Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: Anthony Darby on May 02, 2014, 12:59:18 PM
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Had a trip to Tiritiri Matangi island (two ferries each way) for the release of 150 wetapunga, bred at Auckland Zoo. The last wild population was found on Little Barrier Island. Now it has been reintroduced to more of the Hauraki Gulf Islands. Formerly distributed over much of the north of the North Island of New Zealand, introduced cats, rats, mice, possums, weasels, stoats and other vermin have wiped them out, and much of the bird life people go to Tiri to see. I saw for the first time bell birds, saddlebacks, stitch birds, North Island robins, white heads, kaka, takahe, and kakariki. I missed out on kokako, kiwi, rifleman, little blue penguin, northern mutton bird and the tuatara.
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More from Tiri.
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Yes a wonderful place. I'd love to hear the dawn chorus there, though not possible for day visitors.
Unfortunately we missed the wetapunga but later met another big 'un, in my daughter's shoe :o one morning at a campsite near Wellington.
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Nice selection of birds
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Yes a wonderful place. I'd love to hear the dawn chorus there, though not possible for day visitors.
The singing during the day is amazing. Seeing and hearing half a dozen bell birds and a similar number of stitch birds plus the odd pair of saddlebacks in the same small area at once is a joy.
Unfortunately we missed the wetapunga but later met another big 'un, in my daughter's shoe :o one morning at a campsite near Wellington.
The Wellington tree weta, like the Auckland version, are large enough. Bigger than anything I've come across in Europe.
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Garden full of bird activity today.
First Swift of the year over the house. Singing Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Great Tit, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Dunnock, Robin, Wren, Swallow and Goldcrest. Also the first brood of Robins have just left the nest box; the Spotty youngsters have scattered to all corners of the garden.
Local Buzzards have a nest only 300m from our back door, the female makes a real racket calling for her mate. Ravens also regularly flying over the house -they and the Buzzards both run the gauntlet of the local Carrion Crows. 15 years ago the Buzzards and Ravens were real Fife rarities and now they are regular over the garden.
Unfortunately there are losers as well as winners as we no longer have roding Woodcock or Green Woodpeckers in the woods behind us whilst Spotted Flycatchers and Cuckoo have also disappeared.
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If you have five minutes to spare, here is my daughter Lucy's (she's the one with the walking poles) school Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award tramp. The Auckland cave weta seen in one of the old gold mines can be 355 mm from the tip of their antennae to the tip of their hind legs. Botany Downs Secondary College Duke of Edinburgh (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcXmxGWW4ds#ws)
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Unfortunately some people should not be in positions where they can destroy the environment: https://www.facebook.com/greenpeace.nz/photos/a.417987320774.213959.11870725774/10152427688100775/?type=1&theater (https://www.facebook.com/greenpeace.nz/photos/a.417987320774.213959.11870725774/10152427688100775/?type=1&theater)
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I've got wasps in my greenhouse. Big ones. Looks like they're settling in. Any recommendations about how to get rid of them? Quite worried....
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Can you see where the nest is? Poison is best used at dusk when they've settled down for the night.
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I don't think they've got properly started yet Gary but they're in one of the joins it's a cedar greenhouse... Guess I'd better get the stuff... Don't like this sort of thing but I'm afraid I won't be able to go into the greenhouse unless I do something fast...
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As a first move, Christine - a rag dipped in Citrus oil, eucalyptus oil or some other essential plant oil, tied in the glasshouse will probably put the wasps off enough to let you in the greenhouse. Cut lemons studded with cloves are said to deter them as well.
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I read on the net that if you crush them they set off a scent that attracts mates who come to their rescue so I'm dissuaded from doing that. Have killed two more this afternoon with my electronic tennis racquet thingy mostly used on flies in the house but I took the remains outside. If I get more I've created a honey trap out of a bottle but I'll also do as you say Maggi. No sign of any sort of nest inside the greenhouse yet, maybe they've just been coming in to get the wood they need to build it elsewhere but there are quite a few buzzing around outside. I'm getting a lot of bumble bees around as well but I'm very happy to see them and don't want to harm them using chemicals on the wasps...
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Chris:
Best to approach in the evening. They do release a scent when attacked that will rile up any others near by.
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This works quite well: http://www.waspbane.com/ (http://www.waspbane.com/)
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........................Cut lemons studded with cloves are said to deter them as well.
What if they're gourmet wasps? :P Sorry Chris, I know it's no joke. I think they are looking for nesting sites and if you try the remedies suggested they'll go where they are made more welcome.
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Whatever you do, don't do what I did as a bairn, poke with a stick then run.....
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I used to use a jam jar with an inch of watery strawberry jam in the bottom and a pencil thick hole in the lid. At least wasps die out in the winter in the northern hemisphere. Introduced European wasps don't in New Zealand and nests can be huge. The largest wasp nest ever recorded was found on a farm at Waimaukau, New Zealand, in April 1963. Despite being composed of wood scrapings mashed up with saliva into a papier-mâché like substance, it was so heavy that it had fallen from the tree in which it had been hanging onto the ground, where it had then split into two. When whole, it measured 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in) long, and was 1.75 m (5.25 ft) in diameter and approximately 5.5 m (18 ft) in circumference. It had probably been constructed by introduced German wasps (Vespula germanica).
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I think, like Anthony has said, the wasps are coming to your greenhouse to chew wood to make their nest/s. So many queen wasps in the garden this year. Large numbers have survived the mild winter. This august will be a bad wasp month
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I think you are right Mark. They are really big much bigger than the ones we see in late summer. I've managed to dispose of 5 so far as I'm not taking any chances. They do seem a lot less active than normal wasps in terms of how much flying they do and I have found some outside that have died without my intervention.
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Ant on flowers Coptis trifolia.
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Went to Belmont near Faversham, Kent today and saw this huge snail on the lawn - 8cms long.
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L'escargot on the loose!
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Helix pomatia, the Roman snail.
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He's lost then if he's in Kent - or he is following the roman army back home?
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He's lost then if he's in Kent - or he is following the roman army back home?
The last lonely survivor of the lost IXth Legion?
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This is what Wiki says: "Great Britain: in the west and south of England in southern areas on chalk soils. Its common name in the UK is "Roman snail" because it was introduced to the island by the Romans during the Roman period (AD 43–410). In England only (not the rest of the UK), the Roman snail is a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, making it illegal to kill, injure, collect or sell these snails.
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.............................In England only (not the rest of the UK), the Roman snail is a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, making it illegal to kill, injure, collect or sell these snails.
Ah, but do the snails know that? :-X
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This one clearly did, otherwise it wouldn't have been a roamin' snail.
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Not exactly wildlife - but an animal safety issue- if you've ever thought the fad for "skylanterns" that seems so rife these days was at BEST a really DAFT idea, here is the proof:
"A sky lantern landed on horse's rug in field which then set on fire Picture is off Facebook "
These damn lanterns should be banned Look at the state of this poor horse- badly burned and in great pain
[attachimg=1]
Edit: Hmm, this photo might not be all it seems to be - this report shows what seems to be the same animal- deliberately set fire in the USA - http://www.nbc4i.com/story/20748455/burned-horse-northstar-improving-at-osu (http://www.nbc4i.com/story/20748455/burned-horse-northstar-improving-at-osu) - which is even worse - so many cruel and idiotic halfwits about - even so , the sky lantern is still an accident waiting to happen and I do believe should be proscribed.
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I visited a relative near Dumfires recently. His house is on an elevated site with the living quarters at first floor level. Last year for the first time in the 26 years he has lived there crows are crashing into his windows. The same is happening again this year.
It would seem reasonable to suggest that as this is only happening in the breeding season that they are seeing their reflections in the windows and trying to attack what they assume to be a rival. This happens at an unearthly hour in the morning with the consequent rude awakening of the occupants of the household. The glass is scratched and sometimes splattered with blood, but the birds survive another day to take up the attack again. The windows are now festooned externally with Christmas decorations, CD’s etc. to discourage them.
Can anyone offer an explanation as to why this has only started to happen after 26 years?
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It could be that crows are now becoming tame and unafraid of people. When I started bird watching in the 1950's, you could not get within one hundred yards of a crow before it flew off. Now I have had one perched on my car's wing mirror eyeing me up as I was eating a bag of chips. They are starting to nest in suburban and even town locations so they are in our locality almost all year round. We have pigeons regularly flying into our back window when something spooks them.
For the crows it is more likely that they have seen their own reflection in the window, mistaken this for another bird encroaching in their territory and fly towards it to warn it off.
Being a reflection, this "bird" will not back off and mirrors the aggression of the attacking bird by apparently speeding up towards it. This will be taken as a threat and a challenge. By this time the crow will be so fixated that it will be in full fight mode and prepared for attack.
BANG... it hits the window at full speed and ouch! Whether it will learn it's lesson who knows as the hormones are churning at this time of year. I would suspect that the crow has a nest in close vicinity to the house, something that would only have happened since crows are now left alone in towns
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Thank you for your input, Tom, and fair comment. I guess it can be said that other wildlife is becoming less afraid of people. In my childhood for instance there were no such things as urban foxes or badgers, which are commonplace nowadays. Even deer, otters and peregrines are to be found in cities. (The location I referred to was on the outer edge of a village) The only 'invasion' I can think of was blue tits stealing cream from milk bottles in those long ago days of doorstep deliveries!
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I was attacked by a crow about a fortnight ago. It swooped from behind and got me on the top of my head. It was very painful and shocking and my first thought was that I'd been mugged. When I turned round there was the crow squawking and very agitated. I also noticed two magpies on a nearby roof and so I guess they were threatening its young.
It was such a violent attack that I felt I should report it to someone, but who? Police and Council would not be interested. I ended up sending an email to the London Wildlife Trust but they didn't acknowledge it.
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My neighbour had 2 of his windows shattered last year by pheasants flying into them, once while I was just a few yards away. He has lived there for very many years without previous problems. When I checked it out it appeared he was leaving the curtains and any internal doors open so that it was possible to see right through the building front to back, and maybe the birds thought they could fly right through the building. Since closing at least one so the sight-line was stopped he has had no further problems. Might or might not be a coincidence of course but worth checking.
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Crows and magpies have become quite a pest over here. It must have been extremely scary to be attacked by one, Margaret. A bit like that Hitchcock film 'The Birds'...
Alas, I have a death to report. The first time ever that I've been lucky to have a snake in my garden it is a dead baby Natrix natrix lying near my compost heap (which my husband moved recently). It is only about 15 cm long. It is very early in the year for snake babies, I think. And there are no ponds or wetlands around - which they love. A strange thing.
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It will be one of last year's babies.
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That would explain it.
I thought that maybe this year's exceptionally warm winter and spring led to a different life cycle.
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A couple of weeks ago I found a torn nest on the ground in the wood near the garden. Last week I found an almost identical nest on the ground in the ponies'pasture but it was intact. The local crows and magpies are very hard on the little birds just now. It is beautifully constructed, decorated with moss and lichen and warmly lined with 'Hamish' hair.
Hamish
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How beautiful! Do you know who constructed it?
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Long tailed tits build a spherical nest with a small entrance, but these look more cup-shaped.
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It would be interesting to know how the nest was originally oriented. It looks as if the entrance might have been sideways.
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Then long-tailed tit. http://ibc.lynxeds.com/photo/long-tailed-tit-aegithalos-caudatus/nest-found-gorse-bush (http://ibc.lynxeds.com/photo/long-tailed-tit-aegithalos-caudatus/nest-found-gorse-bush)
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Extraordinary. As exquisite as the birds themselves.
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A couple of moths from the moth trap yesterday. Peach Blossom and Eyed Hawkmoth.
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I think the nest would have been upright. Blue tit, Great tit and Coal tit nests I have found have been in holes in buildings. I do not know if they nest in the open on trees. We used to have an old Ferguson Potato digger lying around in the wood where the ponies live. It had a tool box as part of the cast iron frame. It had a small hole at one end. A blue tit nested there for 2 or 3 years.
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A friend had a beautiful long tailed tit nest in her Ceanothus arboreus last year. It was right by her french doors. Sadly the fledglings were spotted by magpies and, despite her best efforts, the inevitable happened.
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A couple of moths from the moth trap yesterday. Peach Blossom and Eyed Hawkmoth.
Used to see the former, but the latter has never made it as far as Scotland.
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I'd say its a chaffinch nest. Always beautifully decorated on the outside
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non breeding / banger swifts at my house yesterday evening
http://youtu.be/HJWx-PgrGO4 (http://youtu.be/HJWx-PgrGO4)
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Yes I agree, a Chaffinch nest.
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Before May draws to a close, I thought that I'd post a few birds pictures from a trip to Mallorca at the beginning of the month whilst they are just about topical. There are flower pictures also but I'm still working my way through identifiying those. ;)
It wasn't meant to be a bird photography trip, but these seemed to be in the camera when I returned, can't think how that happened.... ::)
Audouin's Gull - they're internationally rare, but Porto Pollensa was crawling with them.
Black-winged Stilt - at S'Albufera reserve.
Blue Rock Thrush - a bit distant but I was pleased to get a good view.
Common Tern - also at S'Albufera.
Greefinch - I don't think that I've seen one as confiding as this, normally they're in the top of a tree.
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A few more.
Hoopoe - these were really tame, happily feeding at the edge of a golf course whilst people walked past.
Kentish Plover - I always think they're a long way from Kent when I see them!
Little Egret = also at S'Albufera
Osprey - shame about the perch!
Red-legged Partridge - another bird that was tame/stupid and let me stalk him. He'll be in someone's cooking pot before before the end of the year.
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Finally an endemic bird: Spotted Flycatcher. Yes I know we get them over here, but this is the Balearic race with whiter throat and underparts. A new 'tick' for me. :D
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Quite a selection from a flower trip, Peter!
This photo was tweeted by the RHS (yes, the RHS) but, as is often the case with the twitter restrictions, there was no mention of the subject - who can help with the name of this little bird family ?
[attachimg=1]
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It wasn't even a flower trip, just 'R+R'. :-X
As to your mystery bird - where's the clue? Apparently 'there's always a clue'! A hint of geographic location would be nice, a continent perhaps, otherwise I'd have to say it it's not any European bird I recognise. If so, that rules out about 700 or so of 9,721 species. ;)
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Disappointed when I got up early yesterday. One of the local wood pigeons was sitting sunbathing on one of my pots of semps so I opened the window to shoo it off only to see the jumbo jet of a heron taking off from my pond. It has had quite a few of the mature newts that were living happily in there as well as damaging some of my iris ensatas. But it's nature I guess.. Still sad....
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Could the mystery bird be a Spanish rufous bush robin?
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Nice images Peter!!!
Mallorca was my first foreign birding trip many years ago. I still remember watching an Eleonora's Falcon chasing a Crag Martin on the Formentor peninsula -the life/death chase lasted for about 5 minutes before the Martin made its escape.
The mystery bird isn't a Rufous Bushchat. Could it be a species of Asian Prinia?
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As to your mystery bird - where's the clue? Apparently 'there's always a clue'! A hint of geographic location would be nice, a continent perhaps, otherwise I'd have to say it it's not any European bird I recognise. If so, that rules out about 700 or so of 9,721 species. ;)
Exactly my point about Twitter - there is no ruddy clue - no namefor the bird, no location, with flowers there's no - all the talk between tweeters about how wonderful it is may hold true for the chance to post useless info but that's as far as it goes!
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Steve,
We saw Eleonora's falcons for the first time this year. It would have been the highlight of the day but I looked down (5-600 feet, straight down) at the Formentor lighthouse to see an ocean sunfish (Mola mola) basking on the surface. I thought at first it was a jellyfish until a passing shag gave me an idea of the size (about 1.5 metres across) and I saw the dorsal fin sticking up. One of those sights you see in a wildlife documentary but never expect to see with your own eyes. :o
I did try some photos but without success. I'm still struggling to get to grips with my Canon SX50 to get consistent results. Would much rather use the SLR, but the reach of the 1000mm equivalent lens would be hideously expensive on a 'proper' camera. :-\
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Gosh. Days like that don't happen often. 8)
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Wow Peter!!!
Seeing a Sunfish is indeed something special!
They're sometimes seen in the Hebridean Sea but never by me, though I have been luckier with another giant jellyfish-muncher.
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They're sometimes seen in the Hebridean Sea but never by me, though I have been luckier with another giant jellyfish-muncher.
You would then utter "struth a luth"!
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You would then utter "struth a luth"!
;D ;D ;D
Antipodean French?
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I take it you've seen a luth then, as they munch jellyfish? ;D
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I take it you've seen a luth then, as they munch jellyfish? ;D
I live within a few miles of the upper Firth of Forth. A number of years back I got a phone call from a friend (who worked with the MOD Police) to say that whilst patrolling the area upstream of Crombie they had spotted a large sea turtle. Unfortunately by the time I escaped work it was too dark to see anything. This did however start a chain of events .........
The story is here: http://safaritalk.net/topic/8383-in-search-of-a-leviathan/?hl=leatherbacks (http://safaritalk.net/topic/8383-in-search-of-a-leviathan/?hl=leatherbacks)
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Amazing trip. I stayed near the Asa Wright Centre in 2007, but was on a week's leaf cutting ant collecting trip so didn't get the chance to see any turtles. I did see a hawksbill egg laying in Jamaica in 1993. My sister in law's nephew (Brendan Godley) is big in turtles. He used to have an armed guard when he was working in Tobago. There they hacked the flippers off nesting females and left the vultures to peck at the still living turtles. He would find them still alive, minus their flippers and eyes. I think things have improved, but last year a young turtle conservationist was murdered in Costa Rica.
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This photo was tweeted by the RHS (yes, the RHS) but, as is often the case with the twitter restrictions, there was no mention of the subject - who can help with the name of this little bird family ?
(Attachment Link)
Google search by image is always helpful in such cases..
apparently, these are Golden headed Cisticola (Cisticola exilis). photo was taken by Iwan Tirtha in Jakarta, Indonesia
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I should have known this as I have seen a number of Iwan's Cisticola images on Flickr.
Cisticolas are the original WBBs (Wee Broon Burds)!
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Google search by image is always helpful in such cases..
apparently, these are Golden headed Cisticola (Cisticola exilis). photo was taken by Iwan Tirtha in Jakarta, Indonesia
Well done - I would never have guessed the RHS would be using a photo of a birds from Indonesia - I suspect someone just saw the photo and liked it! ::)
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Amazing trip. I stayed near the Asa Wright Centre in 2007, but was on a week's leaf cutting ant collecting trip so didn't get the chance to see any turtles. I did see a hawksbill egg laying in Jamaica in 1993. My sister in law's nephew (Brendan Godley) is big in turtles. He used to have an armed guard when he was working in Tobago. There they hacked the flippers off nesting females and left the vultures to peck at the still living turtles. He would find them still alive, minus their flippers and eyes. I think things have improved, but last year a young turtle conservationist was murdered in Costa Rica.
Damned hard life being a turtle it seems :'( >:(
Steve's story is greatly heartening, thank goodness.
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I should have known this as I have seen a number of Iwan's Cisticola images on Flickr.
Cisticolas are the original WBBs (Wee Broon Burds)!
I thought spurdies were the first WBJs (wee broon jobs)? ;D