Author Topic: Seen today (Read 1016164 times)

L CC · « **Reply #1825 on:** 30 April, 2011, 10:33:40 pm »

A ferret out for a walk with a cat.

Wowbagger · « **Reply #1826 on:** 01 May, 2011, 11:24:16 pm »

Mrs Wow, Butterfly and I spent a very happy few minutes watching a willow warbler singing away to himself. Very interesting how their tails bob in time with the notes of the song.

David Martin · « **Reply #1827 on:** 01 May, 2011, 11:37:09 pm »

Just some gulls at the beach.

Tricky manual focussing with the 500mm mirror lens.

DSC_6181 by davidmamartin, on Flickr

DSC_6190 by davidmamartin, on Flickr

Rig of Jarkness · « **Reply #1828 on:** 02 May, 2011, 04:38:54 pm »

A cuckoo, Red Moss near Edinburgh.

Bledlow · « **Reply #1829 on:** 02 May, 2011, 07:31:52 pm »

Mayflies. Hordes of 'em flying by the Thames late yesterday, & dying all over the towpath & river, where they were being feasted on by assorted birds. Swans, ducks, gulls - even a couple of grebes.

Bledlow · « **Reply #1830 on:** 04 May, 2011, 08:28:15 pm »

Grass snake, in the ponds at Thames Valley Business Park, Reading. Mrs B heard a rustle & glimpsed a head briefly poking out of some reeds. We waited a bit, then I made a small disturbance on the landward side, & it swam out. Mrs B pointed at it, & it immediately turned back. Maybe her suddenly outthrust arm was reminiscent of a herons neck extending. It was small enough to be at risk from a heron.

RJ · « **Reply #1831 on:** 04 May, 2011, 08:49:21 pm »

Beaver. Redwings and fieldfares singing. Pair of goldeneye.

Slightly disappointing on the bird front

pcolbeck · « **Reply #1832 on:** 04 May, 2011, 09:10:20 pm »

A large hare running across the road this evening and a barn owl just outside my house.

border-rider · « **Reply #1833 on:** 05 May, 2011, 09:51:46 am »

Foals:

her_welshness · « **Reply #1834 on:** 05 May, 2011, 12:51:18 pm »

A pair of goldfinches, have never seen them before - they are so lovely to look at

jogler · « **Reply #1835 on:** 05 May, 2011, 08:06:09 pm »

Two herons on the banks of the Macclesfield canal

Tail End Charlie · « **Reply #1836 on:** 05 May, 2011, 09:54:48 pm »

A stoat, nearly ran it over when it ran out in front of me.

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #1837 on:** 05 May, 2011, 10:04:09 pm »

Quote from: RJ on 04 May, 2011, 08:49:21 pm

Beaver. Redwings and fieldfares singing. Pair of goldeneye.

Slightly disappointing on the bird front

Beaver! coooool.

Bats!
Saw my first one of the year tonight.

Rig of Jarkness · « **Reply #1838 on:** 06 May, 2011, 07:24:08 am »

Quote from: RJ on 04 May, 2011, 08:49:21 pm

Beaver.

One of the officially sanctioned ones or an escapee ?

RJ · « **Reply #1839 on:** 06 May, 2011, 10:04:08 am »

Quote from: Charterhall on 06 May, 2011, 07:24:08 am

Quote from: RJ on 04 May, 2011, 08:49:21 pm
Beaver.

One of the officially sanctioned ones or an escapee ?

This was the genuine wild article (and thus indistinguishable from the "official" ones - the *ahem* escapes apparently speak with a German accent).

(Clues to rough location are in the original post - I was a bit off my normal patch

)

Wowbagger · « **Reply #1840 on:** 07 May, 2011, 11:27:39 am »

Cuckoo, heard but not seen, in Priory Park.

I clearly heard it call 4 times and in a more rural setting wouldn't have had any doubt. But in Priory Park? I've been going there on and off for about 30 years, almost every day in the summer fro the past 7, and am doubting my sanity.

RJ · « **Reply #1841 on:** 07 May, 2011, 10:00:13 pm »

Quote from: RJ on 06 May, 2011, 10:04:08 am

Quote from: Charterhall on 06 May, 2011, 07:24:08 am
Quote from: RJ on 04 May, 2011, 08:49:21 pm
Beaver.

One of the officially sanctioned ones or an escapee ?

This was the genuine wild article (and thus indistinguishable from the "official" ones - the *ahem* escapes apparently speak with a German accent).

(Clues to rough location are in the original post - I was a bit off my normal patch )

Evidence:

Eccentrica Gallumbits · « **Reply #1842 on:** 07 May, 2011, 10:16:41 pm »

Quote from: her_welshness on 05 May, 2011, 12:51:18 pm

A pair of goldfinches, have never seen them before - they are so lovely to look at

They're beautiful, aren't they? I got a feeder and niger seed and hung it from a tree in the carpark at work in December. It took the goldfinches until early April to work out it was there, but now they get through a feeder-full a week. I was so excited the first time I saw them. I'd never seen one before and I was surprised by how lovely they are. They're the highlight of the carpark now.

andym · « **Reply #1843 on:** 08 May, 2011, 09:14:16 am »

Well the swifts finally showed up on 5th May and had set up home in the external rafters of my apartment by 6th May. Still only seen/heard a few. Guess they arrived on the wind from the south? Been easterly for a week or 2. I think it's about the same date as last year despite the warm/dry April.
edit: this thread tells me they arrived on 30/4 last year (but that's probably a few days earlier than typical)

Blackbirds? thousands. Why do they always fly at your wheels if you disturb them while riding a bike?

Cuckoo - heard my first of the year. And maybe 2nd? Or did the first just fly closer to the path?

Pied Wagtails - a few.

Black Redstarts - seen a few at work, but none nesting near my place like the last few years.

Still only seen the one single cockchafer / maybug.

longers · « **Reply #1844 on:** 08 May, 2011, 11:26:01 am »

With Andy M mentioning Pied Wagtails, yesterday I saw a grey one in its usual place in the ford stuffing its face with flies but did wonder why they "wag"?

Wowbagger · « **Reply #1845 on:** 08 May, 2011, 04:32:04 pm »

We have a great tits' nest.

I've heard the noise of babies above our front door, near roof level, for a couple of days, but couldn't see how they could have got into the roof space, or why we couldn't hear them from inside the house.

It's because they've nested in the sewerage venting pipe, presumably where it bends out to go round the guttering. That means that, when the babies fledge, they are going to have to scale about 2' 6" of vertical pipe before they escape. I think that's going to be difficult for them, but I would imagine that the parents wouldn't build a nest where the babies are doomed.

RJ · « **Reply #1846 on:** 08 May, 2011, 04:38:20 pm »

Swifts flying around outside the flat this afternoon ...

Chris N · « **Reply #1847 on:** 08 May, 2011, 04:44:37 pm »

A cinnabar moth this morning - first one I've seen. Lovely!

border-rider · « **Reply #1848 on:** 08 May, 2011, 07:25:17 pm »

They like ragwort, which one is meant to eradicate on sight. Bit of a conflict there...they are lovely moths

We have housemartins nesting in the eves

marcusjb · « **Reply #1849 on:** 08 May, 2011, 07:30:23 pm »

Never seen one wandering about in the wild - so it was great to see a weasal (pretty sure it wasn't a stoat) as I rode towards home from the Hailsham 400. Climbing a big hill and this little brown chap appeared from the hedgerow, saw me and popped back. Seconds, but it was nice to see.

Author Topic: Seen today (Read 1016164 times)

border-rider

Tail End Charlie

Chris N

border-rider