Wild Intrigue

Wild Intrigue Celebrating wildlife and people in Northern England through experiences, media and projects.

28/05/2026

Look who’s started to hatch in Ouseburn!

Ouseburn’s just got a little bit more magical - with the arrival of a brand new Mute Swan family 🦢

In 2024, a new pair took over this popular territory, to try their luck nesting on the slipway near The Cluny and Ouseburn Farm. Unfortunately, high spring tides flooded the nest and, despite the female’s best efforts, the eggs failed.

So this year, through Wild Ouseburn, these urban nesters were provided a temporary nesting platform designed to float during high tides.

For around 36 days, the female Mute Swan has patiently sat on the nest to incubate and carefully turn seven eggs. In this time, she naturally reduces her need to feed, and the male keeps the eggs warm when she heads off for some ‘me time’.

Yesterday, the first cygnets were spotted hatching by local residents, kept under the safety of mum’s wing while dad keeps a close watch nearby. These are the first cygnets to hatch in Ouseburn since 2023! 🎉

At this tender time, you can help him to keep the family safe by:
🦢 Giving them space by not approaching the nest to closely and keeping pups on leads
🦢 Making sure their no scran at the nest, or feeding the young cygnets - feeding Swans at the nest attracts rats, which also try to eat the eggs and cygnets. The young cygnets need to eat natural foods for them to become healthy and strong.

This is why we LOVE Ouseburn - it’s a favourite spot for so many of us, but for so many other species who choose to live here too!

From farm fields and a military parade ground, to an airport and now a park for the community, the Tempelhof Field in Be...
16/05/2026

From farm fields and a military parade ground, to an airport and now a park for the community, the Tempelhof Field in Berlin is an unlikely and unique public green space.

After the airport closed in 2008, protest and campaigns asked for a re-imagination of its use, and in 2010 it opened as a publicly accessible green space, on its opening weekend it saw a quarter of a million visitors!

The Tempelhof Field feels not so dissimilar to our more familiar Town Moor. It’s roughly the same size (slightly smaller), it’s a large expanse of open ground that people have access to, and they both serve a mix of uses (allotments, events, commuting), but there is one main difference.

The Tempelhof Field is living, dynamic, mosaic of habitats that support an incredible diversity of life. On my short visit, I made a list of how people where using the park:

Morning Yoga
Morning Coffee
Reading
Dancing
Kite Flying
Rollerblading
Bike Riding
Jogging
Walking
Picnics
Dog Walking
Gardening
Birdwatching

Above, around and amongst all of this activity, the air with thick with the sound of Skylarks singing from above, Corn Buntings (a species with is now extinct across the whole of Northumberland, and much of the UK) sang from trees, and fence posts, Whitethroats scratched their song from nearby scrub, alongside Blackcap, Icterine Warbler, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Nightingale, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Garden Warbler, House Sparrow and Red Backed Shrike.

Swifts, Sand Martins, and Swallows hawked over head, as Kestrel hovered along the skylines.

Nature and urban life completely intertwined, not one or the other, but adding to the beauty of the city together. This is only possible thanks to the management of the Tempelhof grass and scrublands, and the respect its human visitors have for their more-than-human-neighbours.

Simple solutions can have an incredible lasting impact for nature.

What if our Town Moor respected its nesting Skylarks like the Tempelhof Field?

-Cain

Berlin’s Tiergarten 🌳 Yesterday I spent most of the day in the Tiergarten, Berlin’s largest city park, 520 acres of wood...
14/05/2026

Berlin’s Tiergarten 🌳

Yesterday I spent most of the day in the Tiergarten, Berlin’s largest city park, 520 acres of woodland, glades and ponds, right in the middle of the city.

It’s a busy place, with people commuting, jogging, having picnics, reading books, and (my favourite sight of the day) dancing in pockets of woodland light. In some places it feels like you could be sat in Leazes Park, in others your lost in the trees of Gosforth Nature Reserve.

But the Tiergarten is incredibly different in many ways, especially its wildlife.

As soon as I approached the edge of the Tiergarten from the train, I could hear a Nightingale singing, deep within a patch of tangled Dog Rose, Hawthorn and bramble. It was right by the road, with traffic rushing past so loud you could barely think, but the Nightingale sung above it! (more on the Nightingales of Berlin soon)

The park itself is a mosaic of woodland habitats, large trees, loads of standing deadwood, dense understory, carpeted with woodland flowers, with open parkland glades throughout. Ponds meander through the park in places, connected via culverts to a nearby river.

This variety of woodland habitats, appropriate management, and a respect for biodiversity means it’s absolutely full of species we no longer see regularly in the UK, never mind a city park.

We’ve visited the Tiergarten in winter and autumn, but never Spring, as you walk along the meandering paths it seems birds are singing everywhere. Nightingales belt out from the scrub, alongside Blackcaps, Garden Warbler and Robin, Blackbirds and Song Thrushes sing form the treetops as Swifts scream overhead. Icterine Warblers skulk amongst the leaves, and there’s a constant sound of woodpeckers (both Great and Middle Spotted) calling throughout the woodland.

Berlin is famous for its urban Goshawks, over 100 pairs breed within the city parks! As I stood watching a Middle Spotted Woodpecker bring food to its nest, I heard the unmistakable call of one nearby. I looked up to see two Goshawks, a juvenile and an adult flying low over one of the ponds. The juvenile landed up in the tree opposite me and was swiftly joined by cautious Hooded Crows and Starlings.

It’s not just the birds that are incredible for this city park. Red Squirrels can been seen throughout, existing in their arboreal realm, Rabbits graze in the glades, and Foxes saunter along the paths 🦊 I spotted a couple of usual mammals too, the park is full of Muskrats (an introduced species from North America) similar to a Water Vole but a bit larger, and also Nutria (introduced from South America), which often can be mistaken for a Beaver.

As the sun began to set, I headed down towards one of the ponds where I’d been given some local information that there was a Beaver. As I sat down on the park bench (a scene that was only missing St James Park in the background), 4 Beavers swam past me and began their nightly routines 🦫

Imagine if our city parks could support Goshawks, and Beavers…

- Cain

Visiting new places, projects and people helps us imagine what a wilder future might look like. Over the past few years ...
12/05/2026

Visiting new places, projects and people helps us imagine what a wilder future might look like. Over the past few years we’ve been spending a lot more time thinking about how our urban wilds could be reimagined, looking at incredible places across Europe and bringing our inspiration back to urban Newcastle.

Over the next couples of weeks I’ve grabbed a rare chance to get a cheeky trip in May (thanks Heather!) and I’m slowly wandering my way East towards the Białowieża Forest in Poland.

Today I’ve been exploring Paris between my train connections 🚆

In 2011 Paris banned the use of pesticides in cemeteries (and throughout the rest of the City), initially it was a phased reduction but by 2015 they were all completely pesticide free. I’d seen online articles about ‘France’s wild graveyards’ and thought this was a perfect time do some research and visit one.

I discovered Benoît Gallot’s, the curator of Père- Lachaise Cemetery, instagram account and then his book ‘The Secret Life of a Cemetery’, which was filled with wildlife images.

Père- Lachaise is a world renowned cemetery, millions of people visit every year, and as Benoît says in his book, ‘it’s a place of vibrant life’ and completely pesticide free!

Benoît’s book is a fascinating account of the cemetery, its legends, folklore, it’s importance for the people of Paris and our understanding of death, but it also reveals the journey it’s undertaken in recent years, and the incredible responses from its wild inhabitants.

When the pesticide ban initially came in, Benoît describes his (and his teams) reaction as a negative response, more things to manage, more work and time for the staff, but the City of Paris provided training, and new machinery to facilitate the change.

As always, wildlife made the day, once the pesticide stopped, Benoît and his team experienced new life in the cemetery, returning Foxes, birds and plants, but also new purpose in their roles.

This morning I’ve been wandering through this incredible landscape, surrounded by wildlife, but also tourists, locals and people paying their respects.

Imagine what our church yards could become…

- Cain

We're so excited to be back at First & Last Brewery this week to co-host our Bats & Beers experiences with this inspirin...
05/05/2026

We're so excited to be back at First & Last Brewery this week to co-host our Bats & Beers experiences with this inspiring team 🦇🍺

First up is an introduction to the First & Last microbrewery, set within the Old Ambulance Station in beautiful Bellingham, to discover the art and science of brewing. All the while, samples of the brews are brought through from the F&L Brewery Tap next door, where the subtle flavours of each are explained - including locally foraged blooms and berries.

As the sun dips, we'll head outside to discover Bellingham's bats as they wake up to forage over woodland and water. This is one of our favourite sites for bat activity and diversity, and we can't wait to return!

🎟️We have a few tickets remaining for this Friday evening (£30pp), hosted 7.30pm - 9.30pm. Why not make a mini-adventure of it and stay locally? Link to book in comments below 👇

📸Bats & Beers, tour and tasting inside the brewery, and eavesdropping on bats with acoustic detectors | Wild Intrigue

Night Out with Nightjars is returning🌙As the sun dips below the horizon and twilight descends, the nocturnal world awake...
20/04/2026

Night Out with Nightjars is returning🌙

As the sun dips below the horizon and twilight descends, the nocturnal world awakens. Among the creatures that stir, one enigmatic bird has captivated human imagination for millennia - the elusive Nightjar.

We're delighted to have received special permission from Forestry England for another year, to host our summer Night Out with Nightjars experience in the Tyne Valley. Join us to hear the ethereal, otherworldly song of these creatures steeped in folklore, and discover their incredible ecology on this nocturnal wildlife safari.

📅 28th May + 19th June + 25th June + 3rd July
🎟️ Tickets available to book now, link posted in the comments below. Suitable for adults and young naturalists ages 14+.

📸 Night Out with Nightjars | Wild Intrigue, 2025

It's been a while since we posted! 💛 At this time of year, many species awaken from deep slumber, return from migration ...
31/03/2026

It's been a while since we posted! 💛 At this time of year, many species awaken from deep slumber, return from migration or enliven landscapes with their seasonal songs. We can lose track of time amongst the magical hustle and bustle of it all - which is actually quite a lovely feeling 🐦‍⬛ So, a mini update...

🎧 We're working on some shiny new experiences, and confirming dates for some of your faves such as Night Out with Nightjars - and getting VERY excited for our main experience season to kick off with Dawn Chorus Discos in Ouseburn next week!

🐿️Meanwhile, Flynn has been welcoming guests on our Wild Haweswater experiences, and keeping an eye and ear on the wildlife - particularly looking and listening for the return of Redstarts and Pied Flycatchers (usually mid-April).

🌼This week - as part of Wild Ouseburn with NewcastleParks -we're back at City Stadium to create a wildflower meadow on a section we didn't complete last spring. This was because we underestimated just how thick and matted the thatch had become over the years. Now that the thatch has been removed by scarifying and raking over the weekend, it's time for turf rolling! 💪
If you have some spare time this week, come and get involved if you fancy it! We'll be at City Stadium on the following dates + times

📆Tuesday 31st March | 10am - 6pm
📆Wednesday 1st April | 10am - 12pm + 3pm - 5pm
📆Thursday 2nd April | 10am - 12pm
📆Saturday | 10am - 3pm
📍Find us at ///join.dream.shine

🌱 Check this post again before you come, if anything changes we'll alter this listing 🥾We'll be rolling and moving turf to create mounds, to prepare the ground for seeding with a mix of annual and perennial wildflowers (the same as last spring). Wear clothes and shoes you don't mind getting muddy, and stay for as long or little as you like.

🪱Little (and big..) Worm Watchers and Beetle Spotters are also welcome to pop by to investigate life hidden in the earth.

📸 Aerial image of the 'original' City Stadium meadow (summer 2025): the bottom section is the one we're completing this week + Image of the grass and image of wildflowers, demonstrating the beautiful, wildlife-enriching habitat it'll become!

If you've got some spare time this week, head along to Dunston to help create a new wildflower meadow!🌼🪻Part of the Tyne...
10/03/2026

If you've got some spare time this week, head along to Dunston to help create a new wildflower meadow!🌼🪻

Part of the Tyne Derwent Way, this work is transforming a section of amenity grass into a bright and beautiful wildflower strip to benefit wildlife, with a path running throughout for us all to enjoy it too.

📅You'll find Cain there on 20th + 11th + 13th March between 10am - 3pm, and can stay for as long or little as you like.

Everything you need to know can be found in the poster below and some tips on travelling to the meadow can be found in the image description 🚌🚄

Congratulations to urban botanist extraordinaire, James Common, on the launch of his new book today!It's been inspiring ...
09/03/2026

Congratulations to urban botanist extraordinaire, James Common, on the launch of his new book today!

It's been inspiring to see the passion and expertise that James has poured into this book - which he's gathered and shared throughout the years. An incredible achievement and an exciting new resource for urban wildlife exploration in the North East🌼🪻

Find out more about 'Urban Flora of Newcastle & North Tyneside' in James's post below 👇

More magical murmurations 😍Last night we returned to the Great Park Staring murmuration, what an incredible evening! Tho...
02/03/2026

More magical murmurations 😍

Last night we returned to the Great Park Staring murmuration, what an incredible evening! Thousands of Starlings gathered, attracting 2 Peregrine Falcons, and at least 2 Sparrowhawks, as well as a crowd of watchers.

If you've not seen a murmuration, we highly recommend heading along before many of them head back to Scandinavia to breed.

📍 Last night we stood at ///fade.rainy.cups, we've made a list of handy Starling murmuration watchings tips below👇

☕️ Get there early and take a flask - Arrive before 5pm to watch the spectacle build, from small flocks, to the grand finally. Make sure to bring a hot drink to keep you toasty!

🦅 Look out for birds of prey - The more birds of prey, the more shapes the Starlings will throw. Peregrine, Sparrowhawk and Buzzards have been the conductors of this grand performance at Great Park. Peregrine Falcons will stoop at the flock from the top with fast wing beats, where as Sparrowhawks will typically hunt from beneath with a 'flap- flap-glide' style.

👀👂 Use your eyes and ears - A murmuration is not only a spectacle visually, it's an wonderful audible experience too!

🌱 Be considerate of other wildlife and habitats - It's not only the Starlings here, last night we heard Water Rail calling, spotted a Kingfisher and all sorts of other wildlife. Please keep to the paths to prevent disturbance to wildlife, and damage to habitats.

🧍‍♂️ Be considerate to other murmuration watchers - A murmuration is an incredible experience, please be considerate of other watchers and avoid loud noises or shouting.

📷 Starling Murmuration, Great Park | Wild Intrigue, 1st March 2026

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