Alverstone Mead is a place well known for its wildlife, most notably for its squirrels. Having not visited for some time I went for a walk along there recently, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Right from the start, up in the village, I was greeted by the sound of a buzzard circling overhead; my favourite wildlife sound it has to be said. For me it signifies a change from one world to the next, a primeval sound – a call to the wild.

And from there on the wild things kept on coming. Over the bridge I wasn’t lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a kingfisher as I had done on previous visits, but there were coots on the banks and starlings chattering away in the hedgerows. This promised to be a good walk.

Just off the boardwalk, on my way to the Bern Thearle hide, I was literally dive bombed by a cacophony of tits – both blue and great, buzzing past me so closely that I could feel their tiny wings beating.

They kept me company for a while as the scenery changed to woodland, signifying I was coming closer to the place I wanted to see, to the species I had come for.

I stood for a while, drinking in the experience, listening to the sounds of nature and watching the ebb and flow of the wildlife across the hedgerow. Feeling all warm inside from this I decided it was time to move on, to complete my circuit. Walking on towards the riverbank I wondered if this was the day, would I hear that gentle splash as a water vole made good its escape, into the safety of the water and away from my prying eyes. Starring down into the water all I could see was the reflection of the banks where, as a colleague had once told me, one might find their characteristic yet enigmatic footprints or nibbled grass leftover from feeding. Over here, by the river, it seemed the wildlife wasn’t as keen to make an appearance.

And that’s when I think it hit me. Whilst the experiences with the squirrel and the birds had been mesmerising, I realised something hadn’t been quite right; that they really should not have been so close to me, so unafraid. As wild animals, like the buzzard whom I had seen from afar, like the kingfisher and the water voles who I knew were there but had quite reasonably stayed hidden, they should have been more aware of me, and as blunt as it sounds, should actually have been scared of me.

Our wildlife is amazing and connecting with it through real life encounters is so important, as it lets us see just how beautiful and diverse nature is. However, we also need to understand and be mindful of just how fragile it is, too. These wild creatures must be allowed to display their own normal, wild, behaviours in order to stay vigilant against predators and thus, to be able to survive. By encouraging them to become too tame we are actually doing them a disservice.

The word, "rewilding" sometimes alienates people and makes people think we are trying to restore an area of land to its natural untouched, unaltered state. We cannot forget that our lives, cultures, and histories are deeply rooted within nature so we cannot and should not completely remove ourselves from our living planet. I encourage you to go out, engage with and encounter our wildlife, but remember and be considerate of the impact you and countless other visitors have on the space. Respect nature by picking up your rubbish, leaving what you find, and observing wildlife from a safe distance. I find the phrase, "take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints" is appropriate here and this is where I shall leave you. 

Kelly Wetherick 

Kelly Wetherick is a Wilder Communities Officer on the Isle of Wight. You can find out more about the work Kelly is doing on this website here: hiwwt.org.uk/wilder-wight-communities