I was at a very large rath once that had a medieval church built in the middle of it. All that was left at the church was the outer walls and trees were growing in the middle...There was a gate into the church which I climbed over. While navigating the trees I noticed out of the corner of my eye something moving by my feet. It was a bloody great badger! It hadn't noticed me so I backed away slowly and climbed out. It must have been severely ill not to notice me and to be out in the middle of the day...but it was a shock..particularly knowing how nasty they can be...I didn't want to be trapped in this ruin with it.

Since then I saw a common lizard at Mulfra quoit, boxing hares at Avebury,
a Golden eagle at the old man of storr, really close to a red kite at Nant tarw, a grass snake at a taula in menorca, and a brief encounter with a fox at a cave in the peak district.

Off the top of me head:

Young Peregrine at St Just in Brittany http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/post/80705/st_just.html (the birdlife on the heath was generally wonderful there)

Deer at dolmen in Denmark http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/post/60431/dyssekammer_i_kdeby.html (they were closer to begin with....)

Loadsa lizards all over just about every stoneything we went to in Sardinia.

Buzzards in loads of places, particularly memorable at Greycroft http://www.flickr.com/photos/71451816@N00/3639443962/in/set-72157619855638003/

Beautiful flock of starlings at Boskawen-Un.

love

Moth

Saw an arctic hare at Kinderlow cairn a couple of weeks back.

Most memorable were:

Buzzards swooping over the car driving past Carn Galver in Cornwall.

A pheasant that lept out from the grass at my feet at (I think) Notgrove.

A fox that scrambled vertically up the hedge holding the Sennen Stone when I disturbed it.

Various hares at different sites.

Oh, and Sodding Cows!!

tjj,

Amongst more unusual stuff;
Warton Crag, Lancashire: adder.
High Raise cairn, Cumbria: Golden Eagle, red deer, and wild fell horses as black as night.

At most places in Cumbria there is the acrobat of the skies, the raven, my favourite. The way they command the sky, even in a gale has to be sen to be believed, and they move with so little effort. Also, ground-nesting birds, the larks singing in the sky, the Herdwick sheep, and the occasional fox, and a buzzard or two.

Wonderful to see, and thanks for an interesting post, with regards,
TE.

On the way from Long Compton to the Rollrights today, a young male fox trotted across the field in front of us. The field had some great medieval ridge and furrow running up it, the fox disappearing into the furrows, only his ears visible, then back up onto the rdges. He was not at all wary (hence why I think he was quite young) and actually stopped every few yards to look at us - and let us get a few photos too! After a while, he headed under a fence into the next field, then back down towards the village.

Hope he's not out and about next Sunday, as I think there may be local hunt riding (gak!).

Don't quite know if it qualifies as wild life but a few years ago me and a friend visited the Kilmartin area in west Scotland.

One site we wanted to visit was within someones land.

So being responsiblish (I know that's probably not a real word) we asked the owner if we could venture on to there land.

They didn't have a problem with that, but the thing was that their dog came with us and actually 'guided' us to what we were looking for.

A bit bizzare but a lot of fun - the dog jumping about all over the place while we 'examined' the stones.

Great day!!!

I think there might actually be pictures of it somewhere on this site - can't find them myself at the moment.

Oh, and then there was the time we visited a stone in the middle of the Sherrifmuir battle site.

Bit of a hike, and a little bit dangerous - there's an army firing range nearby.

I also saw an ABC(alien big cat) once when driving in an area called Touch near where I live.

Sorry if this isn't relavant to this thread - just thought I'd try and share some memories.:)

Well, on my travels around the sites of Wessex I have seen countless types of wildlife with rabbits, buzzards and deer almost everywhere at some point or other including a muntjac at Lugbury and roe at Penning. The roe was stood in the tall grass (or it may have been crop) with just the top of his head showing, staring at me as Rex and I walked passed but Rex was too short too see it or it Rex.

I have been lucky enough to see hares boxing in the fields by the side of the Herepath (Green Street) on the way up to the polisher and a fox and cub near the Devil’s Den.

A pair of small hawks hovering a few meters away at eye level to me as I stood on top of the escarpment of Cherhill Down at Oldbury Castle and then swooping down into the field below as it spotted their next meals. This was repeated again and again sometimes they were lucky but quite often not.

At both Lanhill and Belas Knap I have watched voles (or maybe they were mice) scurrying out of their hidey holes to get snack when they thought the cost was clear. I could watch that for hours it was so mezmorising, but it was always to quick to get a photo.

I remember visiting Oliver’s Castle one summer and being astonished by the number and variety of butterflies as I walk around. Probably the most I have ever seen in the wild in this country at once.

There was also the bird we saw on Moor Divock (in Cumbria not wessex) at the Northern Megameet that everybody was trying to identify.

Wildlife is a very important part of the ‘stones’ experience, it always fills me with wonder and maybe it also connects me with the past in some way.

Great topic TJJ, thanks :o)

Apologies in advance for bumping this thread up, its just that this afternoon ...

... Not really by an ancient site but out walking with a friend along the Kennet Valley in Wiltshire - we had just climbed a stile into a meadow near the village of Axford going towards the River Kennet when a red kite appeared above us, circled and hovered; the best view I have ever had of a red kite.

Later as we walked through a copse near Ramsbury a pair of kites appeared, one actually landed in a field next to our path.
Very thrilling - there are red kites in north Wiltshire.

I saw a snake in the woods by Waylands Smithy once.

Saw a buzzard today whilst at a Derbyshire site, first one i've seen in a long time.