Seen today

[unipaul]

Spotted this evening on my ride home - a deer. Very close. Slamming on brakes close. Fortunately thanks to the Cyo wunderlite it wasn't too close.... It skittered down the icy road for 20m or so before disappearing into the undergrowth again.

[Snakehips]

Saw these recently in Richmond Park , acting like a pair. Any ideas what they are ? Pochard / Tufted hybrids ?

[Wowbagger]

Quite a large flock of long tailed tits this morning. These tiny birds are often amongst the first to succumb in a pronged cold spell: they eat mostly insects which are pretty scarce now and of course there were very few around in the cold snap last winter.

[a lower gear]

Was watching a robin in the garden this afternoon: squirrels have repeatedly knocked the wire-mesh tube bird seed feeder from the tree it usually hangs, so I'd rehung it from the top clothes line. Various finch-types were zooming back and forth to it. A robin was sitting on a bush enviously watching them feed (I'd also thrown some seed on the lawn beneath the feeder's new position but the birds hadn't yet found it). The robin eventually tried - repeatedly - to land on the feeder but kept changing its mind on the final approach: much mid-air undignified flutters with feathers sticking up in stange directions. 

By this morning the robin (I assume its the same one) had learnt how to land on the bird feeder and was tucking in.

[Tourist Tony]

Monday, on a truly dreadful daytrip to Southampton by train, in some flooded and frozen fields near Chichester, a bittern. Walking across snow from one set of reeds to another. A real "OH!!!" moment.

[Wowbagger]

I'd just left Elsenham this morning when I heard the "ki-ki-ki" of what I thought was a sparrowhawk. I also saw what I thought was a wood pigeon on a nearby wire.

The next thing I knew there were two birds rolling around in the field about 100 yards away with an occasional "ki-ki-ki" sound. I watched for quite some time and was impressed for how long the supine bird kept struggling. Indeed, every so often it seemed as though the two birds were wrestling and they'd change places.

This went on for about 5 minutes and eventually both birds got up and flew away. I think they were both kestrels and that they'd been having a good old scrap, but I really could have done with a pair of binoculars.

Some years ago I observed a male kestrel continually dive-bombing what I assumed at the time to be a female, but with hindsight may well have been a juvenile bird. The RSPB: Kestrel: The kestrel's year refers to kestrel territories and I assume that this is what I've been fortunate enough to witness.

[Wowbagger]

Oh, and not long before I stopped at the Viper I was obliged to find a convenient hedge. I had noticed some beehives in the corner of the field.

As I was weeing a honey bee came and settled on my arm, possibly attracted by the yellowy-green fluorescence of my night Vision jacket.

"Hello!" I said to her, "What are you doing out today?"

At which point she flew off back to her hive.

[Butterfly]

Just round the side of Sainsbury's at Colliers Wood there was a beautiful Jay having a bath in the river Wandle

[clarion]

Lovely sight.

We also saw a pretty pied wagtail a bit further on.  My favourite bird.

[Rig of Jarkness]

Had a fleeting view of a brambling today.  I gather that they are not uncommon but I'd never knowingly seen one before.  Always nice to see something new.

[JohnP]

[Pingu]

A blackcap? In Aberdeen? In winter?

I can't find anything else in our bird book that it might have been

[SteveC]

A blackcap? In Aberdeen? In winter?

I can't find anything else in our bird book that it might have been

There are reports of blackcaps overwintering in the UK.  We had a couple in the garden the winter before last.  They're taking advantage of our warmer winters  and earlier springs to start breeding earlier and getting a head start on the birds which are still migrating.  But Aberdeen does seem rather far north and cold...

S

[Tim Hall]

Waxwings on the Tandem Club ride, down at Normans' Bay, wot is near Pevensey.

[a lower gear]

Whilst scraping the ice off the car windows at about 8.30am on our suburban Welsh street, a fox trotted unconcernedly past me barely giving a glance, moseyed along the pavement, inspected a few front gardens and ambled off into the distance. I really had to double check that it wasn't a dog or a cat.

A lot of urban foxes are quite unconcerned about humans.  Earlier this year whilst I was cycling slowlyish up a bit of hill on my way to Greenwich to meet up some people for a ride, one actually started walking towards me.  I assume it had been fed by some humans, so wasn't so much unconcerned as positively friendly!

I've had plenty of other wander out of gardens, look at me, and then just wander at the same speed into the next door garden, presumably just doing a regular check of gardens and bins for anything edible that had been left out.

This afternoon, whilst shovelling building spoil in the garden with my two smaller gears (11 and 14), the younger one said 'There's a fox!' - it was eight feet from us! It ambled around the garden and around us (we stood still) for a good minute and a half before ambling off. Seen quite a lot of foxes over the years but never had the opportunity to view one so close or for so long.

[LindaG]

On the way out of work tonight, feeling a bit upset, I saw a bunny rabbit hopping about in the hospital car park.  We get a fair  few of them.  This one looked at me, then made its way to my car to wait for me.

I suggested he make way for my car, since he was liable to squashing, and he obliged.

A nice little  moment.  Cheered me up.

[BrianI]

Saw a sea eagle at Loch Leven nature reserve yesterday!   

[Cudzoziemiec]

Thursday, actually, at midday. A fox. A rare sight here on Europe's Eastern Wall, they normally keep out of people's way in the forest, unlike their bolder British cousins.

[Pingu]

What I think was a sparrowhawk being mobbed by pigeons.

[Chris S]

Swans. Lots and lots and lots of Swans.

Here: Welney - Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT)

[LindaG]

Lots of redwings in the hedge by the footpath.  A whole tree full of sparrows chattering away at the falling snow.

Lots of dogs going nuts in the snow.  Dogs are fun 

[Jaded]

[Jaded]

[Wowbagger]

Yesterday:  a brace of Woodcock, near Cock Wood, Downham, Essex.

Today: turnstone, a greater spotted woodpecker and a pair of great crested grebes. The last were swimming in the estuary near the coastguard station. I can't recall seeing grebes swimming in salt water before.

[slowfen]

Today, 5 hares