Author Topic: nature notes II (Read 159220 times)

SweetPea · « **Reply #125 on:** June 09, 2013, 05:56:04 PM »

Powwow, yes, I got a glimpse of the Canadian eggs last night. Fingers-crossed they, or at least one, have been fertilised.

wigginhall · « **Reply #126 on:** June 09, 2013, 05:59:40 PM »

Saw 3 bee-orchids today, hey, this is easy. I pointed one out to my wife, and she actually thought it was a bee at first. Great camouflage.

Thick cloud today, so the insects fly lower, so the swifts do also; saw about 40 flying just over our heads, quite an experience really just to stand and watch them zip a couple of feet over you.

Saw some sand martin chicks in the nest, as there is a camera in one of them.

SweetPea · « **Reply #127 on:** June 09, 2013, 06:05:51 PM »

I can understand your wife thinking the bee-orchid a bee, a clever little flower.

Out walking yesterday, we had swallows flying really low and kindof dive-bombing us ..... great!

torridon · « **Reply #128 on:** June 09, 2013, 06:51:15 PM »

Terrific flyers, swallows and martins, catching flies on the wing, way to go, love to watch them.

SusanDoris · « **Reply #129 on:** June 10, 2013, 07:09:16 PM »

There's a hedge just near here where I heard goldfinches a couple of years ago (I know they were goldfinches because I managed to make a good recording on my little tape recorder and Dave(atthe gym) identified the song). I've also been listening to the song on the RSPB goldfinch page and much to my delight, I heard them again today.

Re Tweet of the Day: The girl who is doing the commentary is, in my opinion, talking too much and not letting us hear the tweet enough!

wigginhall · « **Reply #130 on:** July 06, 2013, 10:08:16 AM »

I had to literally dig out the water hose at the allotment, as we haven't used it for two years, as the summers were so wet. So apparently this summer is better! Well, it's certainly very dry.

Can't find the allotment thread - anyway, fruit this year are incredible. We have a tayberry bush, and the fruit on it are like mini-footballs. But some of the strawberries are still green - shows how cold the spring was.

Gonnagle · « **Reply #131 on:** July 06, 2013, 03:42:38 PM »

Dear Wigs,

Quote

But some of the strawberries are still green - shows how cold the spring was.

Ah!

Definitely a better summer this year all my tomato plants are showing fruit.

Gonnagle.

wigginhall · « **Reply #132 on:** July 06, 2013, 04:32:16 PM »

Yeah, me too. Where's powwow - this year my Black Russians are looking huge, whereas last year they all got eaten by slugs.

SweetPea · « **Reply #133 on:** July 24, 2013, 04:12:26 PM »

I'm still watching the Scottish Wildlife Trust osprey webcam. The sole chick fledged yesterday. She left the nest at 10am and did not return until 6.55am this morning. According to the accompaning blog, throughout the night she endured a huge thunderstorm but due to the satellite transmitter she is wearing the observers knew she was safe, amongst dense woodland at the edge of the nearby loch.

The parents perform their duties in excellent fashion. During the recent hot spell, the female has been shielding the now huge chick with her wings and also preventing it from sometimes getting too near to the edge of the nest. Meanwhile, the male has returned good numbers of fish everyday. On one occasion seven were brought to the nest over a 12 hour period. He has been great too at warding off possible intruders.

The observers and blog are both very good - the observers, for example, being able to identify five of the seven fish brought to the nest on the occasion previously mentioned.

At the moment, you can see mother and chick feeding together, on the nest. The chick has white tips to her feathers.

http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/wildlife-webcams/loch-of-lowes/#

wigginhall · « **Reply #134 on:** July 24, 2013, 04:41:04 PM »

Well done Ms Pea. I should really pay a visit to Rutland Water to see the ospreys, but I am a lazy blighter.

All quiet now at the local bird reserve in London, until autumn migration starts. But I am off soon for a tour of the Norfolk reserves, to see the usual delights of spoonbills, eagles, crossbills, corncrakes, and other delights, well, maybe. Or it might be just a few pigeons.

SweetPea · « **Reply #135 on:** July 24, 2013, 04:55:20 PM »

Sounds wonderful. My nearest wildlife reserve has also gone quiet now. But here I have been observing a family of great crested grebes. Just recently, caught parents and chicks swimming and fishing.

wigginhall · « **Reply #136 on:** July 24, 2013, 05:06:57 PM »

Gorgeous. The best thing with them is when the adults carry the young on their back, incredibly cute. They don't do it for very long, several weeks. Swans do it also, and there are some stunning photos of adult swan sailing along with several young 'uns on board. Awww!

http://tinyurl.com/m9eo4rc

http://tinyurl.com/ml5gph6

SweetPea · « **Reply #137 on:** July 24, 2013, 05:11:56 PM »

Luverly...... too cute for words!

Enki · « **Reply #138 on:** July 28, 2013, 03:28:37 PM »

I just thought I'd be a party pooper and remind everyone that Autumn birdwise has well and truly started in the last few days, with returning migrant waders/failed breeders from the arctic gracing us with their presence, especially wood/green sandpipers, little stints and even the odd pectoral sandpiper.

wigginhall · « **Reply #139 on:** July 28, 2013, 03:30:59 PM »

Yes, I noticed today that the noticeboard at my local is full of green and common pipers.

Autumn!

Seen some nice butterflies recently, probably because of hot weather. Plenty of commas, also more skippers than usual, plus of course the various browns.

Enki · « **Reply #140 on:** July 28, 2013, 03:43:28 PM »

Agreed Wigs, butterflies are everywhere at the moment. Plenty of speckled woods/meadow browns/ringlets and even small tortoiseshells seem to be a bit more common than in recent years. Just hope that our bad spring hasn't dealt too savage a blow to early butterflies though.

wigginhall · « **Reply #141 on:** July 28, 2013, 03:55:09 PM »

Or a sparrowhawk? They kill everything - near me, they kill the parrots, and eat them.

wigginhall · « **Reply #142 on:** July 28, 2013, 03:58:19 PM »

Quote from: antithesis on July 28, 2013, 03:43:28 PM

Agreed Wigs, butterflies are everywhere at the moment. Plenty of speckled woods/meadow browns/ringlets and even small tortoiseshells seem to be a bit more common than in recent years. Just hope that our bad spring hasn't dealt too savage a blow to early butterflies though.

I'm hoping that August sees tons of the big 'uns, Nymphalidae (sp?). We are even thinking of a trip to see swallowtails, but maybe they have disappeared - dunno.

Quote from Norfolk Wildlife - 'numbers decline from early August'. Bugger.

Enki · « **Reply #143 on:** July 28, 2013, 04:39:01 PM »

Hi Wigs,
Swallowtails. That got me thinking. Many moons ago two of us decided to try to see every native butterfly in Britain.(actually there are only 60+). We eventually managed to see all but two(mountain ringlet and chequered skipper), but some of the places we went to were fascinating. Bernwood Forest was one such place which we visited for white admiral and the renowned black hairstreak. Part of Bernwood is called Hell's Coppice, and, because this was an area much loved by Victorian lepidopterists, I believe the phrase "see you in Hell" was often used by them as a form of greeting.

Also remember, when visiting the Scillies for a short toed eagle some years ago, I managed to see two monarchs on a small lump of rock from a bobbing boat. They had made the trip all the way from America.

wigginhall · « **Reply #144 on:** July 28, 2013, 04:42:53 PM »

Brilliant. There is a railway embankment in Norfolk (disused), that has a ton of different species, but I can't remember its name. It might be Narborough? It has brown argus and grayling, plus hairstreaks, grizzled skipper, etc.

Enki · « **Reply #145 on:** July 28, 2013, 06:39:20 PM »

Hi Prof.
Both possible. Is it also possible it might have flown into something? I have seen examples of dead birds showing no sign of injury which have bounced off a car or a window. Shock can kill a bird. And even a broken neck shows little visible sign of injury on a bird.

Gonnagle · « **Reply #146 on:** July 28, 2013, 09:07:48 PM »

Dear Wigs and Antithesis,

Autumn eh! I will cling with my fingernails to this wonderful summer we are having

Gonnagle.

wigginhall · « **Reply #147 on:** July 29, 2013, 09:52:20 AM »

It's OK Gonners. There are two different autumns. There is human autumn, which you can put off until October, really, and there is animal autumn, which starts in late June. I mean, some return migration starts then, so birders like to joke, 'here's autumn'.

wigginhall · « **Reply #148 on:** July 29, 2013, 01:45:40 PM »

Just been to the allotment, and there are a lot of bumble bees at the moment. I counted 50-60 on one herb bush alone. The strange thing is about 2 weeks ago, there were tons of honey bees, and hardly any bumbles, so maybe they take turns. Off to consult insect books now.

SweetPea · « **Reply #149 on:** July 29, 2013, 05:32:52 PM »

Great news, Wiggs! And the EU have banned the use of bee-harming pesticides for 2 years. It's something.

Yesterday, I was at my sister and brother-in-law's small holding. We found a bees nest in one of the fields. The bees were entering the hole in the ground bottoms first. It was funny and interesting to watch, they were like little helicopters..... "returning to base... coming in to land".

My sis and bro-in-law will have to put some kind of barrier around the nest because horses use the field and bees, apparently, get very upset around horses. We wondered why.... horsey smell perhaps?

News:

Author Topic: nature notes II (Read 159220 times)