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Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15893

PostPosted: Mon Aug 26, 24 1:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

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: 8848
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland
PostPosted: Thu Sep 05, 24 9:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

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: 15893

PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 24 7:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

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: 46121
Location: yes
PostPosted: Thu Sep 12, 24 3:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

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: 46121
Location: yes
PostPosted: Thu Sep 12, 24 3:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

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: 15893

PostPosted: Sat Sep 14, 24 8:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

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: 15893

PostPosted: Tue Sep 17, 24 7:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

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.

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15893

PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 24 8:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

We were up at a show yesterday and there was a kestrel hovering really nicely over the next field. Sadly. son didn't have the right lens on his camera, but it was lovely to see. We used to get a lot of them, but then all the scrub was removed from along the main road and lack of food means they moved on as they got small rodents like mice from the road edges.

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15893

PostPosted: Fri Sep 27, 24 7:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Husband and son saw something crossing the track in the woods yesterday at high speed. They described it as a barrel with a pointy bit on the front, and think it might have been a wild boar. They are both sides of us, but didn't know we had any in our area. Will keep a look out.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46121
Location: yes
PostPosted: Fri Sep 27, 24 8:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

barrel with a pointy bit on front is a boar

check either side of the track it crossed for footprints, that would be an easy hog confirmation (ditto hair on the wire etc)

they don't want to meet you, so are safe in that way

you may surprise them in the bushes while working or pottering, which i have been told is interesting (i heard the noises in the dark and spent the night in a tree just in case)
this time of year they are probably after acorns and similar
it has been an odd year for nature so they might be having to seek new forage grounds
it may have been a young boar starting out on his own

delicious

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15893

PostPosted: Sat Sep 28, 24 7:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

It has been sighted, briefly, by someone else in our woodland complex, but again briefly enough not to be sure. The ground either side is thick grass, and unfortunately, by the time they had registered it might be a wild boar, husband and son had driven over the track. No fences, and only hazel one side and general soft undergrowth the other so no hair. It does worry me a bit as most of the trees aren't very climbable.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46121
Location: yes
PostPosted: Sat Sep 28, 24 9:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

it indicates a young male

a family group of mature boar, sows and piglets is quite noticeable.
rooting, nesting, wandering about with squiggly piglets etc all have strong sign or direct observation

i would be aware it (or they)may be around but not very worried, they will avoid you if at all possible (or steal your lunch) and are only dangerous if they see you as a threat, if so back off politely telling them you will go that way so they can continue doing piggy things

a few apples and a night in a tree with a night sight is a viable option if they do seem to be a problem

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15893

PostPosted: Sun Sep 29, 24 9:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

We do have the option of a trail cam if we think they have been in our bit of the wood. No sign of rooting that I have seen, but do have dogs and badgers digging, so may have assumed it was them. Hopefully just a lone one passing through.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46121
Location: yes
PostPosted: Fri Oct 04, 24 3:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

the wasps are hunting insects, rather unseasonal for early october

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15893

PostPosted: Sat Oct 05, 24 7:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Yes, I would expect them to be on fruit for sugar at this time of year. I was surprised to see hornets on the grapes a little while ago; of course they could have been taking insects that were on the sugar, but I didn't have my glasses on, so wouldn't have been able to see very tiny insects.

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