Seen today

[newtoncap]

Spotted my first ever nuthatch visiting out bird feeder 

They are quite violent, aren't they?

Have you ever seen a greater spotted woodpecker on a bird feeder? They really give it some welly.

Had a greater spotted woodpecker check out the birdfeeder but didn't hang around.

Today on the way to Gibside:  1 red kite, 1 dead cat, 1 dead cow.

At Gibside:  4 jays, 1 red kite, 1 wren.

[Pingu]

A mouse that Mojo brought in. It had a large (for a mouse) stomach wound and died in my hands while I was considering how best to put it out of its misery.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Lots and lots of frogs. Large and small, all over the roads. Some so well camouflaged - they have the colouration and markings of leaves - that I nearly ran them over.

Also some kind of small, pale-coloured hawk in a field. Not a kestrel. Looked a bit like a merlin, but I think those are only found further north. Maybe it was a sparrowhawk, but I'm not sure.

[Rig of Jarkness]

Just back from two weeks on Speyside.   Our last swallows of the year, and our first redwings, plus crested tits, black grouse, and the usual abundance of red squirrels.  And an added bonus, on a day trip to Findhorn, a sighting of the Moray Firth dolphins.
Judging from the parked landrover the Autumnwatch team appeared to be staying in a cottage just up the road from us.  Sad to say that we didn't see any wild cats...

[matthew]

what we think was a sparrow hawk was plucking a pigeon at the bottom of the garden.




our cat was very pleased to have lunch delivered. 

[border-rider]

what we think was a sparrow hawk was plucking a pigeon at the bottom of the garden

Very likely a sparrowhawk, as you say.

We had a local one at the last house, a big female who used to regularly pluck and butcher wood pigeons in the garden, and carry them off in pieces.

[Wowbagger]

what we think was a sparrow hawk was plucking a pigeon at the bottom of the garden

Very likely a sparrowhawk, as you say.

We had a local one at the last house, a big female who used to regularly pluck and butcher wood pigeons in the garden, and carry them off in pieces.

I've only once seen a sparrow hawk catch a large bird, a collared dove. The brief view I had gave me the impression that the sparrow hawk, with its talons embedded in the dove's back, took advantage of the dove's final few wing beats to steer it to where the sparrow hawk wanted to go before killing it. I suppose that a large bird like a dove would be too heavy for the hawk to carry away.

Quite chilling.

[Mrs Pingu]

Judging from the parked landrover the Autumnwatch team appeared to be staying in a cottage just up the road from us.  Sad to say that we didn't see any wild cats...

I'm not convinced they did either. Some stripey kittens, sure, but way too kitten shaped to be able to tell if they were actually wildcats for me.

[Mrs Pingu]

We think we saw a Black Grouse today too, and a bit late some female red deer ran across the road in front of me. And the ubiquitous buzzards, but swooping across the road only a few feet in front of my face, twice today.

[Wowbagger]

We think we saw a Black Grouse today too, and a bit late some female red deer ran across the road in front of me. And the ubiquitous buzzards, but swooping across the road only a few feet in front of my face, twice today.

That's because the buzzards were saying "WTF is a penguin doing in Scotland?"

[vorsprung]

went for a walk up the culm
Saw a Kingfisher.  I wouldn't have spotted it but Mrs V was was looking at a branch through binoculars and it landed on it!

[Pingu]

We think we saw a Black Grouse today too, and a bit late some female red deer ran across the road in front of me. And the ubiquitous buzzards, but swooping across the road only a few feet in front of my face, twice today.

...and a a mouse/shrew type thing jumping across a ditch.
...and kestrel.
...and some yellow sheep.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Continuing the sparrow hawk theme, one visited our garden the day before yesterday and caught something there - a pigeon of some sort judging by the feathers. I have seen sparrow hawks here occasionally, but unfortunately didn't see this one in action.

[TimO]

Judging from the parked landrover the Autumnwatch team appeared to be staying in a cottage just up the road from us.  Sad to say that we didn't see any wild cats...

I'm not convinced they did either. Some stripey kittens, sure, but way too kitten shaped to be able to tell if they were actually wildcats for me.

Well they almost certainly caught wild cats on video and the camera traps, but the cute kittens may or may not have been completely wild.  It seems more likely that the black kitten was a Scottish cat / domestic cat hybrid.

I wonder if Scottish wild cats are like domestic cats, and the kittens can have multiple fathers?  If so, then a pair of kittens could have a Scottish wild cat mum, and one could be pure Scottish wild cat with a wild cat dad, whilst the other kitten had a domestic cat dad.

[Pingu]

I wonder if Scottish wild cats are like domestic cats, and the kittens can have multiple fathers?

That'll be the Torry cats.

[L CC]

I wonder if Scottish wild cats are like domestic cats, and the kittens can have multiple fathers?

Yes. Each kitten is from a separate egg, separately fertilised.

[pcolbeck]

The same as humans then in the case of non identical twins or triplets etc.

[border-rider]

If so, then a pair of kittens could have a Scottish wild cat mum, and one could be pure Scottish wild cat with a wild cat dad, whilst the other kitten had a domestic cat dad.

Brave domestic cat

[Jaded]

A sea eagle!!!

I was just sat in the 'sun' room, looking out across Loch Broom. There it was!

 

[RJ]

Jaded, those pictures are (definitely*) of a golden eagle.  Which (out of a sun room, anyway) is probably even cooler 

Seen last week (on Mull): sea eagle**; golden eagle**; otter; peregrine; hen harrier; red-throated diver; great northern diver; barnacle goose; lots of other stuff ...


* - trust me; I know
** - including 2 of each at the same time ...

[Pingu]

Dolphins leaping in the harbour mouth this morning.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Yesterday, three red deer.

[Rig of Jarkness]

Not by me, alas, but seen by the security guards at our local Embra shopping centre. 
   Otter is caught on camera at Capital shopping centre  - Edinburgh Evening News

[corshamjim]

A couple of bats.  I half wonder if they're attracted by the sound of my dynamo? 

[CountrySickness]

A dormouse, it was in a dormouse box so I shouldn't be too surprised.

Spotting otters in Scotland is just cheating.