Author Topic: Local Wildlife  (Read 527941 times)

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Offline snowcap

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Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1080 on: September 18, 2015, 11:54:52 am »
Bet he,s been raiding some poor kids goldfish pond. There were four of them in the field next to our golf club yesterday, do,nt often see more than one at a time.

Offline Michael

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Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1081 on: September 18, 2015, 08:12:30 pm »
   Hello Snowcap. Hope you don't mind preventing a possible confusion in some members minds.
   Yes, Snowcap lives very close to my golf course when he is Llandudno, but he also lives elsewhere most of the time. Obviously that place also has a golf course close at hand. So any goldfish owners around here don't have to worry.
   My apologies, Snowcap, for writing about your personal matters. I don't imagine you will mind, you have mentioned it yourself Mike


Offline hollins

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Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1082 on: September 25, 2015, 05:01:38 pm »
Local to me in Budleigh Salterton this time!

Offline Hugo

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Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1083 on: September 27, 2015, 04:18:28 pm »
I've just looked through the front window and seen over a dozen Long Tailed Tits on our Laburnum tree.  It was lovely to see them in the garden again as we haven't seen them here for many years and even then we only ever saw one or two.

Offline Fester

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Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1084 on: October 19, 2015, 07:24:05 pm »
This morning, my lie in was disturbed by a strange scratching noise at the bedroom window.

When I opened the curtain, I was confronted by this guy!
But, he wasn't sat there looking smug like this, he was up on his haunches.... and shouting at me!

I didn't know Squirrels could make a sound, but for about 5 minutes he was making a snarling noise, somewhere between a shrieking bird, and a frightened cat.  Weird really.
I don't know whether he was frightened of something, wanted something.... or was mad with me about something!
Even more bizarre, he stayed exactly in that spot for the next 2 hours at least..... maybe longer, but I went out for the day.
Fester...
- Semper in Excretum, Sole Profundum Variat -

Offline DVT

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Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1085 on: October 20, 2015, 09:39:29 am »
We've lived in the same house in Llandudno Junction since 1977, middle of an estate, and in all that time we've only twice seen a squirrel in our garden ... until now.

There are two of them constantly crossing our garden carrying bunches of acorn leaves with acorns - the tree is beyond next door.

Don't know where they're going with the acorns - perhaps starting a new oak forest.

Offline Ian

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Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1086 on: October 20, 2015, 11:59:34 am »
Certainly plan ahead, these squirrels :-)))
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline hollins

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Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1087 on: October 20, 2015, 03:59:30 pm »
I'm afraid we are over run with squirrels and are constantly having to try and keep the numbers down. One of them got down our neighbour's chimney and made a real mess but they also strip the bark of the trees and eat our fruit!

Offline DVT

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Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1088 on: October 20, 2015, 04:31:01 pm »
When I was a little boy (over 60 years ago) I lived in the house that is next to the Mill at the bottom of Bodnant Gardens.  Squirrels used to come into our kitchen and would take food off our hands ... but in those days they were the red squirrels.

The grey squirrels started in the 1950's and a couple of guys working for the estate were tasked with shooting them.  My Dad was in the Garden one day with someone who had a gun.  "There's one up there" said my Dad, and his mate pointed the gun and shot - down came a dead squirrel - a red one.  My Dad was reminded of that often - especially as he was the estate electrician and should not have been colour-blind!

I'm sure there are many of you who would be jealous of my childhood, brought up on the Estate and able to roam around the Garden and surrounding woodlands at any time of the year!  When I was 6 years old, we moved to the house that is next to the entrance for the Welsh Food Centre and I lived there until getting married, my parents there until many years later.

The new area, recently opened to the public, by the "skating pond" was always my favourite part of the Gardens - spent many an evening up that way fishing for trout with my Dad, and seen woodpeckers and kingfishers there as well!  Idyllic, and love going back there.


Offline hollins

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Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1089 on: October 21, 2015, 05:43:31 pm »
Sorry not local swans but thought you might like these pics anyway.

Offline TheMedz

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Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1090 on: November 15, 2015, 03:46:00 pm »
One of the two new arrivals on view in Angel Bay this lunchtime (sorry about the quality of my phone camera)

Offline hollins

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Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1091 on: December 15, 2015, 12:36:10 pm »
Local to me!

Offline Fester

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Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1092 on: December 15, 2015, 12:52:26 pm »
A Hoopoe! .... and a beautiful one at that.
Fester...
- Semper in Excretum, Sole Profundum Variat -

Offline squiggle

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Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1093 on: December 15, 2015, 01:35:02 pm »
Certainly plan ahead, these squirrels :-)))

Skerryvore in Bryn Pydew at least used to have a big old walnut tree at the bottom of the garden. Every year, we used to see the nuts growing and hope to get some. Every year, just as the nuts seemed to be nearing ripeness, the tree got stripped.  We used to joke that the local squirrels got together and planned a midnight raid.

There's nothing so grand where we are now but we do have a hazel tree.  That can get stripped of nuts in a short time too.  Had worse this year I'm afraid. I've never seen this before but rats took bites out half a tree worth of apples. They also had some sweet corn. I won't claim to never having had a run in with rats when we lived in N Wales but there seem to be times in this part of rural North Norfolk where rat populations seem to explode.

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Thinking Pydew and wildlife. I remember my father thinking he'd seed a parrot!  Of course it was just a green woodpecker.

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Something I'd have liked to have seen in N Wales is a pine marten.  My mother feels sure she has seen a couple in Gwydir forest but a quick google now seems to suggest there is some debate about their existence.

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I've never seen a hoopoe!

Offline Hugo

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Re: Local Wildlife
« Reply #1094 on: December 15, 2015, 02:25:24 pm »
Hollins, you are so lucky to have seen that Hoopoe, was it in your garden or somewhere abroad?        I saw one once as I was driving on the Wrexham bypass  but only had a brief glimpse of it unfortunately.