Seen today

[Crumbling Nick]

Yesterday, 3 badger carcases on the main road between Warwick & Brum. The carcases are common enough, but up till now they've always been dumped on the verge. 2 had no signs of blood (presumably not roadkill), though 1 was being recycled by a couple of ravens, at least, I think both of them were involved. I sincerely hope it wasn't full of poisons, since most of the carcase was still there today, but the ravens weren't.

[Tim Hall]

A bunch of Belted Galloways grazing the slopes of Box Hill as I made my way back from the Hilly 50.  Very lovely they looked too.

[Pingu]

Last week, a jay. Needed a longer lens:


IMG_2749 by The Pingus, on Flickr

[Pingu]

Buzzards, a jay, skylarks, heard yellowhammers, a lone lapwing doing its bonkers flight over a field & a kestrel hovering over another field.

[spindrift]

Visitor, Sunday afternoon:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/99498418@N05/13062133995/

[Basil]

"Our" GS woodpecker was an occasional visitor to our bird feeder, particularly during those recent hard winter periods.  Then he moved about a mile down the hill.  We could still hear him, but no longer saw him.
Anyway, yesterday, he paid us a courtesy visit.   

[bumper]

Coming in from the back garden today I noticed a small black bag on the floor, as I bent over to pick it up it hopped off!

It was a magpie looking worse for wear. One of the only days this year I've left the doors open, guess where it went. Straight in through the door, through the kitchen, through the hallway, up the open stairs and into my bedroom where the dog was lying.

After wrestling the dog away from it I tried catching it, it was having none of it. It hopped down the stairway, through the hallway, through the kitchen and out of the back door

Last week I heard a racket by the garage doors and went to inspect. It was a pair of magpies attacking a smaller one, it was pretty savage. I shooed the pair away and the injured one flapped over into next doors garden. It must be the same one.


And for my good deeds what do I get?

A MASSIVE MAGPIE SHIT ON THE BEDROOM FLOOR!!

[menthel]

Yesterday but please forgive me that, we had a Red Kite circling over Raynes Park. Its the first one I have seen in London personally- all rather exciting to see one back in the city!

[Cudzoziemiec]

Also yesterday and sticking with the birds of prey - a peregrine falcon over Clifton Down. They nest in the Gorge but they're not a common sight, though apparently increasing in numbers.

[PaulF]

Mustelid themed for me. After helping a neighbour rescue a lost ferret last week (as I had cycling gloves on I was chosen to pick it up, afterwards she told me she didn't think the gloves would have given any protection) I saw a stoat this morning. 

[clarion]

Rather sad sight this morning in Borough.  It was a dead bird on the pavement.  It had speckled brown plumage, and a long, thin beak.  Looked like a snipe (but I'm no expert).  No idea what it was doing on an urban street.

No signs of cause of death, and no blood. 

[Wombat]

The local mute swans playing their usual tricks on me.  I have an ongoing mission to get good photos of them in flight, they have an ongoing joke in that they try to avoid this ever happening.  This morning my attention was diverted by a bit of heritage I was not aware of in Gosport, so I looked down at the sign, only to catch the sound of huge wingbeats just over my head, whipped round quickly and fired off a few frames, but the first and potentially best one missed the left wingtip, so detailed feathers in action, but not all of them.  Gits!  I've only got until July, when my contract finishes here, to nail my swans in flight ambitions.  I'll get you yet, you beautiful feathered friends!

[clarion]

Rather sad sight this morning in Borough.  It was a dead bird on the pavement.  It had speckled brown plumage, and a long, thin beak.  Looked like a snipe (but I'm no expert).  No idea what it was doing on an urban street.

No signs of cause of death, and no blood. 

Further thought after consulting RSPB website: Maybe this was a woodcock, destined for a table, but as yet unplucked?  I don't know of any game merchants near there (Long Lane), though there's almost certainly at least one in Borough Market up the road a space.

[Pingu]

A kestrel hovering just along the shore from work.

[fuzzy]

Knee deep in the stream through the meadows twixt Maidenhead and Cookham, an Egret. Not sure if great or not. Looked the size of your standard Heron. It looked to have fluffy bits on it's head.

I then spied a domestic kitty in the road, poised at the edge, staring intently at the side of the road. As I got closer I could see that it was at the entrance to an undergrowth 'tunnel' waiting for dinner. The cat didn't hear me until I was right beside it at which point, I must have inadvertantly triggerd it's coiled spring cos it leaped into the air then ran away

[Tim Hall]

Unknown suspected raptor over a field near Ipswich.  Bigger than a kestrel, and lacking the pointy wings of same (and it didn't hover). Didn't see it for long, suspicion of dark grey colour to top of wings. Any ideas oh wise ones?

[Cudzoziemiec]

Sparrowhawk?

[Bledlow]

Grass snake, basking on the path to Tesco, when Mrs B & I were walking back after an outing to replenish the fridge after our absence. It was taking advantage of some slightly warmed-up tarmac.

It slithered off into the leaf litter when we got close.

[SteveC]

Knee deep in the stream through the meadows twixt Maidenhead and Cookham, an Egret. Not sure if great or not. Looked the size of your standard Heron. It looked to have fluffy bits on it's head.

Great whites are a little bigger than a heron, but not much. But they are still (as far as I know) fairly rare in this country. A little would be more likely. And the little has the more distinctive crest.

[SteveC]

Yesterday (while I was standing in the office car park in a rather under-dressed state), a sparrow hawk flying over. I think it amused my colleagues that I stopped in mid-converstaion to point it out. 

[Tim Hall]

Sparrowhawk?

Don't think so. Sparrowhawks are more in the "tabby cat" colour scheme end of things.  This was a bit battleship grey.

[tiermat]

Unknown suspected raptor over a field near Ipswich.  Bigger than a kestrel, and lacking the pointy wings of same (and it didn't hover). Didn't see it for long, suspicion of dark grey colour to top of wings. Any ideas oh wise ones?

Sounds like a Goshawk to me.

How do I know?

One escaped a couple of years ago and was taking cats in our area.  It spent a happy half hour sunning itself on our decking one day.

[Tim Hall]

Backtracking a bit, following a spot of web based research:  Goshawk seems unlikely, as according to  the RSPB website, they don't really get that far east. Leastways, there's a hole in the distribution map over the Ipswich area.

But what I didn't realise until 10 minutes ago was that male Sparrowhawks(1) are grey, not tabby like the female.  Add to that the "being seen over a field" bit, I'd say it was a male Sparrowhawk.

(1) Is it just me that mentally appends "Family Centre" to the word Sparrowhawk?

[PaulR]

On the riverside walk outside the Tate Modern this morning, a proper grown up frog.  A few passers by did nice double-takes when they spotted it.

[JonBuoy]

A dead mustelid on the side of the road between Edingale and Lullington (near Tamworth).  It looked far chunkier than a weasel or stoat but not badger-sized or badger-coloured.  Could it have been a ferret ?