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Wildlife and Beyond With Kris

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Wildlife and Beyond With Kris

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Trainee Ecologist | Urban Wildlife 🏙️
Monitoring the North East via Camera Traps & Photography 🦊
BTO WeBS Recorder | DWT Volunteer
✨ Follow for local species insights, walks & talks.

18/06/2026

You don’t need to travel far to find a thriving ecosystem. All of these were taken right at the end of my street in a small community wildflower planter. 🌆🌸

What looks like just a splash of color to passersby is actually a vital pitstop for local pollinators. I managed to track down everything from classic red Poppies and Oxeye Daisies to Cornflowers, Yarrow, and Bird's-foot Trefoil.

Best part, finding a tiny ladybird larva hard at work on the leaves (swipe to the end to see this mini apex predator!). It's an amazing reminder of how much biodiversity a tiny pocket of soil can support when given the chance. 🐞✨

12/06/2026

A few favorites from an incredible dusk beaver safari with the team last Friday! 🦫✨

There is nothing quite like sitting quietly by the water's edge and watching these guys wake up and get to work as the sun goes down. Getting to see one up close standing on its hind legs to work on a tree trunk was definitely the highlight of the night. 🌳

It’s amazing to see firsthand how much they influence the landscape around them.

10/06/2026

The Farne Islands Series: Part 3 🌊🪶

Following on from the puffins and grey seals, the next stop takes us to the undisputed masters of long-distance migration: the Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea).

These birds are absolute phenomena. By migrating from their northern breeding grounds all the way to the Antarctic pack ice and back, they experience two summers a year—covering a round trip of up to 44,000 miles annually.

When they return to coastal sanctuaries like the Farnes to breed, their behavior completely shifts. Because they nest right on the ground in open colonies, they are fiercely defensive. Anyone who has walked through a tern colony knows exactly how protective they are; they will relentlessly dive-bomb anything that gets too close to their territory to deter potential predators.

Getting to watch them switch instantly from elegant, hovering flight into high-speed defense is an incredible look at colonial nesting strategies.

07/06/2026

A masterclass in natural ecosystem management 🌿🦫✨

Watching a Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) foraging in the wild is an incredible reminder of what our freshwater landscapes are missing.

From an ecological perspective, beavers are the ultimate keystone species and ecosystem engineers. Their foraging behavior isn't just about feeding; by coppicing trees and harvesting bark, they physically restructure their environment. This process thins out dense bankside growth, allowing sunlight to reach the forest floor and water's edge, which triggers a massive flush of aquatic plants and insects.

The complex wetlands they create and maintain slow the flow of water, reduce downstream flooding, filter out agricultural runoff, and provide vital habitats for everything from amphibians to bats.

Seeing their return to our northern landscapes is easily one of the most exciting and impactful conservation success stories of our time. 🌿

Would you like to see beavers more widely reintroduced to river systems across the UK? Let’s talk in the comments! 👇

04/06/2026

From an old Belfast sink to a thriving wildlife micro-pond 🌿✨

You don’t need a massive garden to create a haven for local biodiversity. This weekend’s project was turning an old ceramic sink into a container pond, and I am so happy with how it turned out!

Swipe through to see the step-by-step transformation:

1️⃣ The final look, complete with a little log ramp so any curious critters can safely climb back out.

2️⃣ Starting with the blank canvas.

3️⃣ Giving the drain a heavy duty seal.

4️⃣ Testing out a custom copper pipe water feature.

5️⃣ Stacking old bricks to create varied depths and planting shelves.

6️⃣ Dropping in some native oxygenators and marginal plants.

Small water features like this are absolute magnets for insects, birds, and amphibians, especially during the warmer months. Now, we wait for the first residents to move in! 🐸👀

Have you ever built a container pond? Drop your top plant recommendations below!👇

01/06/2026

A few moods from the Farne Islands seal colony 🦭🌊

The grey seals out on the Farnes are pure comedy to watch, but they are also a massive conservation success story for the UK.

If you've ever wondered how to tell them apart from Common seals when you're out on the coast, look closely at Slide. Grey seals have that distinct, long "Roman nose" profile with parallel nostrils (their scientific name literally translates to "hook-nosed sea pig"!).

From intense staring contests to full-blown operatic yawns in the surf, it’s impossible to leave the islands without a full memory card.

Swipe through for the full island vibe:

1️⃣ Face-to-face

2️⃣ Singing or yawning?

3️⃣ The wave hello

4️⃣ Soaking up the Northumberland sun

Which frame is your favorite? 👇

30/05/2026

OFFICIALLY RETRAINING FOR CONSERVATION! 🌱📊

Pulling the trigger on a total career shift can feel a bit daunting, but after spending months getting hands-on experience in the field, I know it's the right path. Today marks the official start of my training journey with

I'm incredibly excited (and a little intimidated!) to be starting my Certificate in Conservation Management. The course is self-paced, which means I can balance it perfectly around the day job and continue my vital volunteer work.

My 3 optional modules are locked in, and they're tailored straight to the work I'm doing in the North East:

🌾 Beginner’s Botany (About time I learned my grasses, sedges, and rushes!)

💧 Wetland Creation, Restoration, and Management

🗺️ Phase 1 Habitat Mapping

Big thanks to the wardens and volunteers who have helped me get started over the last few weeks. It's time to crack open Module 1!

28/05/2026

Part 1 of my Farne Islands series: The Iconic Puffins. 🐧🌊

After sharing my reel the other day, I couldn't wait to dive into the raw files. I’m splitting my photos from the trip into a few dedicated species series, and there was only one place to start!

Inner Farne is an absolute sensory overload this time of year, but spending time sitting quietly near these characters is hard to beat. I wanted to capture a mix of tight portraits showing the incredible details of their bills and eyes, alongside some of them framed by the blooming sea campion meadows.

Swipe through to see a few of my favorites from the edit! ➡️ Which frame is your winner?

Next up in the series: The Grey Seals. 🦭

.den

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WWT Washington Wetland Centre
Washington
NE38 8LE

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