2007 BG REVIEW. 1. WILDLIFE BLOG OF THE YEAR

As part of a "review of 2007" on BG, I thought I'd post all my favourite photographs that I've taken this year (in various categories), my two favourite wildlife-related shots (in two categories) that anyone has taken (in my humble opinion), and my favourite wildlife site or blog, that I've visited over the past year, whilst posting on BG.


I'll deal with the photographs of the year shortly, and then, over christmas (as I am at work then) compile a more thorough, text-based "review of the year 2007". That final review will not appear before Christmas day, but will appear before New Year's Eve.

There were many candidates for my "Site of the year". Most are linked to BG now, on the links section.

The "Words" blog is simply superb, with some stunning imagery on it.

"My Wildlife Friendly Garden" (in Holland) is wonderful also - the author of that site has an obvious, contagious passion for wildlife in a limited garden - rather like our own garden on BG. Its very absorbing stuff.



The winner though, and to tell you the truth, as soon as I found this site, it quickly became my favourite of the year, is the simply SUPERB:

"Urban Extension".

About "Urban Extension" - (taken from the site).



“Urban extension” is the Government’s new description for our “village” of Corfe Mullen.
Corfe Mullen is an ancient Dorset village sitting five miles from the sprawling seaport of Poole, on the south coast of England.
In the eyes of the Government the village has become an “extension” of Poole, and because of that they are proposing to build 700 new houses on the green-belt countryside that surrounds us.
There are so many reasons why this shouldn’t happen, but the one that really makes me mad is the unnecessary destruction of important wildlife habitats.
This diary hopes to introduce you to some of the flora and fauna in my neck of the woods - before it disappears.
Please feel free to comment on any entries that you find interesting (or boring!). I love to hear from EVERYONE who visits the site - any requests"?





I urge all regular readers of BG to visit the relatively fledgling (even younger than BG!) Urban Extension.

I'll tell you why I like it so...

The author is a trained photographer. She wishes she trained in filming motion pictures now, after spending some time videoing wildlife around her.

She doesn't need the training as far as I can can make out.

The television and web (especially) is chock-a-block with razor sharp very detailed, CLOSE UP images and footage of wildlife. Birdwatchers will lug huge telescopes, tripods and digital cameras around to get that amazing cloe up of their quarry. These make for wonderfully detailed pictures, but these aren't the birds or mammals I know, and I like to watch. There is often little context to these images, and little, if any feeling or atmosphere - no real sense of occasion.

UE manages to capture, in her wonderful videos, what it actually FEELS LIKE to go and watch some deer, or foxes, or badgers. The composition, the story, the ATMOSPHERE is all in UE's videos.
This is certainly not to say the videos on UE are of an inferior quality. FAR from it. They are of a superb quality and not at all "set-up" or "disneyfied" or "spot-lit on a set". They are as nature is - and that's so important to me.

I am sometimes told that there "aren't enough mammals" on BG. I agree.

Well, for the time being (at least!), if you want mammals - you want to click on UE. Whether it be a badger in near dark, some fox cubs playing, or wonderful close up footage of inquisitive Roe Deer checking out the person behind the videocamera - UE will fill your soul.

It is the only SITE that has really inspired me this year. Plenty of photographs and images have, but UE is the blog to have really got to me.

I'm lucky to have seen so many of the things on UE, even the mewing Osprey!, watching her videos takes me back to those days. Days / nights / frosty mornings / dewy evenings spent on my own (generally) watching Little Owls or Badgers, Foxes or Deer.

UE has inspired me to get out there and really do it all again, or at least keep doing it. Maybe I'll get a videocamera this year (UE is also good for advice on another forum!), maybe Anna and I will just take my new camera and really set out to experience more wildlife (mammal related certainly) and take more and better photographs of these subjects.

I miss my badgers and foxes.

UE makes me want them back!
Thank you UE, and roll on 2008 so we can get out there again and get stuck in!

Please take a trip to "Urban Extension" and see for yourself, especially by watching her videos.

Click HERE or click on the link in the links section of BG.