Wildlife spotting

[Jittlebags]

Saw a stand (which is what I think the collective for is) of plovers in a wet field during my afternoon walk today.

[Spoon of Ploff]

spotted this woodpecker (geddit?) tapping on a branch this morning... whilst upside down! no need for that

[king_tubby]

Yeah, quite often see what I assume is the same one near us and over the Abbey.

It's just been soaring directly over our house, I stupidly ran out without the 'phone though.

[Jumblegraws]

Went for a last light walk in the woods, said hello to a tawny owl

[Spoon of Ploff]

sp(hooo)ky

[BlodwynPig]

The pink footed geese are still in the fields, despite the heavy snow we've had...screenshot this from a video I took today

[bgmnts]

Went for a last light walk in the woods, said hello to a tawny owl

Nightmare fuel.

[Attila]

It's been pretty quiet at the Party Palace -- no foxes since we put a shelter over their food station :(

Usual cat visitors (I know, not wildlife, but bear with me)

Mr Jingles


Mr Gus


Snow on the station


This magpie is a regular morning visitor


However, as promised in another thread, on the 28th Jan, a grumpy hedgehog came for a drink and a stomp around the palace. This is the first time we've seen any hedgehogs since December, I think.

[BlodwynPig]

Tropical temperatures down there!

The rat has been a regular visitor whenever I put food out. I'm sure a close up shot was a hedgehog though a few days ago. Nothing much about with the snow - some cat tracks and a streak of piss which was probably the Weil's ridden rat.

[Gurke and Hare]

Squirrel that's been fighting maybe, or had a narrow escape from a fox?



Green woodpecker in Beckenham Place Park

[holyzombiejesus]

I put bird feeders out before christmas and hardly got a sniff, maybe just the odd robin and the usual shitload of crows. However, since it snowed, the garden has been absolutely full of birds. So far I've seen chaffinches, greenfinches, goldfinches, grey wagtails, coal tits and song thrushes in addition to the usual blackbirds, robins, blue tits. It's been really nice although, from what I've read, the lawn will be fucked due to the sunflower shells poisoning the grass(?!) and the filler they use in the packs of seeds sprouting up in it's place. One of the blackbirds is fucking mental, a right hard case.

[Gurke and Hare]

Fox having a little snooze in the garden. I don't know if it's always this one (there are a few that live round here), but I've seen a fox in the garden during the day a few times recently, which is unusual. Anyone know any good foxy distinguishing features I could keep an eye on to see if it is the same one?

[Attila]

Getting nightly visits now from the same little dude.

[BlodwynPig]

Great pics Gurke and also nice to see Hedgehogs back. Will put the camera out a bit more now and maybe into a few rural spots I've seen on my walks (spotted different animal tracks in the snow, so know potential good places for deer and smaller beasts).

[DoesNotFollow]

Just seen two feral pigeons mating right outside the French doors. A bit of 'courtship feeding' going on, the male mounts the female, and then after a bit of pecking by the female in his face and neck she mounts him! Confused us initially but apparently its not unusual.

[bgmnts]

https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/23/global-freshwater-fish-populations-at-risk-of-extinction-study-finds

Just another story now isn't it? These never end.

Millions of years of evolution and life cycles and perfectly balanced ecosystems fully undone in 30 years. Thats fucking mental.

[bgmnts]

Here's a thought, are humans the next mass extinction event?

[Attila]

The Party Palace appears to be open for business -- it's the same ratty looking hedge-pig, but he's gone from a quick once-a-night nibble to all-night grazing at the kibble bowls. He's not fussed at all if we're outside, either, making me think it's the one little lad from a late hatching last autumn.

I went out to top up the bowl last night a little after 11pm, and he tripped the camera less than two minutes later; he probably hears me rattling the bag and crockery.

Mr Attila was out around 1am (he's a night owl, so was puttering around in the garage) and said that when he went to wash his hands at the tap, the hedgehog was chunting away in the kibble bowl, giving no fucks about the nearness of a human.

That's why I think it's that bold little guy from last autumn, who would sit in the bowl when I'd pull it out of the party palace for a refill, and who once snuffled all around my feet while I crouched down to top up their water, just another day at the office as far as he was concerned.

Hoping the foxes come back -- haven't seen any in months.

[BlodwynPig]

Yes, back to normal soon - the glorious singing blackbird has returned to his branch and was serenading this evening.

[Attila]

The only thing I miss about my commute and being stood at stupid o'clock in the morning on our local dismal railway platform are the pair of magpies who nest in one of the big trees opposite. Without fail, back every spring to set up house in that same tree (I like to think it's the same couple, anyway).

(That, and being up so early has meant seeing various starry things in the sky and lovely moons and mists and things in the early morning. However, I don't miss getting out of bed at stupid o'clock nor the extortionate prices I was paying on SWT for the privelege...)

[Ray Travez]

I bloody love the photos in this thread

[Attila]

Looks as if we're back to 100+ hedgehog pix a night, but really glad to see the little dudes have returned. For the moment, it's just this one.

Bonus magpie.

[BlodwynPig]

Any idea if hedgehogs take a while to come out of hibernation even if temperatures are warmer (4-10 degrees). Only the rat and the mouse visiting now, hoping the hedgehog(s) have not perished, been killed by rat or cat.

[Attila]

To be honest, dunno -- we had loads of them bumbling around the party palace up through to early December (with one concern being it was a mum with four autumn babies).

So far, only one has returned (and I think it's one of the autumn babies, judging from its antics). This one came out for one night in January during the cold snap, looking pretty grumpy and ratty, got a big drink (ignored the kibble) and went back to bed. It's only been the past week that it's come back -- a brief visit one night, but now, a few days later, chowing down on the kibble to start fattening up again.

They should start appearing more and more once word gets out about food because they fatten up ahead of next month's mating season. This guy has reappeared because we know an array generally nest in our neighbour's overgrown garden (there's a hole between the fences of our two gardens, and we get loads of photos of hedgeholgs coming and going in that direction. They also bimble across our garden to cross over to the other neighbours' through a hole in that fence, and the go down our drive to forage in the woods opposite.

So I would guess we're seeing this guy because he's been camped out pretty close to us all winter, and hitting up a remembered/known food station. The others will be waking up and grubbing around locally before they start wandering again. I'm sure you'll be seeing a few soon, once they shake off their winter lethargy and start to forage to fatten up.

It is a numbers game, though -- this little dude was one of four babies/youths who all came to the food station every night to play and eat, but of course, he's the only one we've seen so far...

ETA -- my guy is actually early, according to the Tiggiewinks site - they usually start showing up later in March/late March. I suspect it's because he's got a food source close by and in a sheltered place -- he's definitely not fussed at all by us; I've heard him banging around i the crockery when I've been out there refilling the kibble -- he was out there grunting and rummaging in the bracken last night when I was doing his bowl, in fact.

[Attila]

Annnd I've just learned that baby hedgehogs are called urchins. Sounds good to me.

[BlodwynPig]

that's great, thanks Attila!

[Brian Freeze]

I've been stalking the Barn Owl. I saw it again by accident on an early morning walk so last Friday morning set off at six am all wrapped up and sat in a field for twenty minutes and was rewarded with an excellent display. It actually flew right at me and got to twenty foot away before spotting me and veering off. On the walk home I saw more of its hunting grounds too.

This morning I tried again but left it too late for setting off and the sun was on its way up by the time I got there. So I just sat there and listened to the world waking up for half an hour under an enormous low and moody peachy moon in a pink and grey sky and got to watch a rabbit easily escaping from a fox among the various birds flitting about.



The moon which is barely visible in this photo was genuinely ginormous (how is there such a disconnect between what the eyes see and camera catches?)

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

baby hedgehogs are called urchins

Hogecoin

[Clatty McCutcheon]

Annnd I've just learned that baby hedgehogs are called urchins. Sounds good to me.

I think urchin is an archaic name for all hedgehogs, hence the spiny, spherical creatures that live in the sea are called sea urchins.

[DoesNotFollow]

Saw a number of wall lizards while walking back from Bournemouth today.