Wildlife spotting

[QDRPHNC]

Here's your near future, Blodders. Showing a bear who's boss with a high powered jet of steam from your navel.

Seriously though, pick up some bear repellant.

[BlodwynPig]

Here's your near future, Blodders. Showing a bear who's boss with a high powered jet of steam from your navel.

Seriously though, pick up some bear repellant.

it's alright, they're black bears. Cubs will be old enough by May. Mind you, I guess I might have a night time ramble and encounter some other dangerous critters.

[Attila]

No photos yet, but the hedgehogs have been absolutely destroying the party palace every night over the past week.

I kept a little bowl out for them all winter and could tell the occasional sleepy visitor had come by, and a few more when we had that mild spell. But the little fuckers are wide awake now, and hungry as ever -- I fill up two heaping bowls every evening (with a mix of posh kitten food, Go Cat kitten food, hedgehog kibble, and suet), and I swear they lick the bowls clean.

Up through to hibernation time last autumn, they'd leave scraps and crumbs, and they made a hell of a mess throwing food everywhere. They turned up their nose at the posh kibble and hedgehog chow -- but now, they're not only kicking the empty bowls all over the place, but they eat up every stray bit and pellet that falls on the ground.

I've been going out in the evenings to watch the ISS pass overhead, and invariably when I open the back door there's this mad scramble as 3 or 4 hogs knock themselves over to disappear into the crockery. The whole time I'm in the back garden I can hear them impatiently grunting on the other side of the fence and bashing around the flowerpots behind the shed, waiting for me to leave. Mr Gus (on solo watch, thanks to a speeding neighbour ending his pal's life last week) is going nuts trying to patrol the back garden and watch out for them.

Mr Attila plans to install one of those bird-box cams so that we can see just how many of the little guys are tearing up the party palace every night.

[paruses]

Atilla - could you remind me of the names? Is it the same characters returning this series?

[phes]

My daughter spotted a treecreeper yesterday. Handy to have eagle-eyed youngsters around as I'm rubbish at spotting creatures these days, unless it's a fold of Highland Coos. My better half is quite the accomplished otter spotter.

That's why learning bird songs is great! I know about twenty now so whenever there's a nuthatch or a bullfinch in the garden I'm the first to find out

Creeperfacts: treecreepers only every creep up or along, nuthatches creep up, along and down. Sometimes hard to tell which is which if it's just a tiny silhouette

[Ferris]

it's alright, they're black bears. Cubs will be old enough by May. Mind you, I guess I might have a night time ramble and encounter some other dangerous critters.

Have I told my story about scaring a black bear + cub away while half-drunk in a canoe in Kejimkujik? I bet I have.

[BlodwynPig]

Have I told my story about scaring a black bear + cub away while half-drunk in a canoe in Kejimkujik? I bet I have.

No!

[BlodwynPig]

That's why learning bird songs is great! I know about twenty now so whenever there's a nuthatch or a bullfinch in the garden I'm the first to find out

Creeperfacts: treecreepers only every creep up or along, nuthatches creep up, along and down. Sometimes hard to tell which is which if it's just a tiny silhouette

The nuthatches here are tame and will land on your hand to feed.

[Mr Banlon]

Back garden parrots, West London

[Twit 2]

Saw a Kodiak bear shopping in Aldi.

[Ferris]

Saw a Kodiak bear shopping in Aldi.

fuk off no u didnt

[paruses]

Saw a Kodiak bear shopping in Aldi.

For Hoffmeister?

[Twit 2]

Detergent, cat food, leeks.

[paruses]

Makes sense. Cheaper there.

[DoesNotFollow]

Caught a glimpse of an adder as well as at least a dozen common lizards on east Dartmoor, on Saturday.

[phes]

Yesterday I was taking a snap of a Jay sitting in a tree in the botanical gardens. I put my phone away (grr!) heard an almighty flapping commotion behind me and turned to see a raptor pulling a pigeon down towards the ground about five yards from me. The same Jay i'd photographed along with another pigeon flew at the birds flapping and screeching and I think one must've got a really good peck in because the raptor lost grip and took off. It was all very spectacular. I think it was probably a female sparrowhawk because it was in a densely featured wooded area and from what I read they like hunting in places such as that, and gardens generally.

The hero of the hour. Paying more attention than me

[BlodwynPig]

that's great Phes. Animal defenders Engage!

I got hounded by a murder of crows yesterday in a lonely forest. I decided to walk from the company I collaborate with and thought I'd take a detour through some woodland I'd never been in before. It was pretty boring, just leaves and mud and hills, no wildlife. I then felt like I was getting lost and my blood sugar may be falling. Suddenly the cawing started and a huge band of crows flew into the trees around me, cawing like crazy. Perhaps they scented my demise. They followed me for a mile or so until I found a clearing and could hear the road. Unnerving.

[Spoon of Ploff]

careful there. Adder in the grass there. careful



t'was on Cannock Chase. Daren't get any closer with my shitty phone camera in case it stung me with its sharp talons or something.

[gib]

That's really cool Ploff.

[Mr_Simnock]

That is a great spot that, I would love to see one of those in the wild.

[BlodwynPig]

Beautiful markings!

[Dex Sawash]

Raking leaves^* the other day and shit myself when there was a purple snake under the leaves. Was just a tamper seal from a gallon of milk which is just as terrible.



* Not a euphemism

[Ferris]

No!

Just realized I didn't reply to this. Basically, I was half-drunk in a canoe in Kejimkujik. Saw a bear + cub on the lake shore ~100ft away. Exclaimed (because I didn't actually expect to see a bear) and they both fucked off.

It's not a great story, I know.

[BlodwynPig]

It doesn't bear thinking about

[Ferris]

It doesn't bear thinking about

Canoe not think of a better pun?

[BlodwynPig]

Kayak harder!

[Sherringford Hovis]

My landlady told me that there are no crows in Canada - but I have since seen large crows around, so...

Odd, considering the Internet's most famous crow is even named 'Canuck' and lives in Vancouver. She probably also claims that there's no pigeons in Trafalgar Square.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flU0rDDGtHU

[BlodwynPig]

Odd, considering the Internet's most famous crow is even named 'Canuck' and lives in Vancouver. She probably also claims that there's no pigeons in Trafalgar Square.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flU0rDDGtHU

lovely story

[NoOffenceLynn]

Not my spotting but, this is a clip of Sammy the Seal from my friends in Wicklow. He comes out of the harbour and heads to the fish shop opposite for fresh fish, it's only the best for Sammy but really he can't be bothered to catch his own :)
The fish shop owners lame attempts to gently guide him back to the water using a chair, are the actions of a man who knows he has been defeated, by a seal.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FbKLSIO5lcU

I have bird feeders outside but lately they have been attracting more crows, rather than the smaller birds that used to come and tweet all their friends about the food, it was beautiful to listen to their early morning song. Now it's just a crow squawk before he heads to the nearest rubbish tip for his second breakfast

[Dex Sawash]

Crow flew inside shop and landed on open hood of car I was working on and talked some crow to me.  Flew away before I could flip phone to landscape.