Your day's wildlife

[annedonnelly]

Much more spring like - including first fly in the mouth Also heard skylarks, thrushes & a Blackcap. Saturday was woodpecker day though, heard about 3 tapping, so not sure what sort they were, but also heard several Green ones, as they're pretty distinctive. Loads of dozy pheasants, buzzards, a Red Kite & a Kestrel too

Not friends with the Starling though as it's pulling loft insulation out of the roof and making a right mess, time to borrow my neighbour's ladder again & block up the hole with chicken wire, before it starts nesting properly. We did leave them one year, but my daughter's bedroom was infested with mites when they left the nest, that went down well

Oh no! I have Starlings nesting every year. I'd be upset if they moved out. Only casualty was one year a youngster got inside the loft and fell into the cold water header tank & drowned

 

[Tenkaykev]

New “ Bug Hotel “ at the side of Wimborne Library

 

[Gillstay]

Oh no! I have Starlings nesting every year. I'd be upset if they moved out. Only casualty was one year a youngster got inside the loft and fell into the cold water header tank & drowned

I just ensure they have a better spot to go to, as like you I would be very upset if they moved on after I made them homeless.

 

[Rezillo]

I posted a while back about a sparrowhawk that has been taking small birds off our feeders. Our garden bird population has plummeted as a result. However, I did note what the sparrowhawk was doing, which was to swoop down and literally knock birds off the feeders while they were feeding.

We've replaced our feeders with squirrel-proof ones with the widest cage possible. This seems to have stymied the sparrowhawk as the birds have to go into the cage to feed. The cage has to be wide otherwise the small birds perch on it and feed rather than flying inside. With the wide cages, birds may still perch on the outside but they are much more alert before going in to feed.

This also stops starlings eating everything up!

 

[biggs682]

Had a lovely couple of hours this morning just sat in 3 bird hides .

First one we saw great tits , coal tits , dunnuck , wren , blackbirds, nuthatches and absolutely loads of goldfinches.

Second one we saw a couple of blue tits .

Third one we saw 3 mallards , 3 blue tits and a black bird.

But all in all a lovely couple of hours

 

[Andy in Germany]

I nearly ran over a Coypu this morning.

I was also scowled at by several herons.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I nearly ran over a Coypu this morning.

I was also scowled at by several herons.

I was in a car that ran over a coypu/ragondin in the Massif Central, over west from you a few years ago. It was the chef's birthday so he took it as some kind of omen and cooked it. Even after a few days marinating in red wine, it was still tough as old boots. They were astonished to find one so far from a major river, and so far from an estuary, which apparently is where they were first introduced to France, on the Atlantic coast. They'd have been just as astonished to learn that they've got so far east. I seem to remember that their favoured habitat was sandy banks of rivers. Do you have such environments nearby?

Oh, if anyone offers to cook you one, make your excuses....!

 

[Dave7]

Sat in the conservatory yesterday and a Sparrowhawk swooped in then decided to land on the fence right opposite me.
Stayed maybe 20 seconds.......a very handsome bird (although @Rezillo 's bluetits may disagree )

 

[Andy in Germany]

I was in a car that ran over a coypu/ragondin in the Massif Central, over west from you a few years ago. It was the chef's birthday so he took it as some kind of omen and cooked it. Even after a few days marinating in red wine, it was still tough as old boots. They were astonished to find one so far from a major river, and so far from an estuary, which apparently is where they were first introduced to France, on the Atlantic coast. They'd have been just as astonished to learn that they've got so far east. I seem to remember that their favoured habitat was sandy banks of rivers. Do you have such environments nearby?

Just a bit yes. I saw the Coypu here, which if you zoom out you'll see is right in the middle of the Rhine Valley, alongside a river in an area of silty sandy soil and criss-crossed with drainage ditches.

I suspect the first Coypu to venture over the French hills would have thought they were seeing the Promised Land and gone back to get the family. I've seen several others in the region.

This part of Germany throws up a lot of interesting wildlife; we have Praying Mantises just to the south, and further west several colonies of cormorants.

 

[biggs682]

Seagulls are squarking well

 

[Gillstay]

Got the first Chiff chaffs calling on our survey and Skylarks been up singing for two weeks.

 

[geocycle]

Up in the Dales today and there were lots of lapwing displaying. A few curlew as well. Meanwhile at home the pink foots are gathering ready to head north again and lots of widgeon, not sure if they migrate.

 

[biggs682]

Looks like the hogs are starting to move around again .

 

[potsy]

Spotted this whilst walking in the Peak District yesterday

 

[Jenkins]

I was out for a walk this afternoon and spotted a large heard of deer in a field, in the middle of which was a white one (albino?) and a smaller not quite so white one on the edge of the pack which may have been the white one's offspring. I'd left the pocket zoom camera at home so I couldn't get a decent picture as evidence so here's a lousy phone camera shot with the white one to the right and the smaller one to the left