wildlife

[johnstephen29]

Yeah true, also over here people used to & maybe still do hare coursing, badger baiting, deer stalking, cock fighting & game keepers shooting birds of prey to protect there game birds & this country is supposed to be full of animal lovers? Anything like this go on over there Jamus?

[Anthony Darby]

The annual Aussie duck slaughter?

[johnstephen29]

Sounds like hell Anthony, for the poor duck anyway, men with guns?

[Anthony Darby]

Men with guns have just murdered a 185 year old alligator in the US which had Civil War pellets in its hide. 

[johnstephen29]

That's one old alligator, I know tortoise's could live to a ripe old age, but not alligators. Those men are nothing but savages. When you think about it man has a lot to answer for, all the plants and animals who have become extinct because of man, the dodo, thylacine, moa, great auk to name a few.

[Anthony Darby]

Quite so John. It was introduced pigs that did for the dodo, but the moa was hunted on an industrial scale. I have the bones of one leg, and the tarso-metatarsal shows evidence of cooking.

[mark smyth]

Men with guns have just murdered a 185 year old alligator in the US which had Civil War pellets in its hide. 

Such a waste! If they wanted to be brave why didn't they go in to the water to battle it!
http://worldnewsdailyreport.com/usa-hunters-find-bullets-from-american-civil-war-in-185-year-old-alligators-hide/

[Anthony Darby]

Not sure the story is exactly as they tell it, but the picture certainly shows one old gator.

[johnstephen29]

Talking of extinct animals have you heard about what the South Koreans are up to Anthony? A female wholly mammoth was found in Siberia, preserved in the permafrost with its blood still liquid, the Koreans are hoping to find some viable cells and impregnate a Indian elephant which is its closes living relative. In a few years if it is successful mammoths will be back then who knows what else.

[Anthony Darby]

Cool. As long as there are no Wildlings and White Walkers accompanying them. 

[johnstephen29]

What are they when there at home?

[RichardW]

Game of Thrones, don't really want to meet either 

Just back from Honduras, despite having the the highest murder rate per capita (even KFC have armed guards  ) it was a great trip & the Hummingbirds were a highlight.

[johnw]

This may be of interest to chimney swift fans out there.

http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/Shows/More+Shows/Land+and+Sea/

Birds at Risk will play at the above site at 4pm GMT tomorrow Sunday the 7th.  Hopefully I have the link right, you may have to tweak the date.

johnw

[brianw]

Entertaining lunchtime today.
From our kitchen we can see a conifer tree at the bottom of the garden of the largish house the opposite side of the road to us. It has a weepy top, not straight up, and often has a Red Kite perched along the top branch calling. Today I noticed movement nearer the main trunk. Unpacking a recent cheap purchase of a spotting scope from Lidl I could watch a Red Kite plucking its latest scavenge, for more than 20 minutes, before a group of Magpies chased it off, and then 2 Jackdaws took their turn. The Red Kite returned after ~10 minutes to the weeping branch and still with some of its meal. Must have flown off with some of it. The whole event took close to 40 minutes or so, before they all gave up. Never saw what they were eating.
I occasionally leave food out for the Kites, the odd road kill or dead rats from traps, but others leave all sorts of things good and bad for them.

[johnstephen29]

Red kites, Brian you lucky so & so, having said that the only birds of prey I can recognise are owls.