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Wildlife spotting

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

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Buelligan

Quote from: Attila on June 09, 2019, 05:50:24 PM
Major discussion here this morning, as the wildlife camera appears to have caught what might be a snake, Bigfoot, or a sentient sock.

It's definitately not a bird or vole or anything like that. Unfortunately, it was at the far end of the garden from the camera, and only part of whatever it was got caught in the photos -- but Mr Attila is convinced that it's a fairly large snake, maybe someone's escaped pet. Maybe it's just a grass snake?

The camera takes three photos in succession when it detects motion.

The 3 photos look really creepy when you scroll quickly through them, because it really does look like a large snake winding and rearing up its head.

I've cropped the photos so that you don't have giant photos of our garden. For scale, the orange roses are right next to Mr Creature, and each rose is about 2 inches in diameter.



It sure looks like a snake, and if I were back home in the US, I'd be like, 'Yeah, ok, and?'

But I didn't think there were any bigguns like that in the UK, which is why Mr A thinks it's an escaped pet or summat.

Could it be a retreating mink?  That would also explain the hedgehog fight and exodus.



Another agreement on the fabulousness of this thread btw.  A source of unending pleasure and inspiration.  Thontributors.

Attila

Interesting, Buelligan -- thanks!

I'll have to put that one to Mr A -- are minks still running around in the wild, I wonder?

Haven't had much time for more than a glance at today's haul; it was left outside all day since I was doing exam boarding at school -- caught a close up of a cat we've never seen before, tho.

Hmmm...quicky lookup of minks -- they also attact and eat birds -- and he did say (not the mink, himself), that were feathers and bird guts all over the greenhouse that day, too.

ZoyzaSorris

Its a baby giant anteater. case closed.


gib

Quote from: Attila on June 10, 2019, 08:36:06 PMare minks still running around in the wild, I wonder?

Yes, they are pretty much everywhere in England.

Dex Sawash

Do you have a licenc(s)e for your minky?


Attila

Quote from: gib on June 10, 2019, 09:07:27 PM
Yes, they are pretty much everywhere in England.

Cool, thanks!

The more I look at GISeseses of minks, the more I'm convinced that's what it might have been.

No minky license, alas.

And, whoa, a slam against anteaters, out of nowhere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UseqX4aHsys

paruses

Quote from: Attila on June 10, 2019, 08:36:06 PM

I'll have to put that one to Mr A -- are minks still running around in the wild, I wonder?


As Gib said - yes. And they are a big problem too - non-native species introduced in the 20s for fur farming now gone, unsurprisingly, rogue.

gib

Yeah, we used to get water voles down the river but they've all been minked now.

bgmnts

It was so cool in Nepal being able to go for a walk and spot an eagle on the regular, even monkeys around the village every now and again. What do we have here? Ducks and crows.

gib

I always love it when people come back from going travelling and say how shit it is here.

bgmnts

Quote from: gib on June 11, 2019, 02:04:15 PM
I always love it when people come back from going travelling and say how shit it is here.

Actually, my opinion of Britain has improved since returning from developing and third world countries, to be honest.

I just reckon our ecology isn't as diverse or interesting, I still love it though and I genuinely love our boring ducks and crows to an absurd degree.

Spoon of Ploff

Heard green woodpeckers this morning kicking up a racket. Followed the sounds to find a youngster peeking at me from the base of a tree. Moved on as the parents were sounding a bit stressed at my presence.

Sunday I stood in a patch of sunlight as a ... group(?) of Longhorn moths flew about me. They have stupidly long antennae and a funny kind of bump-up-and-down-in-the-air flight. Watched 'em for about five minutes as they moved in and out of shadow, occasionally glinting in the sun.

And the other day a red kite was gliding overhead, doing its best to ignore a pair of crows that kept trying to chase it off.

So. you know. Nepal and it's monkeys can get to fuck*.


(*not really)

gib

Quote from: bgmnts on June 11, 2019, 02:13:19 PM
Actually, my opinion of Britain has improved since returning from developing and third world countries, to be honest.

I just reckon our ecology isn't as diverse or interesting, I still love it though and I genuinely love our boring ducks and crows to an absurd degree.

Sorry, bit harsh there xxx

Noonling

Quote from: bgmnts on June 11, 2019, 02:03:27 PM
It was so cool in Nepal being able to go for a walk and spot an eagle on the regular, even monkeys around the village every now and again. What do we have here? Ducks and crows.

Yeah but if you lived in Nepal you'd come here and say "OMG, ducks!"

paruses

Quote from: bgmnts on June 11, 2019, 02:03:27 PM
It was so cool in Nepal being able to go for a walk and spot an eagle on the regular, even monkeys around the village every now and again. What do we have here? Ducks and crows.

I sat and watched the feeder in the garden yesterday morning and counted house sparrow, goldfinch, siskin, chaffinch, blackbirds, 2 crows, a jay, greater spot, wood pigeon, collard dove, and a hawfinch. Above there was a red kite, swifts, housemartins, and swallows.

I only really know a bit about birds but there is stuff to see it's just not quite as obvious (or in the case of the feeder - very obvious yesterday).

*the hawfinch is an outlier, admittedly but they're around in a few places near me and not too hard to find.

paruses

Quote from: Noonling on June 11, 2019, 02:40:41 PM
Yeah but if you lived in Nepal you'd come here and say "OMG, ducks!"

True - I was in Romania surrounded by black redstarts, , pelicans, other exotics and all the bird people were beside themselves over a dunnock.

bgmnts

Quote from: Noonling on June 11, 2019, 02:40:41 PM
Yeah but if you lived in Nepal you'd come here and say "OMG, ducks!"

Well they are pretty common animals everywhere no? I saw a weird white duck/goose thing with a yellow head.

Once in the marshes up in Magor somewhere I saw a big bastard heron, that was really cool! It was flying low and came at me like a scene from North by Northwest.

BlodwynPig

Quote from: bgmnts on June 11, 2019, 03:02:44 PM
Well they are pretty common animals everywhere no? I saw a weird white duck/goose thing with a yellow head.

Once in the marshes up in Magor somewhere I saw a big bastard heron, that was really cool! It was flying low and came at me like a scene from North by Northwest.

Spot on.

No longer the mournful cry of the lesser Dinbuck echoing across the shimmering purple lakes at dawn
No longer the tempestuous charging of the RazorWolf neath the wan moonlight on the heathlands
No longer the shimmering gaze of the Madrigal Relbeak in the gloaming of a darkened forest
No longer the scurrying fervour of the Belver on the sun drenched plains of the upper land

Just some ducks in a stagnant pond outside Wakefield for us Brits.

ZoyzaSorris

Just had to release a hummingbird hawkmoth from the conservatory. Great little bunch of lads, feisty flyers and no mistake. First I've seen here, looking like a bumper year for new moth species in the garden so far!

ZoyzaSorris

I have flocks of parakeets in the garden all the time, and peregrine falcons flying over a fair bit, sometimes getting chased by swifts, sparrowhawks perching in the tree at the back, stag beetles getting busy, herons perching on the fence looking at my pond, OK its not Nepal but its OK for a massive city.

BlodwynPig

Quote from: ZoyzaSorris on June 11, 2019, 04:56:15 PM
I have flocks of parakeets in the garden all the time, and peregrine falcons flying over a fair bit, sometimes getting chased by swifts, sparrowhawks perching in the tree at the back, stag beetles getting busy, herons perching on the fence looking at my pond, OK its not Nepal but its OK for a massive city.

But have you heard the mournful cry of the lesser Dinbuck?

Buelligan

Many times I have seen the lesser Dinbuck on fire off the shoulder of Orion.  All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.

BlodwynPig

Quote from: Buelligan on June 11, 2019, 05:16:53 PM
Many times I have seen the lesser Dinbuck on fire off the shoulder of Orion.  All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.

Actually, the animals I note above did exist. I had a book about them. However, searching on line reveals nothing. I suspect a Sorosian conspiracy of the highest magnitude. Just you wait and see...one day you'll be extolling the virtues of the Bobak Marmot, the next day - nothing...only you in the town square railing against the incredulous hordes in the warm Pyrenean air, holding a torn leaflet with a murky photo of a sciuridae-like beast that the townsfolk call "witches' familiar", but in French (Animaux des Crone).

Buelligan


BlodwynPig

Quote from: Buelligan on June 11, 2019, 05:24:37 PM
Are you impugning me?

No, that is what the townsfolk of your village will do once the Sorosian cult wipe memories of Bobak Marmot from the minds of humanity, except your mind.

BlodwynPig


Buelligan

My mind is already full and the Bobak Marmot is not on the list.  So it can go swivel for all I care. 

Attila

Latest haul from the wildlife camera:

A big cat head, no idea who this cat is. Just passing through, I guess.




Last night:







And Mr Gus in profile early this morning


BlodwynPig

The foxes tail looks like the snake-mink

ps. imagine all those smells Mr. Gus is enduring in that garden

Attila

Quote from: BlodwynPig on June 11, 2019, 09:48:31 PM
The foxes tail looks like the snake-mink

ps. imagine all those smells Mr. Gus is enduring in that garden

Mr Gus contributes plenty, trust me. He's constantly backing up to stuff and arse-twizzling all over it. There's a sequence of photos on the wildlife camera of him shamelessly anointing the lilies.