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Wildlife spotting

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

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Brian Freeze

That's good hogging you've got going on there.
I was supposed to get in touch with local hedgehog sanctuaries to see if they need any rehoming because I'd love to be able to have them round here. Should get off my arse and do it. I'd need to build some ramps for them but that's easily doable.

Attila

Cheers <3

Mr Attila has a much better camera than I do (the ones of SR on the doorstep came off his camera), but I'm tempted to see if I can't get better photos some other night -- SR was quite small when he was stealing cat treats (photo of him on the step), but he's a fat barstard these days now that he's got two food stations loads of slugs to eat. (There's a hidden food bowl behind the flower pots, because we think there's at least 3 of them that come over every night, and they're quite shy).

We don't have them in the US, except for the rare stripey Canadian one that Blodwyn has (ha!), and I'd never seen one in person before until Small Robert showed up last month. Just about after full dark you can hear them knocking about in the neighbours' garden, and if I go out and shake their bowl, they come grunting along and squeeze through the gap under the fence. They're quite loud when they're talking and playing (and fussing -- they chuff like steam trains when they're annoyed with each other) and they have appalling table manners -- we can hear them crunching away at their biscuits through the cat flap.

ETA -- Crisps? has the flying hedgehog avatar.

Myself really miss North American birds -- when I had my own house, we had a feeding station, and throughout the winter especially all sorts would drop in. I really miss bobwhites and cardinals. One winter we had loads of birds that I could tick off in my bird book, including a white duck that got blown off course from somewhere and decided to hang out eating the sheeps' food. In summer we'd get loads of hummingbirds; I had three or four feeders that I was refilling constantly during migration season. They swarm around the feeders in flocks (although they are solitary and territorial birds), and frequently dive bomb and torment the dogs by bouncing off their heads.

BlodwynPig


Attila



phes

#65
looks like a marsh tit or willow tit. Hard to tell without seeing top of wing feathers or hearing them


BlodwynPig

Quote from: paruses on August 09, 2018, 06:59:12 PM
What's this one that looks like a coal tit?

they're called chickadees.

BlodwynPig

Quote from: phes on August 09, 2018, 10:39:58 PM
looks like a marsh tit or willow tit. Hard to tell without seeing top of wing feathers or hearing them

they are the closest relations to the chickadee, yes.

paruses

Thanks. Now I know what a chickadee looks like too - I always imagined they would be very different.

Buelligan

Agreed.  Those are probably shit-chickadees.  Full or righteous chickadees are almost certainly covered in extraordinarily silken wool.

New Jack

Those hogs of the hedges are fuckin gawjus

BlodwynPig

Quote from: Buelligan on August 10, 2018, 10:20:33 AM
Agreed.  Those are probably shit-chickadees.  Full or righteous chickadees are almost certainly covered in extraordinarily silken wool.

That would be the downy woodpecker in the first picture. Beautiful fur on its belly.

New Jack

Oh fuck, I've just gone to post a letter and there's a squashed animal that looks like a hedgehog in the road :(

Gutted if it's mine, gutted if it's not. I'll spare you a photo.

Ferris

#73
Massive great big golden eagle out the window of our apartment. Ran to the balcony and stood out there watching it rise and fall on thermals. Took a few photos then though "don't take photos, live in the moment!" so I didn't even look at them and put my phone away.

It floated about for a couple more minutes then got enough wicked-air and drifted off to swoop down on small children or candy floss or whatever it is they eat.

Coming down from my nature-high, I looked at the pictures - every single one a beautiful, HD, 12 megapixel, framed shot of my finger in front of the lens. Such is life.

Edit: while trying to find it to post because it's funny, I also remembered I met this friendly gentleman at Shubenacadie Wildlife park which is lovely. You can feed him little deer pellet food things for 25c a go which is great fun.


derek stitt

Saw some exmoor ponies, some wild boar but could not see the re introduced beaver today. Last week saw some Pearl Bodied fritillaries and what I think was a grasshopper warbler ( the Google's said it was so).

I wonder what happened to that sex pest who used to harass wowmen while he was dressed as a smurf. In some form of institution hopefully.

BlodwynPig

Quote from: derek stitt on August 11, 2018, 06:52:47 PM
Saw some exmoor ponies, some wild boar but could not see the re introduced beaver today. Last week saw some Pearl Bodied fritillaries and what I think was a grasshopper warbler ( the Google's said it was so).

I wonder what happened to that sex pest who used to harass wowmen while he was dressed as a smurf. In some form of institution hopefully.

where did you see the boar? Apparently there are beaver in the same area as the above photos so will be setting off extra early tomorrow (night time) to explore

holdover

I'm in Edinburgh and have a lovely walk to work which takes me along old railway routes which as now paths and alongside the Water of Leith so I'm lucky enough to sometimes see kingfishers, goosanders, buzzards, perigrine falcons, sparrowhawks, treecreepers, woodpeckers and foxes. Summer brings loads of swifts and swallows along the water and in winter redwings arrive. I never used to notice any of this, was always listening to music on headphones and unaware of the wildlife around me. I used to think that any small bird was a sparrow or a robin and was stunned to discover that the trees around here are full of greenfinch, goldcrests, goldfinches and all manner of wee thing.

Bazooka

In Beijing all you see is finches and magpies that's it, don't even have pigeons for fucks sake.

derek stitt

Quote from: BlodwynPig on August 11, 2018, 07:22:07 PM
where did you see the boar? Apparently there are beaver in the same area as the above photos so will be setting off extra early tomorrow (night time) to explore

Forest of Dean, Michael Gove realeased the beavers a few weeks ago into a 15 acre enclosure a couple of weeks ago. The ponies are also recent additions, they do a better job than chemicals and manpower in keeping the gorse bushes down. Nobody seems to know wha5 happened to sex pest smurf.

manticore

Contrary to popular belief, smurfs, like wombles, are not wild animals.

derek stitt

Could a smurf interbreed with a Womble?

Ferris

Only in the sick private zoo of a billionaire madman

manticore

Having checked pictures of smurfs and wombles they look at least as similar as lions and tigers so I reckon a somble or a wurf might be possible if they were allowed out of their their parks and forests and allowed to mix in polite society.

BlodwynPig

Good morning


what a lovely morning it is


everyone up so bright and early


even Punky and the gang




but what have you done Punky?


yes, you Punky


oh Punky!

BlodwynPig

on a side note...have iPhone cameras always been so bad? Would consider in investing in a proper camera if I had longer left over here.

this...for example...is an Osprey


paruses

Stunning bird. Thanks for sharing.

BlodwynPig

Quote from: paruses on August 12, 2018, 09:04:36 PM
Stunning bird. Thanks for sharing.

the Osprey?...sorry...I'm lamenting the lack of proper camera. Some twitchers had super zoomy lenses but wouldn't let me look.

paruses

Quote from: BlodwynPig on August 12, 2018, 09:06:18 PM
the Osprey?...sorry...I'm lamenting the lack of proper camera. Some twitchers had super zoomy lenses but wouldn't let me look.

I was only joking - I have quite a few photos like that. I am enjoying your wildlife posts.

But yes I also like ospreys. They seem to be doing quite well near me in mid-Wales which is good.


BlodwynPig

Quote from: paruses on August 12, 2018, 09:09:53 PM
I was only joking - I have quite a few photos like that. I am enjoying your wildlife posts.

But yes I also like ospreys. They seem to be doing quite well near me in mid-Wales which is good.

please share any "snaps" if you have them. Bloody twitcher scalded me for saying "got any nice snaps today?". They're quite the bunch. Met a nice lady who just pointed in some bushes and said there was a blue grey nut jubbit (or something)...I had never heard of one before and my eyes are too poor to be able to see most things anyway. Then I met an older male twitcher who was rather laissez-faire. "just an egret today, I'm afraid..." (and then conspiratorially) "...but there is an Osprey in a dead tree just behind me" *wink*. Later I met the female twitcher on my way back and she said "there are a few old guys up there on the tracks if you also like train spotting". Despite being outdoors the air was thick with the smell of BO and prawn cocktail crisps. I felt humbled not to be yet elevated to such levels of dedication.

Buelligan

Walking home tonight, very warm, starlit and clear, noticed the air was full of hundreds of silver moths.  Box tree moths, which is a bit worrying for all the box growing on the garrigue but extremely beautiful all the same.  In some stretches it was like being in a snowstorm.