Main Menu

Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 19, 2024, 08:45:51 AM

Login with username, password and session length

Wildlife spotting

Started by Twit 2, August 06, 2018, 12:59:58 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Attila

I've seen foraging day-time hedgehogs in our garden before, usually this time of year/next couple of months. They stick really close to the garden fence, because there's so much cover there to hide behind (new growth roses, big-arsed lavendar section) -- and probably grub city. I suspect she'd be out during the day because she gets no peace trying to eat and drink with Larry Lounge Lizard jumping on her and riding her around almost continuously whenever she's shown up to the Party Palace at night.

Spoon of Ploff

watched a couple of rooks carrying twigs and such up into a phone mast this morning. is it safe to build a nest in one of those things.... wouldn't the microwaves cook the eggs of something?

BlodwynPig

They don't make crooks out of thin air you know

Attila

Photo dump incoming, but a lot of activity from last night in the newly redecorated/tidied up Party Palace.

First visitor to the grand re-opening was our crow buddy.





Boy-pig showed up first amongst the nighttime wildlife



The vixen and boy-pig



Boy & girl hedgehog couple who've been tearing the place up -- we haven't seen much of the girl pig the last few nights, but they were at it again last night.













They tend to knock over all the food and spill water everywhere while they're whirling about. Here's the boy hedgehog in the aftermath, looking a bit like Ron there amidst the wreckage




Foxy!



She's actually really shy and skittish -- in many of the shots she's just about on her belly and stretched out as much as possible to reach the food bowl. I think it's because it has a clear top; might cover it and see if she's less afraid to get to the food that way.

Bonus non-wildlife, angry Tiny Toast (I sat the cameras down by the shoerack when I brought it inside this morning)







Buelligan

Ah great pics, as ever Attila[nb]I'm sorry I have to illustrate my posts with googled images but this thread has inspired me so much, I've gone mad and bought a second hand camera (8.50€ heheh)which I'm hoping will arrive, working, soon.  Very excited.[/nb], particularly like the blackest ones, I'm a fool for both of those lovely creatures.  My bro was telling me last night about his feeding station and its visitors, which prompted a long history back to him of all the doings at yours, he, like me, loves those corvids with a passion.  So it was great to have something really lovely to share with him, thanks for it.

My walks over the last few days have included no crows but four, at least three but I think, four, Hoopoes.  Saw them following the river crevasse, from above, on Sunday.  Lovely black and white barred wings floating amongst the lime of new leaves.  Then, again, yesterday, calm as you like in a fig tree just outside the village.  Got a proper eyeful of their rusty pink bits too.  I love these creatures enormously, something incredibly uplifting about spying them.

Other spots were a lovely bright green lizard Lacerta bilineata sunbathing on a large rock as I made my way down into the crevasse and two of the much larger Ocellated lizards Lacerta lepida hanging about down by the river.  Plenty of swallowtails, spanish gatekeepers and lovely bright yellow and orange cleopatra butterflies along with a fair few adonis blues - maybe my favourites after the green hairstreak.

Also glorious Ophrys lutea the yellow and black bee orchid and lady orchids Orchis purpurea poking up everywhere to join the other bee orchids. 


DoesNotFollow

Saw me first sand lizard of the year, a male, on the heath a couple weeks back. Yesterday on a very local walk saw robins, greenfinch, dunnock, collared dove, greater spotted woodpecker (closest we've seen one!) jackdaw, pond snails, smooth newts, damselfly larvae and taddy-poles. Also a brown rat in the garden last week. Been scrapping some old fence panels this week and come across lots of lovely spiders and other creepy-crawlies.

Attila

Quote from: Buelligan on April 06, 2021, 11:03:53 AM
Ah great pics, as ever Attila[nb]I'm sorry I have to illustrate my posts with googled images but this thread has inspired me so much, I've gone mad and bought a second hand camera (8.50€ heheh)which I'm hoping will arrive, working, soon.  Very excited.[/nb], particularly like the blackest ones, I'm a fool for both of those lovely creatures.  My bro was telling me last night about his feeding station and its visitors, which prompted a long history back to him of all the doings at yours, he, like me, loves those corvids with a passion.  So it was great to have something really lovely to share with him, thanks for it.



I am glad you like the crow photos! There are usually more than the ones posted, but it's usually one good photo for every dozen where he's blurry or only half in shot.  I hope you get some good photos with your new-to-you camera :)  I always like your stories about your walks around the fields and hills where you live.

This is a lovely thread; so many lovely photos and stories :3

BlodwynPig


DoesNotFollow

Common lizard and young sand lizard on Canford Heath yesterday.


Twit 2


Brian Freeze

Id bloody love it if we could see lizards round here, dont think Id get bored of it at all.

Saw the first swallow last weekend and then had two new species on the bird feeders yesterday. One was a pair of Siskins but I was nearly more excited about the sparrow. Hope it comes back.

The tadpoles are growing nicely, half a dozen have just started independent swimming. Magic.

Buelligan



Ferris

Quote from: Attila on April 06, 2021, 11:33:51 AM
This is a lovely thread; so many lovely photos and stories :3

Absolutely. Really like this thread.

BlodwynPig

Quote from: bgmnts on April 10, 2021, 08:22:17 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvK-DujvpSY&ab_channel=GuardianNews

What the hell is this its incredible? This needs to get sampled.

I see the children are now calling them birbs instead of birds. A natural extension of doggo, I suppose, but why not just type d instead of b, prannets/gannets?

phes

Very sad to see one of the blackbirds that lives in the hedge outside work in a bad way after a scrap. Someone saw a magpie making its way away from the scene of the crime, but I didn't expect that magpies would often kill adult blackbirds. Suspect it's more likely to have been a magpie that had mobbed a raptor. Wasn't sure what to do with the poor thing. It was on its back with mangled wings and some bare patches of breast. Many feathers in a large circle nearby. Seemed unlikely it would survive and prolonging that seemed cruel. I figure if it was a raptor it will likely be back. Left it be where it was and it perished within the hour. Very upsetting, they're my favourite birds.

Blue Jam

On Friday I saw a crow carrying an entire slice of bread in its beak, landing in a tree and looking like it was feeding the weans with it. It was the crust as well, a hefty chonk of bread. Brown bread though so at least the weans got their fibre.

paruses

Had a mad arial West Side Story event today with a flock of corvids seeing off a flock of gulls. Assume the gulls had been straying in a bit too close to the nests. Was quite the sight. When the gulls had turned tail the corvids banked off and headed back like an RAF squadron.

Have also seen lots of dippers too recently.

Attila

Sad story from my walk this morning -- found a little blue tit just sat in the middle of one of the busier roads this morning, mourning his mate who'd been hit by a car. I couldn't get him out of the road, and his mate wasn't in a condition for me to move to try to help. It's left me really down this morning, poor little thing.


Another visit from our beautiful neighbourhood fox last night. (S)he seems to like the grain-free, high protein dog food that our Ben selflessly donated to the local wildlife community.








Attila

What a fab fox!

'Our' vixen also demolishes a bowlful of dog chow every night, too.

I've got to check the past few days' worth of photos -- we've got all sorts of visitors at the moment, including some new birds and a tiny opportunitic mouse (or shrew, can't quite tell).

Quote from: Attila on April 18, 2021, 12:47:14 PM
What a fab fox!

'Our' vixen also demolishes a bowlful of dog chow every night, too.

I've got to check the past few days' worth of photos -- we've got all sorts of visitors at the moment, including some new birds and a tiny opportunitic mouse (or shrew, can't quite tell).

Yes, it looks to be in good condition - must be the expensive dog food.

Looking forward to your next batch of photos, whether or not they include intimate hedgehog pics.

BlodwynPig

Back on it. Sunrise ramble up to big waters. Bullfinch, coal tit, blue tit and on the lake, Great crested grebe, cormorants (I assume the one with a white breast was a juvenile) and eider ducks. Lovely stuff. Could be a habit now.

pupshaw

Quote from: phes on April 11, 2021, 12:14:53 AM
Very sad to see one of the blackbirds that lives in the hedge outside work in a bad way after a scrap. Someone saw a magpie making its way away from the scene of the crime, but I didn't expect that magpies would often kill adult blackbirds. Suspect it's more likely to have been a magpie that had mobbed a raptor. Wasn't sure what to do with the poor thing. It was on its back with mangled wings and some bare patches of breast. Many feathers in a large circle nearby. Seemed unlikely it would survive and prolonging that seemed cruel. I figure if it was a raptor it will likely be back. Left it be where it was and it perished within the hour. Very upsetting, they're my favourite birds.

I had a very upsetting experience last week, also with my favourite bird, the blackbird. I was driving through Windsor Great Park (I work there sometimes) and a bird tried to fly across the road much too late to avoid my car. It went out of view but I felt the unmistakable and unerasable bump. I didn't have to look back. Now I know exactly how it feels (from my point of view at least), to run over a blackbird. I couldn't get it out of my head.

Gurke and Hare

The parakeets can't get enough of the blossom of one of the trees I can see from my window



Just sit there all day, pulling flowers off, presumably licking the nectar from the base then dropping them.

bgmnts

Saw a lovely dwty red breasted bird today.

Wear sun cream folks.

Attila

Photodump! It's been a couple of days since I brought the camera in -- usual assortment of hedgehogs, corvids, &c. I can't find it in this batch, but we had a hedgehog come visit the other day with a broken or a crushed front leg; it looked like an old injury and he was chowing down with the best of him. Haven't seen him before or since.

It also appears as if a bigger, male fox is now visiting, although the man foxy visitor is the vixen.

The loved up pair of hedgehogs are still around, but there seem to be at least 2 or 3 others (including one with a very long horsey face) have been coming by, too.



Small brown bird:


Strutting magpie


Foxy chowing down


Vixen & girl hedgehog


Magpie with a dog biscuit


Not wildlife, but a new calico kitten who comes by sometimes; she's actually pretty friendly when we're outside and she's around


Mouse or shrew


Sometimes they swop places






It was really misty here this morning early doors, and the camera was still on nightvision when the morning crow came by


Brightened up a bit, although still misty


Sunny here this afternoon







This is the best thread on here; worth the license fee alone.

I have wanted to contribute to this one, but never had that much to add, and I don't really know the names of stuff (yes - I know the ones with wings begins with like a b or something; I'm not completely stupid).


Anyway...

I wish I could express the sense of beauty I just felt, but all the words that come into my head are pigeon-clumsy. Perhaps if I were a Bronte I could do it. Alas - my similarity to them ends with location.

So there I am, riddled with Yorkshire DNA, surrounded by acres of 'green' and miles of 'blue'. And there I am, wandering lonely as a dead cunt, experiencing something that the word 'beauty' tries to convey. So much so that I have to stop. 'Take' 'it' 'all' 'in'. The birds are doing their 'thing'. Non-stop singing. It is 'serene', 'peaceful', 'beyond language'. I find a place to sit.

I can see for miles. Little vehicles cutesy-ing their way along hidden roads; temporary chimney-fluff; figures in distant fields. Then a butterfly comes at my shoulder from behind and almost makes me jump. Vicious little creature.

Not long after, a pigeon glides above my head - with more grace than I can describe with my clumsy little human words - down the hill, and lands by about four crows. Could that be a metaphor for something? I guess, if you really wanted it to be. But it could just be a pigeon, in a rare moment of grace, at a temporary moment in time, landing by some other birds, while a human with a silly imagination watches on.


And that's the story of my morning. I didn't really capture the beauty of it. But then who ever does?

Buelligan

Just went up a new route, up a new mountain.  Fuck me, scared myself a bit, just going up and up, pretty easy but then you get quite high and it's a bit steeper and the holds are all a bit soft and whoofty.  Heheh.  One point my feet slipped and I was there, scuffling, hearing the crumbs of mud and dry little stones scrabbling off, away, too far away down, just holding on to my little tuft and telling my worn old boots to keep looking for fucking purchase.  Any fucking purchase at all.  Found it, obvs but was quite glad to skirt the last rocky overhang and drag myself onto the top.  On the way up, did find some rather lovely Potentilla crantzii (I think), glowing bowls of gold from soft furry grey green rosettes, a lovely thing, first sighting here.  Lots of orchids and a white flowered Linum narbonense (never seen white before).  Saw the eagle, beautiful thing, gave me a bit of perspective on my vertigo. 

Love your magpie Atilla.  Wow.