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dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46088
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Aug 05, 24 6:07 pm Post subject:
that nasturtium has at least 50, medium-sized white going by who has been laying eggs nice to see at least one spp coping, sort of, the lack of numbers and lack of spp among the insects(birds and bats) is scary if this posts i will carry on in a few mo

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46088
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Aug 05, 24 7:40 pm Post subject:

total leccy crash between writing and posting, this pooter is more robust than i expected
more of leccy later

where was i?

ahh, tt's today anecdote says the area of woods etc around Knaresborough are noticeable lacking in invertebrates birds etc compared to previous observations
(the river is filthy, even 5 yrs ago it was between grade one and two out of 5 clean, decent size trout etc)

mouse and its two tiny mousey children were happy to feed 3 feet away from me, they like stage one of the mouse castle improvements

ps i recon that snap is ok for a less than fancy phone

get close and a minute with pro photoshop beta/raw tweaks was all it needed to make it look ok

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15861

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 24 7:23 am Post subject:
Have not seen many butterflies this year, but there are the usual range of them I think. Weather was rather against them this winter and spring. Otherwise, think we have about the same number as in previous years, so avoiding areas where ticks are likely to lurk, but still pick them up sometimes.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46088
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 24 10:52 am Post subject:

the improved mouse castle is approved

i was a bit worried they might be upset by the alterations, the log with 3 holes makes a fine gatehouse, the extra passages and runways between and under lumps are popular

never more than a few inches from safety seems to be ideal for them, before the improvements some parts were a little exposed

although there are many nooks and crannies and tunnels, they are even happier to show themselves posing on choice stones

the birds are a bit upset at the gap between the restaurant and the trees and bushes over the alley
it is exposed in a way grin could exploit, rather than bushes almost meeting over the alley

next year a lot more co-potted nasturtiums, the pillars have almost eaten these two
very few insects of all spp, they need any help they can get, i feel rather odd having to fluff elsie, craig and shirley

thinking of insects, aphids have been depleted which goes with few ladybirds, wasps, other predators
moths and butterflies are almost not present
ditto large insectivores, eg bats
worm town is thriving

very few birds compared to 3 or 4 yrs ago,for numbers of the spp present and many spp just not present
that goes for locals and seasonal migrants

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15861

Posted: Sat Aug 10, 24 8:22 am Post subject:

Could you train something over the alley to stop the peregrine using it. Mouse castle seems ideal.

Saw a number of deer the other day; a roe buck completely out in the open near a road and a doe and a couple of well grown fawns in the wood. Also saw several silver washed fritillary butterflies, a small blue, meadow brown and painted lady yesterday. Best count of butterflies this year. We have had some in the garden, but a lot fewer than most years. Think it was the weather over the winter and spring.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46088
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Aug 14, 24 3:28 pm Post subject:

before any training i need the new wall to set

the daws have adjusted, the mice are happy, i have 3 power pigeons, hansom mrs hansom and young hansom, the rest are either no more or moved on

less sparrows, they often take a working holiday in the countryside about this time of year

about an hour ago i was doing the bins(a bit energetic for me, but tt has gone to Lincoln to see keifer sutherland and pals, better than work or mother visits)
that bit is not wildlife

there is/was a very young and very poorly looking squab in the alley, i was tempted to intervene but took advice from the lucilla, who were not quite waiting for the next stage

it might get rescued by parents, it looked sick enough to have been evicted by them

this one is far beyond my avian veterinary skills, hansom was a nearly eaten and orphaned, this one has little potential vitality looking at it

a bit harsh but circle of life etc

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46088
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Aug 16, 24 8:22 am Post subject:
a few feathers in the alley this morning explains the corvid squawking and flapping about noises 45 mins after the mention of the poorly squab oh well, it was fairly swift, and the corvids got a meal if i had dispatched it, they might have missed out on afternoon tea

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46088
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Aug 23, 24 6:41 pm Post subject:
yep ace critters

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15861

Posted: Mon Aug 26, 24 1:10 pm Post subject:
Still not keen on pigeons en masse, although I could accept that individual birds have some good human interactions.

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8820
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Thu Sep 05, 24 9:31 am Post subject:
The starlings are really going for the berries on the Himalayan Honeysuckle bush and the young Rowan tree. They haven't started on the Fuschia yet

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15861

Posted: Tue Sep 10, 24 7:37 am Post subject:

Went into the greenhouse to water yesterday and found some hornets after the split grapes. Didn't recognise them as they didn't seem as big as the ones we get in the woods, and the wood ones have bright pink legs. Husband chased them round the greenhouse for a bit but eventually got a picture on his phone for ID. Definitely hornets, so must be a nest somewhere that is on the way out as they don't normally feed on sugar but insects.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46088
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Sep 12, 24 3:15 pm Post subject:
hornets are usually ok if they meet you rather than you visit them retrace your steps at the first headbutt the second is a final warning do not ignore it for a while i thought they were what got me in the leg, they were not mostly harmless if you let them do hornet things with no distractions

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46088
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Sep 12, 24 3:41 pm Post subject:

my wildlife has a new dik at dawn

the mice are surprised by the good and currently dangeroos changes,
hopefully on Saturday 900mm of mesh will start to repel feline raiders
or make their escape more "interesting"

the birds are a bit cautious, one hand feeder only arrives when i am there, the other HF and mr and mrs hansom are a bit bolder

mrs H is daft as a brush, she has not noticed grin passing over at least twice in the last hour , 2 grins then 1 grin
i noticed them, i might only lose an eye or some dignity if i have any left, rather than become afternoon tea on the patio

2 pies at dawn, busy doing pie stuff and looking for breakfast

my "special spider"bite is settling after , not sure how long maybe 2 months?
very little to see initially or as time passed, a bit of swelling for a few days, that settled into constant pain along with a few neurological twitches
i can still feel it, the only visible sign is one tiny hole and a pair of tiny holes

the last two nips were very swelling/potential necrosis, this one is mostly nerve damage

tt grew up in the tropics, i survived temperate rain forest, we will be ok

although i am a bit conflicted between fascinating and slightly dangeroos living free-range in a domestic setting

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15861

Posted: Sat Sep 14, 24 8:02 am Post subject:

Went to RHS Wisley gardens yesterday and saw a reasonable amount of wildlife including some rather unexpected ones. On one of the lakes there was an adult moorhen, a younger one without the red over the beak, and a chick that was still at the fluffy stage, but swimming around quite happily. At the bird hide we saw great tits, another tit which may have been a blue tit, a nuthatch and rather oddly a couple of parakeets. I knew they were in Kent and London but didn't know they had got that far. Rather regrettable as they should be in foreign parts, not here.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15861

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 24 7:33 am Post subject:
Was digging over the potato bed again to pick up ones I had missed and realised there were a few wasps around me. Went to the other side and realised we had a nest between the next bed and a wooden board leaning against it. Will leave them alone as they will die out over winter anyway.

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