I have spent this week seeing a lot of seasonal visitors. Firstly overlooking the wide flat expanse of Morecambe Bay on a very grey day when the mud flats smudged into the sky, as the ebbing tide emptied out to beyond a barely visible Peel Castle.

Watching wildlife is all about being in the right place at the right time, having an eye out, and most importantly being open to the unexpected. At least that is my approach. Let me share two recent amazing wildlife experiences.

Upland peatland doesn't win any prizes for landscape beauty, however it does win prizes for something else. Peat soils in the UK are by far the largest store of carbon we have and are vital to the UK meeting it's carbon commitments.

Go down to the woods today! The Spring woodland flowers are in full bloom. In their race to flower and be pollinated before the overshadowing trees come into full leaf, intercepting the sunlight before it reaches the woodland floor, many different varieties of wildflower richly carpet the woodland floor, thrusting up their colourful flowers a quickly as possible.

As I turn off the noisy main road onto a tiny quiet lane, I am immediately surrounded by scrubby hawthorn trees which have sprung up on this abandoned corner. As soon as enough scrub separates me from the road to provide a visual barrier, the air changes and my mood changes with it.

Despite the newness of the season, it being only 7 days since the Solstice, the first stirrings of a new year are noticeable.

I went through the woods by Gunpowder Gorge where the river charges through a narrow limestone gap. The woods are a relatively new arrival, maybe 100 years old, with trees growing thickly on a shallow sticky marl which oozes wet all year.