Your day's wildlife

[deptfordmarmoset]

Whilst out walking yesterday in the Peak District spent a wonderful ten minutes watching a dipper in Lathkill Dale, trying to guess where it would surface each time it went into the water. They seem to be getting more common, I've seen a few over the last couple of years in various places.

I do that with cormorants!

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I saw a heron .

 

[gbb]

Fieldfare flew over yesterday. Nothing remarkable about that normally...but it was the first I'd seen this year. Previous years, particually hard cold ones, you'd see loads of em . The last 2 winters havnt really been that cold IMO. 2010...now that was a cold one.

Cormorants, common as muck here, not many days you dont see them on the Forty Foot drain, very often you'll see 6 to 10 of them perched, wings spread up on telegraph lines or in odd trees.

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

Whenever I see a cormorant I remember Noggin the Nog. They don't make them like that anymore.

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

I remember reading about dippers in my childhood but rarely seeing one.
Funnily enough Lathkill Dale was the place I first knowingly heard a dipper sing, I had no idea before then of how wonderful they sound.
One of the pleasures of where I live now is that I often see one on my way to work.

 

[biggs682]

we walked alongside a very graceful Heron in flight this morning it was a lovely sight to see

 

[sionhughes]

Tonight I had a mouse that ran out in front of me in the dark then went back into hiding as quick as it appeared. Also has an owl flying alongside me (about 3-4m to one side) for a minute or so. He might have missed that mouse from earlier!

 

[annedonnelly]

I said yesterday that I hadn't seen the kestrel for a while. She was there this morning to entertain me on my ride to the station. I do love the way they hover - sometimes it looks like hard work, others it seems effortless.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I do love the way they hover - sometimes it looks like hard work, others it seems effortless.

You could say the same thing about people who track stand at the lights....

 

[Tail End Charlie]

In addition to the usual tits on my feeders, today a nuthatch paid a visit. One has been before but not for a while. They always remind me of a highwayman with their eye covering and then it's a small step to Adam Ant's "Stand and Deliver".

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

There are currently 2 Mistletoe thrushes on the lawn.

 

[Doseone]

Having not seen one for ages, and having read about one on this thread yesterday, I saw a dipper this morning when I was out with the dog. I've got a couple of days off at the moment so it means I've got a bit more time to look for wildlife.

As I type I've got a Robin, a Chaffinch, a Tit of some type, a couple of Sparrows and another "little brown bird" on the birdfeeder. I whizz up our stale bread in the food mixer to make breadcrumbs for them and they seem to love it.

 

[Tail End Charlie]

The first time I saw a dipper I was doing the Lon Las Cymru and had taken a break on the bridge at Newbridge on Wye. I saw a blackbird and was idly watching it when it dived into the water, surfacing a little way away, I was astounded and continued watching for ages. I didn't know what it was but the B and B I stayed in that night had a bird book and I looked it up. I don't know much about birds but ever since I've loved watching them.
Funny what things stick in your mind.

 

[Mo1959]

The first time I saw a dipper I was doing the Lon Las Cymru and had taken a break on the bridge at Newbridge on Wye. I saw a blackbird and was idly watching it when it dived into the water, surfacing a little way away, I was astounded and continued watching for ages. I didn't know what it was but the B and B I stayed in that night had a bird book and I looked it up. I don't know much about birds but ever since I've loved watching them.
Funny what things stick in your mind.

Lots on my local river (the Earn) Love to watch them bobbing on the stones then diving under the water and resurfacing. According to my dad who is a keen birdwatcher, they prefer to collect the moss to build their nests from under the water rather than on the surface of stones for some reason.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

a pied wagtail and a flock of starlings twittering noisily (but lovely) in a set of trees just a few metres away from the house.