Highlights of 2012

All I did new in 2012 was pay more attention to the things that were already around me.  Everything I've seen and learnt has been a highlight in some way because everything has felt new.

Here are a few of the things I've enjoyed the most:

• Seeing swallows, house martins and sand martins doing an aerial dance together over the Tweed.
• Watching a deer casually wander past the window of the office.
• Being amazed at the bright colours of a bullfinch and a goldfinch.
• Learning the difference between winter buds on trees - the claws of the ash and the pipes of the beech.
• Seeing a blue-variant pheasant strolling across the field and being convinced it must be a new species.
• Trying to catch enough of a glimpse of the little furry creature running across the road to work out if it's a weasel or a stoat (I couldnt').
• Hearing the song of a willow warbler for the first time.

Amidst all of this, there have been two wildlife encounters that really stood out for me, and the thought of which still give me a guaranteed shiver up the spine.

The first was early in the year driving to work, when I saw a vixen and her two cubs trotting across a field.  As I stopped the car to watch, the foxes paused by a bush and the two cubs started playing with each other, jumping and rolling around.  I stared and stared.

The second special moment was seeing two tawny owls fighting just outside my house.  It lasted for only about ten seconds and it was too dark to see them clearly, but the raucous screeching calls they made and excited fitful flight were just unreal.  I wasn't sure at first what type of owls they were but was able to ID them to almost certainty thanks to a wildlife forum post.

So that was my 2012.  I can't wait to see what I discover in 2013!