Wildlife August 2010

[Maggi Young]

Robin, you'd never know either of them were the age they are.... Lily is 11 and a half.... Poppy has just corrected me to tell you that she is nearly 13 and three quarters!

The difference from the wee chubby stiff old girls we got from the rehoming charity is tremendous. Both had not had enough excercise and were too hairy, too chubby
 (yes, I know, Lesley... pot, kettle, black!) and walked badly.... making us think at first that these were  poor arthriticky old g dears, but it turned out that they both had claws the length of Fu-Manchu's finger nails and so couldn't walk well because of that... once the claws were clipped there was an instant improvement and both were soon walking well.  They are full of fun and energy..... they play and rush about... Poppy cannot wait to find a new playmate when she's on her walks.... and dog she sees she is in a rush to go meet them to see if they want to play. Lily is a little more stand-offish... she's more interested in people .... they're more likely to share food!  It makes my day when someone asks how old they are then is surprised to hear that they are a pair of furry antiques really..... you wouldn't know to see 'em!  I'm obsessed with these wee dogs, can you tell?  

[Ragged Robin]

A great obsession Maggi, they do have us hook line and sinker!

Jazzy, now 16 and a quarter has me on tap unless she's asleep after a good walk in the park, a drink in the river and them a sniff incase there's wildlife on the breeze, a chew on her bed incase she wakes up and is hungry, and dinner has to be on time - fish skin is her speciality, so we are eating more fish!  'Get a life' I say to myself but 'that's life' 

[Maggi Young]

"Happiness is a warm puppy" said Charlie Brown.... I would add....Happiness is a warm puppy - no matter how old the "puppy" is!  

[annew]

Our next door neighbour bought a new pup recently, found their existing dog wouldn't stand for it, so the poor little thing is shut up outside all day while they are out at work. It cries and barks all the time, it's distressing to listen to it as I want to go and comfort it. It makes me so angry that people will get a dog then go out to work and treat it like a piece of furniture that doesn't need attention. To isolate a puppy like that is terribly cruel, it should have 'pack' companions.

[Maggi Young]

That treatment is not merely cruel, it is actual abuse, Anne and should be reported.

[PDJ]

The RSPCA would like to hear about this and I am sure they would keep the reporters identity a secret.

[annew]

I've listened to it's bark getting older-sounding over the last few weeks, and it seems to be giving in and giving up as it gets used to its incarceration. I guess that's what the owners wanted. Another set of neighbours bought 2 spaniel pups, then kept them caged indoors while they too went to work. I've never seen them outside. At least they had each other for company.

[annew]

On a happier note, I was stuffing weeds into a bag today and suddenly saw a pair of eyes look up at me. This little chap had to be rescued and given his own patch of (deadheaded) willowherb. It is an Elephant hawk moth caterpillar,  about 8cm long and 1.5cm thick.

[Anthony Darby]

Well spotted Anne.

Well, after seeing my first ever Scottish comma (Polygonia c-album) at Tentsmuir on Friday, I spotted one on the buddleja in the garden on Sunday. It didn't hang around to be photographed, but I spotted this smaller one on a buddleja half a mile up the hill by the Dykedale farm later on. In the 1920s this species was confined to the counties of Gloucester, Hereford and Monmouth, having been widespread in the 19th century. Since then it has spread, reaching Yorkshire in the 1950s and Durham in the mid 70s.

[Maggi Young]

What a beautiful butterfly... looks like the hover-fly was keen to take a look at this rarity, too.

[mark smyth]

we have seen a few elephant hawk moth caterpillars on the forum this year. Has anyone seen the moth?

[Anthony Darby]

we have seen a few elephant hawk moth caterpillars on the forum this year. Has anyone seen the moth?

Yes Mark, but I have a moth trap. Best advice is to put the caterpillar in a shoe box and keep it fed. Once it pupates (in a flimsy open cocoon in amongst leaves etc. on the ground) put it in the garage until June. The box can be put in a warmer place out of the sun and checked daily until the moth emerges. My earliest memories of doing this is with two I found on a clump of greater willowherb at Stratford Upon Avon in the late 1950s.

What a beautiful butterfly... looks like the hover-fly was keen to take a look at this rarity, too.

I wonder how far north it has spread? It is a resident, not a migrant. The "Big Butterfly Count" shows lots of sightings south of the Forth.

[maggiepie]

http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/highflying-stray-vulture-puts-pilots-on-alert-20100819-12j6l.html

[Maggi Young]

http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/highflying-stray-vulture-puts-pilots-on-alert-20100819-12j6l.html

Yes, Helen, this lost vulture has been all over our news bulletins.
 In the wild they can  it seems soar to 37 thousand feet... hence the warning to aircraft but the keeper on the news this morning said he thinks the poor thing is more likely sitting miserable and hungry in a tree somewhere, wondering how the blazes to get "home"!
Flying conditions were very good when she made off, enjoying the wind and so on, but it's been colder and wet since then and her keeper thinks she will be grounded.

Poor creature, since her chances of survival seem slim in the wild here I hope they find her safely.

[TheOnionMan]

Along the lines of Lily and Poppy, let me introduce you to my neighbors two Corgi dogs, Penny (on the left) and her Uncle Charlie. I call them Mrs. Moneypenny and Charles.  No longer having dogs (I had German Shepherds in the past), I get my doggy fix by playing with my neighbors dogs, particularly when my daughter house sits for them. The sweetest most adorable faces ever.