May Nature Journal Pages

Take a look at my May nature journal pages - exploring nature in my own way and at my own pace in rural East Yorkshire!

I hope to inspire you to start your own nature journal to explore the nature near you so that you can feel more connected to nature which is great for mental, physical and emotional wellbeing...

Press PLAY above to watch me flick through my nature journal pages for May...

More photos and info just below...

My May Nature Journal Pages

Hawthorn (May) flowers for May Day (May 1st)

The first day of May and the first page of my new nature journal! I was a little short of time and decided to use a photo (taken on the day) of these beautiful May flowers (from the Hawthorn) - traditionally used to celebrate May Day, which comes from an older Celtic festival of Beltane celebrating Spring and the start of Summer.

Pink rhododendrons

I just had to draw these gorgeous pink rhododendrons which have just started to flower. The flowers are quite deep pinky red, but from last year, I remember that they faded to a very pale white-pink - which as I type this now, towards the end of the month, they have, indeed, started to do.

Recording birdsong

A friend recommended the Merlin Bird Sound ID app to me, which I'd seen and have downloaded but not really tried out before, believing that I needed to be connected to the internet for it to work (not always practical when you're out and about) - but you don't!

So I tried it and immediately became addicted - it picked up not just the obvious birds that you can easily see but also some that I wouldn't have been able to easily identify (little brown/grey birds which hide in trees and flit off super-fast). I was thrilled to discover some more unusual birds like Black cap, Marsh Tit, Coal Tit, Willow Warbler, Chiff Chaff and Greater Whitethroat, amongst others...

It listens to bird song and calls and tries to identify the birds, and it seems pretty good (certainly addictive) - I've got another great bird call it picked up later in the month! I've been using it most days and recording what it identifies separately from my journal (so I don't fill my journal just with bird lists).

If you've not tried it before, I do recommend you have a go. Just start on Sound ID and have a play!

Horse Chestnut flowers

Out on our travels in North Yorkshire, we came across a pretty Horse Chestnut tree in full flower - unusually, many of the branches were low enough to get a fantastic view of the 'candles' of flowers - they're very pretty and it was great to be able to to see something at close quarters that you normally only see from a distance.

Clematis 'White Abundance'

My white clematis is in flower - very pretty! I got confused at first as I have two clematis planted in the same pot, so the flowers appeared to be amongst leaves which turned out to be from the other plant! Always look closely!

The goldfinch eggs have hatched!

The goldfinch eggs have hatched! If you missed my April pages, the main excitement was a goldfinch nesting right outside our bedroom window. What a great view and chance to see inside a bird's nest!

I've been waiting for the babies and I was very excited to see that the goldfinch eggs have finally hatched - the babies were tiny, just little grey mounds with white downy, fur-like feathers on them, their tiny beaks and sightless eyes stretching up waiting to be fed. The mum still spends most of her time sitting on the nest, protecting the babies. 

(PS - get my full goldfinch nest diary on this page)

Pink clematis nature journal page

One big pink clematis flower in the garden (the one that was intertwining with the white clematis further up). It's just come out and is a deeper pink. Like the rhododendron this will fade to a lighter pink over the coming days and weeks - it will also gradually open out further petals from the centre until it looks more like a pom-pom!

Goldfinch babies update

The goldfinch babies are a little bigger and are eating more. The parents are often away from the nest for a while and often return together to feed the babies. I think there are five babies. Their eyes are still closed. The weather is hot so in the afternoons when the sun is shining right on them, the mum has to stand with her wings outstretched to shield the babies from the heat. (Follow their story here)

Sparrow family

After not seeing sparrows in our garden for maybe a year, a little sparrow family came to visit. There was a mum, dad, and two big baby sparrows that look pretty much fully grown. The mum was helping the babies to feed, sometimes feeding them, and often encouraging them to feed themselves pecking greenfly off our roses.

The little baby sparrows practiced fluttering, landing, keeping balance on stalks - all while dad perched on a tall tree trunk and watched over everyone, keeping guard of his little family! Lovely to see!

Hoopoe

Imagine my excitement when Merlin Bird ID app picked up a hoopoe call while we were out on our dog walk. It was only momentary, a rasping, croaking call, so I wonder if it was flying over. We didn't see anything and haven't heard or seen anything of it since, so I think it must've been just passing by.

We did actually see a hoopoe on holiday in Scotland a few years ago, so I do feel very fortunate as this is considered quite a rare bird in Britain as it's only a migratory visitor in most cases. It's a most distinctive bird with black and white stripes and a striped crest.

Bounce along there, Mrs Fox!

We saw two foxes skulking along the side of a hedgerow in the fields. We were quite late so it was starting to get dusky. The first fox was small and pale, and seemed to be bouncing and bounding through the crop. The second, larger and darker, I think the fox we've seen in the past, following more sedately.

It's still a treat to see a fox - and two is extra special. Wondering if they're out hunting to find dinner for their young..?

The goldfinch babies are growing

The goldfinch babies are growing larger and starting to get feathers now. They're moving about more and beginning to try out their wings, with eyes open and alert. Mum still tries to sit on them but it seems difficult with them all moving about. I don't think it will be too long before they fledge! Follow my full goldfinch nest diary here...

Golden Oriole

Here's another really exciting nature experience. My Merlin Bird ID app picked up a Golden Oriole while we were out in the field. We saw nothing!

I don't know if it was really there but Golden Orioles were sighted the same morning in Northumbria to the north of me in Yorkshire and Kent to the south. Also there were some spotted somewhere in East Yorkshire just over a week ago (I am also in East Yorkshire) so I do think it's a possibility. Likely just a fly-by, as like the hoopoe call, it was only momentary.

I think we must be on some bird migration routes (?), which kind of makes sense as we are a very rural area and have the Humber River reasonably close leading into a network of other large rivers and canals, as well as Ings (wetlands surrounding the rivers), plus Bird and Nature Reserves in several different directions, just a couple of miles away in some cases.

Now I need to look out for Hoopoes and Golden Orioles!

A nestful of young goldfinches

The young goldfinches look like little birds now. They look too big for the nest apart from when they all hunker down inside it to sleep. They don't have the distinctive goldfinch colouring yet, they're still brown apart from a yellow flash on the wing. Some have been seen flapping so I think the older ones, certainly, will be leaving soon! Get the full story in my nest diary here...

Cinnabar moth

We spotted these brilliant red Cinnabar moths flying about just near where we saw the Cinnabar Moth caterpillars last year - there's a lot of ragwort there, which is the caterpillars food plant, so I was pleased to see a moth and hopefully we will see some caterpillars later in the year (not so many last year as sometimes!).

Stripey snails

We often see these little stripey snails (and small, plain yellow snails, too) climbing up plant stalks after the rain. And this is the first time it's rained properly in weeks, so there were all these little snails climbing up the plant stalks.

We wondered why they would do this, and after some research, it seems that they only really come out in the wet weather as it's difficult for them to travel in the dry - and they're looking for food.

Sadly for these snails, the stalks are dried old things stripped of leaves, but perhaps the snails can gain some sustenance from the stalks themselves.

The baby goldfinches leave the nest!

After two weeks as eggs, and a further two-and-a-bit weeks as babies in the nest, five little goldfinches survived a stormy day in the nest and set out into the skies for their next big adventure - I share the full story of the goldfinch nest from its first few twigs to happily ever after all on my Goldfinch Nest Diary page here...

Red Campion flowers (Silene)

These pretty Red Campion (Silene) wild flowers caught me eye in the grass verges near the field. I couldn't get close to them but I wanted to add them in my nature journal still. They're a common flower out in the field so I'm hoping to get a closer-look of some another time...

Kohlrabi

I decided to draw the Kohlrabi from my fridge as it's not a vegetable we have very often and I thought it looked unusual. It reminded me of an alien! It's also known as a 'German turnip', a 'Stem turnip' (for the long stems it grows) or a 'Cabbage turnip' as it does look a bit like a cabbage too.

The taste is described as similar to a broccoli stem, which I agree with. I wouldn't go out of my way to eat it, but I would eat it.

Blue tit feeding lessons

A nice day being able to watch the blue tits at the feeder in the back garden. They've only recently returned to the feeder - and now with 2 or 3 youngsters. At first they were fed on the sunflower hearts by the parents and then they tried on their own and were able to happily feed themselves. Blue tit feeding lessons in action! How cool!

I do hope you've enjoyed exploring my May nature journal pages with me. All in all, it's been quite an exciting nature month, with the development of the goldfinch babies in the nest outside my window (I have a dedicated diary web page about the goldfinch nest here) as well as getting addicted to recording bird song and calls with the Merlin Bird ID app which offered me up a rare Hoopoe call and a (possible) Golden Oriole!

I can't imagine how June could possibly top that, but we can always hope and as nature is constantly changing there's sure to be more to explore.

I enjoy nature journaling as a way to feel more connected to the natural world around us - I think, a way of feeling more connected to the green places, flowers, birds and wildlife in nature with less emphasis on the sometimes harsh human world we live in.

I like to do what I call 'imperfect nature journaling' just nature journaling in my own way, in a way that feels instinctive and good to me, (and makes me feel good, too) and not worrying about perfect drawings or pretty pages.

I also teach this way of nature journaling in my course that's to help you get started with your own nature journal, if that's something that interests you - it's a short course of 20 different exercises to help you find your way of nature journaling, the way that feels good to you. Find out all about it here!

I also have a free guide to getting started which you might enjoy if you're new to nature journaling - go here to get that - and here to find out what nature journaling actually is, if you'd like to know about that!

Online Nature Journaling Course

If you'd like to explore nature journaling more, please consider joining me for my 'Imperfect Nature Journaling' online course - I've called it this to remind us to nature journal for the process of connecting with nature to feel good and not to put pressure on ourselves to create pretty pages which can quickly ruin the fun and the benefits...

It's a series of 20 lessons which are great exercises that you can do in your own nature journal to help you try out different ideas and techniques.

This will help you get the most out of your nature journaling sessions and understand what style of nature journaling is the best for you personally.

If this sounds like something you might like, you can find out more about the course here...