The Wildlife (and Gardening for Wildlife) thread

[elsiegee40]

Bellway Homes fined £600k for destroying Greenwich bat roost

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-55273516

 

Good!

[StevieM]

If you’re on Instagram and need something to make you feel better about the world, I suggest you follow the adventures of Beave, an orphan baby beaver, being rehabbed by his rescuer

[ATTACH]60166[/ATTACH]

https://instagram.com/beaverbabyfurrylove?igshid=36h6mh4pzuai

 

That reminds me of a school visit to WWT's Martin Mere, a few years ago, who had a live stream from their beaver house, which children were invited to watch when they got home.

 

I interjected quickly, telling the Year 4 children to make sure that they searched for 'Martin Mere' and NOT 'Beaver Cam'!

[Dos_Box]

Heard the female tawny owl on the park behind my house last week when out for a walk. Very glad to hear her as she'd been very quiet this year. I thought she may have left due to this happening -https://www.blogpreston.co.uk/2020/05/clearance-work-at-larches-house-site-riles-nearby-residents/ - at the end of my road, and the owls sometimes roost and raise their owlets there. Given the lockdown I've not had much chance to keep an eye on them this year as I usually go out quite late on summer evenings to listen to them call and see them flying.

[mikeprice]

That reminds me of a school visit to WWT's Martin Mere, a few years ago, who had a live stream from their beaver house, which children were invited to watch when they got home.

 

I interjected quickly, telling the Year 4 children to make sure that they searched for 'Martin Mere' and NOT 'Beaver Cam'!

 

Soooo

 

what happens if

 

No - not even asking that

[6Foot2]

Soooo

 

what happens if

 

No - not even asking that

 

Just tried it (browsing from home) Safe search is off. First page of search results, images, and videos all SFW. Didn't look further than the first page.

 

*Don't try this at work, you know just in case.

 

[mikeprice]

Went on bike ride to the airport today in a gap between rain

 

I was just standing around hoping to see a plane when a fox trotted happily along the fence line about 10 yards from me

 

then headed for the fence between the public area and the flight training schools - I managed to get my camera out just as he was headed there

 

you-ll have to zoom in to see it properly - he is just on the path headed for the gate

 

[Ditto]

Just tried it (browsing from home) Safe search is off. First page of search results, images, and videos all SFW. Didn't look further than the first page.

 

*Don't try this at work, you know just in case.

 

If this topic had been raised a week ago, I would have to wonder if some edugeekers actions had led to this BBC news story.

Right, as the relationship to the thread is somewhat tenuous, best we all get

[elsiegee40]

Wasp Spider (a kind of orb web spider) and Common Lizard

 

Edited December 15, 2020 by elsiegee40

[mikeprice]

There has just been plans passed for a new development around a steep narrow lane that I often ride up on my bike

 

 

local people are calling foul as there ecological survey was conducted on 2 dates

one was during bat hibernation time

the seconds was done on a day with gale force winds - hence no bats to be seen

They claim the area is well know to be a bat habitat

 

I shall be keeping an eye on the news for this - and for bats when spring starts

[elsiegee40]

Something to look out for in Kent!

 

[AJWhite1970]

RSPCA Young Photographer of the Year awards last night and our student Jake won both the "Small World" and "Portfolio" awards before then being awarded Overall Winner 2020 and was interviewed live on C5 news.

 

Some stunning photos in this years nominations

 

https://view.pagetiger.com/dpendhu/1

[elsiegee40]

As some of you may know avian flu has spreading across the country. The Queens Swan Marker has released the following statement regarding feeding.

Please where possible keep feeding our feathered friends they need all the help they can get to keep them healthy

[6Foot2]

Link: Great white egret no longer rare bird as numbers boom across UK and Europe [The Independent]

 

The great white egret — a dazzling type of heron — has become increasingly common across the UK, and from 2021 will no longer be classed as a rare bird.

 

The species was previously considered an exotic visitor to British shores, and in 1970 as few as 150 were recorded across the whole of Europe.

 

But in 2020, the great white egret was seen regularly by UK bird watchers. It was reported more than 8,000 times in almost every part of England and Wales, including in 2,300 new locations.

 

Bird Guides, a magazine and website which monitors sightings, said the great white egret had become the most common rare species reported in 2020, averaging some 10 per cent of all daily reports.

 

This has led the organisation to change the bird’s status...

 

[mikeprice]

There used to be a lot around Bangor (Gwynedd) when I lived there - starting over 20 years ago

 

and the fields between here and the airport have several whenever they are flooded - which they normally are

 

never really understood why they were classed as rare

[mikeprice]

Oh - and a buzzard (probably) flew across a track just in front of me this morning - then settled on a small tree

 

got phone out and got camera working - just as it flew off to another tree

 

did get a photo - but it is on an old phone from a distance through a wire fence - so basically a blob on some bare branches - so I'm not posting it to avoid ridicule

[elsiegee40]

There used to be a lot around Bangor (Gwynedd) when I lived there - starting over 20 years ago

 

and the fields between here and the airport have several whenever they are flooded - which they normally are

 

never really understood why they were classed as rare

 

There are 3 types of egret seen in the UK...

 

Little Egret is most common. Black legs and bright yellow feet. Looks like it’s wearing a pair of marigolds. Most likely to be seen in water.

 

Cattle Egret with yellow legs is more likely to be seen in a field with livestock.

 

Great White is much bigger than the other two and was reintroduced to the Somerset levels in 2012.

 

If this was 20 years ago, it was probably one of the first two

[mikeprice]

There are 3 types of egret seen in the UK...

 

Little Egret is most common. Black legs and bright yellow feet. Looks like it’s wearing a pair of marigolds. Most likely to be seen in water.

 

Cattle Egret with yellow legs is more likely to be seen in a field with livestock.

 

Great White is much bigger than the other two and was reintroduced to the Somerset levels in 2012.

 

If this was 20 years ago, it was probably one of the first two

 

OK - good info - probably the first one as the water in the Menai Straits was never clear enough to see feet

 

Thanks

 

p.s. it definitely wasn't Somerset - I know I get counties mixed up but Gwynedd and Somerset are quite different!!

[6Foot2]

Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-55550106 [bBC News]

 

 

Work is under way to try to preserve a curiously-slanted 200-year-old holm oak tree in County Down.

 

Affectionately known as Old Homer, no one knows what caused the prominent incline on the evergreen in Kilbroney Park, Rostrevor.

 

But legend has it that the giant Finn McCool may have leaned against it.

 

In 2016 Old Homer was named the Woodland Trust's tree of the year but after decades of wear and tear its pronounced slant and sheer size threatened its future.

 

In recent times three large fractures emerged at the base of the trunk with experts predicting the tree could collapse within three years.

 

'Rescue driven by community'

 

In the summer, as part of a rescue plan, two tonnes of the tree's crown were removed in order to reduce its weight without changing its appearance.

 

However, the main part of the project required the installation of large metal supports from underneath.

 

The supports came in the shape of two huge galvanised steel frames which have been secured into the ground.

 

It is hoped they will add between 50 and 100 years to the tree's lifespan...

[6Foot2]

https://youtu.be/TWVF7AwTtmM

 

The capybara seems unmoved at 'almost being eaten alive'

 

[hardtailstar]

Stalked this Robin for half hour in my garden. Was a bit camera shy!

 

[elsiegee40]

Went for walk this afternoon in our local country park which is next to the River Medway. It was freezing with hoar frost on everything.

 

The most exciting things we saw were White Fronted Geese - a first for us. About a dozen in their own group with a large flock of Greylag Geese. Greylags are bigger, paler and don’t have bars on their chest. Greylags don’t have white round the beak either, but as there were some mongrels in among the Greylags this isn’t a good identifier.

 

Grey Heron

 

Little Egret in the river bank

 

Redwing feeding on rose hips

 

Tufted Ducks

 

Cormorant roost (we are well inland)

[6Foot2]

[LeMarchand]

Deer stuck on ice rescued by fishermen.

 

 

WARNING: Do not search Deer Utah as they seem pretty keen on killing them (this guy seems to be a part time Hunt Guide).

[elsiegee40]

https://youtu.be/XM89wK7Vl1w

Kookaburra won’t get off a car window

[GC75]

Just found this thread, I now work in an independent school in the countryside that backs on to a farm, the school building is an old country estate that was built in the late 1800s. I've seen many rabbits, deer and kestrels especially during the school holidays when it is quieter, but the best so far has to be driving down the lane up towards the school at the start of this Spring term and flying along the side of me just over the hedge was a barn owl, I've not seen one of these beauties for years.