Buzzard, taking off from the ground less than 20 metres from me, flying low for a while and then going up to land near the top of a tree.
Buzzard, taking off from the ground less than 20 metres from me, flying low for a while and then going up to land near the top of a tree.
In his lifetime he suffered from unreality, as do so many Englishmen.
Jorge Luis Borges
Stoats have a black tip on their tails.
I've had one living in the byre for the last couple of years (think it may go on its hols during the summer months and returns for winter). I regularly see it walking in broad daylight around the garden, hauling captured voles and rabbits and leaving skulls all about the place . Cured our rodent problem nicely.
Am Yisrael Chai
Watching dozens of bumble bees on the heathers in the back garden this morning when the heavens opened with a heavy, prolonged hail stone shower. Clever little critters all (well most) made a dash for the gaps in the dry stone wall behind. No sure why I was surprised - but I was!
Am Yisrael Chai
On that note. We had a healthy looking rat picking up the bits under the bird feeders. It was there for ages, so I went and got our cat - avoiding her biting me as she was very busy snoozing at the time. She's now patiently sitting by the gap in the wall where it ran into. Good cat.
Sadly, bird feeders, compost bins (even without cooked food) and keeping chicken are all associated with rat problems. I've 'designed' an anti-seed drip device (upturned metal dog bowl, lashed with wire) to hang underneath our bird feeder which has helped a bit, albeit a convenient perch for the wood pigeons and stock doves who are now able to gobble a bigger portion of the seeds. So you create one solution which leads to another problem GrrrH. I hear there was once an old woman who swallowed a fly....
Am Yisrael Chai
Barn owl on yesterday's run. About 6pm - so full sunlight. Near Turner's Pool beneath the Roaches.
Living where we do It’s easy to take all the wildlife we see for granted. Hereabouts as you’d expect curlews, lapwings and oyster catchers are ever present right now. Also golden plover if you know where to look. And there are always dippers and grey wagtails bobbing and weaving along the river. And kingfishers every now and then.
I’ve seen an otter playing in the Ribble near here once and we have a wild swimming spot, with a rock to dive off, that we call otter poo rock... due to the otter poo regularly found there, funnily enough
Stoats and weasels are quite common too and of course hares and stepping outside at night you can barely hear yourself think for all the owls hooting at each other
We regularly see barn owls, in one hunting area in particular, and there’s a little owl look out post on a barn just down the road that’s occupied at least half of the times we ever go past. We know some great places to find rarer beasts like ring ouzel and foxes but, due to trigger happy farmers and fell hound pack organisers, we try and keep our fox sightings to ourselves
Apparently a dotterel was seen on Ingleborough recently as it was passing through although I’ve never seen one myself. Hester saw a sparrow hawk preening itself on a dry stone wall on the corner of our little lane at the weekend
Oh and the house martins have just this week arrived. Better late than never
Last edited by Fellbeast; 10-05-2021 at 03:55 PM.
I've never seen an otter. I keep looking.
I was at Burton Mere (RSPB place on the Dee estuary) at the weekend and saw a cuckoo - I see one about every five years. Some avocets too - pretty.
I'm fairly lucky and seen plenty of otters over the years, usually when sitting fishing quietly but also in the river here by the caravan site. Got a resident weasel in the garden (usually living deep in the wood shed) and hedgehog and polecat Im pretty sure is here and hopefully with young.
Don't roll with a pig in poo. You get covered in poo and the pig likes it.
My wife spotted four dotterel on top of Ingleborough yesterday evening (her picture not mine)