Wildlife January 2011

[Juan Fornes]

Olga, your last picture of the Nuthatch! Great!

[jomowi]

Unfortunately, we don't have nuthatches in NE Scotland, but one of my childhood memories when living in W. Wales was of our bird table.  We used to cut the crust off a whole loaf and put it upright on the bird table.  The nuthatches (and other birds) would eat their way in from the top, leaving the crust as a shell, and eventually disappear right inside!  It was comical to watch them disappear and then reappear when they had had their fill.  It must have been protected from the rain, as I don't remember it going soggy and collapsing.

[mark smyth]

Sadly no nuthatches here, too

Juan is that your greyhound?

[Juan Fornes]

Yes, Mark: this is my male spanish greyhound, "López".
I´m posting in your "Plant hunting in Mallorca" thread... Wow! Great pics!

[mark smyth]

Juan please show a photo of your dog here.

 edit  by Maggi : pix of Juan's canine family here : http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=6476.15

[Paul T]

Howdy All,

I just realised we still had the old topic (and it is just SO last year!!), so thought I would start a new one.....

Here's a few pics I took at the Zoo here in Canberra the other day....

The first is a native bird called the Buff Banded Rail (we get them locally apparently, although I have never seen them in the wild)

The next pic is of a white lion (we have a pride of 6 male white lions here at the zoo) eyeing off a duckling entree swimming in the moat.  

And the last 4 pics are of another Aussie native, a Tawny Frogmouth.  This one was hopping around on the ground, sitting in sun patches and I assume sunbathing, looking as much like a piece of fallen bark as I think it is possible for a bird to look like.    The turning the head down like it did was even more creepy, but it was definitely keeping an eye out at the same time.    When these are sitting in trees they put their head up and look just like a broken branch.  They perfectly camouflage into the wood and virtually disappear.  I've seen these a few times locally... they are just so cool. 

Enjoy.

[TC]

I came across this Little Egret while doing a goose count at Loch Ryan.  Although not a rare bird in Britain now, not many make it this far North - especially in Winter.  If the snow had still been about it would have been invisible.  Although it is a long time until Spring, there are signs already amongst the birdlife.  We watched Eiders, Wigeons and Goldeneyes starting to display and our garden Blue Tits have acquired their new pristine plumage.  Our garden Blackbird is already starting to get territorial with threat displays to any interlopers.  Roll on Spring- and some warmer weather !

[mark smyth]

Roll on Spring- and some warmer weather !

yes please especially the end of April when s-w-i-f-t-s come home

I saw a skein with about 30 geese this evening. Geese flying as the crows fly get further than man chasing them by car.

There's a snow goose in N Ireland http://nibirds.blogspot.com/

[Maggi Young]

The Little Egret is really smart.... what perfect plumage for this time of year.... you'd think it's look a bit tatty, wouldn't you?
Perhaps spring isn't so far away after all? 

[Maggi Young]

The other day when out with the dogs we were delighted to see a huge number of geese...  (actually in smaller groups close together but not a single skein, if you follow my meaning....)who flew over  us very low. Much lower than usual and it was terrific to  "feel" the fast speed they were  travelling at... those are speedy birds!

[Paddy Tobin]

Tom,

We are lucky here to have had egrets along the river for the past few years, all year round and breeding, and there have been spoonbills along the coast recently. Also, I saw a Water Rail, believe it or not, on the road  near the house recently.

More significantly, Bitterns were spotted on the south east coast in Co. Wexford. The Bittern has been extinct in Ireland for quite a long while and the last one seen in the country was shot here in a bog to the south of the town.

People of my age will be familiar with an Irish poem about the bittern which starts...

A bhonnán bhuí, is é mo léan do luí,
Is do chnámha sínte tar éis do ghrinn,
Is chan easba bidh ach díobháil dí
a d’fhág i do luí thú ar chúl do chinn….

In short, the poet is saddened to see the bittern, dead and concludes that it was not lack of food but lack of drink which was the cause. The poet was more than fond of drink. He was Cathal Buí Mac Ghiolla Ghunna. The "Buí" part of the name means, "yellow", a description of his skin colour, a result of his drinking.

Paddy

[TC]

Paddy
I think jaundice is a more proper translation for bui when drink plays a part !

I was counting Brent geese on Loch Ryan to report back to Wildfowl and Wetland Trusts people at Strangford Loch.  Some of the Irish population are now overwintering over here in increasing numbers.

Maggi was commenting on the speed of the geese she saw flying by.  Two years ago, a Barnacle Goose left Caerlaverock on the Solway Coast in the morning and was in Norway in the afternoon.  It picked up a strong tail wind and was clocked at speeds between 80/90mph. by satellite tracking.   Quicker than Ryanair and all that on 2Kg. of grass !!- ( not the smoking variety )

[Paddy Tobin]

"Jaundiced" would be the better word, indeed, Tom.

Amazing speeds for the geese.

Paddy

[mark smyth]

I was telling a well known N Irish ringer about having linnets in the garden for the first time and they are feeding at the nyger feeders. "Linnets dont feed in small gardens and havent been recorded feeding from seed dispensers"

Is anyone getting linnets are seed feeders?

I tried to get video footage today but my mother kept swearing and shouting because I asked her to keep quiet for a couple of minutes.

[mark smyth]

Yesterday I meant to ask the US forum members whats with the reports of flocks of birds and shoals of fish dying?