We love sharing stories from women who feel truly connected to the outdoors. Not through big statements or box-ticking adventures, but through everyday curiosity, care and noticing what’s around them. Kate MacRae, better known as WildlifeKate, is one of those people.
Now based in South West Wales, Kate has shaped her life around wildlife, turning her land into a living, breathing nature reserve filled with cameras capturing birds, mammals and moments most of us would otherwise miss.
In this conversation, Kate shares her journey to Wales, the wildlife encounters that have stayed with her (some of these have been shared below), and why making a little space for nature each day can make a big difference to how we feel.
All images used are credited to WildlifeKate
Hi, please tell everyone where you are based and what you do!
Hi! I’m Kate MacRae, more commonly known as ‘WildlifeKate’. I am a wildlife enthusiast, educator, photographer and wildlife camera nerd; I share my passion for wildlife through a variety of media. I love to share my wildlife and nature experiences, mainly based in and around my beautiful home in South West Wales.
I moved here in September 2023, after selling my lovely home in Lichfield and deciding to follow a life-long dream! I have always wanted to live in a more rural location, with lots of land to indulge my passions of watching, filming and sharing nature that is close to our homes. My 3 acre plot is being developed to become a wildlife reserve, packed full of cameras filming all sorts of wildlife. I have over 20 cameras installed and I share the footage on my website and social media channels. I also live stream my cameras on feeders, nest boxes, mammal boxes and more.
My footage has appeared on BBC Springwatch. Autumnwatch, Countryfile, The One Show and many wildlife-based programmes. I love collaborating with others who share my love of the outdoors and are passionate about the benefits of letting nature into their lives.
What’s your favourite way to spend time outdoors?
My favourite way to spend time outdoors, has to be watching wildlife. Birds are my ultimate obsession, but I love all aspects of nature, whether it be marvelling in the intricacies of flora and fauna through my macro lens, or being surrounded by puffins on Skomer!
I am equally enthralled by walking through the local woodlands, listening to song thrushes and other birds singing and flitting through the trees. I usually have my binoculars with me whenever I am out and about and I love to photograph and film what I see, often on my phone, but also with my ‘real’ camera!
I also love walking and running with my collie, Wren. We have some lovely tracks and trails on my doorstep and early mornings always start with a walk or a run as I feel it is the only way for me to start my day, whatever the weather.
Can you share your favourite, memorable outdoor adventure or experience?
I have had some incredible wildlife adventures in other parts of the world, most memorable being in Costa Rica and Ecuador. Being immersed in these nature-rich environments were truly life-changing, seeing pristine habitats and species I had only dreamed of seeing. Highlights would be hummingbirds in Ecuador and filming a tayra in a lodge I was staying in. In Costa Rica, seeing macaws and toucans was a childhood dream come true.
Images from Equador including a hummingbird and a tayra
I have had fabulous wildlife encounters here in the UK as well. I recently went to a red kite feeding station near my home and seeing these raptors soaring, swirling and swooping over me whilst I tried to get photographs, was incredible. I am lucky enough to also see them regularly over my own land.
I also love Scotland, its wildness and its incredible wildlife. I have hiked thigh-high in snow to photograph mountain hare, crawled in seaweed to photograph otters in Mull and set trail cams all over Shetland to watch and film wild otters going about their daily business.
I have also filmed some truly incredible moments! When you watch and film wildlife 24-7, you become part of their world and get to see things you would never normally see. After building an artificial badger sett and waiting 7 years, I filmed a wild badger giving birth. It is thought that I am the only person to have ever filmed this… and that has to be the highlight so far of all the amazing moments I have filmed!
How do you manage to find a balance between being active and life’s other responsibilities i.e. work and family?
When I moved to Wales, I was lucky enough to be able to pay off my mortgage and buy my property outright and living without a mortgage has been life-changing. I had decided that, having raised my children on my own, teaching and doing consultancy work to make ends meet, that my move to Wales would be a new start. I am now very privileged to pick and choose my consultancy work to fund all the wonderful projects that you see happening on my land.
My life revolves around my land now, from creating habitats, building nest boxes and camera set-ups, building and creating new spaces, from poly tunnels to hen runs, allotments to wildlife ponds!
I even single-handedly dismantled a 30 year old dilapidated caravan on my land, to make space for an exciting bird hide project! My days are varied and busy, whatever the time of year, my heart is full and I feel I am living the life I have always dreamed of!
Is there anyone in particular that inspired your love of the outdoors?
My parents always encouraged my obsession with nature, from a very early age. My dad, in particular , was interested in birds and we had a bird table in the garden and he would take me on trips to watch wildlife. When I was about 13, I visited Wales for the first time. I grew up in South East London and the Local Education Authority owned an outdoor adventure centre in Wales, where London kids could visit. I was the geeky kid with binoculars, rather bullied and alienated from my peers, but an instructor, Jack Grasse, realised that I was really interested.
On hikes, he would tell me about the birds we saw. One evening, he took me up to a cliff to show me a peregrine falcon nest. I remember that evening as clear as day. We sat on the hillside and watched the male bring in food to the chicks and he told me all about it. I was just blown away by the encounter. He shared his enthusiasm and love for the wildlife around him and I remember being in total awe of him, even writing him letters telling him about the birds I saw at home in London. That encounter was so important to me and I am sure it shaped the direction I took in my passion and subsequent work.
What role does nature play in your mental well-being?
I would say that nature has always been essential to me. In some really tough times of my life, I sought the outdoors to calm and heal me. I need to feel fresh air and hear the birds every day. It has become a way of life and I am positive that my daily outdoor encounters, noticing nature, are what has kept my mental health so good, despite some crippling, emotional times in my life.
What’s the one piece of gear or clothing you never leave home without on an outdoor trip?
I never go anywhere without a fleece! I am really cold-blooded and I am more often cold than not! Ironic considering I now live in an old house where my only heating is via a wood-fired Rayburn or wood burners, so I live most of the year with about 4 layers on!
I usually have my binoculars with me too and I have numerous wildlife apps as I often see plants, in particular or hear a bird that I am not sure of the ID of and I love to learn and find out more about the nature that surrounds my excursions, whether they be close to home or further afield.
When did you discover FINDRA?
I discovered Findra when some of my outdoor fellow enthusiasts started talking about it. I am an Ordnance Survey Ambassador and some of them talked about the clothing and how warm the merino wool layers were. When I learnt more about the company, it just fitted in so well with all my beliefs and passions and I was really keen to find out more and become part of the Findra family!
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Be yourself and surround yourself with people who fill your cup, not drain it!
On writing this blog, what do you feel is the key motivational or inspirational message you would like to highlight to our followers that would inspire them to get outdoors more.
I would say to everyone, make a little space in your day for nature. You don’t need to be in the wilds of Scotland or hiking a majestic mountain. It could be noticing a brave dandelion fighting its way through a crack in the pavement, a blackbird singing in the morning light or the frost on a winter leaf.
Noticing nature is proven to improve mood and lighten the load at difficult times. It costs nothing other than a few moments of your day to incorporate a little awe and wonder into your life. Before long, it becomes a habit and, like a drug, you’ll want to immerse yourself in it more and more.
Follow Wildlife Kate at www.wildlifekate.co.uk or on her Instagram at @thewildlifekate.
Check out more of Kate's wildlife footage on her YouTube Channel @WildlifeKateatGwylltHollow
Sunday Inspiration
Kate's Favourite Book
Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
Last Child in the Woods is a book that resonated with me on so many levels! I spent over 30 years as a primary school teacher, specialising in outdoor education. This book explores how our changing lifestyles are preventing children spending valuable time outside in a way that helps develop their mind and their body.
Favourite Quote
Jane Goodall is one of the people I most admire. There are many quotes of hers that really resonate with me, with this being the most pertinent:
Favourite Song
Morning has broken, by Cat Stevens is my most favourite song. It epitomises all that I love about nature.
