I saw a few swallows last week while on hols in Devon, but then saw one at the weekend at home.
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I saw a few swallows last week while on hols in Devon, but then saw one at the weekend at home.
Thanks Andy...:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Derby Tup
A Kite over Bramley !
I had an encounter with a Dingy Skipper today...
At this pub:)Quote:
Originally Posted by dominion
had a most amazing half hour watching a barn owl perched in a hole to an old chimney - welsh cottage - over easter - very poor photo on my blog http://runningdelights.blogspot.co.u...-in-wales.html
also saw red starts and loads of other birds
A pair of Ring Ouzels just below Kinder Low End on Saturday morning.
Nice. Any swifts around in Peakland yet Geoff?Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoffB
First Woopecker today! Whilst out on my first cycle ride of the year!! :)
Nice! I saw a dipper along the river at Horton this morning and yesterday we watched swallows catching insects, a grey wagtail and a wren singing its heart out. Who would have believed such a tiny bird could make such a big sound.
I also saw two little wading birds which looked like sandpipers but my bird id skills aren't that great. They were pottering about on the pebbles at the edge of a stream running into the Ribble.
Quote:
Originally Posted by that_fjell_guy
Common sandpiper Hes. We saw some at Bolton Abbey last night. Look out for their "white braces" ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Hes
Not seen (or heard) any swifts around our way yet. I'd certainly expect them within the next couple of weeks (16th May last year).Quote:
Originally Posted by Derby Tup
My first woodpecker of the year is usually 1 Jan in the garden. They visit every day, as long as there's food out, & have done for years. Our local raven & peregrine nets have both been robbed (again). On the other hand, the reed warblers and sedge warblers are back along the Weaver, giving a great soundtrack to walking the dog. And we had a couple of redpolls in the garden the other day - they've only visited the garden in serious winter conditions in the past: no idea why they took a fancy to niger seeds in such good weather.
Cheers DT, they're sweet little things aren't they? looking forward to seeing golden plover, curlew and lapwing chicks soon. Usually see them on one of the moors I frequent.
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Originally Posted by Derby Tup
One reported last week in Keighley area but none in our village. Hoping to maybe see one over weekendQuote:
Originally Posted by GeoffB
I started putting nyger seeds out a couple of years ago, hoping to attract goldfinches, but they've always been more popular with redpolls (sometimes 4 or 5 at a time), whereas the goldfinches seem to prefer the sunflower hearts.Quote:
Originally Posted by Splatcher
From my experience Swifts don't normally turn up in decent numbers until well into May.Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoffB
It could be that many Swifts will not turn up at all.
And that could be due to the hunting situation in Malta which I believe MUST be stopped if we want to keep our wildlife heritage.
Quite possibly we will see a much steeper decline (than has already been happening over many years) in many of our migrant birds in the future if illegal hunting continues.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ehOvfA6hls
Go to Chris Packham's website to find out how we can all play our part in stopping the massacre of migrating birds
http://www.chrispackham.co.uk
It's goldfinches that usually get most of my niger seeds, & that's generally all they'll go for. There's some sunflower hearts in the birdtable mix I use, but the goldfinches rarely bother with it. The only other birds that go for the niger are redpolls, siskins and moorhens. Actually I rearranged the feeders on the stand to stop the moorhens getting at the niger in the end. They've got nothing to stand on now, so they have to put up with what's on the bird table.Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoffB
I had my weekly run in the White Peak last night, from Taddington. The wild flowers were quite spectacular, especially the Orchids, Cowslips, Wood Anemones and Mountain Pansies. Also Bluebells, Stitchwort, Meadow Saxifrage and plenty of others looking good.
Still no Swifts though.
There were some Goldfinches in the lane today as I was returning from my run. Not seen any for a while so they were a welcome sight.Quote:
Originally Posted by Splatcher
.....also a magnificent Jay in my front garden which is a rare vistor.
got buzzed rather too close for my liking today by a lapwing....guess I must have been too close to its nest.
saw a pair of goldfinches on Tuesday, and half a rabbit (rear end if yr interested) in an area frequented by kestrels.
Had a great day out yesterday on the Lancaster Canal. Great for the bird life! Loads of obvious stuff heron, coot, moorhen, but also a great place for the small warblers as the reeds are pretty close and open so great opportunity to see Reed and possibly Sedge Warblers. Also saw two pairs of Tern one at the Preston end and one pair a bit further on, which surprised me.
Deer, Badger, Hedgehog, many pheasants, grouse and moorcocks on my bike ride last week, shame they were all dead. :(
Dan
ps the deers probably still there if anyone likes venison
Wharfee, one for you? Why do farmers kill moles again? Is it that the mole hills make fields uneven (yeah, can't be doing with uneven fields in the Dales :) ) or that the moles, in eating lots of worms, effect the soil in some way? Or do moles perhaps carry diseases that can infect sheep and cattle? Or do sheep's feet can stuck in the holes?
Or is it a tradition long lost in time as to the exact reason?
And having killed them why the feck do they have to be pegged out on fences?
On the wildlife spotting front Me and Harry have seen a heron on the same 200 meter stretch of the Ribble here almost every time we wander along it. Still hoping to see a Kingfisher at some point
I asked this the other day on another thread, but here is probably a better place for the question. I always thought mole-catchers pegged them out to show how many they'd killed, as it helps them get paid. Wharfeego we need answers. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Stolly
Blackbird calling at 3-15 am ;)
An article about mole catching whilst we wait for Wharfee to tell us the real reason why moles are killed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/cont..._feature.shtml
Where I live the molecatchers hang hundreds of moles on fences that don't have any livestock in or ones where the grass definitely isn't used for silage. I'm not happy that someone hung a dozen dead moles at the bottom of my garden. They've been moved a bit now so that my neighbours children don't have to look at them but their rotting skeletons make me sad every time I see them.
Interesting:Quote:
Originally Posted by Hes
My kids are fascinated by them.Quote:
The soil they push to the surface gets into grassland silage fed to cows and sheep in winter months, potentially contaminating meat and milk with listeriosis bacteria.
Ring ouzell at burbage on Friday.sat on the fence post by carpark at burbage north.
Swifts yesterday near Ben Rydding
Down on the surrey hills today, we saw 3 Hobbies and a Kite then on my return home with the camera set up for a regular visitor to my feeder... a greater spotted woodpecker..
Attachment 7607
I have been in the field of pest control since leaving school, I kill moles because it provides me with an income.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stolly
Farmers want moles killing because of…
contamination of silage with soil particles, making it unpalatable to livestock, the covering of pasture with fresh soil reducing its size and yield, damage to agricultural machinery by the exposure of stones, damage to young plants through disturbance of the soil, weed invasion of pasture through exposure of freshly tilled soil, and damage to drainage systems and watercourses.(extract from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_(animal))
Moles don't have to be "pegged out" on fences, it's unsightly (as are the mole-hills in some eyes) and unnecessary. I guess some mole-catchers just like to prove their skills to everyone.
Farming is an artificial use of land and unfortunately many creatures become pests in those artificial situations. Moles would normally be working the soil under the leaf litter in a woodland situation but seeing as man has cleared the vast majority of trees the moles take to the fertile fields which are full of worms and other invertebrates on which they gorge themselves on. At the end of the day it is us humans that are the worst pests to nature (my opinion).
Real reasons mentioned above. I guess that it's purely an income for some people. I understand your unhappiness at some mole-catchers unnecessary actions.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hes
Thanks Wharfeego - good to know.Quote:
Originally Posted by wharfeego
after a rather damp ascent of Kirk Fell on Sunday we had a delightful, albeit brief, glimpse of a deer which ran across the track as we ran between Black Sail YHA and Ennerdale YHA.
saw loads of swifts too, and heard an owl overnight as we camped at Ennerdale YHA
two Ring Ouzels in the Burbage valley this evening...
Thanks for the thorough explanation Wharfee. It is something that I've always wondered about and I've never found an answer that I knew I could trust (you know what the internet is like!).
It's good that they're a protected species in Germany. Not wanting to put you out of a job Wharfee but they should be protected here I think too.