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Wildlife spotting

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

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Buelligan

Just creeping through a wood, honey birdsong falling.  Stopped to watch the light in a goyle of ancient oaks, heard four-footed crushing of old leaf litter.  Down came a slender fox, delicate and sly as a supermodel, smelled me I think, we were close.  Disappeared into the darkness of the rocks.  Beautiful thin triangular face.  And the dancing legs.

Galeee

I'm delighted to announce the return of the swifts, one pair in my roof and  two pairs in my swift boxes.
Summer is truly here.

Fishfinger


Buelligan

Ah, they're so lovely.  This is the beauty of the world.

ZoyzaSorris

Big starling fan here for sure

Jittlebags

Actually saw a cuckoo yesterday - in fact a pair of them. Day before, saw a kestrel mobbing a buzzard.

Fishfinger

#2196
More fledglings - this is getting out of hand:



The adults have been eating/scavenging voraciously recently. A couple of jars of peanut butter and mealworm, intended for bluetits, would normally last a month or so. Now they're consumed in 2-3 days. They empty mealworm feeders and birdbaths in record time, too.


Attila


phes

The starlings seem to like Sheffield city center and I'm always amazed when I sit and watch them that absolutely nobody in the crowds of people seems even to register them. Even when they're chucking out the most hilarious sounds.

A friend has been counting long tailed tit nests and babies in south yorkshire for the last couple of months so I'm hoping to have some footage of them being fed in their nests

Gurke and Hare

Lots of great tits here flying backwards and forwards with beakfuls of food, so hopefully some fledglings soon. Sadly nothing's nested this year in the hole in the wall that's just outside my office window, but there are obviously a few nests just out of sight.

House martins back in decent numbers too.

Buelligan

Quote from: phes on May 14, 2021, 10:52:48 AM
The starlings seem to like Sheffield city center and I'm always amazed when I sit and watch them that absolutely nobody in the crowds of people seems even to register them. Even when they're chucking out the most hilarious sounds.

A friend has been counting long tailed tit nests and babies in south yorkshire for the last couple of months so I'm hoping to have some footage of them being fed in their nests

I would love to see, can you post them here if you get them?  LTtits are some of my top birds.  Think it comes from my delight at their nests when I were a nip.  They're lovely creatures, blessed here with many, probably the most common of all here, can't remember the last time I saw a bluey or any other, though I'm sure they're about.  Get a lot of finches.  But long tailed tits, loveliest tails, nests and faces.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

We have had some in the garden around the back of the development. It's relaxing to lie down and watch the new leaves on the trees swaying in the wind and the little birds doing their survival tasks.

Gurke and Hare

Saw a jay this morning being mobbed by great tits and starlings with a baby bird in its beak as it flew off.

paruses

Quote from: Gurke and Hare on May 17, 2021, 10:44:28 AM
Saw a jay this morning being mobbed by great tits and starlings with a baby bird in its beak as it flew off.

Definitely the most exciting and upsetting time of year I think. Sparrows went mad the other day and I looked out to see a magpie plucking away at what was probably one of their own. I watched a red kite wheeling around while I was on a walk the other day to see it come down and head off with something from the gorse. Also tend to find a few near-naked pulli in the garden having been taken by corvids or cats.

Still - saw a banging dipper the other day just standing on a rock for ages - it was doing that 1920s cartoon bob that all the bandy legged characters used to do.

Jittlebags

Saw a large hare yestrday. It gave me a good, hard stare before fucking off into some gorse.

Fishfinger

Quote from: paruses on May 17, 2021, 11:03:31 AM
Definitely the most exciting and upsetting time of year I think. Sparrows went mad the other day and I looked out to see a magpie plucking away at what was probably one of their own.

Yes, magpies have done for two of the eight fledgling starlings who turned up in the garden last week. They seem unable to resist a stunned or otherwise helpless bird, and will kill them even if they have no apparent interest in eating them.

bgmnts

No horrible avian murders here yet. A little bit of tension on the branches but nothing more.

BlodwynPig

Quote from: phes on May 14, 2021, 10:52:48 AM
The starlings seem to like Sheffield city center and I'm always amazed when I sit and watch them that absolutely nobody in the crowds of people seems even to register them. Even when they're chucking out the most hilarious sounds.

A friend has been counting long tailed tit nests and babies in south yorkshire for the last couple of months so I'm hoping to have some footage of them being fed in their nests

Newcastle used to be 'plagued' with starlings and it was a delight to see them in there 1000s making shapes above grey street backed by crimson sunsets. Councils destroyed them all because of the mess and destruction. Council were cunts. Hate them

Buelligan

Gah, just went up on the mountain and saw darkness even there.  Right now, it's all flowers, far as the eye can see.  Smells incredible.  I was staring at these.  Soaking it right up.  Noticed a flopping bee.  Just not like a bee.  Place was heaving with the little darlings.  Looked at this bee, like a limp rabbit, and saw something on her head.  Shiny black and yellow, thought a wasp.  On manipulation though, used some dry grass as pincers, it was a spider.  A very determined spider, who I removed.  Placed the bee gently on some flowers and hoped for a full recovery (I fucking know). 

Anyway, not the only one.  My walk became very slow.  Rescued three more from an all over egg-yolker, a minty celadon and a crimson blackie.  Real beauties but clearly cunts.  Although they have to live.  Saw many more, all vivid, crouching in marguerites mainly.  Waiting to bite someone in the face.  Pinged them off.

This place would be heaven right now if you were a spider person or, at least, not a bee.

BlodwynPig

I walked into a giant web just the other day. Covered in sarcophaflies and queen spider resting on my nose

Spoon of Ploff

M'folks garden is an avian haven at the moment. A commune of starlings, and some nesting blue tits for starters.


feed me!


why not take a picture bud, it'll last longer


Buelligan

Further, moderately interesting news on those spiders.  I took some time to track the buggers down and now can say that most were Misumena vatia interesting for many reasons including its ability to change colour.  Found a fairly interesting if very sad, article about them preying on bees.

My other identification was even less comfortable and not just for the bees.  They were Latrodectus tredecimguttatus or the Mediterranean black widow.  Which probably explains why my face swelled up worse than a blobfish, until all my eyes were closed for a couple of days, that time I was bitten whilst working in a garden.  Bugger me.

Spoon of Ploff

Quote from: Buelligan on May 18, 2021, 09:51:32 AM
Further, moderately interesting news on those spiders.  I took some time to track the buggers down and now can say that most were Misumena vatia interesting for many reasons including its ability to change colour.  Found a fairly interesting if very sad, article about them preying on bees...



Yep. Crab spiders are total bastards... saw one take out a Peacock butterfly once. They hang around flowers waiting to pounce on any insect that's after that pure nectar goodness. Real pieces of work.

Twit 2

I saw my first kingfisher on my local river today. I normally see kingfishers on the river Yare, which is a short drive away. There is a small river walk near my house, though, and although I know they're there, I've never seen one in that location. Just before I'd spotted egret with a fish. Nice.

Buelligan

Ah, I love kingfishers, the whole tribe, there is certainly something utterly magical about them.  I envy you.

Epic Bisto

A load of Goldfinches have taken up residency in the tree in our front garden.  It's so sweet to watch them do their little flying dances and cheeping away.


In the back garden, mummy fox and her four little cubs keep appearing, bringing dog chew toys into our garden and playing with our flower pots.  Also, we have some ground nesting bees too, but the wife is worried that as more and more keep appearing they are starting to freak out our guinea pigs.  My main argument is that the bees are really fluffy and cute and should be left to it, unfortunately that means moving the hutch when I get home.  The foxes keep knocking down their little fence (to stop those little sods escaping next door and meeping for help. Again).  There is possibly a magpie nest at the bottom of the garden.


All this cuteness almost makes up for the utter shit that is life at the moment.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

I was about to go to bed the other night, when I heard a high pitch squeaking noise coming from the garden. I grabbed a torch and looked out to see a little baby rabbit... being murdered by a rat. I considered bashing the rat to death, but decided that it wasn't really doing anything wrong, even if the sight was a bit disturbing.

paruses

I found a perfectly decapitated bluetit on the garden path last year.
First thought was a message from a Mexican cartel but then when I had calmed down I think it may have been a rat.
Never found anything like that before. Was almost surgical.

phes

Corvid. Murderous buggers