Author Topic: Seen today  (Read 999459 times)

Re: Seen today
« Reply #725 on: 07 August, 2009, 11:37:00 pm »
A couple of ferrets, some rabbits, pigs, cows, goats, pretty birds, alpacas, turkeys, ducks, hens and peacocks and sheep at Deen city farm :D. And the heron in the wandle again. I hope he catches more than the anglers ;D.
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Re: Seen today
« Reply #726 on: 09 August, 2009, 08:34:50 am »
Lots of bunnies on the FNRttC.  I'm normally hopeless at spotting wildlife on rides, but for some reason I kept on seeing rabbits sprinting away from the mad cyclists that clearly they hadn't expected to see that early in the morning!
Actually, it is rocket science.
 

Re: Seen today
« Reply #727 on: 09 August, 2009, 09:39:59 am »
We now sleep on a small gallery in the Barn that's been under renovation for longer than I'd like to say ..... woke up in the early hours of this morning  :o with bats flying around the place, flying something like a figure-of-eight up and down the barn, swooping to within a foot of my face ...... not sure what to make of that !!

toekneep

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Re: Seen today
« Reply #728 on: 09 August, 2009, 09:51:24 am »
We now sleep on a small gallery in the Barn that's been under renovation for longer than I'd like to say ..... woke up in the early hours of this morning  :o with bats flying around the place, flying something like a figure-of-eight up and down the barn, swooping to within a foot of my face ...... not sure what to make of that !!

You're a bit batty you two.  ;D

Re: Seen today
« Reply #729 on: 09 August, 2009, 10:45:16 am »

Grasshoppers. I love the way they STFU when you get too close.   ;D
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Snakehips

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Re: Seen today
« Reply #730 on: 10 August, 2009, 09:25:27 am »
Strolling along by the Beaulieu river between Beaulieu and Bucklers Hard at the weekend I discovered a bird watching hide that wasn't there (I'm sure) the last time I visited the area.
I sat inside for a while looking at a bird-free pond then noticed a finch-sized , mainly brown bird in the pondside vegetation. It had a reddish upper breast. I thought of Redpoll and Linnet. I didn't notice any red on the head. Could this indicate the female Linnet ? Could it be anything else ? Is anybody familiar with that area and its birdlife ?

Snake


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Re: Seen today
« Reply #731 on: 14 August, 2009, 08:36:49 am »
Sounds like a linnet to me.

onb

  • Between jobs at present
Re: Seen today
« Reply #732 on: 14 August, 2009, 11:44:45 am »
A tawny owl last night as dusk approached and I was rushing hom to beat the dark.
.

Re: Seen today
« Reply #733 on: 15 August, 2009, 02:37:01 pm »



Privet hawk moth caterpillar in the garden, I always forget just how big the things are.

Re: Seen today
« Reply #734 on: 15 August, 2009, 08:19:07 pm »
On a tangent:



Found that rather amusing. Across the road from Imperial College in London.

Re: Seen today
« Reply #735 on: 16 August, 2009, 07:15:22 am »
... Found that rather amusing. Across the road from Imperial College in London.

LOL, the opposite of the normal "missing, answers to the name of ...". :)

I guess it proves that those posters work!


Yesterday I saw a fox at 5-30 in Norbury, wandering around amidst the few pedestrians out at that time, but then little else until a bunny sitting by the road in the evening, and then stacks of deer in Richmond park a few hours later.  Nothing too exotic, but nice to see all the deer, far more than I've seen in the past when the park was open to motor vehicles.  It was a solid indication that cycling through the park at speed in the dark would be a very very bad idea.
Actually, it is rocket science.
 

Re: Seen today
« Reply #736 on: 16 August, 2009, 09:57:20 pm »
Spotted an extremely large caterpillar during today's CTC ride.


It was walking rather rapidly along the road - a quiet Warwickshire lane in the Alne hills near Shelfield (or not too many miles from the Purity brewery, if that's your preferred navigation system). I'd guess it was about 10 cm long. The roadside verges were full of great willow herb. Seems to be an elephant hawk moth larva.

But...  Why was it on the road? Had it finished feeding and was searching for a place to pupate?



Also saw/heard lots of buzzards making very agitated noises in a couple of locations, as well as a quartet soaring and making the ususal call ('song'?). Dunno what's going on, but it seems to be an important time of the year for buzzards.

Re: Seen today
« Reply #737 on: 17 August, 2009, 01:51:17 pm »
Spotted an extremely large caterpillar during today's CTC ride.


It was walking rather rapidly along the road - a quiet Warwickshire lane in the Alne hills near Shelfield (or not too many miles from the Purity brewery, if that's your preferred navigation system). I'd guess it was about 10 cm long. The roadside verges were full of great willow herb. Seems to be an elephant hawk moth larva.

But...  Why was it on the road? Had it finished feeding and was searching for a place to pupate?


Definately an elephant hawkmoth, had you poked it it would have inflated the section with all the eyes on and waved it around at you in an extremely alarming manner. We used to get them near to us and the dog found one once and was terrified of it. Very funny.

Not sure why it would be on the road, however some caterpillars do move around to find food. There were loads of peacock caterpillars on my local common moving from one patch of nettles to another across the footpath recently.

Re: Seen today
« Reply #738 on: 22 August, 2009, 10:08:08 am »
Was out with the wife on her birthday the other day at Trentham Gardens (Stoke) and we saw our first wild otter. A nice treat anyway.

I called him Harry (otter)...

Jaded

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Re: Seen today
« Reply #739 on: 23 August, 2009, 12:51:56 am »
Seen a couple of weeks ago when I was making a bonfire (I moved all the stuff to burn from the pile to a new lace, just in case of this happening!)

Two babies - one awake, one not. Relocated to a sheltered spot. The not awake on looked just like a bundle of dry gorse needles.


A parent - quite heavy and way bigger than my hand


The adult scuttled off pretty quickly.
It is simpler than it looks.

Re: Seen today
« Reply #740 on: 23 August, 2009, 08:25:10 am »
Very cute, and impressive camouflage.

Well done on making sure they didn't get toasted. :thumbsup:
Actually, it is rocket science.
 

Re: Seen today
« Reply #741 on: 24 August, 2009, 07:30:49 pm »
Well, OK, two days ago, but we've been busy with an open day at the woods.



At last we managed to capture the badger at our woods using our remote IR camera.  We knew where he was scent marking his territory, but had a number of false starts with the camera battery running out and the wind dislodging the camera strapped to a tree.  Hope to see him again!
Spinning, but not cycling...

Re: Seen today
« Reply #742 on: 24 August, 2009, 08:36:14 pm »
Just seen: an owl flying across the field we're camping in :D. WOW! Also lots of swifts or swallows, can't tell the difference and just heard some bats. A good site :thumbsup:.
Quote from: Kim
^ This woman knows what she's talking about.

Tourist Tony

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Re: Seen today
« Reply #743 on: 26 August, 2009, 08:48:18 pm »
Swallows and swifts:
Two completely different families of birds.
Swifts are apodidae, "footless". Four toes turned forward, legs too short to walk, or groom, so they suffer from parasites. Very long wings, which they sometimes beat alternately, so they seem to rock as they fly. They have very short "arms", so their wings look like simple sickle blades. Look all dark. Often fly in groups around buildings, screaming.

Swallows are hirundines, with three UK species: swallow, and sand and house martins. The two martins have shorter tails than the swallow, but all three have white bellies.
Swallow and house martin: dark blue-black, white belly.
House martin: white rump.
Sand martin: brownish, no white rump. smaller, brown band across breast.
All three twitter in flight. Swallows and house martins make mud nests, sand martins use burrows.

Re: Seen today
« Reply #744 on: 27 August, 2009, 12:15:09 pm »
Can someone explain to me why the bird feeder is unused for an hour, & then a greenfinch, goldfinch, blue tit & robin all arrive at once & squabble over it?

What do they think they are? Buses?
"A woman on a bicycle has all the world before her where to choose; she can go where she will, no man hindering." The Type-Writer Girl, 1897

hellymedic

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Re: Seen today
« Reply #745 on: 27 August, 2009, 12:30:59 pm »
Can someone explain to me why the bird feeder is unused for an hour, & then a greenfinch, goldfinch, blue tit & robin all arrive at once & squabble over it?

What do they think they are? Buses?

Nah, just hungry...

toekneep

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Re: Seen today
« Reply #746 on: 27 August, 2009, 12:33:51 pm »
Can someone explain to me why the bird feeder is unused for an hour, & then a greenfinch, goldfinch, blue tit & robin all arrive at once & squabble over it?

What do they think they are? Buses?

12.15pm .... lunch time init? ;D

Re: Seen today
« Reply #747 on: 01 September, 2009, 11:34:19 pm »
An apparently famished & extremely messy juvenile goldfinch, which I shall call Onan for reasons you should be able to work out, that spent a longer time munching through the contents of my back garden feeder than any other bird I've seen on it.

Meanwhile, a juvenile dunnock sat on the wall nearby looking wistfully at the feeder & Onan's scatterings as they flew past it, apparently unable to work out what to do. It eventually went for a forage among my tomato plants.
"A woman on a bicycle has all the world before her where to choose; she can go where she will, no man hindering." The Type-Writer Girl, 1897

Mr Larrington

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Re: Seen today
« Reply #748 on: 03 September, 2009, 12:11:54 pm »
A pigeon, bouncing off my windscreen.

At least it didn't leave its entrails in the radiator grill like the last one I got.
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Re: Seen today
« Reply #749 on: 04 September, 2009, 05:19:41 pm »
Kingfisher. A flash of emerald-green over the Kennet by Waterloo meadows, in Reading.

And Onan's been back. It's growing up: got a little red showing on the face now.
"A woman on a bicycle has all the world before her where to choose; she can go where she will, no man hindering." The Type-Writer Girl, 1897