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Wildlife spotting

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

Previous topic - Next topic

Spoon of Ploff

Quote from: Voltan (Man of Steel) on June 07, 2022, 11:53:57 AMI've just seen a completely white, sparrow-sized bird on the fence. I mean snowy white, not just a bit pale. It was really quite startling to see. I'm assuming it was some albino version of a more common species but I don't really know my arse from my elbow when it comes to birds. Any of you more clued-up types got any ideas?

Could be a Leucistic sparrow (according to the internet).



They don't tend to last long as they're an easy target for predators.

Ah, thanks. That looks very much like it. I normally rely on Google and should have tried that first but I used the RSPB identifier, which understandably can't show every possible option.

Fishfinger

Beautiful stuff Sploff and Gurke. White sparrow? No idea, sounds fascinating, but last week here there was a weirdly red birb hanging out with starlings that I eventually identified as a female blackbird fledge, parents not in attendance.

Edit: late post, sorry, see above.

Fishfinger

#2823
Fledges here lately include two robins, the above blackbird and a goldfinch, but it's still starlingeddon. Mature crows also prominent, one of which is the biggest I've seen around here, more like a mountain raven.

Dex Sawash




Fucker ate my tomato plants and lillies and had a nice lie down.

Spoon of Ploff

Quote from: Dex Sawash on June 09, 2022, 07:12:37 PM


Fucker ate my tomato plants and lillies and had a nice lie down.

could have been worse. could have taken a dump in your garden... it didn't take a dump in your garden did it?

Gurke and Hare

I've just seen a hare from a train. Somewhere between Rugby and Tamworth, if anyone wants to go and check it out for themself.

Spoon of Ploff

Two baby kestrels *

are asked what they think of Kier Starmer


Thing is. I've been walking these fields for years and up until recently have noticed next to nothing wildlife wise. So much time wasted.. makes yer think etc.


*sorry about the snigger on the audio. very unprofessional

shoulders

6 cygnets in a similar spot on the Leeds Liverpool canal near Whitehall Rd in Leeds last two days.

One of the biggest fattest very small things you'll ever see. Grey, velvety and lumpy.

Normally there's a bit of attrition but I think all 6 are going to make it. Good parenting.

king_tubby

I read on the Leeds reddit that the parents are totally radge, biting people and stuff.

Nice one swans.

Endicott

Popped over the woods yesterday, saw two great spotted woodpeckers.

I think a juvenile.




And a male?




Endicott

Is this a wren?






And rabbits


Endicott

Looked this one up, I think it's a female wood duck.




And maybe this is the male in eclipse plumage (I'd never heard of this).


Brian Freeze

Thats definitely a wren.

Rather good pictures Endicott, top skillz.

Spoon of Ploff

Nice 'pecks Endicott, and lovely work on the wren. I can never get to focus on the blighters before they scarper.

Twit 2

I keep spotting a lully water vole when I cross a bridge over a little river near me, but by time I whip out me phone he's scarpered. Gonna make it my life's work to snap the cunt. Watch this space!

Endicott

Quote from: Spoon of Ploff on June 12, 2022, 11:13:08 AMNice 'pecks Endicott, and lovely work on the wren. I can never get to focus on the blighters before they scarper.

I've missed so many close (eg about 20 ft away) shots like that because of the difficulty of focusing on a small subject surrounded by distracting branches. I used to rely on a quick auto focus followed up by manual adjustment which is accurate but it takes too long, and they don't sit still do they! I've recently started using continuous AF (which I would normally only use to get birds in flight) with a single point for birds in bushes where I've actually got a clear sight of them, and it means I can get the shot quicker. With the wren, I'm amazed the camera didn't focus on that twig in front so there is still a lot of luck involved.

With the woodpeckers (which were more like 40 to 50 ft) they just appeared out of nowhere and I had to revert to manual because of all the twiggage in front of the heads, and they didn't stay around very long either. I was lucky to get those pics.

AzureSky

Saw a Great Reed Warbler at Langford Lowfields this weekend, apparently an average of 4 (non-breeding) are found to visit the UK each year, so this is quite rare. I even went back to get pics, which I somehow managed to upload here, although the pictures are tiny.





Spoon of Ploff

The little owl is back! Hadn't seen it in over a year.. turns out its just very good at hiding.

Also.. it's hangout is in the same tree as the kestrels.




..or perhaps its another little owl.

Couple of chekky goldfinches checking out the niger seeds and sunflower hearts.




QDRPHNC


shiftwork2

#2841
I have wildlife-spotted this on my windowsill:



Bird fucks off if I enter this room, open the window in the adjacent room or enter the garden.  Other than abandoning my nest, what do I do?

Edit: this just in.



Help

Des Wigwam

Could you put a curtain up or crawl silently around the floor for a month? Just checked and avg. incubation is 16 days + 18 until they fledge.

shiftwork2

Yes, just read similar.  I am prepared to leave the blind down for a month as it's an office.  The issue really is the bedroom next door as I'd quite like the window open from time to time.  Also, I just re-filled the birdbath in the garden beneath and the bird regarded me with tolerating suspicion for a minute or so before flying away.  Surely it can see I am a friend of the birds.  It's away for around 7-8 mins before returning.  At what point do they abandon?

I have a camera on the nest now and it's having a right beady look in before settling back.

Twit 2


Des Wigwam

Whatever the outcome you could send the record into the BTO nest recording scheme. Haven't got the link to hand but could find.

Just remembered there was one laid two gleaming eggs in the drainpipe/gutter outside the bedroom window couple years ago. Every time I went into the bedroom was like the car driving into the garage in the opening of The Simpsons. Needless to say the nest was not successful.

shiftwork2

Fucker's staring right down the barrel of the camera.



Prepared to keep this window (and blind) closed for 5 weeks and we'll see what happens, but I'm not optimistic.

Spoon of Ploff

#2847
new kestrel manoeuvres in the park.

I've been kestrel watching all week. the youngsters look about ready to leave the nest (they grow up so fast).


dissolute ocelot

Seem to be a lot of jackdaws around this year, challenging the pigeons for shamelessness when they find someone eating lunch.

Blue Jam

Yesterday I witnessed almost an entire peeled banana fall out of the sky. I looked up and saw it had been dropped by a greedy bin chicken who had underestimated the banana's weight and overestimated both its density and its structural integrity and hadn't envisaged that a large section of banana would break away from out of its beak. Said c*ntbeak hovered around to retrieve it (as they do) and was able to fly off with a smaller piece after it had been conveniently mashed by a passing car:



I was impressed that it had managed to take off carrying that much weight. I've seen c*ntbeaks flying with sandwiches, fried chicken and once a slice of pizza and the weight really slows them down. Bananac*ntbeak must also be Edinburgh's healthiest gull.