Author Topic: Seen today (Read 1018516 times)

Jaded · « **Reply #4425 on:** 02 April, 2016, 09:32:27 am »

I'm not sure, I was hoping someone would identify it better than "furry chap"

Jaded · « **Reply #4426 on:** 02 April, 2016, 10:08:16 am »

These chaps

Hot Flatus · « **Reply #4427 on:** 02 April, 2016, 10:15:12 am »

Bledlow · « **Reply #4428 on:** 02 April, 2016, 07:53:11 pm »

A heron behaving oddly. It approached some people, as if expecting to be fed. It was a very scruffy heron.

A pair of copulating toads.

Both of these were in Oxford, the heron by the canal, & the toads in the Trap Grounds.

Wowbagger · « **Reply #4429 on:** 02 April, 2016, 08:41:04 pm »

Quote from: Jaded on 02 April, 2016, 09:32:27 am

I'm not sure, I was hoping someone would identify it better than "furry chap"

Looks like a water vole to me. Any idea of scale?

And where was the stork?

Peter · « **Reply #4430 on:** 03 April, 2016, 12:37:28 am »

Pretty sure, like Wow, that that's a water vole aka "Ratty".

are you in France or Germany? Or maybe Spain?

Jaded · « **Reply #4431 on:** 03 April, 2016, 02:49:20 am »

I'm in the UK now

But I was in Portugal. The furry chap was about the same size as a coot.

jamesld8 · « **Reply #4432 on:** 03 April, 2016, 09:31:54 am »

Quote from: Doity Rat on 02 April, 2016, 10:15:12 am

Sadly not seen yesterday on the Cambrian taking Hafren lane (which btw is really really nice) but saw 50-60 fieldfare

fuzzy · « **Reply #4433 on:** 04 April, 2016, 08:47:56 am »

The bats have returned to Fuzzy airspace

Steph · « **Reply #4434 on:** 04 April, 2016, 10:44:19 am »

Had a dreadful trip to Barnes yesterday (BLOODY railways! Three hours to get there from Gatwick) and both warblers and the greater and lesser screaming infants were out. Why do people take a child in a pram into a "silence please" hide? Why do adults with no fucking interest in birds have to come in to continue their shouted fucking conversations? Anyway...

I managed to spot this year's first record of a ringed plover as it flew in. One happy little vole swimming around, a couple of kingfishers, redshanks, three little egrets and the usual mix of ducks. Some sand martins and swallows as well. Warblers: Cetti's singing everywhere, and one or two were visible. Got very good views of a male blackcap, lots of chiffchaffs (not singing), willow warblers (singing) and garden warblers (seen and heard). I got chatting with a woman who wanted to know how to tell some of the songs apart, and I had just described how to tell garden from blackcap when I heard the song.

"That's a blackcap" I said, and she started to laugh, before showing me her phone, where she had an app... which was playing a blackcap song. Well, I got it right!

Pingu · « **Reply #4435 on:** 04 April, 2016, 02:27:28 pm »

Dead frog in the neighbour's garden.

(click to show/hide)

bumper · « **Reply #4436 on:** 04 April, 2016, 07:51:00 pm »

Quote from: Pingu on 04 April, 2016, 02:27:28 pm

Dead frog in the neighbour's garden.

(click to show/hide)

IMG_6506_01 by The Pingus, on Flickr

yep, that's dead

I saw hundreds, if not thousands of frogs and toads out on the trails last night. The trails were literally moving under tyre. I slowed down to avoid and walked a few sections to stop them ending up like your pic.

This is the second mass spawning I've seen this year.

L CC · « **Reply #4437 on:** 04 April, 2016, 08:02:30 pm »

It was frog carnage on the road on Saturday in Northumberland and Berwickshire.

Deano · « **Reply #4438 on:** 04 April, 2016, 11:52:23 pm »

I saw loads of newts in Lincolnshire on the overnight section of our arrow. No one else did - I think I was just being more attentive, and not hallucinating.

pcolbeck · « **Reply #4439 on:** 05 April, 2016, 04:34:58 am »

First wild bird egg of the season. It had fallen from a nest in our garden yesterday morning and cracked. Tilly eat it as an extra breakfast treat.

Wowbagger · « **Reply #4440 on:** 05 April, 2016, 04:47:14 pm »

A swallow and (I think) a pair of house martins. Plenty of chiffchaffs heard.

Also, a herd of fallow deer in a cornfield. I did my poor best to get a photo, but I was trying to zoom in through the hedge (yes, it does conjour up a wonderful image) and the camera wouldn't focus on them. Even though I was about 300 yards away, they were aware of me and wary. When I stopped my bike all but one or two were lying down. Within seconds, they were all standing up. Eventually they were spooked and ran away, towards a road I was about to go down, but I didn't see them again. There were at least 14 in the herd, but I think half a dozen or so had already slipped away before I counted them. I wonder how much damage they do to the crops?

Other stuff: a pair of cock pheasants fighting, a sparrow hawk scattering a flock of pigeons, but it didn't seem to be trying too hard to catch one. A couple of buzzards, a kestrel and a greater spotted woodpecker flying.

Steph · « **Reply #4441 on:** 05 April, 2016, 05:35:15 pm »

Quote from: Jaded on 02 April, 2016, 09:32:27 am

I'm not sure, I was hoping someone would identify it better than "furry chap"

The picture is of a water vole, certainly not of a coypu. Puzzled by scale.

Bledlow · « **Reply #4442 on:** 06 April, 2016, 12:04:38 am »

A grass snake basking on the Thames towpath between Sonning & Reading, about 5 pm today. Mrs B saw it first, & her drawing of my attention to it seemed to be what alerted it to our approach. It hissed as it slithered into the undergrowth. Pissed off that we'd interrupted its sunbathing?

Muntjac hoofprints on a path through Sonning farm (Reading Uni's, permissive footpaths along the farm tracks).

JStone · « **Reply #4443 on:** 07 April, 2016, 03:03:06 pm »

Two sparrowhawk attacks on the garden feeders in the last 30 minutes.

jamesld8 · « **Reply #4444 on:** 08 April, 2016, 05:07:08 pm »

Not exactly today but last Saturday about 20 buzzards in field sheep eaten fooder root crops; but today 7 yellowhammers in hedge near Eardisland

SteveC · « **Reply #4445 on:** 08 April, 2016, 06:40:00 pm »

On my first lunchtime ride for a month (that's what a bad back can do for you!), not seen but heard, loads of chiffchaffs. Seemed to be one in every tree.

Pingu · « **Reply #4446 on:** 12 April, 2016, 11:01:48 am »

Dolphins in the harbour. I haven't seen them for a few months.

Ruthie · « **Reply #4447 on:** 12 April, 2016, 11:24:24 am »

A robin, a sqrl, a thrush

, masses of birds singing. It's a dull drizzly morning, but none the worse for that.

Wowbagger · « **Reply #4448 on:** 12 April, 2016, 11:43:42 am »

Is that a red sqrl, Ruthie?

Ruthie · « **Reply #4449 on:** 12 April, 2016, 12:07:57 pm »

No, it was a grey sqrl.

The Robin was a Red-breast though

Author Topic: Seen today (Read 1018516 times)

fuzzy