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dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45321
Location: yes
PostPosted: Sat Sep 25, 21 12:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

minni sammison has a new servant

there is rarely one, 3 or 4 is usual here, that becomes one or two quite soon

late in the year but the spring rat issues reduced the opportunities

i need to swap lenses again, that critter is well cute

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15510

PostPosted: Mon Sep 27, 21 7:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

We have been away for a few days and visited Westonbirt Arboretum. Lovely place, but don't think I have ever seen so many grey squirrels. I suppose culling wouldn't be popular, but might not be a bad idea. Saw interesting deer fence; two rows of fencing about 4' high with tape along the top. The deer don't like jumping into something they can't see an easy way out of, and the two rows make them feel enclosed. Seems to work well, as they have some good hazel coppice there.

sgt.colon



Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.
PostPosted: Sun Oct 03, 21 12:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Genevieve keeps putting fluffy stuff in the top of her food bowl. Why is she doing this? Do you think she is trying to hide it?

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45321
Location: yes
PostPosted: Sun Oct 03, 21 6:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

hiding what she cannot carry was the conclusion we came to about that behaviour

i did consider cargo cult for a while

they do create stores, which can be dry in a hole or by using a chamber dug in earth, filled with seeds and sealed with soil, the seeds start to germinate and use up the oxygen/blanket the semi dormant sprouts in co2 preserving them

there is usually a smallish larder in the nest area in case of bad weather, danger outside etc

they also do cache a short way from exposed food and then transport it from there to storage stealthily

hiding stores is vital, plenty of other critters will eat them if they find them

sgt.colon



Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.
PostPosted: Mon Oct 04, 21 7:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Thanks DPack. Interesting stuff. I might have to invest in a wildlife camera so I can watch her in action.

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15510

PostPosted: Mon Oct 04, 21 8:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

The storage method was also thought to have been used by our Celtic ancestors for storing grain. Pits were dug and filled with grain, then sealed, and if the seal held, the grain kept for a year. In old books you might find these as a 'pit dwelling', but they are usually far too narrow for that. This method was tested at Butser Ancient Farm, and worked well; as long as the seal held. If not, a nasty smelly mass to dig out or conveniently bury.

sgt.colon



Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.
PostPosted: Mon Oct 04, 21 10:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

So I wonder if we copied animals then? You can still store your spuds underground can't you?

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45321
Location: yes
PostPosted: Tue Oct 05, 21 2:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

clamping is a good way to store root and tuber veg

iirc there are things about root cellars and clamping in the ds archives

beware of mice in the clamp, they "steal" as well

the sammisons had cashews on sunday and do not need to gather birdseed in the rain

do autocam things manage low light? or do they flash? either from choice?
i could flash wildlife like ivy mike, but recon that is unethical, hence no bat snaps or dull day flight details of my flock

me and a pooter and hand held button, the big lens camera and the speedlight can chat by wifi, in 3 places
far too harsh for a small critter's night vis or if it is trying to do flying stuff if the kit is well-placed and i press the button at the right time

it could be used for pretty and unusual snaps like that

the "trailcam" snaps we have seen on ds are pretty good, i do not recall any small critter ones
checking the camera specs for auto"press the button", close range and a small fast target in the light you can expect where you install it seems important
lovely snaps of a deer in a forest needs different kit to lovely snaps of ms mouse in a dark shed or digging under your hedge

for a while i have considered doing the full "big brother" thing on the wildlife, the tech can be done and it can be done on the cheap most times

sometimes the cost, money for sly or flash and crash etc for the critter is too high

interact is maybe ok, interfere or interdict is not

at the transition from film to pixel i wanted a snap of the kingfisher flying between rod, line and water,
2 decades later i would still need to spend new range rover on a lens, and that is with a very nice chip in the camera

wildlife snaps are fun, be inventive(shiny panels etc), be sneaky, be diplomatic or a "groomer" of mice, protect your chums they remember that like androcles's lion.
that last bit is important, big or small trust from both sides matters.

that seal was showing me how to have fun, and it kept me alive while it taught me playing underwater in a tube and rip
the beetle was less friendly when it blinded me for curiosity

fur and feathers are easier to chat to than the other surfaces

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15510

PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 21 9:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

We had the surveyors in to look for dormice again yesterday. Two were seen, but one legged it before the surveyor could put a duster bung in the end of the tube. The one caught was a juvenile male and rather pretty. Son was with us this time, so saw his first wild dormouse, in spite of having studied wild life management. Only seen captive breeding programme dormice before that. Several summer nests found, so definitely dormouse activity, just nobody at home.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45321
Location: yes
PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 21 10:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

ace, you are creating good habitat

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45321
Location: yes
PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 21 10:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

rat or, hopefully, no rat

hammi has just collected and cached a handful of nuts

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45321
Location: yes
PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 21 3:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

a fun goose view

about 200 have been gathering in groups and sometimes joining up for a few circles

they just did the real thing, the groups gained a bit of altitude and then joined into a messy V with clumps, that tidied a lot into a reasonable very broad V, they then changed from abreast to a perfect in line and set off to the south east gaining altitude as they went

splendid to watch

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15510

PostPosted: Fri Oct 08, 21 8:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Sounds wonderful. At this time of year we tend to start seeing the Brent geese coming in down here for the winter. Last year Portsmouth council decided where they wanted them to go and put out lures. The geese didn't approve, so the lures and fenced off area turned out to be useless.

gz



Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8562
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland
PostPosted: Fri Oct 08, 21 10:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

A good description.
We have seen a couple of groups doing that in the past week or so.

Shane



Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 3467
Location: Doha. Is hot.
PostPosted: Sun Oct 10, 21 5:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Found this on the road in the compound this morning - looks like it's either got squished by a car or, probably more likely, a security guard's boot:


I know they are endemic here, but it's the first wild one I've seen. Kind of a shame it's squashed, although the sting can be nasty so I'm also quite pleased it's not scuttling around looking for a pair of shoes to hide in!

This one was a Hottentotta jayakari, a species of fat-tailed scorpion.

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