadows where I live in Yorkshire

I love randomly coming across red and fallow deer in the woods when out on my bike locally

I went to see the Puffins on Skomer and they were lovely. I let thing I would say is the stay is about four hours too long

Porpoises in New Quay, Wales. Couldn’t believe it! Delightful

Hares and Red Kites. I see lots of them round here.

Otters and sea eagles on Skye. More locally marsh and hen harriers, hobbies, seals and their pups at Horsey Gap and osprey passing overhead on their way to their summer roosts. Bitterns booming is an awesome sound.

Puffins on skomer island

Seals in Northumberland, red squirrels in The Lake District, as well as red deer.

Red squirrels in Northumberland and parts of County Durham. We have them at work and I could watch them all day

O yes, hedgehogs are amazing, I really love them.

I would love to see basking sharks - I don't know where the best place to look for him is. I had heard once that they are common around the Isle of Man, but I don't know how likely a sighting is

Lots. Mull has been the best - Otters and eagles, divers, hooded crow, etc.

But also badgers in our garden! Starling murmurations at RSPB Otmoor. Wading birds at Leighton Moss. Fungi around Poole Harbour. Red squirrels in Keilder forest. Seals on Newbury beach, north of Aberdeen. The Farne islands or Coquet island for puffins and tern.

Lapwings in the highlands.

Red squirrels. They were not unusual when I was growing up in rural Yorkshire, but the last time I saw any was in my early teens, when two young ones were playfully chasing each other in a small tree right in front of me, oblivious to my presence. They were so sweet.

More recently, badgers. I have heard them chattering away to each other in the hedgerow, watched the youngsters playing chase, and seen them gathering clean bedding for their sets. They are such social animals. It breaks my heart that they are being trapped and shot in my area (and many others), which might also be the reason why I haven't seen any this year 😔

Oldnproud, how lovely that you have seen badgers like that. I'm still yet to see them. Beautiful animals and I hate that they are persecuted also

And also Thelonelygiraffe, badgers in your garden, wonderful 😊