Your day's wildlife

[Flick of the Elbow]

[QUOTE 4163702, member: 9609"]we had one on the bird table this morning, and since I have now found a valid use for my dashcam / helmet cam, also on show Mr Woodpecker and just at the end Mrs Blackbird looses the plot with the cctv. And isn't that Starling just stunning, beautiful plumage.
[/QUOTE]
What a great bird table ! I'm more than a little envious - we tried a bird table but all we got was a fat grey squirrel who would hoover up the lot

 

[Poacher]

Two pairs of Siskin eating sunflower hearts in the garden - first of the year.

 

[Poacher]

Siskins back again, plus a female Blackcap feeding on the fatballs. Presumably an over-wintering bird, rather than a very early Spring migrant.

 

[nickyboy]

Siskins back again, plus a female Blackcap feeding on the fatballs. Presumably an over-wintering bird, rather than a very early Spring migrant.

Blackcaps are interesting birds. Until fairly recently, they very rarely overwintered in the UK. Then, quite suddenly, wintering numbers started to increase. It was assumed that it was the local UK population just deciding to stay. But ringing recoveries have shown that this is no the case.

UK blackcaps, by and large, still leave UK in Autumn and return the next Spring. German blackcaps have "discovered" this UK overwintering strategy recently. So they leave Germany in the Autumn and come here for the winter, returning to Germany the following Spring

 

[philk56]

Something a little more exotic...I'm currently out in Australia. We were away with some Australian friends at the weekend and spotted a couple of Koalas. We had seen them in the wild before but this was their first time and they were natives! They were delighted

 

[nickyboy]

Dippers are reasonably easy to see on the streams and rivers in the Peak District. They're pretty hardy birds and only cold weather gets them to move

The recent cold snap has moved one to a stream nearby in a residential area of Glossop. Lovely bird, perching on rocks in the stream then "swimming" underwater looking for larvae and the like

Rubbish photo but you get the idea. It was swimming while I took this

 

[nickyboy]

[QUOTE 4171750, member: 9609"]wonderful birds, they are struggling in some places now, they don't tolerate pollution very well. some say that dippers are a sign that the water is about as pure and natural as it gets.[/QUOTE]

The stream in the photo rises in the hills about 5 miles away so there's not much opportunity for pollution. I dare say the water is about as clean as you're going to get. I'm sure there's plenty of caddis fly larvae in there. But its right in the town next to a fairly busy road so you only see dippers there when the weather is particularly cold

 

[Stephenite]

Saw a mountain hare yesterday.

 

[nickyboy]

Saw a mountain hare yesterday.

There are mountain hares in the hills above Glossop. They were introduced in the 19 Century and seem to like it. I cycle there a lot but never seen a live one, plenty of squashed roadkill though

 

[Stephenite]

There are mountain hares in the hills above Glossop. They were introduced in the 19 Century and seem to like it. I cycle there a lot but never seen a live one, plenty of squashed roadkill though

I saw one somewhere in the Peak District about 1990. It was winter and the hare wasn't fully white, I seem to recall. Late 1989 I was dry-stone walling by a plantation up from Rivington and there was a pet white rabbit loose in the forest. Honestly!

 

[summerdays]

I just went out to carry on clearing some of the plants from my pond and found someone had discovered the gaps

 

[nickyboy]

I was a bit bored so I watched my bird feeder for a few minutes. I was interested to see what the hierarchy was amongst the birds. I reckon at my feeder it's something like this...most aggressive first

Great Tit
Robin
Greenfinch
Siskin
Bullfinch
Goldfinch
Chaffinch
Lesser Redpoll
Blue Tit
Coal Tit

The Great Tits are real bullies. Siskins are pretty tough for little fellas

 

[Mireystock]

I wish I had Bullfinches on our feeders, you're very lucky !

Six fallow deer on my ride yesterday late afternoon.

 

[Dave 123]

A couple of Bullfinches flew across my path this morning. Made me smile.

 

[nickyboy]

Stopped on my ride at the top of a big hill in the Peak District today. Heard a couple of skylarks heading over. This was at 1,100 ft up. They were obviously migrating.

Not sure they've made a good decision. Heavy snow tonight