Wildlife spotting

[Gurke and Hare]

Since I moved to southeast London I've been exploring the Ravensbourne and its tributaries. There are kingfishers! I've seen them in two places - on the Ravensbourne in Bromley, and the Pool River in Lower Sydenham - there I saw one dive, catch a fish and swim low over the river back to its nest, it was lovely.

[Buelligan]

Correct! A fat, pre-migration, female blackcap!

I was guessing a brown headed nuthatch (which would be amazing if you're UK-based).



I have little to report except, rather sadly, a dead pine marten on the bridge on my way to work.  Very beautiful but sadly, dead as a mouse.


_{In happier times}

[sick as a pike]

I've had buzzards (the same buzzard?) exploding (not actually exploding) out of a tree as I drive down the lane for the last few days now. Findings: they are big, impressive. (enough brackets now.)

[BlodwynPig]

I was guessing a brown headed nuthatch (which would be amazing if you're UK-based).



I have little to report except, rather sadly, a dead pine marten on the bridge on my way to work.  Very beautiful but sadly, dead as a mouse.


_{In happier times}

Got too close to the truth, had to be snuffed out

[jobotic]

I've only seen a regular Nuthatch a couple of times. Lovely.

[Buelligan]

Got too close to the truth, had to be snuffed out

Snuffled.  Sniffling now.  Hope the little stiff didn't suffer, suffice it to say.  (Nuff said. Sad.).

[phes]

I was guessing a brown headed nuthatch (which would be amazing if you're UK-based).

Consider my mind blown!

[gib]

for same page comparison

[Ferris]

A few golden eagles out the window, they come down the don valley (not that one), then use the concrete jungle of downtown Toronto to generate lift via thermals.

Going round and round in circles outside my window. Very odd. Seen them as far east as church street which is definitely not their intended habitat.

[Brian Freeze]

I've only seen a regular Nuthatch a couple of times. Lovely.

While not as erotic as golden eagles, nuthatches are one of my favourite birds that visit our feeders. They look so beautiful and yet absolutely dynamic and purposeful with their poise and pose.

This might/will sound daft but they've always made me think of those Italian wooden speedboats that are extremely sleek and fast in appearance. The brown headed version might be like that but more so.

[BlodwynPig]

I've only seen a regular Nuthatch a couple of times. Lovely.

Hand fed them in Cootes Paradise when I was over in Canada.

[Buelligan]

Naked bird-feeding, you are a one Blods!

[BlodwynPig]

Naked bird-feeding, you are a one Blods!

A fine 'pecker

[ZoyzaSorris]

I thought that blackcap looked a lot like a wrong-coloured nuthatch too. The way it is huddling its neck in really gives it that shape. (and amazing that the yank one looks almost identical) Did guess the right answer though so happy nature chops still there.

Got a great-spotted woodpecker coming into the garden every few minutes to hack up the bark of a dead ash which is nice. Love those guys.

Off to North Norfolk Coast at half term so hoping to pack in some serious nature then.

[Buelligan]

Yes, lovely pecker you have there Blods.

On the nuthatch thing (yes, I am calling it that now), I'd say that I'm feeling that it is a brown headed nuthatch. 

Consider, if there was a baby elephant in the room and someone invited you to admire their new prize sow (on that basis that all elephants live in Africa -they don't, I know), would you mention the elephant in the room or not?  And we have had some bizarrely high winds lately, it's not impossible.  It would explain why it looks so buggered as well.

[purlieu]

Spring is on its way. Out this afternoon with the dog, plenty of birdsong. Song thrushes are back on it again after a couple of months of silence. My second favourite bird song after its cousin the blackbird. Been pretty drained for the last week so it's the first time I've been able to get out to the fields n that in that time and it was hugely refreshing. Fox seen dashing into the undergrowth and a few mistle thrushes - first time in a while, sadly, for a bird that used to be numerous in the area - added to a lovely walk.

Once I get back to full strength I'll be on my two hour walks again and able to get up to the farmland by the next village along, on which my dad and I have counted huge flocks of endangered farmland birds this year. 50+ yellowhammers, meadow pipits and reed buntings, and incredibly, 100+ skylarks. Visiting winter thrushes - redwings and fieldfares - in combined flocks of over 600. With the more common finches, tits and corvids thrown in there are always over a thousand birds flying around the area. Plovers low on the ground this winter, but we're used to flocks of 2000+ golden plover and lapwing, and the lapwings breed in the area every summer. Grey partridge are still around, as well as hares, and we had a short eared owl before Christmas. Depressingly it's been sold to DBS to become a railfreight depot, and despite a lot of setbacks due to countless issues, it'll almost certainly get through. Which is tragic given that there's more wildlife on this area than any nature reserve I've been to in a long time (including the one right nextdoor, which is almost devoid of life other than the most common woodland birds).

[BlodwynPig]

Better get an adult to retrieve your kite from that electricity pylon, mind

[Shit Good Nose]

Helped little Nose hand feed peanuts (proper wild animal safe ones) to a squirrel in a local park on Sunday.  Brazen little fella.  Obviously knew some hard winter weather was coming as he was burying most of it.

Also noticed that the bird feeders in the back garden have gone down a lot quicker than usual.  Getting a lot more smaller birds on those of late (tits, wagtails, robins, blackbirds and finches of some description), whereas it always used to be predominantly wood pigeons and doves (oddly doves seem to have completely disappeared within the last few years.  We used to get loads of them).

[bgmnts]

Last night about 1am, I heard a sharp, high pitched squeak outside, near the flat, every 5 seconds or so.

I decided to follow it and it moved to this tree about five minutes away. I heard it directly above me, clear as day. I shone a light up in the tree and it just stopped. About 15 seconds later, the same squeak happened about 200 yards behind me, I neither saw nor heard a rustling of branches or leaves or the flapping of wings. It just seemed to instantly move trees.

Magic bird?

[Shit Good Nose]

Last night about 1am, I heard a sharp, high pitched squeak outside, near the flat, every 5 seconds or so.

I decided to follow it and it moved to this tree about five minutes away. I heard it directly above me, clear as day. I shone a light up in the tree and it just stopped. About 15 seconds later, the same squeak happened about 200 yards behind me, I neither saw nor heard a rustling of branches or leaves or the flapping of wings. It just seemed to instantly move trees.

Magic bird?

Most likely that thing with red eyes in The Amityville Horror.

[BlodwynPig]

Last night about 1am, I heard a sharp, high pitched squeak outside, near the flat, every 5 seconds or so.

I decided to follow it and it moved to this tree about five minutes away. I heard it directly above me, clear as day. I shone a light up in the tree and it just stopped. About 15 seconds later, the same squeak happened about 200 yards behind me, I neither saw nor heard a rustling of branches or leaves or the flapping of wings. It just seemed to instantly move trees.

Magic bird?

Two birds, one absolute stone

[bgmnts]

No it was definitely one bird.

[Dex Sawash]

About 30 buzzards around a roadkill deer yesterday, an orgy of gluttony. Didn't take a picture because the deer was in a state. If they're back today, I'll get a snap and just link to it.

[BlodwynPig]

About 30 buzzards around a roadkill deer yesterday, an orgy of gluttony. Didn't take a picture because the deer was in a state. If they're back today, I'll get a snap and just link to it.

Did you comfort the deer at least?

[sick as a pike]

All this wildlife talk reminded me to refill the bird feeders, which are now being mobbed by blue tits and great tits.
It seems to me that birds would need fewer calories if they didn't keep neurotically flying about all the time.

In fact, Simon/Michael/Russell/Jonathan/Graham [please select appropriate TV chat show host for your era], the behaviour of the birds very much puts me in mind of an anecdote about a rather fruity British actor I know, who was on a yachting holiday with friends of mine, in Greece. They'd set anchor in the middle of this beautiful lake the night before and played cards and got drunk.  Now, in the morning, the monks in the monastery on the lake's shore started their rituals- tolling a grand bell and chanting, the sounds drifting magically across the lake- peace, serenity, one-ness.  Except the actor came thumping up the stairs from below decks, desperately hungover and screamed at the monks in his best RADA-trained manner "In the name of sanity, will you STOP FUCKING ABOUT" then disappeared below decks again.
And now I think that about the birds- stop fucking about!

[audience laughs politely, host surreptitiously checks watch.]

[DoesNotFollow]

This is a common lizard found while out on the heath, on a warm day back in October I believe.
I'm not licensed to handle reptiles and I wouldn't encourage anyone to go putting their grubby mits on wild animals. However, when it's basking on someone's jacket nearby you kind of need to relocate it. It needed a good nudge to leave the warmth of my hand as well after I scooped it up.



On a completely different note, here's a spider consumed by what I think is Torrubiella pulvinata fungus, that I found in the shed recently. According to some accounts the spider is still alive when the fungus starts growing.

[Pink Gregory]

Saw a Jay the other morning.  That was nice I suppose.

[paruses]

Saw a Jay the other morning.  That was nice I suppose.

I think that was nice. I love seeing the odd jay going from tree to tree.

Loads of goldfinch and siskin in the garden at the moment.

[BlodwynPig]

Loads of  siskin in the garden at the moment.

That's what Fred West told police too

[Brian Freeze]

Spring is on its way. Out this afternoon with the dog, plenty of birdsong. Song thrushes are back on it again after a couple of months of silence. My second favourite bird song after its cousin the blackbird. Been pretty drained for the last week so it's the first time I've been able to get out to the fields n that in that time and it was hugely refreshing. Fox seen dashing into the undergrowth and a few mistle thrushes - first time in a while, sadly, for a bird that used to be numerous in the area - added to a lovely walk.

Once I get back to full strength I'll be on my two hour walks again and able to get up to the farmland by the next village along, on which my dad and I have counted huge flocks of endangered farmland birds this year. 50+ yellowhammers, meadow pipits and reed buntings, and incredibly, 100+ skylarks. Visiting winter thrushes - redwings and fieldfares - in combined flocks of over 600. With the more common finches, tits and corvids thrown in there are always over a thousand birds flying around the area. Plovers low on the ground this winter, but we're used to flocks of 2000+ golden plover and lapwing, and the lapwings breed in the area every summer. Grey partridge are still around, as well as hares, and we had a short eared owl before Christmas. Depressingly it's been sold to DBS to become a railfreight depot, and despite a lot of setbacks due to countless issues, it'll almost certainly get through. Which is tragic given that there's more wildlife on this area than any nature reserve I've been to in a long time (including the one right nextdoor, which is almost devoid of life other than the most common woodland birds).

Sounds marvellous that does. What's the technique for counting/estimating large numbers of flighty things that dont stay still? Quite curious about that. Cheers.