Author Topic: Seen today (Read 1018537 times)

tiermat · « **Reply #2450 on:** 23 March, 2012, 08:23:59 am »

Last night, on our Thursday night bike ride, we saw bats and a wol.

As well as having a starry field to guide me home, that made the evening.

Auntie Helen · « **Reply #2451 on:** 23 March, 2012, 11:55:36 am »

On my ride into Uni today

Wowbagger · « **Reply #2452 on:** 23 March, 2012, 12:09:40 pm »

Was that anywhere near Ardleigh Reservoir, AH?

LindaG · « **Reply #2453 on:** 23 March, 2012, 02:41:52 pm »

A brown hare

Pheasants

Many larks

Finchy little brown jobs everywhere

Horses

A dog

Some kind of raptor, I suspect a sparrowhawk

*happy*

Auntie Helen · « **Reply #2454 on:** 23 March, 2012, 03:56:45 pm »

Quote from: Wowbagger on 23 March, 2012, 12:09:40 pm

Was that anywhere near Ardleigh Reservoir, AH?

Nope, it was on Tye Road in Elmstead (between Crockleford Heath and Elmstead Market)

Wowbagger · « **Reply #2455 on:** 23 March, 2012, 04:11:58 pm »

Quote from: Auntie Helen on 23 March, 2012, 03:56:45 pm

Quote from: Wowbagger on 23 March, 2012, 12:09:40 pm
Was that anywhere near Ardleigh Reservoir, AH?
Nope, it was on Tye Road in Elmstead (between Crockleford Heath and Elmstead Market)

Ah. The reason I ask was that about 10 years ago I went fishing a few times at Ardleigh and I was most impressed by the vast number of rabbit corpses lying about, including, macabrely, a severed rabbit's head lying in over a foot of water. (Ardleigh, for a lake in SE England, had unusually clear water because at the time the Essex Water Co were removing the phosphates (residue from agriculture) from the pumped-in water and that caused a far lower algal bloom than is the norm. I don't know if ESW are still doing this.)

Anyway, I digress. At one point during my vain efforts to capture the enormous pike that live within its waters, Ardleigh at one time producing a British record of esox lucius, I was disturbed by the cries of an animal somewhere behind me. I climbed the bank to see a stoat attacking a rabbit. I had an old film camera with me and took some very blurry photos, managing to get fairly close in until the stoat released its prey and ran off. The rabbit, bleeding from the neck, staggered over and sat for a few seconds by my foot and I had neither the presence of mind nor the heart to whack it on the head and take it home for a pie. After a while it staggered off.

Half an hour later I heard similar cries to those I had heard earlier and could see a rabbit and a stoat thrashing around in the hedge. Whether it was the same rabbit I don't know, but I suspect that it was - it would have been pretty easy prey I would imagine, probably having been weakened by significant blood loss.

I don't suppose that Ardleigh Reservoir is the only place in your neck of the woods in which stoats and rabbits abound.

Tail End Charlie · « **Reply #2456 on:** 23 March, 2012, 09:40:37 pm »

I remember a few years ago see my mother's cat (a Siamese) take on a stoat. Bearing in mind the cat had dodgy eyesight (common amongst Siamese) they faced up to each other, then the stoat sprang forward, but the cat dodged and got it on the back of the neck. And held it till it was dead. I'd have backed the stoat in all honesty and had got a broom handle ready in case of need.
Cat was called Sinbad by the way. What a character it was.

Steph · « **Reply #2457 on:** 24 March, 2012, 06:10:15 pm »

This week, without a camera with me, the roadkill I had to avoid was an intact recently-deceased deer. I have been to both Barnes and Arundel, and have had singing chiffchaff, whitethroat and cetti's, snipe, oystercatcher, redshank, eight species of duck, little egrets at Redhill from the train, ditto at arundel from a hide, buzzards, reed bunting, (not so) common and Mediterranean gulls, and two peregrines passing high over Arundel.

Peter · « **Reply #2458 on:** 24 March, 2012, 06:44:20 pm »

Short-eared owl, hunting in broad daylight near Rochdale.

Auntie Helen · « **Reply #2459 on:** 24 March, 2012, 08:13:46 pm »

Big white owl flying around the field at the back in daylight. Watched it for 5 mins, then thought to get my camera out whereupon it disappeared.

why1040 · « **Reply #2460 on:** 24 March, 2012, 09:52:39 pm »

Not quite seen, but certainly heard...

Having woken up at stupid o'clock, after less sleep than optimal, I spent quite a bit of time listening to a rather lovely woodpecker. I have a funny feeling you can tell what type it is from the noise, but I may have dreamt that!

I think the rhythmic noise helped me drop back off again

Pingu · « **Reply #2461 on:** 24 March, 2012, 10:53:56 pm »

Quote from: Auntie Helen on 23 March, 2012, 11:55:36 am

On my ride into Uni today

I haz sad snap

IMG_0199 by The Pingus, on Flickr

Pingu · « **Reply #2462 on:** 24 March, 2012, 11:09:01 pm »

None shall pass!

IMG_0202 by The Pingus, on Flickr

I had to usher this from the road today

IMG_0204 by The Pingus, on Flickr

geraldc · « **Reply #2463 on:** 25 March, 2012, 11:37:24 am »

Found out who's been removing the netting in the garden

Tail End Charlie · « **Reply #2464 on:** 26 March, 2012, 07:40:52 am »

Did you say "smile, please" ??

simonp · « **Reply #2465 on:** 26 March, 2012, 09:36:16 pm »

Feline found a bat:

Feline · « **Reply #2466 on:** 26 March, 2012, 09:44:17 pm »

Quote from: simonp on 26 March, 2012, 09:36:16 pm

Feline found a bat:

The big question is how the crap are we going to get it out of the light fitting. We are currently sat in the dark with the windows open hoping it can leave. The Cheddar bats are a protected species and I really don't want to harm it. It hissed at me when I touched it with a kitchen cloth!

andrew_s · « **Reply #2467 on:** 26 March, 2012, 10:23:16 pm »

turn the light off, take the bulb out, drape a bit of cloth over the edge of the light bowl for it to climb up, and leave the room

Wowbagger · « **Reply #2468 on:** 26 March, 2012, 10:42:57 pm »

I'd be very disinclined to touch it with bare hands. There was a guy ~~two or three years ago~~ in 2003 who caught rabies from a bat.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2003/aug/24/health.healthandwellbeing2 refers.

Quote

Fellow bat worker John Haddow said he and his colleagues did not know what sort of level rabies might be at in Britain.

Haddow, who was a close friend of McRae, said: 'Until last year, we assumed the incidence of the disease in the UK was virtually zero.

'It is around in northern Europe. People live side by side with bats, some of which will be carrying rabies. The big change now is that we are aware it might be there and so everybody needs to be a bit more cautious.'

Feline · « **Reply #2469 on:** 27 March, 2012, 12:25:41 am »

Quote from: Wowbagger on 26 March, 2012, 10:42:57 pm

I'd be very disinclined to touch it with bare hands. There was a guy ~~two or three years ago~~ in 2003 who caught rabies from a bat.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2003/aug/24/health.healthandwellbeing2 refers.

Quote
Fellow bat worker John Haddow said he and his colleagues did not know what sort of level rabies might be at in Britain.

Haddow, who was a close friend of McRae, said: 'Until last year, we assumed the incidence of the disease in the UK was virtually zero.

'It is around in northern Europe. People live side by side with bats, some of which will be carrying rabies. The big change now is that we are aware it might be there and so everybody needs to be a bit more cautious.'

Well in my case that wouldn't be a problem, I'm rabies vaccinated.
We made it a kitchen cloth ramp to get out and it landed on the floor where I encouraged it to get onto my Which? magazine then put it out of the window

L CC · « **Reply #2470 on:** 27 March, 2012, 09:17:13 pm »

Pheasant in the garden. Mostly.

(click to show/hide)

Chris S · « **Reply #2471 on:** 27 March, 2012, 09:24:02 pm »

It appears to have left a montage to itself on the window

JonBuoy · « **Reply #2472 on:** 28 March, 2012, 07:20:59 am »

Not really wild things but I was surprised to see a couple of ferrets on leads being walked away from the local Tesco yesterday evening.

Later on I spotted this news report: Tesco Covent Garden has 'serious mouse problem'

I wondered whether they were related.

Pingu · « **Reply #2473 on:** 28 March, 2012, 11:06:56 am »

10 or so dolphins in the harbour right outside the office. They were quite active, jumping out of the water & tossing fish about.

Steph · « **Reply #2474 on:** 28 March, 2012, 04:41:02 pm »

Rough-legged buzzard from the train between Peterborough and Grantham.

Author Topic: Seen today (Read 1018537 times)

LindaG

Tail End Charlie

Tail End Charlie

simonp

Chris S