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UK wildlife lovers club.
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Message 1.Â
Posted by Former Archers Listener known as Fausto etc (U14266958) on Friday, 29th October 2010
Fri, 29 Oct 2010 11:13 GMT
Starting this thread as the Autumnwatch message board will close when the series ends and lots of nature lovers will have nowhere to chat. Of course bird specific observations can always go to the "Bird Table" also housed in the village hall. -
Message 2
Posted by Former Archers Listener known as Fausto etc (U14266958) on Friday, 29th October 2010
Fri, 29 Oct 2010 11:18 GMT, in reply to Fausto_Merckx_not_Armstrong in message 1
The Bird Table -
Message 3
Posted by Anne-Marie (U1474870) on Friday, 29th October 2010
Lovely idea Fausto!
I did see a red squirrel on Monday - it was being quite furtive but both o/h and I glimpsed it. Much darker than you might expect. We used to see them regularly when we lived in Bavaria - and they were quite cheeky and not at all shy.
AMx -
Message 4
Posted by Former Archers Listener known as Fausto etc (U14266958) on Friday, 29th October 2010
Fri, 29 Oct 2010 19:19 GMT, in reply to Anne-Marie in message 3
I have heard that a red squirrel has been spotted near the village of Seal in Kent. AS far as I know they havent been seen in that area for decades. -
Message 5
Posted by Leaping Badger (U3587940) on Friday, 29th October 2010
Count me in. Not much to report, as haven't been able to get out much, but saw a lovely froggie in my garden last night.
'Ö' -
Message 6
Posted by Looby-Lewis (U11820972) on Friday, 29th October 2010
A froggie, Badge? I haven't seen one since spring, but then I haven't seen my garden in the light for a couple of months. I cast a quick glance on Saturday if I'm lucky and on Sunday I'm with the horses.
I did notice a bat though the other night when I was walking the dog, just as we had the full moon. And the owls are still going strong.
Good luck with your new thread Fausto. -
Message 7
Posted by Dirigibles was here (U7278225) on Saturday, 30th October 2010
This is a lovely idea, Fausto.
Just the other day I had a close encounter with a wasp-like beastie, and thought, 'Where can I post a pic? We haven't got a nature thread'.
Toads and frogs, bats and badgers here. -
Message 8
Posted by Anne-Marie (U1474870) on Saturday, 30th October 2010
Photos - what a fab idea Dirigibles! Trouble is most of my wildlife photos are dots! I might be able to rustle up some sheep at some point...
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Message 9
Posted by Dirigibles was here (U7278225) on Saturday, 30th October 2010
Oh, may I? It was a rather large wasp-like beastie, about 2ins long in flight, buzzing noisily around the bedroom ceiling at bed-time.
I captured it in a towel and threw it into the garden. When I went to retrieve the towel the following morning, it was still there, but not moving.
Later, it was waving a leg, so I gave it a cock-tail stick full of honey to munch on, which it seemed to enjoy, and after a little while it flew away.
[IMG]/IMG] -
Message 10
Posted by Gil Holroyd (U14164075) on Saturday, 30th October 2010
Oh lovely, an autumn/winter wildlife thread!
I wondered if it might be an idea to include a link to the Natural History thread, where there's lots of fascinating info and photos - though probably not exclusively UK species. All good stuff, though:
Gx -
Message 11
Posted by AelM (U3803556) on Saturday, 30th October 2010
I'll try to keep up with this too - made a good start last night by seeing (very briefly) a barn owl. Wonderful, I knew there were barn owls near the horses' yard but this was the first time I'd seen one.
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Message 12
Posted by Gil Holroyd (U14164075) on Saturday, 30th October 2010
Aren't Barn Owls the most magical creatures?
I think I've mentioned I used to work in a converted stable block perched halfway up a fairly steep hill (which is probably why it was decided to move the horses somewhere safer and let humans cope with the decidedly-iffy access track).
Anyway, I often worked late, often alone - so it was very quiet - and the wildlife there was quite spectacular. Nothing rare or strange, but badgers, fallow deer from the nearby forest, rabbits aplenty of course, so there were foxes too (big russety chaps, quite different from their smaller urban cousins). And in the evenings, when the mice were out in force, sometimes a barn owl would drop by.
Because the stable block was set so high, I often looked down on him, quartering the sloping field below - utterly silent in the evening silence. Occasionally, if I was very lucky, he'd float by as I was packing stuff into my car. Head hight, so you had to resist the urge to duck.
Wonderful memories. God, I miss that place!
Gx -
Message 13
Posted by U14639670 (U14639670) on Saturday, 30th October 2010
saw the mangiest fox I've ever seen scuttling along underneath my balcony. One eyed and looking like it was made form cow pats - a stark contrast to the beautifully conditioned vixen I spotted staring at me from the meagre shelter of a some straggly trees and scrubby bushes running along th ebank of the stream down by a park a mere few miles ago.
The contrast was astonishing.
Bullfinches spotted today while dodging about along the wooded path that runs along the ridge of the hill seperating the town from the A13 - nice birsong all through the walk. Lovely. -
Message 14
Posted by politebirder (U4482231) on Saturday, 30th October 2010
Wonderful aerial battle today, between a Crow & a Merlin. The Merlin threw in the towel.
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Message 15
Posted by GuzziNut (U6364582) on Saturday, 30th October 2010
saw a barn owl round here for the first time on Thursday, I was late for book group and lost but that made up for it
moons ago I was walking in the woods near Parkhurst prison on the isle of wight, with the X, who really wanted to see a red squirrel, towards the end when he had given up, I spotted one on a branch. It took one look at us, said some very rude things in squirrel, and ran off!
interesting to read that they've been seen in Kent, cool! -
Message 16
Posted by AelM (U3803556) on Sunday, 31st October 2010
Oh wow, Gil, I'd love to see a barn owl regularly - or even just more than once.
Saw, for the first time ever, a greater spotted woodpecker in out garden today - eating the peanuts in the feeder. Fantastic, s/he was there for about 5 minutes doing a good job of eating all the nuts. I just happened to have gone into the kitchen to make a cup of tea, and glanced out of the window otherwise I'd have missed it.
We've still got several great tits in the garden - in the spring I counted 6 and I often see 3 or 4 at a time now. And we've still got all of the sparrows in Shropshire in our garden, shouting at me for being late with their food every morning.
Unfortunately, with it getting dark so much earlier now, my wildlife watching chances will be reduced (except for the owls). Two things I do hear a lot of from now until February are foxes, and tawny owls. There seem to be at least two pairs of owls around the horses' yard and fields, who start calling almost as soon as it's dark and can be quite spooky when I'm on my own.
The foxes are even scarier when you're not expecting them - pitch black, not a human around, and suddenly it sounds like someone is being murdered in the next field. Just what you need.... I'm not easily spooked and have got used to them now but the first time I heard them/it, I nearly fled at high speed to the nearest village. -
Message 17
Posted by Trillian (U14033122) on Sunday, 31st October 2010
A couple of winters ago, I had a fox yelping from the vantage point of my dustbin outside the back door. I'm in the middle of a town and they get very bold when they need to.
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Message 18
Posted by Gil Holroyd (U14164075) on Monday, 1st November 2010
Blimey Trillian, being serenaded by a fox on your dustbin doesn't exactly make for a restful evening!
I was watching a DVD recently - some spooky thing, can't remember what - anyway everyone was gathered in a creepy country house, tension mounting, and for atmosphere the director threw in a vixen call or three. At which point a real one piped up in the garden (vixen, not director). Didn't half make me jump!
AelM, I'm not one for harbouring regrets, but that's the one and only job I ever wonder if I should have stuck with. Well no, not really - it wasn't a particularly great job and the time came to move on, but oh the setting made up for a lot. It was five minutes walk into ancient woodland which, apart from all the wildlife, was carpeted with bluebells and primroses in the spring. The land was all privately owned (it was a largish farm: mixed livestock, arable, and shooting), so the only other person you ever met was the occasional farm worker. There aren't too many places where you can nip out in your lunchbreak to watch deer or photograph wild orchids. Sadly missed.
A spotted woodpecker in your garden! Now I'm jealous; I've never even seen one. And yes, unfortunately I know what you mean about the darker evenings - the only wildlife I've seen much of lately is mice [grinds teeth].
Gx -
Message 19
Posted by Lola Tillits (U14401772) on Monday, 1st November 2010
i saw a lovely flock of swarming birds at the weekend. I thought at first that they were starlings but they appeared to have tufted heads.
i have never seen a woodpecker,kingfisher,nor an owl though plenty of eagles and on 2 occasions an otter.
my main concern at this time of year is hoping NOT to see any huge spiders in my house... -
Message 20
Posted by Former Archers Listener known as Fausto etc (U14266958) on Monday, 1st November 2010
Mon, 01 Nov 2010 16:43 GMT, in reply to Lola Tillits in message 19
i saw a lovely flock of swarming birds at the weekend. I thought at first that they were starlings but they appeared to have tufted heads.Â
If you are anywhere near the East Coast, they could have been waxwings. Did you see them in silhouette and unable to discern colouring? -
Message 21
Posted by Lola Tillits (U14401772) on Monday, 1st November 2010
Hello Fausto, i'm in perthshire, do you think they might be here? have looked at waxwings on the rspb website and it could well have been them. i couldn't make out colour but they didn't look dark - i was driving at the time so couldn't pay proper attention. (i was stationary when i noticed the tufts. i can easily see how wildlife might cause accidents!)
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Message 22
Posted by AelM (U3803556) on Monday, 1st November 2010
The woodpecker was fabulous, it's the closest I've ever been to one so I hope he comes back at the weekend.
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Message 23
Posted by AelM (U3803556) on Thursday, 11th November 2010
Woodpecker was back again at the weekend, stuffing himself on peanuts so it looks like he might be a regular visitor.
I saw what I am sure was an otter last weekend - sadly it was a roadkill though. It wasn't a cat or a badger, too big for a polecat (although there are polecats in the area too) and I know there are otters around there. This is only about 3 miles from home, opposite a fishery where apparently the otters cross the road to go and get a snack before heading back to the brook they live in. I hope I'll be able to get a glimpse of one, one day. -
Message 24
Posted by Gil Holroyd (U14164075) on Friday, 12th November 2010
Now I'm experiencing otter envy (yes, even the squished one - well sort of - after all it means there's the possibility of a live sighting).
Actually I have hopes in that direction. There's a river not far from me that one of the local wildlife groups took under its wing a few years back. They've been doing general restoration work, with the intention of encouraging more wildlife into the area. Last year Water Voles were recorded there for the first time in almost a decade, and there have been reports of otters, though I don't think those are confirmed sightings.
Still, I live in hopes. Come to think of it, I'd be chuffed to see a Water Vole, as I haven't spotted one of those yet, either. I remember watching them with my Dad many years ago (not in this river, probably one in Oxfordshire, though tbh I'm not really sure now where it was), anyway it would bring back some fantastic memories, seeing them again.
Just out of interest, does anyone know if Water Voles are making a widespread comeback, or are their overall numbers still on the decline?
Gx -
Message 25
Posted by Former Archers Listener known as Fausto etc (U14266958) on Friday, 12th November 2010
Fri, 12 Nov 2010 20:48 GMT, in reply to Gil Holroyd in message 24
Just out of interest, does anyone know if Water Voles are making a widespread comeback, or are their overall numbers still on the decline?Â
I dont know of any stats, but it is mink that are blamed for water vole decline. Otters displace mink. So it follows that where Otters regain a foothold, water voles can follow. I think there are some reintroduction schemes running. -
Message 26
Posted by Gil Holroyd (U14164075) on Saturday, 13th November 2010
Ah Fausto, thanks for that - that was my understanding too*. Isn't it (in part at least) because otters are too large to get into the voles' burrows, so they're unable to reach nesting females and their young?
I know the wildlife group have been trapping mink, but I hope they're also working proactively to encourage otters in, to fill the 'slot' that the mink leave (ugh, very badly explained, but I hope you know what I mean)
One way to find out, I suppose; I know they're always looking for volunteers...
Gx
* For 'understanding' read: vague, half-baked idea that I'd picked up from somewhere, but wasn't confident enough to voice -
Message 27
Posted by AelM (U3803556) on Saturday, 13th November 2010
I hope I do get to see a live otter - apparently there have been prints spotted near the yard I currently rent too so one day I might be lucky.
I'd love to see water voles, too, I'm not sure if there are any in the immediate area but, as I'm a member of the local Wildlife Trust I suppose I could ask there. And volunteer, too, if I can find some spare time.
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