Author Topic: Seen today (Read 1013852 times)

Davef · « **Reply #5550 on:** 18 May, 2020, 07:44:34 pm »

Weird cobwebby possibly caterpillarly stuff

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

SteveC · « **Reply #5551 on:** 18 May, 2020, 07:47:47 pm »

Large slowworm o the lawn. I see them fairly often in the garden, but never out in the open like that before.

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #5552 on:** 18 May, 2020, 09:54:00 pm »

This morning, double otter frolics right under the nose of a tree dwelling seal.

citoyen · « **Reply #5553 on:** 18 May, 2020, 10:49:01 pm »

Quote from: SteveC on 18 May, 2020, 07:47:47 pm

Large slowworm o the lawn. I see them fairly often in the garden, but never out in the open like that before.

I saw loads of them the other day in the woods. Well, I say loads... at least five in the space of about 20 minutes of walking. Including one on the road that hadn’t made it across to the other side.

They certainly didn’t seem as shy as usual. One just sat there on the path while the dog sniffed at it.

Wowbagger · « **Reply #5554 on:** 26 May, 2020, 12:44:46 am »

In my garden this evening.

T42 · « **Reply #5555 on:** 26 May, 2020, 02:30:47 pm »

"If I hide my head he won't see me."

Basil · « **Reply #5556 on:** 26 May, 2020, 07:57:37 pm »

I've never seen a hodgepig in the whole time I've been here. Not even two dimensional ones.
I used to see loads in Brum. Both two and animated three-dimensional ones.
Same with foxes. I've seen three or four in 15 years. Used to see them all the time in Bournville.
Do see wowbadgers though. Makes night riding in the lanes interesting sometimes. Those thick set, solid buggers only get out of the way when they're ready to, and not before.

SteveC · « **Reply #5557 on:** 26 May, 2020, 08:13:53 pm »

Areas which are good for badgers tend to have fewer hedgehogs. It's not that the badgers predate on them particularly, but they are competing for similar resources and the badgers, being

Quote

thick set, solid buggers

tend to get the better of it.

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #5558 on:** 26 May, 2020, 08:31:37 pm »

Yesterdays early morning ride we saw loads of dolphin frisking at the harbour, two of them doing flips at the same time.
Pingu managed to capture this rather more sedate one

Common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) by The Pingus, on Flickr

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #5559 on:** 26 May, 2020, 08:35:30 pm »

This morning's tree dwelling seal

IMG_6093_01 by The Pingus, on Flickr

rafletcher · « **Reply #5560 on:** 27 May, 2020, 12:26:18 pm »

Quote from: Davef on 18 May, 2020, 07:44:34 pm

Weird cobwebby possibly caterpillarly stuff

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Moth caterpillars of the processionary type are probably involved.

rafletcher · « **Reply #5561 on:** 27 May, 2020, 12:27:10 pm »

Heard from my "office" (back bedroom) window this morning, though not seen, the first Swift "screaming party" of the year.

Wowbagger · « **Reply #5562 on:** 27 May, 2020, 07:03:51 pm »

Quote from: SteveC on 26 May, 2020, 08:13:53 pm

Areas which are good for badgers tend to have fewer hedgehogs. It's not that the badgers predate on them particularly, but they are competing for similar resources and the badgers, being
Quote
thick set, solid buggers
tend to get the better of it.

I'm not familiar with any other large town (if c. 200000 can be considered large) but I have become accustomed to the dense badger population within a short distance of my house. I don't know if any other similar sized towns are so blessed. I don't think we've ever been especially short of hedgehogs, as I see enough flat ones to make me think that there are still a few pumped-up ones around.

A few weeks ago I went out for an early morning (6am-ish) bike ride and there was a dead badger here: http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=588063&Y=186945&A=Y&Z=120 . That's about 200 yards from my house. There are setts on the railway embankment and also in the small public park less than 500 metres WSW of the arrow.

Salvatore · « **Reply #5563 on:** 29 May, 2020, 01:39:06 pm »

The bowls of water seemed to be appreciated last night

pcolbeck · « **Reply #5564 on:** 29 May, 2020, 09:23:55 pm »

Squirrels are back in the garden. Tilly is terrified of them for some reason being that she weighs 30Kg and they weigh 500g that's just daft. She is a big silly yellow lump though. She sat looking out the patio doors (open) all afternoon and refused to go outside unless we were there too.
Mrs Pcolbeck got a photo of a squirrel a robin and a greater spotted wood pecker all in one frame. Unfortunately from a distance with a phone camera.

Sergeant Pluck · « **Reply #5565 on:** 29 May, 2020, 11:21:43 pm »

Great to see those hedgehogs.

CrazyEnglishTriathlete · « **Reply #5566 on:** 30 May, 2020, 06:34:01 pm »

A chiffchaff.

I may have seen these before but have always struggled to identify warblers - by the time I got back to a bird book I'd forgotten the song or couldn't translate the description into what i'd heard. Armed with the RSPB web site, the BirdNet bird call recognition app, and a digital camera with 300mm lens meant, I got a confident observation of that small brown bird cheeping away at the top of a 50 foot tree.

pcolbeck · « **Reply #5567 on:** 31 May, 2020, 01:20:57 pm »

Look a squirrel !

Yesterday in our garden.

Wowbagger · « **Reply #5568 on:** 31 May, 2020, 01:58:39 pm »

Whilst I was sitting outside eating my breakfast a pair of blackbirds were rummaging about under the laurel. I think they have built a nest in next door’s yew, but I don’t think they can be incubating as the female seems to be out and about too much. A robin appeared a little later.

A blue tit has a nest inside the bathroom vent of the house across the road and I quite often see them coming and going. Also, there were plenty of swift wheeling about. I am thinking about installing a swift box for next year.

Clare · « **Reply #5569 on:** 02 June, 2020, 03:13:25 pm »

A black kite I think. Kite shaped with a forked tail but not as defined as a red kite and the wrong colour for a red kite.

Never seen one before we moved here.

pcolbeck · « **Reply #5570 on:** 02 June, 2020, 03:18:40 pm »

Quote from: Clare on 02 June, 2020, 03:13:25 pm

A black kite I think. Kite shaped with a forked tail but not as defined as a red kite and the wrong colour for a red kite.

Never seen one before we moved here.

I didn't even know we had them in the UK before you posted that.

Clare · « **Reply #5571 on:** 02 June, 2020, 03:26:05 pm »

Me neither, we saw a dark 'solid' looking bird and our first thought was it was one of the IOW sea eagles. When we got the bins on it we could clearly see it was the wrong shape completely for an eagle. Much perusing of Heinzel, Fitter, Parslow got us to black kite. Google suggests they do visit the south a fair bit these days.

mike · « **Reply #5572 on:** 02 June, 2020, 03:33:32 pm »

I went paddleboarding on sunday morning and sat and watched an owl hunting up and down granchester meadow for about 10 minutes.

Probably a teenage barn owl practicing, it was about 9.30 and there were quite a few people about. It did a lot of hovering and diving down but didnt seem to actually catch anything.
Fantastic to see, I've never watched one for that long before.

CrazyEnglishTriathlete · « **Reply #5573 on:** 02 June, 2020, 09:57:58 pm »

Quote from: Clare on 02 June, 2020, 03:26:05 pm

Me neither, we saw a dark 'solid' looking bird and our first thought was it was one of the IOW sea eagles. When we got the bins on it we could clearly see it was the wrong shape completely for an eagle. Much perusing of Heinzel, Fitter, Parslow got us to black kite. Google suggests they do visit the south a fair bit these days.

Would not be surprised. Have seen them in Brittany - so perhaps they are following in the wake of Little Egrets and settling north.

Salvatore · « **Reply #5574 on:** 03 June, 2020, 02:39:23 pm »

Some inter-species drama in my garden last night

https://youtu.be/r_Pa9gMR_Sc

Meanwhile my nephew's wildlife camera captured a squirrel, a raccoon, and a snake on his patio. He's in Florida.