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dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45380
Location: yes
PostPosted: Tue Nov 22, 22 12:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

flash has a duelling scar, very appropriate

that i am a little worried for him and considering the ethics of a net and some basic corpsman nursing has not crossed his little feathery head

at first i thought it was just a plucking but the lump indicates more than a lost feather stump

nature and observe or stock dove and assist?

hand feeding crosses quite a few boundaries i cannot quite compute


dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45380
Location: yes
PostPosted: Tue Nov 22, 22 12:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

re kingfishers, the ones on my old trout stream were ace, through the rod, line, water triangle is special
in a couple of places, where i lurked rather than worked, it happened quite often

i discovered i needed about £15k for the lens to get the snaps

they are canaries on the water as far as indicating if it is healthy enough to support "bait fish" and fry of bigger fish in the breeding season/s

if there are kingfishers the water is fairly ok and the terrestrial landscape has features they need, trees perches banks holes cover etc ( and no problematic predators such as mink stoats weasels and rats )

i was surprised at how rarely folk see them, even in places where they are quite common
taking snaps is technical delux and beyond me although in the right place i might have a chance on a sunny day, they are fast and small and hard to predict. take the space as a stage and press the button at the right microsecond gets tricky in those circumstances
kingfisher vs thermonuclear ignition, bangs is easier as you know when it will do it


watching them is mostly being aware, a fair bit of being in the right place at the right time and not getting dizzy from a rapid head turn or trancing out and feeling the flutter

i dont have favourite avians, kfs are rather fun

ps if you have local mink, see the hatchat between SGT C and myself
they are smelly until cleaned and cured, tidy warm though

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15539

PostPosted: Wed Nov 23, 22 9:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Sounds as if you at least need to keep an eye on Flash. If it doesn't heal within a few days, or if it looks infected the net might be an idea even if it upsets him.

We have seen quite a lot of kingfishers on the canals; they like to fly along in front of the boat picking up fish disturbed by the boat I assume. The ideal territory for them seems to be a line of trees on the bank with more open ground behind as they seem to patrol the same stretch of water, so go back to the other end behind the trees. Only seen as a flash of colour usually, and as you say, virtually impossible to photograph without an automatic repeat exposure camera and expensive lens.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45380
Location: yes
PostPosted: Wed Nov 23, 22 2:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

my camera is pretty good for a 3 yr old it might be ok for 7 fps at hi res, i can get fast and crisp with decent light in a target airspace, the kingfisher triangle among trees would not be plausible, into the water in the open or on a perch no prob

the use of a speedlight when the subject is flying fast seems very unethical

if i shelled out about £15K for a better lens i would be strapping it to a very expensive moving image camera, at least another £30k for a workhorse used one and bugatti money for a top end one

rob springwatch is a great photographer

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15539

PostPosted: Thu Nov 24, 22 9:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Some of the pictures I have seen have been amazing. I understand that even the best wildlife photographers aren't always sure what they have until afterwards. The best example of this was of the actual birth of a, I think, kangaroo joey, which was only filmed for the first time a few years ago.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45380
Location: yes
PostPosted: Fri Nov 25, 22 7:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

we have a male blackbird checking the territory

for smart bird conservation news see trapping etc

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45380
Location: yes
PostPosted: Tue Nov 29, 22 11:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

there is at least one wren, it looked very well-fed

gz



Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8577
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland
PostPosted: Tue Nov 29, 22 5:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Here South of Christchurch in a small village , in the garden we have goldfinches and the morning starts with Blackbird territorial battles

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15539

PostPosted: Wed Nov 30, 22 8:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

We will have that in the spring here no doubt. Not sure they should be in New Zealand, but lovely to hear them.

gz



Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8577
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland
PostPosted: Wed Nov 30, 22 8:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

No they shouldn't...sparrows are a bit of a nuisance here, and there are goldfinch, yellow hammers, thrushes and others I can't remember....brought here as a "home from home"
Then rats that escaped from ships...then the ferrets brought to deal with the rats, and both eat ground nesting birds, their eggs and their offspring.

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15539

PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 22 7:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I was aware that rats were a problem, but didn't know about the ferrets or other birds.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45380
Location: yes
PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 22 9:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

bishop brennan " AAAHHHG rabbits!"

gz



Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8577
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland
PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 22 7:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

And pigs...wild pigs..

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45380
Location: yes
PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 22 10:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

iirc my pal said 20000 was a good result when they had district rabbit reduction drives, his home district was only a few farms

i cant remember exactly how they did it, there was driving to nets and clubbing, but the tactics were vague
shooting was too expensive and time-consuming to make a proper dent in the numbers although some do it rather like grouse shooting, i think some use poison on warrens

wild pigs are fun but must be rather annoying in the veg patch or at a picnic, at least they are worth the time and price of a 7.65 or time building a strong trap

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15539

PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 22 8:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I assume these are feral pigs and not wild boar. Even feral pigs can get a bit nasty, but wild boar are definitely best avoided. Hoping we don't get them in the woods as they are both destructive and nasty. On the other hand, they do make good eating.

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