Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: Hoy on January 02, 2012, 05:41:00 PM
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Who will save the stranded herrings?
(http://static.vg.no/uploaded/image/2012/1/2/sild_834.jpg)
http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/artikkel.php?artid=10042737
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Send them to the north of Sweden. They like fermented herring.
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Too many even for the delightful Holly. ???
I never noticed the Google Translate bar before. Very handy. :)
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I never noticed the Google Translate bar before. Very handy. :)
I've still to find said toolbar. Where's it hiding???
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I couldn't find it either. :-\
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I went to the link with Trond's amazing picture of stranded herrings to see WHY they were stranded and of course the article was in Norwegian, but there was some information about how to get a translation through the Google link - I think - and a button to push so I pushed it (on the top right of the page) and lo and behold, the article came up in English. :D
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Worked for me too ,Leslie.
Well it did yesterday but did not come up today. I tried clicking on More>> on the Google tool bar and found you can get 'translate' there.
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Tomorrow evening I'm giving a talk on birds. Does anyone have a book that give the literal translation of the latin name for these birds?
Bullfinch
Redpoll
Collared Dove
Stock dove
Jackdaw
Magpie
Robin
Long-tailed tit
Blackcap
Sedge warbler
Brambling
Siskin
Fieldfare
Redwing
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You've cut the time a bit short Mark!
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Tomorrow evening I'm giving a talk on birds. Does anyone have a book that give the literal translation of the latin name for these birds?
Bullfinch
Redpoll
Collared Dove
Stock dove
Jackdaw
Magpie
Robin
Long-tailed tit
Blackcap
Sedge warbler
Brambling
Siskin
Fieldfare
Redwing
Mark I have a book called 'Birds Their Latin Names Explained' By A.F. Gotch but I can't find it. It must be somewhere in the house. If I find it I will see what I can put together for you.
It's quite old now but still available. Check out Amazon. There's also one for Mammals and Reptiles.
Graham
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Try this for a start: http://sbpoley.home.xs4all.nl/ukrb/scientific_names.html
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well Yes Lesley.
The talk is on my winter 2012 list. The guy attending the club is down with the cold and I'm recovering from the cold with flu symptoms. Cough stopped, running nose stopped. I said I'll cover and they want this talk. I agreed while still poorly.
I dont think the lack of translations will be noticed.
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I saw my first live puriri moth (Aenetus virescens), New Zealand's largest. Alas, it was on TV on centre court at tonight's doubles match at the ASB Tennis Centre, Auckland. A nice ball boy carefully picked it up in a paper towel and carried it away. I hope it had a future?
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The springbok mantids grow really fast. Here is a sub-adult female on one of my tomatoes. Note the wing buds.
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Hard for me to tell what she's like as my entire screen has turned a bright lime-yellow. Why is that? What do I do about it?
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Hard for me to tell what she's like as my entire screen has turned a bright lime-yellow. Why is that? What do I do about it?
Lesley, first check that the fitting at the computer end of the monitor lead is firmly fixed in to the back of the computer. If it is do you have a friend near by with a computer who might let you plug your monitor into their computer? If your screen shows the same colour on another computer then it's odds on that your monitor is Kaput. I speak with no experience whatsoever so a post on the computer thread might bring a response from David Pilling who does know what he's talking about.
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Thanks David, for some common sense. I'll do that as soon as Roger is out of bed. He thinks it's probably caput but it's only a couple of years old and I'm not keen to get another right now. The yellow comes and goes for a few minutes at a time then back to normal.
As for the spilt tea, an aquaintance's wife, annoyed over something, threw her cup of coffee into his keyboard a while back. Proved expensive.
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Must have been Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee? ;D
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Lesley, it might not be the monitor but the cable connecting it to the computer that is causing the problem. Cables which are frequently plugged and unplugged , wound up tightly or kinked near the connectors often create a one colour/no colour effect. Try borrowing a known good one from someone before condemning the monitor. Cables are a lot cheaper than screens!!
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I spotted this moth on the window outside. It's a swan plant moth (Glyphodes onychinalis) with wings just under 10mm long. It's from Australia and was first seen in 1986. It is mainly found in Auckland and feeds on swan plant (Gomphocarpus) flowers. The other pic shows one of my emperor gum moth caterpillars now. Sorry about the grubby fingers. I'd been potting up some plants.
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Not sure if these qualify as wildlife or not, they only seemed to get irritated with each other.
I had to include the catkins, it'll not be long to spring now ;D
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Thank you for the notes and advice re my screen. I've taken everything apart and reconnected the leads firmly but the problem remains, still yellow but changing back to white/blue at intervals. I can live with it for now. Roger says it's because my screen is too bright but it is as it always has been and I can see everything clearly so I don't really want it changed. He couldn't see how to make it less bright anyway.
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Try some paint?
Sorry, I have no idea what it is, but can't you get an old screen somewhere? Here people throw away quite usable PC in containers because they've bought a new model. - if it is the screen and not the screen card inside the computer.
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So far today, all is well. And yes, I'd be able to get a second hand screen if need be, but I'm hoping the problem is fixed, whatever it was. I had to remove everything from the desk and pull it right out into the middle of the room yesterday because so much stuff had fallen down the back. At last something went down I really needed so couldn't put off any longer, the retrieval and cleanup involved. So much dust and dog hair, you wouldn't believe. Maybe all of that, once removed, solved the problem.
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This wasn't an experiment as I already knew the outcome. I have two large swan plants (Gomphocarpus sp) which are regularly visited by female monarchs. I caged one and left the other, which continues to be visited by female monarchs, as do the smaller plants I have. You will note that there is evidence of caterpillar eating on the uncaged plants but no caterpillars as they are taken by mantids and wasp of the genus Polistes (both immigrants). I have only ever had one caterpillar reach maturity uncaged! The caterpillars on the caged plant all hatched from wild laid eggs already on the plant before I put the cage over it. Birds leave the caterpillars alone, but the distasteful nature doesn't seem to affect insect predators.
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Will the caterpillars have enough to eat in the lower caged plant Anthony? From when I used to have a few I remember they ate masses of foliage and it was almost impossible to keep up the supply. Will you have to move them to another plant and cage that?
I think it was in the TV programme "North" the other night, a woman up there somewhere had a huge population of monarchs. She had a tree which seemed to have an orangey coloured centre. She shook it slightly and hundreds of monarchs flew out of the tree. They settled on her and the guy with her and just about everywhere.
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I will probably have to supplement their food. I have lots of smaller plants, and they will eat that climbing weed which is related.
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I understand that if their proper food runs out they can be kept going for a short time on pumpkin flesh but they don't really like it and I believe they don't pupate while on that.
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Is everyone in UK and Ireland watching Earthflight? Fabulous filming of storks, cranes and sand martins
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Yes
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..... and Svalbard hillsides coloured pink by Saxifraga oppositifolia... with skinny polar bears eating fluffy goslings..... :-X
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It would be too much to hope that the programme will be shown here, with our so-called "public" broadcaster now intent only on ratings and showing as much crap as possible (re-runs of "My Big Fat Gipsy Wedding" and other similar garbage), though I see Attenborough's "Frozen Planet" is to start after the weekend. Incredible!
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Lesley, Frozen Planet is great. But do you know they are cheating?
The birth of the icebears is in the zoo in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
But it does look great!
Enjoy, Lina.
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Thanks Lina, yes, our TV did say a week or two ago that the polar bear births were "faked" or rather in captivity, not in the wild. Understandably I guess and yes, I'll enjoy the programme very much.
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Nothing changes. My biology teacher, when I was at school, said the capture of the manatees is Attenborough's 'Zooquest' was filmed in his hotel's pool, at the bat cave he "hacked his way through the jungle" to get to is on a main road with a hotel opposite!
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Does it really matter,it must have been obvious given a bit of thought that some sequences would be subject to artistic license. People are so critical,and we get to see things that we would never be able to see ourselves. Enjoy it for what it is.
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I think it is almost impossible to film the confinement (can I say that of bears?) of polar bears in the wild. You can't prepare a den in adwance as the bears dig in anywhere in a huge snowdrift and you can't easily do it later with a bear inside either.
The labour and birth is the same anyway.
But I will still say it is cheating if they say it for something other than what it is.
..... and Svalbard hillsides coloured pink by Saxifraga oppositifolia... with skinny polar bears eating fluffy goslings..... :-X
I visited Svalbard once for a week but neither did I see saxes nor polar bears - this was in early May and all the land was still snowcovered. Had some nice snowmobile trips to different locations though and counted several reindeer. I also saw the very last musk oxen on the archipelago; they had died that winter.
I don't like snowmobiles when I meet them when skiing but they are very funny to drive!
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This butterfly was on the back door this afternoon and the temperature is +3c
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Tony the butterfly, small tortoiseshell, must have been disturbed while hibernating
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keep watching ....
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6tCtM8UEQv8#t=43s[/youtube]
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Mark
that is what I thought but how it managed the energy to fly about in such cold weather is what amazed me.
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Really nice ad Mark. Who wants "mild" cheese anyway? :D
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Send me some ounces of that Cheddar, please!
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Really nice ad Mark. Who wants "mild" cheese anyway? :D
Errrr..... I like a nice piece of Wensleydale....... :-[
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Really nice ad Mark. Who wants "mild" cheese anyway? :D
Errrr..... I like a nice piece of Wensleydale....... :-[
"I don't care how runny it is!" :o
I have a feeling this may degenerate into a "Cheese-shop" sketch very quickly!
;D
cheers
fermi
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I had a piece of Brie from the market last week, which literally dripped between my fingers as I ate it. Scrumptious. And I've found a new fetta (cow's milk though) made by Fonterra, our big dairy company, marketed in little packets and called "Creamy Fetta." I've been cutting off chunks and scoffing them any time through the day. It really is delicious.
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Well...I guess a really rip Brie can be classified as wildlife? :D :D :D
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Well...I guess a really rip Brie can be classified as wildlife? :D :D :D
Once in France I bought a really ripe cheese - cant remember which one but it was somewhat fluid) - and put it in my suitcase. When I got home I had to wash all my clothes several times. We had to throw he suitcase.
And the cheese? It was hung outside on the clothesline. I had it for myself but ate all of it! Very tasty ;D
The wildlife here was my family when they smelled the cheese :o
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I have a piece of a well developed blue veined cheese (a NZ var just sold, and for many, many years as "Blue Vein") which could walk out of the fridge any day soon. ;D
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I see woodpeckers here all the time but this is the first time I've photographed one. It flew away when I raised the camera but came back with a cone in its beak and as far as I could see stuck it in the dead tree to peck out the seeds.
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Portuguese "Mountain Cheese" is my new favourite after having it last May at my aunt's in Coimbra! A round cheese with a thick rind which you peel off the top to scoop out the soft, almost molten centre with chunks of bread!
Getting back to wildlife!- here's a little critter which was hiding in a rose bush
[attachthumb=1]
Some sort of brown preying mantis but not easy to photograph amongst the foliage.
cheers
fermi
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Hard to tell what's mantis and what's rose bush. ???
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I've been looking at Fermi's photo and thought the subject was the mantis' head it then suddenly dawned on me the subject included the brown twigs
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I've been looking at Fermi's photo and thought the subject was the mantis' head it then suddenly dawned on me the subject included the brown twigs
The brown twigs? surely there the rest of its body?
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Hard to tell what's mantis and what's rose bush. ???
The mantis is brown and in focus! Also, I should've mentioned it was hanging upside down ;D
cheers
fermi
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Yes PDJ I should have worded it better. I was thinking the twigs, the mantis' body and legs, didnt look like very much like rose stems
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Hard to tell what's mantis and what's rose bush. ???
The mantis is brown and in focus! Also, I should've mentioned it was hanging upside down ;D
cheers
fermi
I'm trying not to think about any of it........
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Well...I guess a really rip Brie can be classified as wildlife? :D :D :D
Why not? Cheesemaking depends on a bacterial process, even if the inoculation is a "cultured" one. Many years ago, my boss told a story about her cleaning lady (whose husband had spent time in the army in N. Africa). On being asked to clean out the fridge which contained a rather ripe cheese whose variety I can't remember, she came out with: "What on earth have you got in your fridge that smells like a mixture of camel s**t and army socks!"
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Last Sunday I was out on a gull chase and saw only Glaucous, Iceland and Ring-billed among the local population. A stunning little gull was found today - Ross's Gull
http://www.birdguides.com/iris/pictures.asp?mode=search&sp=61044&rty=0&r=1&v=0&off=171497 (http://www.birdguides.com/iris/pictures.asp?mode=search&sp=61044&rty=0&r=1&v=0&off=171497)
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"What on earth have you got in your fridge that smells like a mixture of camel s**t and army socks!"
When I stayed with someone in Australia, he gave me a chunk of cheese to sniff at. I sniffed, we looked at each other and together, said "dirty socks." ;D.
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A wildlife drama unfolded itself before my eyes at the RBGE today. A swan which must have taken off from the pond flew low in front of me and failed to make enough height to clear the roof of the Orchid & Cycad house next to the Palm house. The actual impact was out of my line of vision, but I heard the crash. Help was summoned, and staff turned up to examine the situation. We stood watching and after about 5 minutes, the stunned bird came round and proceeded to untangle itself from the supporting wires of the roof frame . I don’t think the glass was broken as the wires must have absorbed some of the impact. The swan leaned over the edge and I thought it was going to be trapped by its feet, but fortunately it came clear and crash landed on the grass. Although a little dazed, it seemed none the worse for the ordeal, though I did wonder whether it might have suffered wing damage until it eventually tested them by flexing them open and shut. It was last seen waddling back towards the pond.
I also saw a couple of goldcrests in my wanderings. The alpine house was looking colourful mainly with crocus, cyclamen and narcissus. There are still areas closed off waiting to be cleared from the damage caused by the recent gales.
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Hi Maureen
See you got to RBGE then. I am jealous. Glad the swan wasn't hurt, such a beautiful bird. Sometimes they fly across the road down from me and how they manage to miss the cars I do not know.
My garden is full of Robins and all they seem to do is chase each other all day. They must use so much energy up. I suppose it keeps them warm in these cold days.
Angie :)
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We have praying mantids all over the garden at the moment. The springbok mantis can be brown or green. Here are my emperor gum caterpillars now and a male moth that hatched this week from last year's cocoons. My cage of swan plant eventually produced 26 pupae, mostly attached to the roof of the cage. I'll release the butterflies when they emerge in a week or two.
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Anthony thats lovely pictures. You must be in your element over there with all those praying mantis. I think I would prefer to have them rather than mice. How warm is it there at the moment, looks nice and sunny.
Angie :)
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Anthony thats lovely pictures. You must be in your element over there with all those praying mantis. I think I would prefer to have them rather than mice. How warm is it there at the moment, looks nice and sunny.
Angie :)
Unusually cool for the time of year Angie. I think it would have struggled to reach 25oC today, even though it was sunny, and evenings are a cold 16oC. Eating our paella outside this evening should have been timed earlier - 6 o'clock, rather that 7! Lucy had goose pimples on her arm and it was only 7.50, by which time we were onto our fruit platter!
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Anthony thats lovely pictures. You must be in your element over there with all those praying mantis. I think I would prefer to have them rather than mice. How warm is it there at the moment, looks nice and sunny.
Angie :)
Unusually cool for the time of year Angie. I think it would have struggled to reach 25oC today, even though it was sunny, and evenings are a cold 16oC. Eating our paella outside this evening should have been timed earlier - 6 o'clock, rather that 7! Lucy had goose pimples on her arm and it was only 7.50, by which time we were onto our fruit platter!
Sounds good to me, not the goose pimples off course ;D. That's what I would like to be able to do, just sit out in a evening without a jumper on. I have been watching TV in the morning and people are trying a week in Australia or New Zealand it all looks so lovely. I wish I wasn't as so old as I am, I would be packing my suitcase otherwise.
Angie :)
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Some wonderfully welcome rain today here. Roger has been keeping an eye on the gauge and already we have 27mm and still falling.
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Mark,there is a snow white Blackbird (Turdus merula) visiting in a garden in Dublin, was on the 6 o'clock news tonight.
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once saw a pure white House Martin, the others were very aggressive & drove it way.
had a nice surprise this pm when I saw what I thought was a Siskin on my feeders but was a Redpoll.
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Saw this through the computer room window yesterday while I was reading the news.
Haven't seen her since last Summer and was sure someone had shot her.
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I love to see a good looking girl properly dressed for the snow ;D
She is a stunner... my local Fox would just love her..... he doesn't see many wild women so near the city! though I haven't seen him in a while :'(
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wow what a moth!
I've seen photos of the albino blackbird on bird forums - wow http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0126/blackbird.html (http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0126/blackbird.html) I believe it should be rescued and put in to a breeding proramme. Sooner than later a sparrowhawk will get it but fingers crossed ...
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forgot to add saw two Ravens again today, they've been regular visitors for the last year or so & luckily haven't been blasted out of the sky by game keepers, it is weird seeing them in Hertfordshire but someone was telling me recently they've been spreading quite fast for a few years like the Red Kites, birding friend in the village keeps missing them though I'm not sure how...
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Richard Ravens are recolonising large cities and towns. I see them most days. Last Sunday two were playing above my house
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they are amazing birds and it's great to see things like that making a come back.
I didn't realise until recently how much of a vocal range they have, some of the noises are very odd & the distance their voice carries is extraordinary.
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Ravens have always been here.
But it is some time since I saw the sea eagles ???
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Ravens here too but I am not sure that they have managed to breed successfully for the last two years.
I was interested to see today that the goldfinches that had been squeezed off the nyger seed feeders were attacking the Clematis tangutica seed heads with relish. I haven't seen them there earlier so maybe the seed takes time to ripen sufficiently??
Anglesey cooler again but no frost at our level.
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forgot to add saw two Ravens again today, they've been regular visitors for the last year or so & luckily haven't been blasted out of the sky by game keepers
Good grief! What misguided notion would cause "gamekeepers" to be shooting ravens?
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forgot to add saw two Ravens again today, they've been regular visitors for the last year or so & luckily haven't been blasted out of the sky by game keepers
Good grief! What misguided notion would cause "gamekeepers" to be shooting ravens?
They can fly and they're black. What other reason would a gamekeeper need? ::)
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Today woke up this morning to a hard frost but Robbie was happily singing away.
Angie :)
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What a cute picture,Angie. A robin appears twice a day when I put down Melita's bucket. She is a messy eater so there is always food for the robin and two crows which usually appear as well.
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so true Anthony and any bird with a hooked bill
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Sparrowhawk (i think??) waiting for dinner, photographed this morning as it sat on our rockery.
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Ravens have always been here.
But it is some time since I saw the sea eagles ???
White-tailed Eagles are acually commoner here than Ravens despite the fact that ravens are quite common inland from here! In fact there was an Eagle soaring above the house this morning when I got up, so that I could record it in today's national garden bird survey!
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Ravens have always been here.
But it is some time since I saw the sea eagles ???
White-tailed Eagles are acually commoner here than Ravens despite the fact that ravens are quite common inland from here! In fact there was an Eagle soaring above the house this morning when I got up, so that I could record it in today's national garden bird survey!
Eh....since when did soaring overhead make it a garden bird ??? ??? ??? ::) ::) ::)
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My goodness Angie, that robin's taking a great risk perching on a cat's ear! ;D
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My goodness Angie, that robin's taking a great risk perching on a cat's ear! ;D
Oh, now, it is pure calculation. When you sit on the cat you know where you have him. Much better than a sneaky cat behind you ;)
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My goodness Angie, that robin's taking a great risk perching on a cat's ear! ;D
Oh, now, it is pure calculation. When you sit on the cat you know where you have him. Much better than a sneaky cat behind you ;)
Yes, smart these Scottish robins, eh? 8) ;)
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Do cats have a sneaky behind? (Sorry Trond, I do know exactly what you mean. ;D)
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Eh....since when did soaring overhead make it a garden bird
Martin, does this mean that swifts soaring above my garden in summer are not garden birds? They're eating my garden insects! ;)
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Fascinating birds Ravens. A couple of weeks ago we were up the coast checking on a pair of Peregrines which nest there every year. They also have a pair of Ravens as neighbours. Three Ravens were in the air and one bird had a large feather in its bill. It would fly several hundred feet in the air and then drop it. As it fell it would watch it and then dive with closed wings and then pull out underneath and catch it. Then it would indulge in aerobatics and start the procedure again. We watched this for about 15 minutes. It was a juvenile bird and the other two were its parents. One of the adults gave a series of loud "cronks" and the young bird let go of the feather and joined them, No doubt it was told to stop mucking about and get to the roosting site.
We now have Ravens nesting in the town hall spire, on the roof of Culzean Castle and we now see them commonly round the countryside.
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Where is the Pets..cats..dogs.. etc thread? I've been back 10 pages in the General Forum to July 2011 and can't see it. I want to show you my new reticulated python. The Search button says "no results."
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Where is the Pets..cats..dogs.. etc thread? I've been back 10 pages in the General Forum to July 2011 and can't see it. I want to show you my new reticulated python. The Search button says "no results."
It's in the 'Members Board' area Lesley. About 18 threads down the list.
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Thanks very much Graham. I made the assumption it would be in the General Forum section. Silly me. I read in a Dick Francis book just yesterday of a policeman telling someone that the most pathetic words spoken by police when justifying a wrong decision re someone's guilt or otherwise, are "I assumed....."
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Eh....since when did soaring overhead make it a garden bird ??? ??? ??? ::) ::) ::)
Yes, I thought someone might pick up on that. My argument is that White-tailed Eagles very occasionally (when desperate) may go for domesticate animals. I don't have a cat myself and the neighbour's cat was in the garden, so I reckon that the thought crossed the mind of the eagle that that would be tasty, before flying down over the bay in a failed attempt at taking a fish. Definitely a garden bird I reckon!
One that will ruin the statistics was a flock of 450 Jackdaws that landed in the garden for a momentary rest on the way in to the roost just west of here...
This morning on the way in to work a Glaucous Gull flew over in the middle of Trondheim on the River Nid.
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Speaking of eagles: (from NRK)
(http://gfx.nrk.no/gz-QgV50cKJVBnGbnzV0qAZKqvtZMSOhTKPNeMGuF2pg.jpg)
You'll find more here:
http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/more_og_romsdal/1.7975439
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great photo
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My Crimea friend Ilia Turbanov works as a chasseur. Here are some of his shoots.
(http://cs304704.vk.com/u15634655/-14/y_64f380e6.jpg)
(http://cs304704.vk.com/u15634655/-14/y_f410cc56.jpg)
(http://cs304704.vk.com/u15634655/-14/y_90218a0e.jpg)
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Great photos - those wild boar look a little scary!
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Olga,
realy great photos from Ilja.
The hare ran for cover is marvelous.
Certainly a lot of time and patience necessary to make such beautiful shoots from wild animals.
Hoy,
a realy good photo series in the attached link. I know the white tailed eagles only from the books and movie documentations.
Must be phantastic to see so many majestic birds and photo shoot them in the wild.
Were they fed with carrion near the coast?
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Olga that last shot is stunning!! :o
would your friend mind me having a high res version? for my own use only.
walked around some of my Barn Owl nest box sites this eve, 3 owls seen and I've heard there are also owls at another site, hoping we will be up to 3 pairs this year.
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Hoy,
a realy good photo series in the attached link. I know the white tailed eagles only from the books and movie documentations.
Must be phantastic to see so many majestic birds and photo shoot them in the wild.
Were they fed with carrion near the coast?
Yes, I agree! They are really good! The pictures are taken quite a bit north of my place where there are more eagles, but it is not uncommon to see them here either. The most I have seen at the same time here is 5. But some years ago when I visited northern Norway I counted 15 eagles at the same place and that without bait. The lady who pictured these birds tells she counted 23 at the same time.
The pictures shown are from a place where they regularly put carions.
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Amazing pictures!
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Pine grosbeaks are a winter bird here, arriving in December and leaving in late February, and we have had an extraordinary number of them this year, gobbling up sunflower seeds at our feeders. I decided to have a go at getting them to come to my hand, not something I would ordinarily do, but we have had a mild January so I could stand still for a while with hand outstretched without fear of being frozen solid. Success !
These pictures were taken last weekend. Since then they are getting braver, approaching me for a handout even when I am away from the feeders.
Sharon
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What a privilege to have wild birds do this. Such beautiful little birds too.
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Some amazing wildlife pics. 8)
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Yes, I agree! They are really good! The pictures are taken quite a bit north of my place where there are more eagles, but it is not uncommon to see them here either. The most I have seen at the same time here is 5. But some years ago when I visited northern Norway I counted 15 eagles at the same place and that without bait. The lady who pictured these birds tells she counted 23 at the same time.
We have a really good on-line reporting system for birds here. I wondered what the largest observed flocks of White-tailed Eagles (Havørn) would be, so I looked it up. Within a minute I was able to generate this numerical list of the highest numbers of White-tails in Norway. The biggest "flock" was over 48 birds (estimated to 50)! Just imagine there being too many Eagles to count accurately! My personal record is also about 15 seen from a boattrip on the seabird island Runde.
Some of the biggest flocks you will see have been observed on the island of Smøla where a controversial wind farm has been built and many birds have sadly been killed.
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Pine grosbeaks are a winter bird here, arriving in December and leaving in late February, and we have had an extraordinary number of them this year, gobbling up sunflower seeds at our feeders. I decided to have a go at getting them to come to my hand, not something I would ordinarily do, but we have had a mild January so I could stand still for a while with hand outstretched without fear of being frozen solid. Success !
These pictures were taken last weekend. Since then they are getting braver, approaching me for a handout even when I am away from the feeders.
Sharon
Beyond exciting to have these wildlings come to you, Sharon. And what superb photos (tho' I expect nothing less from the Illingworths!)
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Lovely pictures of the Grosbeaks, and it's good to see wildlife that can be so trusting.
They must know that they are (literally) in good hands.
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Very nice Grosbeaks.
Bob Gordon over here used to have an assortment of birds follow him around his large garden. The tamest were Blue tits, Parus caerulea, Great tits, Parus major, and Chaffinches. Fringilla coelebs. The latter would flutter in front of his face if he didnt feed them. He alsways had seeds in his pockets. He doesnt have any tame ones these das
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A gull that should be on the Pacific coast of North America is here in N Ireland. How do those guys in to gulls know how to tell the 1st winter, 2nd winter and 3rd winter juveniles apart. Handy enough this one is darker than the rest.
[youtube]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thayer's_Gull[/youtube]