Pictures of Wildlife.

Lake Moor Park, Hertfordshire

 

I took this at the Old Buckenham Air Show, Norfolk. Saturday 30-07-2022. But it didn't stay for long,.....bigger birds about !

 

Looks like a Harrier, fortunately they stayed around for a while.

 

Poetic licence, rather than semantics.

 

The Fox and the Wolf. When she was younger Our Siberian Husky was sometimes mistaken by people thinking she was a Timber Wolf. She looked and could be very fierce if messed with. We still use a police dog training lead which wraps around our shoulders to prevent her breaking free to chase anything from a squirrel upwards. A walk with her and our now deceased Collie Cross could be like a sleighride to hell.
As she got older we used to walk home late at night followed by young fox cubs and on occasions she was approached by larger Dog Foxes or vixens as if they thought she was some kind of relative.
Now aged 15 she takes no notice of them but they remain wary if she approaches them. They still look at her wondering if she is a relative.

 

The extra large drinking dish has attracted an extra large Hedgehog. May be a female. A few nights ago I forgot to put the camera out but saw it bathing in the water

 

Red Kite London

 

Looks-like the tail-end of a Shark sticking up, or that of a Mosquito that's gone head-first into you flower pot !

 

I thought there was a thread for this. Still......

Despite the hot weather and drought conditions ( no hose pipe ban in my area yet ), I top up the small water feature for the birds to have a drink. While enjoying a cold beer today we got a visit from a Robin and Pidgeon that came for a drink. I was surprised how un-afraid they were of humans as we were less than 6 foot away but they did not seem bothered the Robin especially.

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KT I think you are thinking of the Pictures of Wildlife thread. You might ask the Mods to move this or stay with this new one. It looks fine and is a lot less crowded.

 

Thanks, despite the temperature we are quite cool with that.
Hope KevinT is as well.



Sparrows this morning, just after dawn.

 

Damn, I’d really hoped that was a shark.

 

Sparrows? Where abouts are you in the world? I haven't seen one of those for years, they used to be everywhere. You just don't see them, Starlings and Thrushes anymore.

Cheers

Kevin

 

Kevin, A few years ago an old chap (he has to be old to be older than me) told me the same. We have a neighbour who never tends his garden or even his house. It is overgrown with creepers and is hard to see. The sparrows live in the creepers but come down every day to feed and drink in our garden. My wife is an ardent bird feeder something she acquired from her mother.
The guy with the overgrown garden says he is a conservationist. It is also home to hedgehogs (which we like and have one in our garden) but has this year become home to a family of foxes. All since the council sold the golf course for 1000 houses to be built.
The foxes are noisy and wake up our dog who responds accordingly. Many sleepless nights during which I often come onto the forum. The neighbour goes away to his caravan to avoid it all.
I patrol my garden daily to make sure no foxes have moved in.
This morning I found a lot of small downy feather around the bird table.
Perhaps the Sparrow Hawks have come back.
Life in a garden is a constant cycle but be careful what you wish for.
The overgrown garden was a breeding ground for vermin, with two types of mice in huge quantities but since the foxes moved in our trail cam has not picked up any mice or worse. Most cats go elsewhere but one still sleeps in our garden. She puts the foxes in their place.
It must be the foxes eating the mice, along with the cats that have always helped but not succeeded in eradicating them like now.
Cats are very territorial and see the foxes off when they have had enough. People put food out for their cats and hedgehogs but it isn't the cats that eat it, which is why the foxes look well fed. Foxes and hedgehogs eat the same things. It seems that one follows the other but foxes can climb fences and get on top of garage and shed rooves so putting cat food up there doesn't deter them. They also use cat flaps even when the dogs are asleep in the house.
Hopefully the fox cubs will leave home and move away but if they breed we will have serious problem.
It could be a difficult winter ahead.

Blackbird with Doves


Robin with Sparrows

 

Sparrows on neighbour’s garage roof and our fence. They must live in all that ivy he has growing on the roof. Sorry photos are blurry.

 

Are sparrows in decline? I haven't seen as many this year.

Lesley

 

Apparently so, sadly:

House Sparrow Population Trends - The RSPB

Despite this little gathering at my neighbour’s, the same group, I figure, that dart in and out of one our bushes in the front garden, I too don’t see them in as great a number as years gone by.