Wildlife spotting

[phes]

I think the thing to remember is that I was right about the blue tit youth.

sadly as a result of drawing attention to the infant it has now been savaged by a bluetit-hawk

[paruses]

I hope jobotic can live with himself

[paruses]

Got the Apeman up and running BTW. Currently have half a gig of photos of feeders with no birds on plus two pics of the side of a rat plus one pic of a grumpy blackbird.

[Voltan (Man of Steel)]

Working away in my front room just now and went to investigate the mad tapping noises coming from the window sill. Saw this little chap and his mates going nuts in the shrubs outside the window. I wish I could get a similar close-up of the blue tits and goldfinches that I also see flitting about but they never come that close. Still, what a cutie.

[Dex Sawash]

Deer was eating the hostas this morning and wandered around inside the fence.




Wife was anxious that deer couldn't find the gate I had left open and didn't know how to get out.




That's the hole the bunnies made at the bottom center of that fence panel

[Gurke and Hare]

I can see a tree from my bedroom/office window that's currently got loads of berries on it, and branches that are just not quite sturdy enough to support the weight of a pigeon. Hilarity is ensuing.

[Endicott]

[Fishfinger]

^ Fantastic shot.

Here's a young robin from this morning:



I've seen a couple that are starting to get their red breasts and it's nice to see them thriving (or surviving to maturity at least). I hope they don't start fighting over territory.

On the other end of the scale, yesterday I spotted a dying rat. Flies were crawling over it when it was still breathing. It seemed to be trying to get under the shed, but couldn't make it. I covered it and it's getting disposed of today. RIP Mr Rat.

[Ferris]

Saw a pair of Eastern Painted turtles while going for a walk. Very exciting.

[Voltan (Man of Steel)]

Trying to use my phone to take pics through my telescope is a work in progress but hopefully I'll get better. Managed to take these earlier but I'm really hoping to get pics of the goldfinches that have been regularly visiting the new feeder filled with niger seeds. I can't recall seeing goldfinches in my garden that often before I got the feeder but I must have seen twenty or more in the last three days. Beautiful little things.

[Twit 2]

Walking round some marshes, saw one of these rare cunts recently (stock pic soz):

https://www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife-in-norfolk/species-explorer/freshwater-invertebrates/norfolk-hawker

Also a big arse water vole, on my little local river. Swam off before I could snap the prick.

[Voltan (Man of Steel)]

Slightly blurry goldfinch.

[BlodwynPig]

Slightly blurry goldfinch.

hitchCOCKian

[Fishfinger]

The telescope pics are brilliant.

[Voltan (Man of Steel)]

Thanks. It's surprisingly difficult to line up the phone's camera lens with the eyepiece in such a way as to get a nice clear image. Well it is for this sausage-fingered oaf.

[Endicott]

I don't do it often but I agree it's really fiddly. There are 'contraptions' you can attach to the eyepiece to mount the phone, but they're a bit fiddly too.

[Voltan (Man of Steel)]

Yes, I bought one and it's a bugger to use. I get better (but still not great) results just holding the phone to the eyepiece and fiddling around with it.

Anyway, I'm enjoying looking at the birdies but I don't always know what I'm looking at. For example:

[Attila]

Telescope birds! Really lovely photos.

My wildlife camera has taken to shutting itself off around 2 and 3am every morning lately, which is annoying. The main visitors the past few weeks have been loads of fox kits, including a pair that always come together -- they run around playing amongst the potted plants, carry on, and steal various things from the back garden to play with. I buy for them chicken dog-treats, and we get photos of one of the pair burying a chew bone only for the other one to dig it up and run off with it a few minutes later.

I was tidying the other morning around the food station and found a tiny, shed baby fox molar.

Always love catching birds just as they take off


Baby Foxy


Alert baby fox (actually, they're getting pretty big now)


This ratty old boy sometimes shows up in the late morning


Baby fox with two 'doggy donuts' (chicken treats) in its mouth


Rare triple play


These two nitwits rarely eat out of the same bowl at the same time


More foxy

[Ferris]

Yes, I bought one and it's a bugger to use. I get better (but still not great) results just holding the phone to the eyepiece and fiddling around with it.

Anyway, I'm enjoying looking at the birdies but I don't always know what I'm looking at. For example:

I've been using the Merlin ID app for identifying birds and it is very good. Mine is configured for Canada but I bet it would only take a few clicks to get a positive ID on that because the photo is so clear.

[Voltan (Man of Steel)]

Thanks Attila. Always enjoy your pics, especially updates from the party palace.

[Voltan (Man of Steel)]

Cheers Ferris. I've been using the RSPB identifier but apparently I'm too thick to ID juvenile birds. A friend tells me it's a babby goldfinch. 

[Ferris]

Cheers Ferris. I've been using the RSPB identifier but apparently I'm too thick to ID juvenile birds. A friend tells me it's a babby goldfinch.

I tried fiddling with the geo-location thing and my app insists it is a starling (it isn't) so I'd go with your mates suggestion!

[Endicott]

I also reckon your mate is correct.

[Attila]

Thanks Attila. Always enjoy your pics, especially updates from the party palace.

Cheers :) -- it's been bopping with foxes most of the summer, which is why the shut-down is annoying. They're little clowns goofing around out there all night.

[Voltan (Man of Steel)]

Ferris, Endicott: the mate in question is an avid birdwatcher so should know his stuff but he's also a massive pisshead so you can't always trust his judgement.

Attila, I've reluctantly had to stop putting food out to attract foxes for a while as our dog Ben loves nothing more than rolling in fox piss then running upstairs to transfer it to our bed.

[Attila]

Attila, I've reluctantly had to stop putting food out to attract foxes for a while as our dog Ben loves nothing more than rolling in fox piss then running upstairs to transfer it to our bed.

Dogs be dogging. Wait, that didn't come out right...

Fortunately, we just have Mr Gus, the neighbours' patrol cat. I have about a million photos of him doing his rounds. He will chase the foxes down the drive and back into the woods if they come around when he's out and about.

[ZoyzaSorris]

Def baby goldfinch

[Ferris]

There's a pair of cardinals nesting in a tree near us, must try and get a photo. The blue jays are not fucking happy about it.

[Gurke and Hare]

When I went to Canada I saw one blue jay in the whole two weeks I was there. Felt completely cheated.

[phes]

Went on a date tonight. We were having a picnic and I spotted a large crow preening itself, and then a feather helicoptered gracefully down from the tree. I went and collected it and we marvelled at the beautiful feather. Half an hour later the crow flew into the tree above us and did a colossal streaking shit down my leg.