rock scrambling & summer solstice: week 3 of 30 days wild

It's already week 3 of the Wildlife Trust's 30 Day nature challenge - one random act of wildness every day for the month of June!

Day 15: Whilst on a holiday in Wales I scrambled up Tryfan mountain, admired the mountainous views, rocky amphitheaters and made friends with a lovely common frog sitting on a rock. Some rock climbing in a nearby nature reserve created some very exciting encounters with Hummingbird Hawk-moths too! Hummingbird hawk-moths are day flying moths that migrate to the UK from southern Europe. They get their name from their speedy wings - if you see a orange blur hovering around flowers with a long proboscis, this may well be a hummingbird hawk-moth!

Day 16 saw a second ascent of Tryfan to try a new scramble route and a bivvy on a lovely mossy ledge near the base of the mountain. A bivvy is a wild camp without a tent. This is a lovely way of admiring the stars at night (and keeping your rucksack nice and light!). As darkness fell we admired the mountainous views and atmospheric billowing clouds.

Day 17: More mountain admiration as we spent the day scrambling the southern horseshoe ridgeline around the quieter peaks of Snowdonia.

Day 18: A lovely sea swim followed by some rock climbing, where I happened across a feral pigeon nest in a rock crevice up a cliff, containing two rather plump chicks! Feral pigeons are actually called rock doves and whilst you might associate them with big annoying flocks in town centres, they are beautiful birds that come in an amazing array of colours.

Day 19: Today was my first time in a bee suit as I was invited to check some bee hives. It was rather sweltering in the heat, but brilliant seeing all of the honey bees at work, and we even spotted the queens!

Day 20: This morning a baby starling came hurtling into the conservatory, flapping full pelt at the window to get out! I caught (quickly admired him up close!) then released it into the garden to be on his merry way. Windows can be a bit of an issue for birds. Sticking something in the centre of the window can help reduce collisions. If this is a problem you have experienced, check out the RSPB guidance here.

Day 21: Summer Solstice! I hadn’t made any plans for the solstice, so decided to camp out in the garden and admire the stars for the night! Wild camping or bivvying tends to feature heavily in my activities in the warmer months - have you camped without a tent before? It's a brilliant way of admiring the night sky, and an excellent act of wildness. If you've never done it before why not try it out in your garden as an easy first location. You won't regret it!