Topic: Wildlife spotting

[bgmnts]

I woke up the other day and it sounded like the Amazon rainforest. I'm starting to think the birds know something we don't. Something is coming...

[BlodwynPig]

I woke up the other day and it sounded like the Amazon rainforest. I'm starting to think the birds know something we don't. Something is coming...

For as little as 30 pounds a week you too can join me on Spaceship Saint Blodwyn as we leave this dying earth to start a new colony on Venus (note, all men except me will be dropped off on Mars beforehand)

[bgmnts]

For as little as 30 pounds a week you too can join me on Spaceship Saint Blodwyn as we leave this dying earth to start a new colony on Venus (note, all men except me will be dropped off on Mars beforehand)

This is basically that bit in Brass Eye where a child is left on that spaceship with a paedo.

[FerriswheelBueller]

Fucking huge cicada flew into the window. Bit of internet sleuthing reckons it’s one of these.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog-day_cicada

Greeny black on top, completely silver underneath. Never heard of them before but it’s massive.

Edit: here it is

[BlodwynPig]

Fucking huge cicada flew into the window. Bit of internet sleuthing reckons it’s one of these.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog-day_cicada

Greeny black on top, completely silver underneath. Never heard of them before but it’s massive.

Edit: here it is

Miss them. Get wandering in the late evening long grass and you’ll soon make friends

[Buelligan]

Walking to work last Wednesday, a whole shitload of European Bee Eaters flew right over my head, doing their weird call and looking about as beautiful as it gets.  I don't have a camera but I'm making you look at this photo because they really are bloody gorgeous.

[Dex Sawash]

"Two Bee Eaters are chatting..."

[chveik]

saw a fox the other day

and a buzzard too

alright cheers

[Jittlebags]

Greater spotted woodpecker yesterday. Forest in the Dyfi Valley.

[Brian Freeze]

Had an encounter with a honey bee last week, it was on a wall in the garden looking extremely worn out so I gave it a bit of the old sugary water and to say it was buzzing afterwards was an understatement. It was fascinating watching it slurp its way back to health

 It cowered though when i moved the spoon nearby to pour out its bevvie, really rocked back on its legs and shrank back with its antennae back against its thorax. I found that quite moving and made me feel even more empathy with it than before.

[Buelligan]

"Two Bee Eaters are chatting..."

Fuck 'em.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

I was taking the dog for a walk the other day and a big buzzard took flight from a tree about fifteen feet in front of me. I returned the next day with my camera and Megalens and waited over an hour for another sighting, with no luck. There were plenty of crows and pigeons about, but it's not quite the same.

[sick as a pike]

It's buzzards all the way here in Kent. Wheeling above the house, screeching. I think they have them delivered in ice cream vans, roughly shoved out onto the verges. *

* I do not think this.

[Brian Freeze]

Lots and lots of shield bugs around today.

[DoesNotFollow]

A lovely, if slightly tattered, Old Lady moth that came in through the window tonight.



now if only i could get a lovely young lady to fly into my room of an evening am i right lads?? haha nice one cheers

[BlodwynPig]

How the seasons change so fast...already spider time. European Garden spider enjoying the last rays of summer.

[Attila]

Was down in the Roman forum earlier last week, and there are flocks of parrots hanging about the ruins, chattering to each other, flying about.

[Buelligan]

Walking to work for the lunch thing was an emotional roller coaster.  I do not exaggerate. 

First the depths - look away now if you don't want to know the depths - tiny dead sparrowhawk, lying in a nest of grass.  Was reminded of Rimbaud's Le dormeur du val, shed a tear over his tiny corpse.  Light as leaves and empty. 

But then on and there stood a hoopoe, burrowing about for ants or something, so late in the year but nevertheless, here.  Up into the air, black and white and pink and full of life. 

I thought about what it is that animates us and tried to reach my own.

[BlodwynPig]

Finally, hoopoe! Merci

Next whooperwill

[Gurke and Hare]

I picked up the keys for my new flat yesterday (moving in tomorrow) and about 10 long-tailed tits flew into one of the trees in the garden while I was there.

[Buelligan]

I bloody love long tailed tits.  They make the second best nests.  Wrens in No.1 spot on nests*, of course.

_{*UK only.}

[Gurke and Hare]

Of course, they're all long tailed tits when I've finished with them.

[Brian Freeze]

We had a long tailed tit fly into a window, it didnt survive, but we got to see up close how beautiful they are. Absolutely gorgeous little thing.

We watched a wildlife programme that featured someone who watched and monitored them in his local woods and he called them flying teaspoons and the name has stuck with us too.

[phes]

Do love a good flying teaspoon. Often quite easy to recognise in crowded trees as they seem to hop up and down through the tree branch to branch in a more vertical direction than similarly sized birds. When I see a little group of them there's often other small birds in that group, most commonly a treecreeper and a goldcrest. I think they occupy different niches and hang out in gangs for safety

[Buelligan]

I love a lovely tree creeper and goldcrests, well, I was going to tip the fedora at them and their nests upthread but thought it possibly too recherché.  I had a window-death experience with one of them once, beautiful, beautiful, tiny perfect, beauty and their eggs, only a hummingbird, wren or perhaps a kingfisher could compare.  Though a robin's egg's a lovely lovely thing when all's told.

[jobotic]

I remember standing under a low tree at Minsmere that was absolutely full of long-tailed tits, just flying around chatting above my head. Was wonderful.


Talking of dead birds, found a dead coot the other day. They're very beautiful close up.

[Buelligan]

I forgot to mention, the night before last, fine and warm with a good moon, I went out to feed the dogs at work and heard a noise in the fig trees, like a small branch cracking.  Turned to look and saw, hanging by its front arms/legs, something furry, quite plump and about the size of a cat or monkey.  Just swinging there.  It had pale stomach fur and a markedly darker back.  The head and hind/tail were obscured by leaves but the shoulders, arms and mid-torso was plain as day or moonlight and close.  It was definitely not a cat.  If they lived here, I would've guessed it was an opossum, monkey or perhaps a very giant rat.  Anyway, it was climbing for figs and I will watch and wait for facial recognition but am intrigued.

[ZoyzaSorris]

Could it have been a genet? Spotty rather than dark back though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_genet

It has a varied diet comprising small mammals, lizards, birds, bird eggs, amphibians, centipedes, millipedes, scorpions, insects and fruit, including figs and olives.

[Buelligan]

I'd absolutely love it to have been a genet but, if I'm honest and I try to be, although my view was full-frontal and so I might've missed them, there were no spots visible.  I think there would've been some indication of spots.  But it's a bloody nice thought.

Have to say though, you've got me thinking now.  I am going to look into this.  I would love to see a genet eating figs or just being there.

[ZoyzaSorris]

In that case haven't a scooby, soz. New species?