Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: Gunilla on February 01, 2010, 07:34:21 AM
-
Bramblings and greenfinches are common here every winter. Yesterday we had as many as 30 bramblings under the bird feeder at the same time. The hawfinch and the little robin are also regular visitors.
1-2 Bramblings
3 Hawfinch
4 Robin
5 Blue tit
-
Bird were my first passion and take pictures, but as usually I am very bussy and I can't dedeicate much time. Last Christmas I went with my friend to take pictures. We love to take pictures of big bird!!.
-
That last picture really shows how big the raptor is.
-
oh sorry! the names are: Aegypius monachus, Milvus Milvus and Aquila adalberti (two years old), his mother is 34!!!! years!! old!! minimum!!!
-
Bramblings and greenfinches are common here every winter. Yesterday we had as many as 30 bramblings under the bird feeder at the same time. The hawfinch and the little robin are also regular visitors.
1-2 Bramblings
3 Hawfinch
4 Robin
5 Blue tit
Quite a crowd, Gunilla, and your Hawfinch photo was a lucky shot or are they less shy with you? I saw a female for the first time here in the fir tree looking for food in the snowy weather
-
Bird were my first passion and take pictures, but as usually I am very bussy and I can't dedeicate much time. Last Christmas I went with my friend to take pictures. We love to take pictures of big bird!!.
Magnificent studies of big birds, Rafa, what camera do you use?
-
To remind those of you who may not have seen them, there are more super raptor pix from Rafa in the Old Forum:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/discus/messages/1078/39986.html
http://www.srgc.org.uk/discus/messages/1078/23345.html
-
Quite a crowd, Gunilla, and your Hawfinch photo was a lucky shot or are they less shy with you? I saw a female for the first time here in the fir tree looking for food in the snowy weather
Indeed a lucky shot, Robin, usually they don't stay long enough for me to find my camera :).
Beautiful big birds, Rafa and your pics are fabulous 8).
-
Maggi, thanks for the old Forum links (post 286) showing outstanding shots of wildlife, it really is wonderful to preserve such archives from the time the SRGC Forum began - a real gold mine of information and talent :)
-
Yes, Robin, it's good to still have the Old Forum archived there..... it ran from 2003 to November 2006 when we had a catastrophic breakdown.... though Fast Fred had this new version up and running in a very short time indeed....which was just as well because all over the world folks were suffering withdrawl symptons of serious proportions, even in those short hours!
The Old Forum had a different page set up, which lead to some pages being very long and taking rather a long time to load, and I think it is a blessing that we have this current version.
I was just looking to see what sort of traffic there was on the original version.... approx 19260 posts in 1390 topics over the period of that forum.... things are much busier here with 129379 Posts in 4046 Topics to date from late November 2006!
-
Maggie, what was the bacon? Do the birds eat it? At me only the long-tailed tits
-
Bacon/bacon fat is not good for birds because of the salt
-
Lovely to have you back with us Rafa and to see again the shots on the old Forum. That makes me realize that a number of old Forumists are no longer with us here. I wonder where they are and how they are?
-
Maggie, what was the bacon? Do the birds eat it? At me only the long-tailed tits
I always soak the fat first to get the salt out.... the blackbirds love it, and the Robin and the Blue, Coal and Great Tits.... some years they haven't b seemd interested but in this weather all contributions are received gratefully.
-
Lovely to have you back with us Rafa and to see again the shots on the old Forum. That makes me realize that a number of old Forumists are no longer with us here. I wonder where they are and how they are?
Always great to have Rafa's photos on any sunbject, isn't it?
I know what you mean Lesley... there are some "missing" chums... some still in touch but just not posting.
-
an amazing behaviour :o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuVgXJ55G6Y&feature=youtube_gdata
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuVgXJ55G6Y&feature=youtube_gdata)
-
unbelievable. Thanks for the link
-
(http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i76/arykana/Winter%20Garden/ragadoz.jpg) catched a bird, but I was slow:-(
(http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i76/arykana/Winter%20Garden/rszem.jpg)
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i76/arykana/Winter%20Garden/rhtra.jpg
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i76/arykana/Winter%20Garden/rnz.jpg
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i76/arykana/Winter%20Garden/VERB.jpg
(http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i76/arykana/Winter%20Garden/szik2.jpg)
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i76/arykana/Winter%20Garden/szapk.jpg
[IMG]http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i76/arykana/Winter%20Garden/tengelick.jpg[/IMG
-
Did anyone see this bird on the telly, he is very good and gets better near the end. You need to watch it all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjE0Kdfos4Y&NR=1&feature=fvwp
-
yes Michael. Good but not as good as dolphins blowing bubble rings and playing with them. I cant imagine a smoker blowing smoke rings and playing with them
-
Arykana what hawk is it? It's colour is much darker than our female sparrowhawks
-
Looking here I see females are very variable http://www.birdguides.com/iris/pictures.asp?mode=search&sp=30129&rty=0&r=1&v=0 (http://www.birdguides.com/iris/pictures.asp?mode=search&sp=30129&rty=0&r=1&v=0)
-
I loved the dolphins but the lyrebird too. I've heard him in the Blue Mountains but not seen him unfortunately. What an amazing mimic he is. But then, Attenborough himself mimics superbly, John Watson mimicing David Attenborough. ;D
-
Michael,
amazing to listen to the voice variety of lyrebirds and their imitation skills, even a chain saw close to the end. :o
Arykana,
I know this visitor from my feeding station... great pictures.
-
The dolphins are just extraordinary.... clever and beautiful!
I remember seeing the Lyre Bird clip on the TV.... fun to be able to catch it again....his mimicry is just perfect isn't it?
Makes Auntie Nellie's parrot look a bit dull with his vocabulary of curse words for the vicar!
Our daily visits from our sparrow hawks have reduced greatly with the dramatic fall in the local bird populations. We used to have so many greenfinches here but they all got that pneumonia bug and there are hardly any left and the sparrow numbers are way down too.
I do not ascribe this falls in numbers to the predation of the sparrowhawks.... that would be counterproductive from the hawks perspective to wipe out his food source and so unnatural so I don't think that is what is happening.
-
Arykana what hawk is it? It's colour is much darker than our female sparrowhawks
karvaly - Accipiter nisus
-
An amazing experience - just now, high up in the forest on a walk, we met a large male Ibex with magnificent horns curving over its back, a thick brown winter coat and muscular thighs.
It stood its ground in the snow unafraid and ready to challenge the dogs - we put them on the leash but still it came forward to within 3 metres, head lowered ready to butt :o We retreated, backing away, and it stood still watching us and looking up the mountain where we imagine a female must have been hidden amongst the rocks.
From a safe distance we watched in silence as the sun set on the mountains behind it - the image is imprinted on my mind
-
At present in the Dunedin Royal Albatross Colony, there's a new chick being raised by two females. There was a pic in the local paper a couple of days ago. This situation is apparently unheard of previously and has caused great interest around the world, according to the paper. Especially there is much excitement among Australia's gay community. :D
-
(http://cs10306.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_29cb50c4.jpg)
-
(http://cs10306.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_1f24ede3.jpg)
-
Superb photos, Olga!!
what is the little bird in the first one? So handsome with his eyeliner!
-
Maggi
Sorry I didn't named that birds. The first one is Sitta europaea. The second - Parus caeruleus. We support bards with food because it's very cold all winter and they need to eat often.
-
Woodpecker
(http://cs10306.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_1217f6c0.jpg)
-
Flying Parus caeruleus
(http://cs10306.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_f1077e2e.jpg)
-
"What have you brought me?"
(http://cs10306.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_ee15c30d.jpg)
-
Crumbs. Didn't recognise the Nuthatch! :o
-
Nuthatch - yes! :)
-
Olga, your photos of birds in your garden are just wonderful - how long did it take you to feed the little tit by hand?
-
Neither did we, Anthony! I think it's because we are seeing it ( her?) in an more unusual angle in Olga's great photo....foreshortening perspecticve gives the impression of a shorter bodied bird... exaggerated by the fluffed up feathers against the cold... we're used to d seeing them "longways" against a tree trunk, mostly, so this pose was confusing!
Great picture! Well, they all are! Thanks, Olga!
-
Wonderful pictures Olga !
Ready for National Geographic !! :D
-
Maggi
You are absolutely right. Small picture and unusual angle mislead you.
Here is he (in Russian nuthatch is he) more recognizable.
(http://cs10306.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_27dad002.jpg)
And flying.
(http://cs10306.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_758384d0.jpg)
-
Luc, Robin
Thank you! Unfortunately there was not enough light to make excellent shoots.
Robin
Birds are photographed at Moscow Central Botanic Garden. It is a big forest and many birds live there.
That hand is not mine. :) My friend stood still with the bait in his hand and I photographed the tit from a distance. It took 5-10 minutes for tits to ensure we are not dangerous.
-
The Russian nuthatch may be a different race that ours. The British bird is pinky brown underneath
http://www.birdguides.com/iris/pictures.asp (http://www.birdguides.com/iris/pictures.asp)
-
Olga, Great photographs.
Paddy
-
The little blue tit is great can you show a crop of the bird by itself?
-
I enjoyed them too. :D
-
Did anyone watch Killer Amazon Bats tonight on 5? They could have done better. The same echolocation recording was played for every bat they saw. Vampires do not rip open flesh with their canines. Disappointed ^._.^ :'(
-
I saw 5 minutes of it - too sensationalised (is that a word?). Couldn't watch that chap longer than that.
-
The Russian nuthatch may be a different race that ours. The British bird is pinky brown underneath
http://www.birdguides.com/iris/pictures.asp (http://www.birdguides.com/iris/pictures.asp)
I hadn't realised that there were quite so many species and subspecies in the genus Sitta; see here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuthatch (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuthatch). The North American species is also White-breasted. Which species is Olga's then?
-
Stephen I was looking on another web site and think it could be a western nuthatch but I don't know their range. It is possible Olga's bird is unusually coloured
European form
http://www.birdpix.nl/album_page.php?pic_id=150068 (http://www.birdpix.nl/album_page.php?pic_id=150068)
http://www.birdpix.nl/album_page.php?pic_id=164425 (http://www.birdpix.nl/album_page.php?pic_id=164425)
-
Stephen,
The Nuthatch in Europe has three subspecies:
S. e. europaea - The Nominate form populates Fennoscandia. The sides of the trunk are rust beige, the breast and belly are whitish center, sometimes with whitish forehead.
S. e. caesia - Form of Central Europe. The bottom is beige, males have intense red-brown flanks.
S. e. asiatica - Form of the eastern Russia and Siberia, but also occurs occasionally in Finland. The underside is white, the top light blue-gray. On the forehead and above the eye stripe is a little white. The subspecies is smaller, thinner beak.
Olga,
marvelous pictures. The little blue tit must have been very hungry to trust and feed from a human hand! :D
-
A very poor image of a nuthatch captured last weekend. It paid just one fleeting visit to a bird table at Tandle Hill Park.
-
A few of these visiting the garden would be very exciting
http://www.birdpix.nl/album_page.php?pic_id=100448 (http://www.birdpix.nl/album_page.php?pic_id=100448)
-
Mark,
American goldfinch is common here in summer, of course, and very beautiful. They don't often come to our feeders (preferring the open fields, perhaps... or maybe someone else's feeder) but we hear them overhead, and see them in the park along the river. They are late arrivers and late nesters - they wait until the the thistles are in flower for the downy plumes.
Common birds of Kaua'i - all introduced, however - from our trip just after Xmas.
1, 2, 3) I don't normally profess to admiring chickens much, but feral chickens abound on Kaua'i, and since they seem to have devolved(?) largely back to something very like jungle fowl, they are small, lithe, colorful birds (although domestic chicken influence can be seen more strongly in some individuals).
4) Spotted dove
5) Red-crested or Brazilian cardinal
-
Stephen,
The Nuthatch in Europe has three subspecies:
Thanks for that, Armin, interesting..
-
Little blue tit
(http://cs10306.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_0fd2c108.jpg)
-
Lori
Very funny roosters!
Paddy
Thank you! :)
-
Somebody raptorial
(http://cs10306.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_72c0fd43.jpg)
-
Spotty thrush
(http://cs10306.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_335dbaa5.jpg)
-
spotty thrush in English - Fieldfare Turdus pilaris.
-
Olga your great photo of the spotty Thrush really made me smile - the look says it all!
-
Lori,
nice chickens and lovely brasilian cardinals pictures from Kaua'i / Hawaii.
Is the shot of the cockfight part of a tournament?
And are you going to show us more exiting things from your trip to Kaua'i?
-
A hen from Ireland - named "June"
Paddy
-
Lori, I love the photo of the jungle fowl striding across the grass - so trim and athletic - the size of the head in proportion looks really small.
Paddy, your portrait of 'June' is a great study of a chicken with character 8)
-
June looks very angry
-
June looks very angry
Perhaps she is 'busting out all over'? ;D
-
??? ; :D D
...or just gritting her beak :-\
-
Is the shot of the cockfight part of a tournament?
And are you going to show us more exiting things from your trip to Kaua'i?
Armin, not a tournament - just part of the free entertainment on the lawn at the little beachfront hotel where we stayed! (That and some guy being taken down by the police... I preferred the antics of the chickens.)
I have been very lazy about it, but, yes, I'll put together a few photos of the flora of Kaua'i - thanks!
-
June is the most docile of our hens and will always be first of the group to follow me around the garden and if I take a garden fork in my hands she will come to me at top speed and it is almost impossible to dig as she stands exactly where the fork is going to enter the ground so as to be on the spot when earthworms are turned up.
Paddy
-
I thought June looked pensive rather than angry. She is a beautiful lady anyway.
Why are the females of the species called chickens in America/Canada and called hens in the UK and Australia and NZ (or chooks, here, too)? For us, chickens are the very young ones.
Having asked the question though, we do seem to accept that once dead and in the supermarket freezer or in a recipe, they become chickens.
-
Seems to me that "chickens" is the common generic term in Canada/US, and that "rooster" (rarely, "cock" as this leads to the risk of double entrendre , which would cause us PC folk to blush and stammer) and "hen" are the usual male and female terms...
I've also heard "chook" used... had assumed it referred specifically to hens but wasn't sure.
-
Same as N.Z. here in Ireland. Chickens are young ones - or dead ones. Adults are cocks and hens. PC people get upset over very little.
Paddy
-
Having asked the question though, we do seem to accept that once dead and in the supermarket freezer or in a recipe, they become chickens.
Lesley,the same applies to sheep,butchers only sell spring lamb,where do all the sheep go.? :)
-
The sheep go in to cheap nasty TV dinners
-
Not here they don't Mark. :o Lamb is just that, less than a year old, then a year to two years is called hogget and is quite expensive and has a better (more developed) flavour than lamb, and after that it becomes mutton which is not sold a lot as such nowadays. Most stock is killed as either lamb or hogget or retained as breeding stock. Of course eventually those are culled out and probably go for pet food.
A local delicacy ( :o ??? :o ???) is the mutton pie, made from minced mutton, onion etc, which as it happens I rather like but it tends to be very greasy.
-
Lesley,
Mutton was always prized as a stewing meat when I was a child.
Paddy
-
Mutton makes wonderful soup, but I find the smell while it's boiling is pretty awful :-X Not that we ever see it for sale now.
(That should prompt a phonecall from Alan Newton, master butcher, tomorrow, if he's awake!!)
-
Never buy Bachelors Scotch Broth unless you like the smell of mutton. I was shocked by the smell and thought it was off
-
I still make a good Irish stew with mutton and an excellent curry with yoghurt containing apricots, plus onions, the curry paste, salt and pepper and cinnamon and ground cloves, the lot topped up to cover, with water (think I'm in the wrong thread here.) The secret with mutton is to cut off as much fat as possible before cooking.
-
Same as N.Z. here in Ireland. Chickens are young ones - or dead ones. Adults are cocks and hens. PC people get upset over very little.
Paddy
Chicken (singular) is the meat; chickens are poultry destined to become meat; chicks are the young; hens generally refer to (the same) birds kept for eggs; cock or cockerel is the male. Rooster is a word invented by people who are bashful and won't say cock (another example is cockroach, shortened to roach) and is not a word I have heard except on American cartoons.
-
We get a hogget from our farm shop when it's in season - they ring me to let me know. It has a very good flavour.
-
We get a hogget from our farm shop when it's in season - they ring me to let me know. It has a very good flavour.
I want one too. ;D What is it? ;)
Didn't Prince Charles try to raise the profile of mutton not so long ago?
-
We get a hogget from our farm shop when it's in season - they ring me to let me know. It has a very good flavour.
A) I want one too. ;D What is it? ;)
B) Didn't Prince Charles try to raise the profile of mutton not so long ago?
A): Lamb is just that, less than a year old, then a year to two years is called hogget and is quite expensive and has a better (more developed) flavour than lamb, and after that it becomes mutton which is not sold a lot as such nowadays. Most stock is killed as either lamb or hogget or retained as breeding stock
...from Lesley, previous page
B) I couldn't possibly comment.... :-X
-
Same as N.Z. here in Ireland. Chickens are young ones - or dead ones. Adults are cocks and hens. PC people get upset over very little.
Paddy
(another example is cockroach, shortened to roach) and is not a word I have heard except on American cartoons.
I prefer roosterroach myself. ;D
-
Didn't Prince Charles try to raise the profile of mutton not so long ago?
Well there are some breeds which have quite a bit longer legs Anthony. ;D
-
;D ;D ;D
-
More snow arrived today and so did this Hawfinch :D
I think it's the male and it flew in from the same area as the female last week!
-
Robin,
wonderful shots. I like the burly looking Hawfinch 8)
-
Robin, from this RSPB page, which has shots of male and female, there is also a link to their voice.... ;)
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/h/hawfinch/index.aspx#
-
Thanks for the link Maggi - have compared and am now :-\ as to male or female - the one you identified as being female in the video seemed so much bluer round the neck and wings as in the winter female on RPBS but it seems the winter male would be more brightly coloured than my photo from what I have seen on the web ??? The bird song is very useful to listen out for.
-
I was far from clear myself, Robin! Never mind, they're all fab!
-
Against all previous misgivings not all Goldfinches (Carduelis carduelis) flew to the U.K.
At least one living visited today my bird feeder station. ;D
Quite regular during the last days European Siskins (Carduelis spinus) overrun in small crowds my feeder station.
They love to eat the offered peanuts.
-
Here's a photo of a gorgeous hawfinch. I love their eye and pleated wing feathers
http://www.birdpix.nl/album_page.php?pic_id=160757 (http://www.birdpix.nl/album_page.php?pic_id=160757)
-
This is the brightest Sisken I have seen - like a sherbet lemon 8)
This one couldn't make it's mind up in the tree this morning:
"To fluff or not to fluff, that is the question"
-
I have never seen a siskin so bright
-
Jaundiced? :D Lovely Robins as usual, Siskin! ::)
-
Robin,
it looks like a male of the black-chinned siskin (Spinus barbatus; German: Bartzeisig) and has no jaundice, Cliff. ;D
I've found following:
The specis natural distribution is of northern Chile and southern Bolivia to the northwest covering Argentina, Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands. In the highlands and mountain valleys, with moderate to cool weather. It prefers the vicinity of watercourses and shrubby grasslands, and here especially the meadows. Its breeding season is in the wild from October to December, otherwise it is on the move in family groups.
Bartzeisig were introduced to the first 1875 in England and then 1878 in Germany.
-
Thanks for your interesting research into the Siskin Armin - it certainly is quite different to the others, in terms of colouring, with yellow also on the back and so bright. 8)
There is another bird which has arrived here for the first time but it is very shy and takes off with the slightest movement - I took one photo but it's not good so am hoping to catch it unawares if I'm patient :D
-
I found a dead redpoll in the garden today. I'm thinking the high fat diet of nyger isn't good for them
-
Robin,
it was me a pleasure. When I first saw your pictures I immediately thought of Citril Finch (Carduelis citrinella, German: Zitronenzeisig or Zitronengirlitz) a specis of the alps. However, the male is different colored around the neck.
The key was the black spot on the throat. I remembered black-chinned siskins were offered in pet shops in my youth.
I hope you will be lucky to make a good shot of your shy "no name". I'm always glad to give it a name.
Mark,
hm - it is a pity. Maybe you are right. Enderohepatic collapse.
-
The siskin is a beautiful little chap Robin. I do wish we had more of these colourful Europeans in New Zealand. And I love the hawfinch in the link you gave Mark. So smart, almost a military stance. Love his scientific name too. :)
-
Your dead redpoll Mark, could it not be the weather perhaps or even just the end of whatever lifespan a redpoll is allotted?
-
Does that mean I might pop my clogs in the pub Lesley? Way to go!!
-
Well, if the cap - or the clogs fit David. I guess having to be carried out dead would be even worse than just having to be carried out! Which, I hasten to add, has NEVER happened to me. ;D
-
But of course not!
-
This redpoll, Lesley, was on one of my troughs head under wing and dead. It was sick. I have never found a healthy bird that died due to old age - maybe not until now!
-
Maybe the parasitic trichomoniasis that affects greenfinches in particular Mark?
-
Ashley I've no greefinches unless they get it elsewhere
-
I was skiing today. I met 4 squirrels. One was bold enough to eat from my hands. :D
(http://cs311.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_fbb8db7a.jpg)
(http://cs311.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_c7052092.jpg)
(http://cs311.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_4be821c0.jpg)
-
Others were happy to eat nuts from manger.
(http://cs311.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_3f70623f.jpg)
(http://cs311.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_cb404f65.jpg)
(http://cs311.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_18af81d2.jpg)
-
The squirrels look beautiful.
There is a famous wildlife presenter Kate Humble, who fed some red squirrels by hand, and ended up with fleas, so I hope that didn't happen to you!
-
Your reds are grey Olga!
-
Olga,
marvelous pictures of a neat looking red squirrel. 8)
-
Fantastic pictures Olga, lovely to see them so close!
-
Are you sure Anthony that they are grey squirrels?
-
They are Red Squirrels. The give-away are the ear tufts. To quote my Handbook on Mammals "ears in Winter with a conspicuous tuft". Grey Squirrels don't have this. Red Squirrels can also show large amounts of grey in Winter. I am not familiar with Russian Red Squirrels and possibly they show more grey than our native Scottish ones. I don't even know if you get Grey Squirrels in Russia. They are an excellant set of pictures
-
Maybe Anthony is playing because they aren't as red as we might see them
-
They are obviously red squirrels Mark, from the ear tufts, but as I said, they are very grey in colour.
-
Really cute photos of the red squirrel Olga - I love the ones in the snow with those gorgeous tufted ears and whiskers. Here the red squirrels are almost black with a red undercoat.
-
Armin, this is the bird I saw fleetingly a few times and I have posted more photos on 'Capturing moments' thread as they are moving shots and not very sharp...from a search on the web it seems it is an Alpine Accentor - what do you think?
-
Robin,
your ID seems to be correct. I have to admit I never saw myself an "Alpenbraunelle". It is not available here.
A beautiful bird. I'll read & view your other pictures, too. ;)
-
Delightful pictures of the beautiful red squirrels. What a fine photographer you are Olga. :D
-
Dear friends,
Thank you very much! :-* I just want to share my pleasure. It’s wonderful when small wild animal trust you, eat from your hands and show you its life!
Today I met 9 squirrels…
(http://cs311.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_17697291.jpg)
Go away from my food! :D
(http://cs311.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_f2882899.jpg)
(http://cs311.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_277deeee.jpg)
(http://cs311.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_185496e3.jpg)
(http://cs311.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_bef932f7.jpg)
-
My today's ski-way
(http://cs311.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_0e6236e9.jpg)
Woodpecker
(http://cs311.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/97713647/x_3f004e54.jpg)
-
So lovely pictures Olga ::)....
-
and ended up with fleas, so I hope that didn't happen to you!
No. :)
But fleas are not the worse that could happen in my life. :D The pleasure of watching this optimistic animal justifies a little risk.
-
The red squirrel in the snow is magic - each soft tuft of hair is so clear and the playful spattering of snow on its face is delightful 8)
-
Alpine Ibex in the snow today only a few metres away looking me in the eye :D
-
great shot Robin
-
Great horns.
-
Robin
you are lucky meeting the Ibex! Great shoot!
-
How wonderful to have such animals living so close to home. Super shot Robin. Thanks for showing us. Nearest I could get to that is the neighbour's cow!
-
This one could have been in the wildlife thread:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=4822.msg136424#msg136424 (http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=4822.msg136424#msg136424)
-
Robin
you are lucky meeting the Ibex! Great shoot!
Thanks Mark, Olga & Lesley, it was such an exciting encounter meeting the Ibex as normally they would be higher up but have come down for food. Apparently each of the ridges on their horns represents a seasons growth, like rings on a tree, and that makes this heavy weight male about 16 :D
Also I have read on the web that they are using the Alpine Ibex to give clues to climate change as within each year of growth they can find out how much moisture there was in the Alpine meadows - reading rather like core samples of ice 8)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091210000849.htm
-
Great shot RR, I can almost smell goat from here!! :o :D
-
Gee, January lasts a long time in the Northern Hemisphere!! ;D
Great pics, everyone. I can't say I've caught up with all of those I've missed over the last few weeks, but the few I've seen were excellent. I've still only managed to catch up with maybe a dozen topics from while I was too busy to get here....... and my work week starts again tomorrow so I'm definitely never going to catch up. :o
-
Great shot RR, I can almost smell goat from here!! :o :D
It was a powerful smell, Hristo, and a really earthy coat - so I almost walked past it the first time - but Jazzy caught a whiff and the Ibex looked up at her from where it was grazing below in the scrub.... before it wandered off :D
-
Magnificent images of a beautiful creature, Robin.
-
Cliff, so good to share these images with everyone..... I seem to have been just in the right place at the right time - with my camera :D
I also saw this beautiful Chamois 8)
(The last image is processed to show the face more clearly as the lighting was such high contrast)
-
That really is a "pretty" creature isn't it. Very feminine looking. 8)
-
Paul, although both sexes have curved horns I do think this is a female because it is 'pretty' (not heavily built) but I was surprised to see it on it's own...maybe others were close by?
This is a link to Alpine Chamois sparring on the mountainside - they are very agile:
http://www.arkive.org/chamois/rupicapra-rupicapra/video-ru12.html
-
Paul T: thanks for the note.... yes, it is high time this thread turned to the correct month!
Robin: Charming shots of the alpine critters.... I'm astonhished that as you are out walking with Jazzy they do not make off well before you get within sight of them.
-
Maggi,
;D ;D
You could have just changed it to "Early 2010" or something like that, and left it as one topic. ;)
See what happens when I'm absent? Everything goes to pot. :o :o
:P
-
Maggi,
;D ;D
You could have just changed it to "Early 2010" or something like that, and left it as one topic. ;)
See what happens when I'm absent? Everything goes to pot. :o :o
:P
I know.... you need to keep dropping in, if only briefly, to hold the whole jing-bang together! ;D
M
-
Robin: Charming shots of the alpine critters.... I'm astonhished that as you are out walking with Jazzy they do not make off well before you get within sight of them.
Maggi, shadows in the forest - slow moving and quiet as can be - both of us ;)
-
Maggi, shadows in the forest - slow moving and quiet as can be - both of us ;)
Sounds very poetic - shadows in the forest, have a lovely picture in my mine of the two of you but can we have a real picture of Jazzy?
Do you know Robert Frost's poem Two look at two?
-
Can't resist pointing you to these two photos of Jazzy, Gail........
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3289.msg84654#msg84654
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3495.270
-
Thanks - she is lovely! We lost our Newfoundland over a year ago and I'm feeling dog deprived!
-
Gail, my deep sympathy to you, we've been dogless and it is awful. How pleased we are now to have Lily the westie ( starring in many bulb logs and most of Ian's Talks!)
Thanks for bringing up the Frost poem, here it is.....
Two Look at Two
Love and forgetting might have carried them
A little further up the mountain side
With night so near, but not much further up.
They must have halted soon in any case
With thoughts of a path back, how rough it was
With rock and washout, and unsafe in darkness;
When they were halted by a tumbled wall
With barbed-wire binding. They stood facing this,
Spending what onward impulse they still had
In One last look the way they must not go,
On up the failing path, where, if a stone
Or earthslide moved at night, it moved itself;
No footstep moved it. 'This is all,' they sighed,
Good-night to woods.' But not so; there was more.
A doe from round a spruce stood looking at them
Across the wall, as near the wall as they.
She saw them in their field, they her in hers.
The difficulty of seeing what stood still,
Like some up-ended boulder split in two,
Was in her clouded eyes; they saw no fear there.
She seemed to think that two thus they were safe.
Then, as if they were something that, though strange,
She could not trouble her mind with too long,
She sighed and passed unscared along the wall.
'This, then, is all. What more is there to ask?'
But no, not yet. A snort to bid them wait.
A buck from round the spruce stood looking at them
Across the wall as near the wall as they.
This was an antlered buck of lusty nostril,
Not the same doe come back into her place.
He viewed them quizzically with jerks of head,
As if to ask, 'Why don't you make some motion?
Or give some sign of life? Because you can't.
I doubt if you're as living as you look."
Thus till he had them almost feeling dared
To stretch a proffering hand -- and a spell-breaking.
Then he too passed unscared along the wall.
Two had seen two, whichever side you spoke from.
'This must be all.' It was all. Still they stood,
A great wave from it going over them,
As if the earth in one unlooked-for favour
Had made them certain earth returned their love.
Robert Frost
-
Gail & Maggi, I'm speechless and overwhelmed for two reasons: firstly that Gail has found some solace in our two by two encounters in the forest here after the great loss of her Newfoundland and secondly how Frost's poem 'Two look at Two', posted by Maggi, encapsulates the essence of the moment and the meaning flowing between Man and Nature so perfectly. Each walk is as our last as Jazzy is heading for 15 years and it heightens the experience enormously to be able to share these wild discoveries.
-
On dogs and their deaths: my dog, Sid, jumped out onto the road last Saturday week, nipped a passing jogger on the bottom and I took him(dog, not jogger) to the vet that evening. He is buried under a Magnolia 'Susan'. Horrible to put down a healthy animal but there was no choice; the next incident, and inevitable there would be one, could be far worse. He was a labrador/sheepdog cross, fiercely defensive of the house and garden and a perfect softie to the family and my ever-present companion in the garden. I don't think we will get a replacement dog.
Paddy
-
Aw, Paddy, what a terrible thing for you to have to do. I am very sorry for your loss.
-
He died for a good cause - trying to rid the world of joggers.
Paddy
-
He died for a good cause - trying to rid the world of joggers.
Paddy
Very true......a dog of some discrimination, obviously.
Funny things, joggers: round here there only seem to be two kinds.... those who are as overweight as I am and liable to peg out any moment from the stress of lugging their bulk at speed and those who are surely suffering some sort of opposite eating disorder..... so very little and skinny as to be frightening to look at, lest their spindly legs crack at the next stride...... there are no inbetween sizes.... only the extremes....makes me very suspicious, frankly.
-
So sorry Paddy - that is such a hard thing to have to do. Our dog was always wonderful with people except that he growled at vets - going to the vet was always stressful as I was terrified of him deciding to bite. Newfoundlands are such big dogs they could do an awful lot of damage!
-
Yes, Gail, but mostly only if they SIT on you! ;)
-
Paddy,
your grief and pains must be deep for the loss of your dog. Obviously there was an incalculable risk of hurting other persons - you have made a very responsible decision. You have my great respect for your tough but right decision.
-
Paddy, I'm so, so sorry for your unexpected loss and how brave you were in coming to your decision. The photo of Sid you posted recently in your garden was such a wonderful portrait of a faithful companion always close at hand, a dog so full of character..... but underneath every family pet there are wild instincts that can be triggered to protect their territory and every owner must accept responsibility for their pet's behaviour, however provoked or out of character.
How lucky Sid was to have had such a loving Master and happy life.
-
Gail, Newfoundlands are amazing dogs - we watched two grow up from puppies next door and become stars at swimming with their webbed paws. There are big Newfoundland dog get-togethers/shows here in Valais - competition for the St Bernard, I think :D
-
Paddy, sorry you had to part with your dog ,its sad to have to make that decision :'( Years ago we had a lab and the same time everyday this lady jogger passed our house which was out in the country so the dog picked up on any noise. I looked up and heard the lady pass by and then I heard a lorry slam on its brakeson and the first thing I thought the dog was under the lorry but no he was hanging of the ladies joggers in the middle of the road. I remember thinking what would be better the dog under the lorry or the lady been bitten, she was screaming so loud. I took her into my house scared to look at her leg but luckily enough it was just grazed. I took the lady home and told her husband what had happened, luckily enough they were dog lovers and her husband said stupid woman the noise she makes when she runs would frighten any animal.
Never saw the lady again and poor Duke passed away peacefully with old age. Onto my third dog now but hes too old to chase a jogger.
Angie
-
Very sorry to hear it Paddy.
-
On the subject of joggers, There seem to be two types. The fit ones who overtake my car and disappear into the distance - obviously athletes - and the others I cannot understand. Mainly women of a certain age, dressed up in designer track suits - pardon me- shell suits always in pairs and doing a knock-kneed shuffle. I could walk faster ! One hand has a mobile phone and the other with a water container - no doubt with an isotonic drink in it. They would get more exercise walking up a steep hill. I don't understand the need for the water container. They are not going to die of thirst in their 30 minutes waddle. Athletes running fast in a 10,000 metres race do not need refreshment so why do they? It's probably the posy weekend supplements or "life style" magazines that advocate this. I feel a rant coming on so I will quit to spare you my thoughts on "life style gurus"
-
I think the action rather drastic. Dogs can be trained using an electric dog training collar. A neighbour just needed to use it once, admittedly to stop it chasing sheep, and the dog actively avoids sheep. The dog was fitted with the collar and then taken on a walk. It immediately went for the nearest sheep. A remote control gave the dog a shock, which, being an intelligent animal, it immediately associated with the behaviour.
-
A month or so ago a friend mentioned that he had spent some time unsuccessfully trying to open a drawer in a cupboard in his garden shed, today after a more determined effort he got it open and found a 'nest' behind it with the larvae still active. It is about 30cm long and 15cm wide Can anyone identify the insect concerned?
-
On the subject of joggers, There seem to be two types. The fit ones who overtake my car and disappear into the distance - obviously athletes - and the others I cannot understand. Mainly women of a certain age, dressed up in designer track suits - pardon me- shell suits always in pairs and doing a knock-kneed shuffle. I could walk faster ! One hand has a mobile phone and the other with a water container - no doubt with an isotonic drink in it. They would get more exercise walking up a steep hill. I don't understand the need for the water container. They are not going to die of thirst in their 30 minutes waddle. Athletes running fast in a 10,000 metres race do not need refreshment so why do they? It's probably the posy weekend supplements or "life style" magazines that advocate this. I feel a rant coming on so I will quit to spare you my thoughts on "life style gurus"
A third sort has just lumbered past in the fading light. The ancient, knackered man/woman (impossible to tell) in high visibility jacket in need of new hips and knees who look like an escapee from the local rest home. At least they were heading in the direction of the hospital.
-
Do you have a tighter shot of a grub? They look like wasps of some sort
-
The last time I saw that sort of thing was when I was rearing wax moths Galleria mellonella to feed geckos.
-
Do you have a tighter shot of a grub? They look like wasps of some sort
Thankyou Mark and Anthony for your suggestions, this is the best that I can do for a close up.
-
Looks like a member of the family Tineidae, which includes the corn moth (Nemapogon granella) and the tapestry moth (Trichophaga tapetzella).
-
Yummy! :P
-
Yep, just stick 'em in a box and send to me. Any pupae I'd hatch and identify. The rest would make excellent gecko food for my "super hypo carrot-tailed baldy" leopard geckos (should be a pair but looking increasingly like two females).
-
Despite the continued sub-zero temperatures (-23C this morning), the following were noted in the garden yesterday: Fieldfare (1), Siskins (10), Yellowhammer (10), Bullfinch (2), Greenfinch (10), Nuthatch (1), Hawfinch (1), Great Tit, Blue Tit and I was surprised to see a Robin nearby.
In a milder period last week the first migrants arrived in a few places nearby (Starlings) - they were in for a temperature shock...
-
Yummy! :P
Now I have a dilemma, do I send them to be eaten by a lady in Yorkshire with adventurous culinary tastes or to a leopard gecko of uncertain gender in Scotland? Maybe I should encourage my friend to leave them where they are.......
-
Despite the continued sub-zero temperatures (-23C this morning), the following were noted in the garden yesterday: Fieldfare (1), Siskins (10), Yellowhammer (10), Bullfinch (2), Greenfinch (10), Nuthatch (1), Hawfinch (1), Great Tit, Blue Tit and I was surprised to see a Robin nearby.
In a milder period last week the first migrants arrived in a few places nearby (Starlings) - they were in for a temperature shock...
Stephen, what a lovely crowd - great birdsong I imagine. The Robin's here are much more timid than in the UK and have a more orange breast - I only see one in our garden :)
-
I could not deny a poor gecko its dinner. I will go without. :'(
-
;D
-
New species of bird found
http://www.nativebirds.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=10254 (http://www.nativebirds.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=10254)
-
New species of bird found
http://www.nativebirds.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=10254 (http://www.nativebirds.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=10254)
Cannot access this, Mark.... members only?
-
yes, I never thought. I'll ask if I can use the photo
-
samebody live in my garden, but it is too small for mole
(http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i76/arykana/IMG_5020.jpg)
-
I would say mole.
-
Beautiful winter day here in Malvik, currently -7C and forecast to reach the dizzy heights of -3C today! The fjord is full of small bits of ice released from the shore line as a result of a high tide (the fjord never freezes) and a week with temperatures below -20C (the first picture shows sea smoke over the fjord one very cold morning).
I then noticed something dark sitting on one of the ice floes. Immediately thought it could be a White-tailed Eagle which are quite common here although it looked too small, and through binoculars immediately saw that it was an otter which had caught a fish, taking advantage of this unusual fishing post! Sorry, I didn't have time to get closer for a better shot.... After finishing its meal it swam to shore below me, taking about 5-10 minutes.
-
What gorgeous views of the Fjord, Stephen, and watching the otter having breakfast must have been thrilling :)
-
An interesting week. On Tuesday we were down the coast when we spotted a few Bottlenosed Dolphins about 300 metres off shore. Within 5 minutes we had counted at least 40 and were treated to a display of aquabatics ( have I made up this word ?). I watched individuals and groups when I came across a small pod of 5 Risso's Dolphins travelling with them. We watched this display for about an hour until they disappeared south. Next, we got into the car and raced 5 miles south to pick them up again. By this time they were about 3km. out to sea heading leisurely towards the setting sun and Ailsa Craig, with Gannets wheeling overhead. Again, close to the shore, a pod of Harbour Porpoises were heading in the opposite direction. What I had not mentioned was that it was flat calm and sunny-warm even- if you can remember what that was like !! It was Cindy's birthday the day before and she thought that I had arranged this for her.
Today we went to Logan Gardens to check out the snowdrops and see what the winter had done. Our favourite Magnolia Sprengeri had died and been felled. It was like losing a friend and has left a hole in the garden. Feeling decidedly unchuffed, we went for a bit of bird watching at Corsewall Point and within 5 minutes, our Dolphins reappeared. They obviously like the Clyde Estuary - mammals of good taste ! They were passing close to the cliffs so I pulled out the camera and set off to get some photographs. Dolphins move much faster than me so they were 300 metres out to see before I got to the cliff edge. Some really poor pictures - see attached for a sample.
Anyway, it made up for an earlier disappointment. Again, today was sunny, calm and warm in the sunshine. Roll on Spring !
-
A great day for you, Tom! Congratulations to Cindy for her birthday on Monday and to you for today.... was there cake??! :-*
(I'm ignoring the lost magnolia...it's too sad)
-
Happy Birthday Tom-how are the knees doing?
-
I was treated to Senior Citizens lunch at Craigiemains garden centre at Ballantrae - Cream of Chicken soup and roll, Apple Pie and ice-cream and coffee for the sum of £5.95 each-she paid! As the cafe owners are farming stock, portions are large. We even noticed that the Ayrshire potatoes have been planted in the fields all down the coast.
I had set the oven timer for the roast beef to be ready when we got back at 6pm. Thankfully I had set the timer correctly and it was cooked.
Cindy got her birthday lunch at the Dunblane Bulb Show at the little restaurant in the main street run by Iranian immigrants. She also got her present of a silver brooch from Graham Stewarts. I was quite happy with the dolphins - not really, I had bought myself a banjo the week before !!!
-
Restaurant run by Iranian immigrants?
-
Tom, what a wonderful way to spend your birthday watching dolphins! Nothing can top that so just to wish many belated birthday greetings to you and your wife - the banjo is a great instrument do you write songs too?
-
The first bumblebee of the year was working the Crocus in the green house today. So much for me doing my own pollinating. She was also very dirty
-
Your bumblebee is in a state - and aren't those mites near her head?
-
yep. I dont think I have ever seen one that didnt have mites.
-
Wonderful pictures of your bumblebee, so clear.
Angie :)
-
Thanks Angie
-
a bit of a surprise this morning on looking out to see three mallards on my pond(only two in the picture) which is only 2 metres in diameter and has half a dozen goldfish and is mainly to encourage frogs and small birds into the garden.
I have spent the day making a duckhouse as this maybe an omen that I will be made a lord in the end of parliament dishonours list and I want to be prepared.
-
They're obviously in the mood and might nest in your garden. Are there two drakes and a duck?
-
yes but two were clearly a pair and the other was trying to but in. My garden is not large enough for them to nest in and they have moved on.
-
Good news bird fans
Swallows and sand martins have been seen in Italy and Spain :) :)
-
Anyone see the news this morning? Seems like the Japanese Knot Weed problem in the UK is going to be solved by introducing a species of psyllid, also from Japan, to combat it. I won't be holding my breath. ::)
-
Anyone see the news this morning? Seems like the Japanese Knot Weed problem in the UK is going to be solved by introducing a species of psyllid, also from Japan, to combat it. I won't be holding my breath. ::)
I think the worry is - what else will the psyllid attack?
-
For those, like me, who haven't heard of this insect
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_plant_louse (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_plant_louse)
I had heard a few weeks ago on TV this was going to happen. Surely a lot of insects cant suck the plants dry?
-
I think the worry is - what else will the psyllid attack?
Scary. I understand that the introduction programme is to include monitoring over 5 years for unforeseen consequences, but history (including that of Japanese knotweed itself, ironically) shows that serious environmental impacts can take far longer to become apparent.
-
Mark
Sand Martins and Northern Wheatears arrived last week in Dorset. Large groups of Red throated/Black throated/Great Northern Divers are in the Clyde estuary moving North. White Wagtails have also arrived and will be moving up the coast before heading off to Iceland. I will know that Spring has arrived when I hear my first Sandwich Tern.
-
I dont see sandwich terns very often and only when visiting people in Bangor - Co. Down. They take a short cut over the houses to and from the sea to their breeding places in Strangford Lough.
Two cock sparrows are trying to entice hen sparrows under the eaves of the house. I haven't had sparrows nest before now. Very interesting to sit in the sun watching them. They do their best to sing sitting outside the nest site they have chosen. When a females fly in to feed the males go in to a chirping frenzy and if she joins him he dashes in to the nest site calling like baby sparrows.
-
I think the worry is - what else will the psyllid attack?
Scary. I understand that the introduction programme is to include monitoring over 5 years for unforeseen consequences, but history (including that of Japanese knotweed itself, ironically) shows that serious environmental impacts can take far longer to become apparent.
Introducing Cactoblastis cactorum to control Opuntia sp. worked in Australia, but it is not in the psyllid's best interests to eradicate its food source. Perhaps the idea is to reduce the plant's vigour making it more able to be controlled by other means? Psyllids are fairly specific in their food preferences, so I don't think they will attack other species of plant.
-
Mark,
a flock of ~35 Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus) arrived here yesterday. Amazing is their precise timing of arrival (every year 2nd week of March) but this year it is still frosty and fields are partly snow covered. I don't know how they can find food in the frozen ground. :-\
Usually they take a rest for 1-2 weeks on some fields to perform the courtship display until they distribute afterwards...
-
First Lapwings also in Central Norway this week, also dead on schedule. Should see my first in a couple of days if this mild weather keeps up (+4C today) together with the first Oystercatchers.
http://www.artportalen.se/fennoscandia_birds.asp?speciesid=297&year=2010&month=3 (http://www.artportalen.se/fennoscandia_birds.asp?speciesid=297&year=2010&month=3)
-
Stephen,
amazing the record from Finland, so far north :o
-
Yes, I saw that one too - possibly a mistake - can't be much food to find for a Lapwing in inland Finland at this time of year, still well below zero in that location...
-
This chap was looking very smart today.
-
Nothing displays as good as a male lapwing. I saw a male buzzard displaying today and two ravens tumbling.
redpolls, siskins and goldfinches now gone
My canary is singing louder every day.
-
A nice shot of a cute robin, Michael!
-
^^Not sure if that´s an error, lapwings have reached Southern Finland at least. Last year the first lapwing in Oulu (Northern Finland) was found third of March.
-
PK, amazing anyway!
BTW what is your name?
-
Hi, PK, great to have you join us..... hope the coming season is a good one for the birds and the flowers with you!
-
Welcome PK, hoping to see some plants from Finland :)
-
Thank you, I noticed many of you use your real names, so I fixed my account. The spring is coming here also, eventhough temperature stays below zero in forecasts.
-
Panu,
welcome to the forum. :) Which plants are your favourites?
-
Probably something that doesn´t thrive here ;) Rock gardening is quite new to me, so maybe I need to kill some plants first and decide whether I like them or not. If I have to choose something, maybe Androsace spp. and Colchicum spp. But that´s enough about me in this topic ;)
-
Panu,
fine, you have selected families with large numbers of species! Great for builting up collections in rock gardens.
The forum is excellent media for learning and information exchange. The more you study the more you will like it! :D
-
has anybody seen any frogs in their pond so far this year? Normally mine is a heaving mass of them by now?
-
Any frog in my pond would still need an ice axe :P Ice still several inches thick.
-
Despite our warm temperatures the troughs in the back garden, that will not get direct sun for a couple of months, are frozen solid.
-
Not easy to shoot through double glazing but my wife shot this one at the weekend in the Borders.
-
...............my wife shot this one at the weekend in the Borders.
Cruel woman :P ;D
-
Cruel woman :P ;D
Oh you've met her then? :-X
-
...............my wife shot this one at the weekend in the Borders.
Cruel woman :P ;D
Not only cruel, but foolhardy, given the price of double glazing! ;)
Lovely picture, Fred, thanks to Mrs Fred!
-
Any frog in my pond would still need an ice axe :P Ice still several inches thick.
I am pleased to say that my first couple have arrived overnight and are happily clasped together,if that's what frogs experience, in the pond. Last year I had seventy pairs ,so still a way to go.
-
Not easy to shoot through double glazing but my wife shot this one at the weekend in the Borders.
What a fabulous shot of the tree creeper, congratulations to your wife Fred :)
I wonder what it found to eat hiding in the moss?