Nature Notes

[Smells Like Kean Spirit]

Lockdown has at least had the benefit of allowing folk to appreciate the natural world around us. I'm sure many of us already were doing so.

For example, I remember WB, on one of t'uther threads, regaling us with an encounter he had with a red kite when out walking his dog in the borders a few months ago. So, it seemed a good idea to have a thread to share what we see, hear (and smell occasionally - I'm thinking of the Trossach goats here) with other posters.

I’ll kick-off: 2020 was a great year for seeing local wildlife.

During the first lockdown, me and the dog were bumping into a leveret, who had taken up residence in the vicinity, on an almost daily basis. Not sure what happened to him. During a late autumn wild camp, and after a miserable afternoon trudging across waterlogged uplands in driving rain, we saw our first golden eagle, as we headed for the shelter of the car. It imperiously flew right above our heads at tree top level, and joined a mate, or offspring, that rose up to greet it. A truly uplifting moment. Then, 2021 got off to a great start. On the first Sunday of the year, we watched an otter diving off rocks, about 50 metres from our cliff vantage point. A first for us and an awesome sight.

Over to you folks...

 

[Drog]

Nothing as spectacular as Golden Eagles or otters but I have Deer in my front field most nights. Foxes occasionally (and unfortunately) too.
The other night Jen my Border Collie set off after a hare but she may as well have tried to catch the wind. She truly is the slowest dog that I have ever owned. Apart from that we have lots of Buzzards and Heron's about and woodpeckers and nuthatches a'plenty coming for peanuts from the bird feeder. My barn is also home to a beautiful Barn Owl and I've lots of newts in the garden pond and bats in the attic too.

On the down side we used to have lots of wagtails, mainly black and white but a few yellow ones too plus loads of starlings but sadly no more. Is it the Owl perhaps? Avian flu? Or rather more likely the greys than have invaded over the last 20-30 years. It's odd cos our resident songbirds namely Robin's, wren's, blackbirds and tits (blue and coal) are plenty in number and we've even a family of goldfinches too.

 

[Wilpshire Blue]

We all know you have bats in the bloody attic!

 

[OnlyOneTugay]

Before lockdown and as I was about to tee off , two deers pranced across the fairway from left to right . A sight to behold .

I took this photo ( I’m no photographer just my phone ) on New Years Eve , looking over from Meins Road towards Mellor . Hauntingly beautiful , you can just make out the church spire on the left .

 

[Wilpshire Blue]

If you were about to tee off OOT, the deer would have been better advised to stand in the middle of the fairway

 

[Barmitzvah Boy]

There are major problems with deer poaching in the Pleasington, Hoghton, Brindle, Samlesbury area, the Police are aware But often cannot do anything as the are not equipped nor armed (risk assessments ).

They are being shot to wound rather than kill and are then finished off with a Halal killing before being put into a refrigerated van. A big problem is on Pleasington Golf Course.

My mate has a dairy farm North of Preston and he was asked if he would shoot deer to be wounded before they were finished off. He refused and is on the look out for poachers.

Please do not ever reveal where deer, hare, otters or Schedule 1 ’red list’ birds are on any social media forum.

BTW I see Barn Owls every morning, hare, kingfisher and otters on a regular basis. I love wildlife and the environment. The trouble is that those who seek access to the countryside often trash it

 

[OnlyOneTugay]

“ Please do not ever reveal where deer, hare, otters or Schedule 1 ’red list’ birds are on any social media forum “


In light of that I’ve just edited mine BB as best I can without ruining WB’s ‘ hilarious’ quip

 

[Drog]

The feeling is that there too many deer around these parts but that does not excuse poaching.

 

[Barmitzvah Boy]

Nothing as spectacular as Golden Eagles or otters but I have Deer in my front field most nights. Foxes occasionally (and unfortunately) too.
The other night Jen my Border Collie set off after a hare but she may as well have tried to catch the wind. She truly is the slowest dog that I have ever owned. Apart from that we have lots of Buzzards and Heron's about and woodpeckers and nuthatches a'plenty coming for peanuts from the bird feeder. My barn is also home to a beautiful Barn Owl and I've lots of newts in the garden pond and bats in the attic too.

On the down side we used to have lots of wagtails, mainly black and white but a few yellow ones too plus loads of starlings but sadly no more. Is it the Owl perhaps? Avian flu? Or rather more likely the greys than have invaded over the last 20-30 years. It's odd cos our resident songbirds namely Robin's, wren's, blackbirds and tits (blue and coal) are plenty in number and we've even a family of goldfinches too.

Which Woodpeckers do you get Drog? I get Greater Spotted every day but would love to see a Green or the very rare in these parts Lesser Spotted.

 

[Drog]

Greater Spotted. We've loads of em. Buggers they can be too. The neighbours used to put out Tit boxes and the Woodpeckers were digging the hole out bigger so they could nick the fledgelings. Nature can be cruel can't it?

 

[Smells Like Kean Spirit]

Neighbour if ours posted her first primrose sighting of the year last week! Is that a record? Looks like they've taken a bit of a battering from the frosts mind, which will presumably discourage others from breaking out for a while yet...

 

[Smells Like Kean Spirit]

Made the mistake last weekend of not wearing gaiters, and tucking my pants into my socks, so the snow had filled my boots half way up the hill. On the way down, the heather and rocks gave way to deep tussocks of grass ringed by frozen puddles. At one point, it seemed like a family of snipe greeted each step by darting out from the tufts, low across the tundra. There must have been five or six within a 100 yards. As we made the icy road, and started back towards where we started, what looked like a sparrowhawk sat menacingly on a large rock that looked like it had lain recumbent since the last ice age. It flew over us in the direction of where the snipe had fled.

 

[Smells Like Kean Spirit]

Saw our first primrose of the new season - it is Imbolc! While glad to see new life, sad that the flocks of barnacle geese feeding along the shore will shortly be heading back to Greenland. Also the oyster catchers were out in force; they'll be off to Iceland next month.

 

[Drog]

Plenty will come in for the summer to replace them though.

btw I was informed the other night that the biggest transmitters of Avian flu in the UK are migrating ducks and geese.

 

[OnlyOneTugay]

I’m not sure if this is a nature note but there is a greenish field in the picture . One of my favourite Blackburn buildings taken whilst out walking this morning when the weather was almost summery

 

[Drog]

You're on the sandy path. Muddy at the bottom isn't it?

 

[Smells Like Kean Spirit]

Where is that OOT?

 

[Drog]

Pleasington. He was 200 yards from the Butlers Arms on the footpath to Pleasington playing fields.

 

[Barmitzvah Boy]

Barn Owl, Heron, Jack Snipe, Common Snipe and Skylark this morning

 

[Wilpshire Blue]

Barn Owl, Heron, Jack Snipe, Common Snipe and Skylark this morning

Are those names of the real ales you've already supped??