I've heard of it numerous times but it always fascinates me to hear of foxes in London.
Two black swans in some flooded fields from the bus today. I don't see them often here.
Urban foxes are more populous than rural foxes in the UK I think - easy food sources and no threat from farmers shooting them or fox hunting (which is officially illegal but illegal hunts still happen).
Black swans aren't native to the UK but we have some here that are escapees from private collections. Near me there are some on the Itchen around Southampton.
During my morning dip and paddle near the shore of the beach here, I am frequently approached by small groups of fearless fishes that occasionally take a nip at something they see on my skin, such as a mole.
Ususally they cluster around my knees and ankles, and only when I am standing on a stony bottom. Their bite doesn't break the skin, and feels like someone scratched me with an emery board. It's sometimes a surprise if I'm not aware they have arrived.
I call them "the nibblers". I really enjoy interacting with them, it's kind of hilarious to be "attacked". They are about the size of a smelt. I looked them up and they appear to be some species of two banded bream.
Today I brought a small scrap of bread with me as an experiment. I held the piece of bread under the water and they ate it from my hand.
During my morning dip and paddle near the shore of the beach here, I am frequently approached by small groups of fearless fishes that occasionally take a nip at something they see on my skin, such as a mole.
Ususally they cluster around my knees and ankles, and only when I am standing on a stony bottom. Their bite doesn't break the skin, and feels like someone scratched me with an emery board. It's sometimes a surprise if I'm not aware they have arrived.
I call them "the nibblers". I really enjoy interacting with them, it's kind of hilarious to be "attacked". They are about the size of a smelt. I looked them up and they appear to be some species of two banded bream.
Today I brought a small scrap of bread with me as an experiment. I held the piece of bread under the water and they ate it from my hand.
Highly entertaining.
AFF
I've had that experience too but in a lake where the water was murky enough you couldn't see WHAT was nipping you. A bit unnerving...
We occasionally see bunnies in our back yard. They are tan/brown. Down by the train station, not half a mile away, the bunnies are black. All of them we can see.
We occasionally see bunnies in our back yard. They are tan/brown. Down by the train station, not half a mile away, the bunnies are black. All of them we can see.
Sounds like there's a melanistic population around the train station. You often see melanistic squirrels and sometimes deer.
It is hot hot hot in foie gras land and the lizards are out in force. They scuttle away as soon as you get close to them though.
Jealous - are they Common Lizards? I know there are some around here but I have never seen one. There are some wall lizards in Kent. Around here slow worms are very common in gardens though.
These little guys. Supposedly they can grow up to 20cm but most of the ones I see tend to be smaller than that. They're pretty common in the South of France.
Saw a green dragon fly this morning on leaving my flat. Quite a surprise in central Sheffield. Not totally unknown at this time of year but that last time I thought it had hitched a lift of a portaloo between festivals.
Lots of swallows gathering on wires, surely too soon. Please stay!
The swifts have gone already. Such a short time, 13-14 weeks, I guess that's part of their magic.
Eta, this seems apt as we were listening to it at Cropredy last night (not enough time to parse the link properly - who knows where the edit time goes?) https://www.sandydenny.co.uk/lyrics/whoknows.htm
Today I had fun again feeding the small fish hanging out on the stony bottom of the beachfront. When I ran out of bread they just kind of clustered around me, all facing toward me, waiting for my next trick.
Today I had fun again feeding the small fish hanging out on the stony bottom of the beachfront. When I ran out of bread they just kind of clustered around me, all facing toward me, waiting for my next trick.
Not sure who was more entertained by whom.
AFF
I was told bread can be harmful for fish in the wild, it was suggested that greens or worms were better.
Well, plover (masked lapwing) swooping season has started. Out on the morning dog walk 3 swoops from a protective parent. Unlike magpies, plovers make a bit of a piercing noise and turn away at a farther distance than our black and white friends.
I usually see them alone or in quite small (2/3) groups but saw 10 or so noisy miners around a small tree on the verge. They live up to their adjective.
Well, plover (masked lapwing) swooping season has started. Out on the morning dog walk 3 swoops from a protective parent. Unlike magpies, plovers make a bit of a piercing noise and turn away at a farther distance than our black and white friends.
I usually see them alone or in quite small (2/3) groups but saw 10 or so noisy miners around a small tree on the verge. They live up to their adjective.
Noisy miners are not only noisy but also are inclined to swoop. I used to encounter a troupe of them who nested in a tree close to the bottom of the hill near GardenIsland ( navy base in Sydney) where I worked and had a few near misses. Interestingly they didn’t go for personnel in uniform who all wore hats!
I think I was watering my garden a little too enthusiastically this afternoon as a little lizard came racing out from under the seaside daisies. He ran across the concrete and hid behind a large pot on the patio. I'm assuming he'll wander back once the water has soaked in a bit.
I did have a good look around to check there weren't any birds lurking that might like to have him (or her) for a little snack.
Lovely walk in local woods* yesterday with lepidopterist Beaky husband and daughter.
Lots of butterflies: Peacock, Red Admiral, Fritillary, Large White, Brimstone, Comma, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper and Small Heath- Plus a couple we didn't manage to identify!
Lovely walk in local woods* yesterday with lepidopterist Beaky husband and daughter.
Lots of butterflies: Peacock, Red Admiral, Fritillary, Large White, Brimstone, Comma, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper and Small Heath- Plus a couple we didn't manage to identify!
*We're near the South Coast in West Sussex
Do you get any of the blue butterflies like the Chalkhill Blue? You must be on chalk downland too.
Lovely walk in local woods* yesterday with lepidopterist Beaky husband and daughter.
Lots of butterflies: Peacock, Red Admiral, Fritillary, Large White, Brimstone, Comma, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper and Small Heath- Plus a couple we didn't manage to identify!
*We're near the South Coast in West Sussex
Do you get any of the blue butterflies like the Chalkhill Blue? You must be on chalk downland too.
We have Holly Blues but if we want to see Chalkhill or Adonis Blues we need to go up onto the real Downs which we don't do as often as we did when we had dogs to exercise!
Today I had fun again feeding the small fish hanging out on the stony bottom of the beachfront. When I ran out of bread they just kind of clustered around me, all facing toward me, waiting for my next trick.
Not sure who was more entertained by whom.
AFF
I was told bread can be harmful for fish in the wild, it was suggested that greens or worms were better.
Noted. Greens it is. We have plenty of cuttings from our salad preps.
I don't recall seeing as many butterflies as I did in my youth. I was bushwalking earlier this year and came across quite a few which delighted me. I am ignorant of names, sorry.
My neighbor texted me Saturday morning to let me know that a bear was walking on our street and into various front yards. I think this is the time of year when mama bears tell the juvenile bears to go find their own homes. Unfortunately, there are fewer places for bears (and panthers) to live and find food with all the new communities being built around here.
There is a pony and horse club not far away. There is a shelter where I often see horses while driving past. It was pissing down the other day and the shelter was populated by a mob of kangaroos which I found amusing.
I looked out my window to see a squirrel stripping some bark off my palm tree. It seems late in the year for baby nesting; most likely, it is building up the nest for the coming winter. He/she looks so cute running down the street with a mouth full of bark trailing behind.
I looked out my window to see a squirrel stripping some bark off my palm tree...He/she looks so cute running down the street with a mouth full of bark trailing behind.
I recall when I first saw a squirrel, 21 yo in a park in London. I was more excited than I possibly should've been, but cute was my thought.
I live in a very urban location, but I had a family of four noisy Peregrines over my back yard this afternoon. They are much less rare these days than they were 50 years ago. That is because the various pesticides got banned which made their eggs fragile.
Another species that it is good to have seen increase over the last few decades is Ravens. I hear and see them quite often over here now.
I live in a very urban location, but I had a family of four noisy Peregrines over my back yard this afternoon. They are much less rare these days than they were 50 years ago. That is because the various pesticides got banned which made their eggs fragile.
Another species that it is good to have seen increase over the last few decades is Ravens. I hear and see them quite often over here now.
To my astonishment, this evening a swift thumped into one of our nestboxes as I was putting something into the bin - it's been over a week since I've seen any, I thought they'd long since headed South.
To my astonishment, this evening a swift thumped into one of our nestboxes as I was putting something into the bin - it's been over a week since I've seen any, I thought they'd long since headed South.
I agree @Sandemaniac. That is a bit surprising. I normally reckon that they've finished nesting well before now and that almost all have gone by the beginning of August.
I was once quite surprised visiting Cambridge in August when most normal swifts had left a week or two previously, that there were still quite a lot of swifts around. I speculated that they were probably not the local ones but birds on passage from somewhere well north like Scandinavia. I've no idea, though, whether I was right.
I've not seen many swifts this year. The ones that used to nest near me disappeared when the neighbour in question replaced his barge boards.
There are deer where I live. Their habitat was cut down to build more housing, so now they hang out in residential areas. I often see them when I'm walking somewhere early in the morning, or somewhere quiet, with no people around. I don't want to scare them, so when I need to walk down a path where they are hanging out, and they are looking up at me, all alert, ready to dart off, I hum a tune, and it makes them less scared, so they stay there and just look at me with curiosity.
There is a well-known technique in birding called pishing, which consists of saying pish pish repeatedly, and it often attracts birds. I'm not sure if they see it as an alarm call, or a contact call. Birders are recommended not to overdo it, as it causes stress.
There is a well-known technique in birding called pishing, which consists of saying pish pish repeatedly, and it often attracts birds. I'm not sure if they see it as an alarm call, or a contact call. Birders are recommended not to overdo it, as it causes stress.
I wonder how that works in Scotland?
(Pish means something else, as does pished)
Today is the first day I went into the water without a snack for my fish crew. I wear a turquoise colored bathing suit. They have begun to associate the turquoise swim bottoms with a snack, because the moment the bottoms appear below the water level, the crew assembles.
Instead, I swam out to the sand bar about 100 meters out. They chased me all the way to the end of the rocky bottom. They don't care for the sandy bottom, so I was left there in peace. But when I swam back into shore I had a full cohort.
I felt bad I came empty handed. Also feel bad for anyone else wearing turquoise swim trunks.
A rare Antartic Leopard seal is currently visiting Akaroa on Banks Peninsula. (Banks Peninsula is the bit that sticks out on the east coast of the South Island of NZ, Christchurch is the nearest city).
Given how cold this winter has been it probably feels quite at home.
There was a tiny, maybe 1/2 inch, orange butterfly floating around the Richardia grandiflora, that I keep in my yard specifically for butterflies and honey bees. I haven't been able to identify it, unfortunately, but while I was watching it, a zebra longwing fluttered back and forth in front of me!!! I used to have hundreds of the longwings around my house when my passion vine was still alive. This one brought back happy memories!
Speaking of butterflies: I think I live on a butterfly flyway between Canada and Mexico, or parts even further South. In the early spring we get a beautiful yellow butterfly for about a month and then they disappear. Just today, Mrs. Gramps commented she was seeing them again. They must be headed for their wintering grounds again.
There was a tiny, maybe 1/2 inch, orange butterfly floating around the Richardia grandiflora, that I keep in my yard specifically for butterflies and honey bees. I haven't been able to identify it, unfortunately, but while I was watching it, a zebra longwing fluttered back and forth in front of me!!! I used to have hundreds of the longwings around my house when my passion vine was still alive. This one brought back happy memories!
Was this a maypop? I could send you seeds.... They take over our front yard every year.
Comments
Urban foxes are more populous than rural foxes in the UK I think - easy food sources and no threat from farmers shooting them or fox hunting (which is officially illegal but illegal hunts still happen).
Black swans aren't native to the UK but we have some here that are escapees from private collections. Near me there are some on the Itchen around Southampton.
Ususally they cluster around my knees and ankles, and only when I am standing on a stony bottom. Their bite doesn't break the skin, and feels like someone scratched me with an emery board. It's sometimes a surprise if I'm not aware they have arrived.
I call them "the nibblers". I really enjoy interacting with them, it's kind of hilarious to be "attacked". They are about the size of a smelt. I looked them up and they appear to be some species of two banded bream.
Today I brought a small scrap of bread with me as an experiment. I held the piece of bread under the water and they ate it from my hand.
Highly entertaining.
AFF
I've had that experience too but in a lake where the water was murky enough you couldn't see WHAT was nipping you. A bit unnerving...
We get the standard light brown with a white tail bunnies. What few we see, as there are a zillion hawks and eagles around here.
Sounds like there's a melanistic population around the train station. You often see melanistic squirrels and sometimes deer.
Multiple great egrets (I think; egrets definitely) wading in the water.
I like squirrels.
Jealous - are they Common Lizards? I know there are some around here but I have never seen one. There are some wall lizards in Kent. Around here slow worms are very common in gardens though.
The swifts have gone already. Such a short time, 13-14 weeks, I guess that's part of their magic.
Eta, this seems apt as we were listening to it at Cropredy last night (not enough time to parse the link properly - who knows where the edit time goes?)
https://www.sandydenny.co.uk/lyrics/whoknows.htm
Not sure who was more entertained by whom.
AFF
I was told bread can be harmful for fish in the wild, it was suggested that greens or worms were better.
I usually see them alone or in quite small (2/3) groups but saw 10 or so noisy miners around a small tree on the verge. They live up to their adjective.
Noisy miners are not only noisy but also are inclined to swoop. I used to encounter a troupe of them who nested in a tree close to the bottom of the hill near GardenIsland ( navy base in Sydney) where I worked and had a few near misses. Interestingly they didn’t go for personnel in uniform who all wore hats!
I did have a good look around to check there weren't any birds lurking that might like to have him (or her) for a little snack.
Lots of butterflies: Peacock, Red Admiral, Fritillary, Large White, Brimstone, Comma, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper and Small Heath- Plus a couple we didn't manage to identify!
*We're near the South Coast in West Sussex
Do you get any of the blue butterflies like the Chalkhill Blue? You must be on chalk downland too.
We have Holly Blues but if we want to see Chalkhill or Adonis Blues we need to go up onto the real Downs which we don't do as often as we did when we had dogs to exercise!
Noted. Greens it is. We have plenty of cuttings from our salad preps.
AFF
I had no idea. Thank you.
edit: a peewee swooped me once on my bike riding to work in Albury which had my manager in stitches.
There is a pony and horse club not far away. There is a shelter where I often see horses while driving past. It was pissing down the other day and the shelter was populated by a mob of kangaroos which I found amusing.
I recall when I first saw a squirrel, 21 yo in a park in London. I was more excited than I possibly should've been, but cute was my thought.
Another species that it is good to have seen increase over the last few decades is Ravens. I hear and see them quite often over here now.
To my astonishment, this evening a swift thumped into one of our nestboxes as I was putting something into the bin - it's been over a week since I've seen any, I thought they'd long since headed South.
I was once quite surprised visiting Cambridge in August when most normal swifts had left a week or two previously, that there were still quite a lot of swifts around. I speculated that they were probably not the local ones but birds on passage from somewhere well north like Scandinavia. I've no idea, though, whether I was right.
I've not seen many swifts this year. The ones that used to nest near me disappeared when the neighbour in question replaced his barge boards.
Agreed. Swifts can cling to vertical surfaces, but they can't perch.
I wonder how that works in Scotland?
(Pish means something else, as does pished)
Instead, I swam out to the sand bar about 100 meters out. They chased me all the way to the end of the rocky bottom. They don't care for the sandy bottom, so I was left there in peace. But when I swam back into shore I had a full cohort.
I felt bad I came empty handed. Also feel bad for anyone else wearing turquoise swim trunks.
Tomorrow beet greens for them.
AFF
Given how cold this winter has been it probably feels quite at home.
Was this a maypop? I could send you seeds.... They take over our front yard every year.