Author Topic: Seen today (Read 1019301 times)

Bledlow · « **Reply #2175 on:** 01 November, 2011, 01:54:21 pm »

A bloody enormous chaffinch, sat on my bird feeder for ages stuffing itself silly.

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #2176 on:** 01 November, 2011, 07:17:32 pm »

Just remembered, I narrowly avoided running over a tree rat yesterday morning, after it decided to make a dash for my front wheel having just noticed it was running alongside me.

henshaw11 · « **Reply #2177 on:** 02 November, 2011, 02:05:18 pm »

Ok, not today, but on sunday I noticed a jay hopping round the patio, carrying what looked like an acorn - before bouncing up to one of the larger, wider pots and burying it. First time I've ever noticed one do that, I thought squirrels were always the culprits. Then came across this today:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/15536611

L CC · « **Reply #2178 on:** 02 November, 2011, 10:00:36 pm »

Quote from: Mrs Pingu on 01 November, 2011, 07:17:32 pm

Just remembered, I narrowly avoided running over a tree rat yesterday morning, after it decided to make a dash for my front wheel having just noticed it was running alongside me.

I got one on Sunday. Ran over the bushy tail.

Bledlow · « **Reply #2179 on:** 09 November, 2011, 05:08:39 pm »

I ran one over several years ago, when it tried to cross the road between my wheels. Spine cracked when the wheel went over it (I heard), but it dragged itself into the undergrowth with its front legs before I could stop & get back to it, so I left it to die rather than make its suffering worse by chasing it through the vegetation.

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #2180 on:** 12 November, 2011, 07:06:19 pm »

A hedgehog. Wandering around on the grassy, bushy and mushroomy verge of a city street in broad daylight. When we first saw it, it was moving rather slowly and unsteadily, as if it might be ill, but I reckon it was probably just coming out of hibernation for the warm afternoon, as we passed the same place maybe half an hour later and it was still there, walking far more smoothly and fast.

Auntie Helen · « **Reply #2181 on:** 12 November, 2011, 07:08:24 pm »

Dead stoat as roadkill

Wowbagger · « **Reply #2182 on:** 14 November, 2011, 05:46:06 pm »

A wheatear. It hasn't been reading the right bird books or it would be in Africa by now.

Crumbling Nick · « **Reply #2183 on:** 15 November, 2011, 11:27:23 pm »

A flock of long-tailed tits, plus a few other titmice. It's that time of year.

Then they came closer to where we were working. The hedge on the other side of the footpath had been laid 5-10 years ago and was evidently a good food source. It's the first time I've been close enough to these little birds to watch them without binoculars. Magic

.

jogler · « **Reply #2184 on:** 16 November, 2011, 11:16:46 am »

Quote from: Crumbling Nick on 15 November, 2011, 11:27:23 pm

A flock of long-tailed tits, plus a few other titmice. It's that time of year.

Arsenal fans?

Snakehips · « **Reply #2185 on:** 17 November, 2011, 07:14:52 pm »

Quote from: Crumbling Nick on 15 November, 2011, 11:27:23 pm

It's the first time I've been close enough to these little birds to watch them without binoculars. Magic .

Agreed . A flock of long tails visited the tree outside my house on a couple of mornings last week. Lovely to see.

TimO · « **Reply #2186 on:** 17 November, 2011, 07:24:34 pm »

This chap:

Click for bigness

Who Kai was chasing around the hall, and managed to let escape several times. I assume he was playing with it, which was why it escaped, since I saw him with it in his mouth several times before it legged it, and he was searching around for it.

I hurriedly grabbed a margarine pot and managed to corner it.

It's possible there's more than one out there, because Kai's still noising around, but he hasn't stuck to any one location, so possibly he's just hunting for that one, and doesn't realise I've released it into the back garden. Kai's hearing is clearly fantastic for hunting like that however, since he was zeroing in on it, when I couldn't see where it had scarpered to. There's also the possibility that the reason it was loose in the house, was that someone <looks pointedly in Kai's direction> had brought it in, and managed to let it escape too successfully $:-\$ .

Pingu · « **Reply #2187 on:** 17 November, 2011, 09:58:49 pm »

Saw my first urban fox at the railway station this morning.

TimO · « **Reply #2188 on:** 17 November, 2011, 10:13:53 pm »

Incidentally, does anyone know what species of mouse that is? I'm guessing just a common house mouse, but it was quite small, it's body was only about an inch long, so I'd imagine it was immature and if that's the case, possibly I should watch out for others?

border-rider · « **Reply #2189 on:** 17 November, 2011, 11:26:24 pm »

Quote from: TimO on 17 November, 2011, 10:13:53 pm

Incidentally, does anyone know what species of mouse that is? I'm guessing just a common house mouse, but it was quite small, it's body was only about an inch long, so I'd imagine it was immature and if that's the case, possibly I should watch out for others?

looks like a wood/field mouse to me. I'd agree that i''s likely been imported.

Peter · « **Reply #2190 on:** 17 November, 2011, 11:30:46 pm »

Quote from: Mal Volio on 17 November, 2011, 11:26:24 pm

Quote from: TimO on 17 November, 2011, 10:13:53 pm
Incidentally, does anyone know what species of mouse that is? I'm guessing just a common house mouse, but it was quite small, it's body was only about an inch long, so I'd imagine it was immature and if that's the case, possibly I should watch out for others?

looks like a wood/field mouse to me. I'd agree that i''s likely been imported.

I think you're right Mal. We have them in our garden and very occasionally in the house. They have bigger ears and are browner and with bigger eyes than the house mouse. They are described as nocturnal but this just means that they are around at night AS WELL! They're out in the garden all day.

Kim · « **Reply #2191 on:** 18 November, 2011, 12:02:29 am »

A creature, seen only on account of its glowing red eyes in the beam of my head torch, peering over the top of The Bridge in Canon Hill Park a couple of hours ago. Barakta's lights were pointing the wrong way on a corner and she didn't see it. It was the right size for a cat/dog/fox, but I suspect that it was in fact some sort of demon hound, escaped from the bowels of Mordor.

Wowbagger · « **Reply #2192 on:** 18 November, 2011, 12:14:25 am »

Could it have been the Werewarg of Wolverhampton?

More prosaically, don't foxes eyes glow red in headlights?

chris · « **Reply #2193 on:** 19 November, 2011, 07:56:26 pm »

About 8 short eared owls near Maidwell in Northamptonshire. It was getting a bit dark when we saw them so apologies for the quality of the photos as I had to set the camera to ISO 1600.

Feanor · « **Reply #2194 on:** 19 November, 2011, 10:44:33 pm »

A red kite put on a fantastic display at Junior#2's football match this morning.

It was buzzing a small copse of trees next to the pitch, and all the birds in the area seemed to appear out of no-where to chase it off.

It was doing loop-the-loops, and swoops to inches of the ground, full wing-and-forkytail profiles both front and back, in the area of groung next to the pitch. It was about 10 feet away from the pitch, on the far side from the spectators. This went on for 20 minutes, and resulted in most parents missing one of the goals!

It's the closest experience I've had with Kites.

Sadly, no photos.

--
Ron

Kim · « **Reply #2195 on:** 19 November, 2011, 11:07:04 pm »

A rat, sitting in the middle of the cyclepath eating something, completely unfazed by barakta's trike wheel passing within about a centimetre of its tail. It continued to be unfazed as I wobbled up to it and caught it in the beam of my head torch as I passed over saying "Is that a rat au van? Bloody hell no, it's a live one!"

Wowbagger · « **Reply #2196 on:** 19 November, 2011, 11:54:34 pm »

A couple of months ago I was watching a rat in our local park and I thought it was behaving remarkably confidently in the presence of humans and dogs. After a while I realised it was blind.

onb · « **Reply #2197 on:** 20 November, 2011, 09:46:49 pm »

A buzzard being mobbed by rooks.

ferret · « **Reply #2198 on:** 20 November, 2011, 10:12:46 pm »

1 stoat

Wowbagger · « **Reply #2199 on:** 21 November, 2011, 01:23:00 pm »

Marsh harrier, over the marshes near Paglesham.

Author Topic: Seen today (Read 1019301 times)

border-rider