Author Topic: Local Wildlife  (Read 528652 times)

0 Members and 6 Guests are viewing this topic.

Offline Hugo

  • Management board member
  • *
  • Posts: 13890
Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1680 on: June 24, 2020, 08:22:26 pm »
That is just a sign of appreciation for the good food that you provided for them    ;D

Offline Nemesis

  • Management board member
  • *
  • Posts: 6276
Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1681 on: June 25, 2020, 08:56:41 am »
oh lovely !
There must still be a fair few goats still around as they had left deposits all over yesterday morning.
The local Jackdaws are very noisy and quarrelsome at the moment. They are very amusing when the pears on the vicar's tree begin to ripen and they get bladdered on the fruit. $donald$
Mad, Bad and Dangerous to know.


Offline SteveH

  • Management Board Member & Newsgroup Editor
  • *
  • Posts: 12990
Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1682 on: June 25, 2020, 10:24:28 am »
oh lovely !
There must still be a fair few goats still around as they had left deposits all over yesterday morning.
The local Jackdaws are very noisy and quarrelsome at the moment. They are very amusing when the pears on the vicar's tree begin to ripen and they get bladdered on the fruit.

Nem, I don't think this town group will go back up, still seeing a lot of them in the convent grounds, funny you mentioning bladdered Jackdaws, a neighbour suggested that the mess on the car, was caused by them, and not the gulls ? 


Offline Nemesis

  • Management board member
  • *
  • Posts: 6276
Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1683 on: June 25, 2020, 11:13:37 am »
Don't say that Steve, next door have done some wall repairs but they can still hop up in no time, one layer at a time.
As for Jackdaws they are very greedy and empty the hanging feeder before the smaller birds can get near. Since we had a white car we get less ' decorating'. The last one was a deep purple and was constantly being targeted. My OH was for ever out with his bucket, as years ago we had one which had the roof ruined with the acid in the bird lime.
Mad, Bad and Dangerous to know.

Offline Hugo

  • Management board member
  • *
  • Posts: 13890
Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1684 on: June 28, 2020, 01:49:06 pm »
On Thursday I noticed dozens of Butterflies in the garden.   They were all the small white variety, no other 'variety of Butterfly  was there the whole afternoon
I was not able to take any photos as they seemed very frisky and did not settle on the flowers

Offline DVT

  • Management board member
  • *
  • Posts: 1046
Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1685 on: June 28, 2020, 04:22:47 pm »
During the hot few days we had I saw a few of the white ones in my garden, also some red admirals - but they don't stay still long enough to be photographed!

Offline Nemesis

  • Management board member
  • *
  • Posts: 6276
Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1686 on: June 28, 2020, 06:40:56 pm »
Back to the goats. There were a number of them n the garden of The Royal this afternoon. Two pairs were knocking 7 bells out of each other, their horns making a very loud 'clacking' noise. Can't imagine that we are going to be rid of them in the near future.
Mad, Bad and Dangerous to know.

Offline SteveH

  • Management Board Member & Newsgroup Editor
  • *
  • Posts: 12990
Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1687 on: June 30, 2020, 09:33:38 am »
Back to the goats. There were a number of them n the garden of The Royal this afternoon. Two pairs were knocking 7 bells out of each other, their horns making a very loud 'clacking' noise. Can't imagine that we are going to be rid of them in the near future.

The "Town Herd", need to be relocated further afield, with the lockdown and the town being empty, they made it their home, the authorities need to realise that for their own good they should be moved, it would be cruel not to, these are wild animals. 

Offline Hugo

  • Management board member
  • *
  • Posts: 13890
Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1688 on: July 02, 2020, 05:52:59 pm »
During the last two weeks of this lockdown a large Seagull seems to have adopted us.    He comes here quite a few times during the day and just sits on the decking and stares at us.
This morning he walked through the open door of our sunlounge and I had to chase him out.  This afternoon the doors were closed so he was banging on the window using his large bill
However he has bottled his copybook when he left a large deposit on our glass roof so I am sending him back to Steve

Offline SteveH

  • Management Board Member & Newsgroup Editor
  • *
  • Posts: 12990
Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1689 on: July 03, 2020, 07:06:08 pm »
This one's for Nem..........As long as it is the town herd .

The only two goats left in Avon Gorge will have to wait for new companions because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Bristol City Council was planning to restock the herd in “goat gully” but those plans have been delayed by Covid-19.

Six wild Kashmiri goats were introduced into the steep section of the gorge by Seawalls in 2011 to control scrub growth and restore rare wildflowers and grasses.

But the number has dwindled to two since then as the goats either succumbed to old age or fell to their deaths.

Two goats died of old age last year and two were chased off the cliffs by dogs in separate incidents in 2017.

The council’s grounds supervisor, Ben Skuse, said plans to travel to the Great Orme in Wales to get four more goats had been delayed by the pandemic.

In a report to the Downs Committee on June 29, he said: “In terms of the goats, there was a plan to travel to the Great Orme in June to get four more animals to restock our herd to six animals.
“Due to Covid this plan has been delayed.”

Mr Skuse said he would update the committee with future plans at a later date.

Cont  https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/plan-restock-herd-goat-gully-4290001


Offline Hugo

  • Management board member
  • *
  • Posts: 13890
Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1690 on: July 06, 2020, 05:43:48 pm »
I think that I must have had too much time on my hands during lockdown.        We feed a Badger most nights by leaving food inside a cast iron frog that has a detachable top  so in the morning if the top is off we know that the Badger has been and had his food during the night.   A Squirrel cottoned on to what we were doing so he raided the Frog before the Badger got there.
Since Lockdown though we have noticed that a Seagull has started to do it so the only way around it now is to put the food in the Frog after dark

Offline Fester

  • Ad Free Member.
  • *
  • Posts: 6660
  • El Baldito
Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1691 on: July 06, 2020, 10:55:31 pm »
Absolutely superb photos there Hugo.
It always amazes me how quickly the various animals overcome obstacles, and learn, when food is at stake.
Fester...
- Semper in Excretum, Sole Profundum Variat -

Offline SteveH

  • Management Board Member & Newsgroup Editor
  • *
  • Posts: 12990
Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1692 on: July 08, 2020, 10:21:45 am »
Despite living so close to the sea, I was surprised the other day when a pair of Terns, flew an aerobatic display over the garden, a very noisy and spectacular show, and very enjoyable, I am assuming they were Sandwich Terns ?      stock photo

Offline SteveH

  • Management Board Member & Newsgroup Editor
  • *
  • Posts: 12990
Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1693 on: August 07, 2020, 10:01:35 am »
The incredible moment rare 5ft turtle swims beside boat off North Wales
The leatherback turtle was described as being the size of a 'dining table' after being spotted off Conwy

The massive leatherback turtle was spotted by Paul Waterworth and his 10-year-old son Oliver while they were out on a fishing trip off the coast of Rhos-on-Sea on Thursday.

They had been taken out for a day of angling by Jack Thomas from Incentive Sea Fishing Trips when they spotted the incredible animal swimming through the water.

The species, which are the largest turtles in the world and can live to 100, are a rare sight off the coast of the UK.

A video captured by Mr Waterworth showed the turtle swimming beside the boat around six miles off the North Wales coast, before diving deep into the water and out of sight.

cont / video    https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/incredible-moment-rare-5ft-turtle-18730718

Offline SteveH

  • Management Board Member & Newsgroup Editor
  • *
  • Posts: 12990
Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1694 on: August 10, 2020, 03:02:01 pm »
I have Just seen a large bee like insect, hovering over some flowers, I stress the word hovering, it was not a wasp or a hover fly, and fairly sure it was not a hornet, the wings looked like a small moth, two tone wings, brownish at the tips, distinct antenna, it was not buzzing, I found nothing during a Webb search, I can best describe it as having the actions of a hummingbird... anyone recognise anything ?