Those of you who stop by here regularly will know that I have a very soft spot for the Simon’s Cat videos. Well here is the newest one. Short but very sweet… Enjoy!
Posted in Wildlife
Posted in Wildlife
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Simon’s Cat “Hot Spot”
Simon’s Cat ‘Fly Guy’
The new Simon’s Cat film is here! I was worried that this one wouldn’t be as funny as the rest but I needn’t have worried! I especially like the bit after it has caught the fly (and then tears round the room and hides under the newspaper). Pure genius!
Posted in Wildlife Tagged: funny, simon's cat [...]
Posted in Wildlife Tagged: funny, simon's cat [...]
Four Hungry Mouths
I was going to wait and see if the Spotted Flycatchers fledged and then write a post about them but I just couldn’t resist showing you a 30 second “taster” of what life is like in the nest at the moment.
Posted in corfe mullen, Dorset, Nature, UK, wildlife uk Tagged: Birds, Dorset, Nature, spotted [...]
Posted in corfe mullen, Dorset, Nature, UK, wildlife uk Tagged: Birds, Dorset, Nature, spotted [...]
To Kill a Mockingbird? More like “Killing me softly with his song”
This post shouldn’t really be on Urban Extension (it should be on FloridaWildlife) but I wanted to upload a recording and I can only do that on ere…
Every morning and evening this lovely little mockingbird has been perched on the telephone wires outside our Conch Key house singing his little heart out.
I think it’s mating time, as he seems determined to attract THE best mate on the island (and keep out all intruders). He seems to be doing a good job!
Here is a 30 second audio clip of him singing this evening. You can just hear him through the wind and palm leaves clattering (turn up your sound). A truly beautiful song which is forever changing and keeps me spellbound.
If you can’t get the above thingy to work, click on the link below (and it should open another window with an audio player). I hope you can hear him. I want to take him back to my Dorset garden.
Mockingbird Song
Posted in usa, Wildlife, wildlife uk Tagged: bird, conch key, Florida Keys, mockingbird
Every morning and evening this lovely little mockingbird has been perched on the telephone wires outside our Conch Key house singing his little heart out.
I think it’s mating time, as he seems determined to attract THE best mate on the island (and keep out all intruders). He seems to be doing a good job!
Here is a 30 second audio clip of him singing this evening. You can just hear him through the wind and palm leaves clattering (turn up your sound). A truly beautiful song which is forever changing and keeps me spellbound.
If you can’t get the above thingy to work, click on the link below (and it should open another window with an audio player). I hope you can hear him. I want to take him back to my Dorset garden.
Mockingbird Song
Posted in usa, Wildlife, wildlife uk Tagged: bird, conch key, Florida Keys, mockingbird
Bird Feeder Live Webcam
more about "Bird Feeder Live Webcam", posted with vodpod
Posted in Wildlife
Posted in Wildlife
My Lucky Deer - As you’ve never seen a deer before!
I told you the deer got very close the other day when they visited the garden. This is a still from the short video I managed to get from the outside “badger and fox” camera. There’s a short bit of film as well, so that you can see his gorgeous antlers!
Only 15 seconds long and slightly slowed down - but just look at those velvet antlers on the vid below!
Posted in Deer, Dorset, Nature, nature uk, UK, Wildlife, wildlife uk Tagged: corfe mullen, Dorset, roe deer, UK
Only 15 seconds long and slightly slowed down - but just look at those velvet antlers on the vid below!
Posted in Deer, Dorset, Nature, nature uk, UK, Wildlife, wildlife uk Tagged: corfe mullen, Dorset, roe deer, UK
“Let’s cut down the starling roost!” Who made that decision?
For years starlings have been roosting just down the road from my house in a large clump of bamboo during the winter. It’s in the front garden of a block of flats in a busy residential road. If you happen to walk past at dusk you will see a couple of hundred starlings gathering in the sky. However, I should really say “could see” because in January (between our two coldest bits of weather) it was cut down. I was so angry and upset that it’s taken me until now to tell their story.
The brown bit is where the bamboo used to stand
Starlings can feed up to 10 miles away from their roost during the day but at dusk the family group will always return to the safety and warmth of their roost. As it starts to get darker the numbers increase and what looks like a giant swarm of bees dances around in the sky before plunging into their roost like little torpedos.
Luckily on the 12 of January I’d taken my camera and filmed the starlings as they came in to roost. The film is 4 mins long (longer than my normal films - sorry) and shows the shape-shifting starlings zooming around above the houses. The sound track is actually the sound of them in the roost. I placed my camera near to the roost and walked a few steps back - but I thought it was an apt backing track for the film!
So why did it happen? why was the roost cut down? and why was it done in such a cold patch of weather? Well I’ve heard from another resident that the next door neighbour wasn’t a fan of the starlings and had asked that they be “moved on” because they were noisy and dirty. They didn’t seem to make a lot of mess as they came in (but maybe I’m wrong) and yes they were noisy for a few minutes when they arrived, but that soon died down to total silence. However the timing of the bamboo being cut does seem to show a real lack of understands of how fine a line these birds are walking at this time of year - if they had only left it until the warmer weather came (mid-March) the birds woul...
The brown bit is where the bamboo used to stand
Starlings can feed up to 10 miles away from their roost during the day but at dusk the family group will always return to the safety and warmth of their roost. As it starts to get darker the numbers increase and what looks like a giant swarm of bees dances around in the sky before plunging into their roost like little torpedos.
Luckily on the 12 of January I’d taken my camera and filmed the starlings as they came in to roost. The film is 4 mins long (longer than my normal films - sorry) and shows the shape-shifting starlings zooming around above the houses. The sound track is actually the sound of them in the roost. I placed my camera near to the roost and walked a few steps back - but I thought it was an apt backing track for the film!
So why did it happen? why was the roost cut down? and why was it done in such a cold patch of weather? Well I’ve heard from another resident that the next door neighbour wasn’t a fan of the starlings and had asked that they be “moved on” because they were noisy and dirty. They didn’t seem to make a lot of mess as they came in (but maybe I’m wrong) and yes they were noisy for a few minutes when they arrived, but that soon died down to total silence. However the timing of the bamboo being cut does seem to show a real lack of understands of how fine a line these birds are walking at this time of year - if they had only left it until the warmer weather came (mid-March) the birds woul...
The Weird and Wonderful World of Bat Noises
OK, you’ve been looking at pictures of bats on this blog for at least the last 6 months - so I thought it was about time you actually heard one as well.
One of the pipistrelle bats we found on an Autumn Bat Box check near to Corfe Mullen
Now, unless you are a small child with excellent hearing (which I doubt many of your are!), you’re unlikely to be able to hear bats (funnily enough I was one of the few who could hear bats when I was young and was always fascinated that no-one else could … it was like the bats were “talking” to me and nobody else!).
Sadly those days are long gone and I’ve become totally “bat deaf”. I hate this and for a long time have been umming and arhhing about buying a bat detector and recorder. They aren’t cheap but I’ve told myself that if I’m going to take this bat malarky seriously I need to buy them.
A week or so ago they were delivered. I recorded myself stomping through a snowy wood, the sound of a winter stream and a very tuneful robin…. but no bats. However, I didn’t have to wait long and by 21 February I’d seen and heard my first bat in the garden and could once more immerse myself into the batty world of squeaks, clicks and slurps with my bat detector. Trouble was I hadn’t worked out how to record the little blighters!
By the 26 Feb I’d sussed it out and while the dinner bubbled on the stove I ran for the back door and was hit by the sound of bat echolocation calls on the detector before I’d even got into the garden. My little batty visitor couldn’t have been more co-operative and circled round and round a foot from the ground on the lawn in front of me.
The dinner boiled over but did I care? My first bat echolocation recording was in the bag. Here’s a short snippet of my very first recording - just click the arrow to play
I think this is a pipistrelle bat (our most common bat in the UK). The bat detector was set at 40kHz and I’m sure some of the exp...
One of the pipistrelle bats we found on an Autumn Bat Box check near to Corfe Mullen
Now, unless you are a small child with excellent hearing (which I doubt many of your are!), you’re unlikely to be able to hear bats (funnily enough I was one of the few who could hear bats when I was young and was always fascinated that no-one else could … it was like the bats were “talking” to me and nobody else!).
Sadly those days are long gone and I’ve become totally “bat deaf”. I hate this and for a long time have been umming and arhhing about buying a bat detector and recorder. They aren’t cheap but I’ve told myself that if I’m going to take this bat malarky seriously I need to buy them.
A week or so ago they were delivered. I recorded myself stomping through a snowy wood, the sound of a winter stream and a very tuneful robin…. but no bats. However, I didn’t have to wait long and by 21 February I’d seen and heard my first bat in the garden and could once more immerse myself into the batty world of squeaks, clicks and slurps with my bat detector. Trouble was I hadn’t worked out how to record the little blighters!
By the 26 Feb I’d sussed it out and while the dinner bubbled on the stove I ran for the back door and was hit by the sound of bat echolocation calls on the detector before I’d even got into the garden. My little batty visitor couldn’t have been more co-operative and circled round and round a foot from the ground on the lawn in front of me.
The dinner boiled over but did I care? My first bat echolocation recording was in the bag. Here’s a short snippet of my very first recording - just click the arrow to play
I think this is a pipistrelle bat (our most common bat in the UK). The bat detector was set at 40kHz and I’m sure some of the exp...
From a Handful of Coal Tits to Thousands of Jackdaws
I didn’t start the day with the intention of seeing any wildlife but it just kind of happened. One of those lucky days I guess when the wildlife appears and puts on a show right in front of you.
Jackdaws gather as the light fades
I had a slumpy day today. We had rushed around yesterday having lunch with Andrew’s family and seeing my sister and her partner in the morning, and by the time we got home at 6pm it was a bit late for a walk. I was determined to get out for some fresh-air today.
I spent this morning working out how my new Christmas camera attachments worked. The birds around the bird feeder became my guinea-pigs. With a new ultra-zoom lens I was able to get in pretty close - great to see their individual feathers and markings.
I’ve uploaded the video. It only runs for just over a minute and for the first (and maybe the last) time ever I’ve added a narration. Let me know what you think. The focus isn’t perfect but hey practise makes perfect and the birds got some extra sunflower hearts as a thank you!
The daylight was already fading this afternoon as I set out for my promised walk. I thought I’d take a look round the old Dragon Quarry (that I’d last visited in October). The quarry was bleak and grey, no dragonflies now. In fact nothing moved and the wind was vicious, so I changed tack and went to have a look in a nearby wood for badger setts. Drew a blank there as well. Oh, well…
Jumping a fence and making my way down the hill away from Mountain Clump (that’s a wood not an infliction!) I stopped to listen to the birds squabbling in the hedge. They were making such a din I thought something was attacking them… but no, it was just bad tempers and jostling for space!
The first flocks appear and join up
The sun was setting quickly now and small flocks of what I think must have been Jackdaws were joining up with other flocks above me. As I watched the flock got bigger and bigger and louder and louder. I keep promising myself to go and ...
Jackdaws gather as the light fades
I had a slumpy day today. We had rushed around yesterday having lunch with Andrew’s family and seeing my sister and her partner in the morning, and by the time we got home at 6pm it was a bit late for a walk. I was determined to get out for some fresh-air today.
I spent this morning working out how my new Christmas camera attachments worked. The birds around the bird feeder became my guinea-pigs. With a new ultra-zoom lens I was able to get in pretty close - great to see their individual feathers and markings.
I’ve uploaded the video. It only runs for just over a minute and for the first (and maybe the last) time ever I’ve added a narration. Let me know what you think. The focus isn’t perfect but hey practise makes perfect and the birds got some extra sunflower hearts as a thank you!
The daylight was already fading this afternoon as I set out for my promised walk. I thought I’d take a look round the old Dragon Quarry (that I’d last visited in October). The quarry was bleak and grey, no dragonflies now. In fact nothing moved and the wind was vicious, so I changed tack and went to have a look in a nearby wood for badger setts. Drew a blank there as well. Oh, well…
Jumping a fence and making my way down the hill away from Mountain Clump (that’s a wood not an infliction!) I stopped to listen to the birds squabbling in the hedge. They were making such a din I thought something was attacking them… but no, it was just bad tempers and jostling for space!
The first flocks appear and join up
The sun was setting quickly now and small flocks of what I think must have been Jackdaws were joining up with other flocks above me. As I watched the flock got bigger and bigger and louder and louder. I keep promising myself to go and ...
Oh deer, deer, deer!
Yesterday morning we had some unusual visitors… some very cute visitors who I’ve never seen in the garden before. OK, they aren’t rare (in the countryside) but they are rare in my semi-urban Corfe Mullen garden!
I’ve named this little one Bambi - can’t think why!
Every morning the first thing I do is check the overnight footage from my garden camera. I check the footage while keeping the camera preview screen running in the top left corner of my monitor (that way I get to see the early birds as they visit the bird bath). Yesterday I’d just started doing this when a long pair of fury legs walked past the camera.
“Now, either the foxes have grown longer legs or that was … a deer” I thought. I shot into the spare bedroom and looked out the window and there, happily munching on our camelias and mossy grass, were three roe deer. Mum, youngster (year old?) and this years fawn.
The three adventurers - hiding under the witchhazel
For the next three-quarters of an hour these three intrepid adventurers decided to do a complete tour of the garden, which included happily walking across the patio and right past the kitchen window where Andrew was noisily making breakfast, checking out our cars and nosing in the greenhouse.
They tried most of the plants. A bit of laurel, some witchhazel, a few mouthfuls of heather, a bit of grass, old fallen apples, the odd camelia leaf. Nothing was left untouched or un-sniffed. I’m quite glad they were only here for a while.. otherwise the garden might have been stripped bare.
Happy on the Lawn - “you called?”
Somehow I managed to get the upstairs hall window open (after standing on a chair and struggling to take down the secondary glazing), so that I could watch them properly.
The Co-op car-park was starting to get busy with shoppers (on the other side of the fence) and cars were going up and down our road - it was already 9.30am. They were wary but not in the least bit scared - proper tough little urb...
I’ve named this little one Bambi - can’t think why!
Every morning the first thing I do is check the overnight footage from my garden camera. I check the footage while keeping the camera preview screen running in the top left corner of my monitor (that way I get to see the early birds as they visit the bird bath). Yesterday I’d just started doing this when a long pair of fury legs walked past the camera.
“Now, either the foxes have grown longer legs or that was … a deer” I thought. I shot into the spare bedroom and looked out the window and there, happily munching on our camelias and mossy grass, were three roe deer. Mum, youngster (year old?) and this years fawn.
The three adventurers - hiding under the witchhazel
For the next three-quarters of an hour these three intrepid adventurers decided to do a complete tour of the garden, which included happily walking across the patio and right past the kitchen window where Andrew was noisily making breakfast, checking out our cars and nosing in the greenhouse.
They tried most of the plants. A bit of laurel, some witchhazel, a few mouthfuls of heather, a bit of grass, old fallen apples, the odd camelia leaf. Nothing was left untouched or un-sniffed. I’m quite glad they were only here for a while.. otherwise the garden might have been stripped bare.
Happy on the Lawn - “you called?”
Somehow I managed to get the upstairs hall window open (after standing on a chair and struggling to take down the secondary glazing), so that I could watch them properly.
The Co-op car-park was starting to get busy with shoppers (on the other side of the fence) and cars were going up and down our road - it was already 9.30am. They were wary but not in the least bit scared - proper tough little urb...
Bird Bath Bonanza
I’ve been pond watching in my garden and I must admit I was quite surprised how many different bird species were flying backwards and forwards to wash (do birds wash or bath?) and drink. As an experiment I set up my miniature camera near the pond so that I could count them all. Nine different species or more???
Take a look at the footage below. I think nine different species (maybe even eleven) visited the pond to drink or wash. I’m not sure you will agree. Let me know what you think.
I will post the names of the birds “I think” I spotted in a couple of days.
Big clue… one of them was a very big, noisy black and white bully…
Species I think I saw:
Robin
Blackbird
Nuthatch
Dunnock
Greenfinch
Blue Tit
Chaffinch
Coal Tit
Blackcap
Great Tit
Magpie
Posted in Birds, Dorset, Nature, Wildlife Tagged: corfe mullen, Dorset, garden birds
Take a look at the footage below. I think nine different species (maybe even eleven) visited the pond to drink or wash. I’m not sure you will agree. Let me know what you think.
I will post the names of the birds “I think” I spotted in a couple of days.
Big clue… one of them was a very big, noisy black and white bully…
Species I think I saw:
Robin
Blackbird
Nuthatch
Dunnock
Greenfinch
Blue Tit
Chaffinch
Coal Tit
Blackcap
Great Tit
Magpie
Posted in Birds, Dorset, Nature, Wildlife Tagged: corfe mullen, Dorset, garden birds
The Reality of Winter
I’m not going to try and soften this story up and make it pretty, it’s the flip side to life in an urban garden. It’s not pretty, it’s painful to watch and it’s not fair but it is real and I think it’s worth talking about.
Ratty visits the garden for one of the first times
I’ve been studying several foxes in the garden since New Year. There are about five local ones, most seem healthy but not all. For the last week a fox with very, very bad sarcoptic mange has been visiting. I’m sure it’s not one of the local family group (if it had been I’m sure I would have seen it before) but has been pushed out of another territory and is looking for food.
It’s coat is in very poor condition, in places on it’s back it’s bald and it’s tail is completely bare. I’ve named it Ratty. It’s not much bigger than a domestic cat and looks very sorry for itself. Since I first spotted it I’ve been putting out some extra food in a bowl. On the first night Ratty was very wary of it. The local foxes march straight up to the bowl without a care in the world but he didn’t eat a thing, and spent the entire night circling it.
more about “Fox with Mange : 27 January 2009 on V…“, posted with vodpod
That was Tuesday, since then he’s got much braver and last night was tucking into the food I put out. We had a problem with foxes and mange last year and I managed to get some advice from the National Fox Welfare Society. They sent me some homoeopathic treatment (for free) that I can put onto food, and suggested getting some SA37 vitamin/mineral powder from the pet shop. I used the SA37 last night, and if the fox stays around I’ll start it on the homoeopathic treatment as well. Most foxes with mange this bad don’t survive.
If a fox is healthy it’s harder for the mites (Sarcoptes Scabiei) associated with mange to take hold. So, other things you can feed are marmite sandwiches, fresh liver a...
Ratty visits the garden for one of the first times
I’ve been studying several foxes in the garden since New Year. There are about five local ones, most seem healthy but not all. For the last week a fox with very, very bad sarcoptic mange has been visiting. I’m sure it’s not one of the local family group (if it had been I’m sure I would have seen it before) but has been pushed out of another territory and is looking for food.
It’s coat is in very poor condition, in places on it’s back it’s bald and it’s tail is completely bare. I’ve named it Ratty. It’s not much bigger than a domestic cat and looks very sorry for itself. Since I first spotted it I’ve been putting out some extra food in a bowl. On the first night Ratty was very wary of it. The local foxes march straight up to the bowl without a care in the world but he didn’t eat a thing, and spent the entire night circling it.
more about “Fox with Mange : 27 January 2009 on V…“, posted with vodpod
That was Tuesday, since then he’s got much braver and last night was tucking into the food I put out. We had a problem with foxes and mange last year and I managed to get some advice from the National Fox Welfare Society. They sent me some homoeopathic treatment (for free) that I can put onto food, and suggested getting some SA37 vitamin/mineral powder from the pet shop. I used the SA37 last night, and if the fox stays around I’ll start it on the homoeopathic treatment as well. Most foxes with mange this bad don’t survive.
If a fox is healthy it’s harder for the mites (Sarcoptes Scabiei) associated with mange to take hold. So, other things you can feed are marmite sandwiches, fresh liver a...
The Reality of Winter
I’m not going to try and soften this story up and make it pretty, it’s the flip side to life in an urban garden. It’s not pretty, it’s painful to watch and it’s not fair but it is real and I think it’s worth talking about.
Ratty visits the garden for one of the first times
I’ve been studying several foxes in the garden since New Year. There are about five local ones, most seem healthy but not all. For the last week a fox with very, very bad sarcoptic mange has been visiting. I’m sure it’s not one of the local family group (if it had been I’m sure I would have seen it before) but has been pushed out of another territory and is looking for food.
It’s coat is in very poor condition, in places on it’s back it’s bald and it’s tail is completely bare. I’ve named it Ratty. It’s not much bigger than a domestic cat and looks very sorry for itself. Since I first spotted it I’ve been putting out some extra food in a bowl. On the first night Ratty was very wary of it. The local foxes march straight up to the bowl without a care in the world but he didn’t eat a thing, and spent the entire night circling it.
more about “Fox with Mange : 27 January 2009 on V…“, posted with vodpod
That was Tuesday, since then he’s got much braver and last night was tucking into the food I put out. We had a problem with foxes and mange last year and I managed to get some advice from the National Fox Welfare Society. They sent me some homoeopathic treatment (for free) that I can put onto food, and suggested getting some SA37 vitamin/mineral powder from the pet shop. I used the SA37 last night, and if the fox stays around I’ll start it on the homoeopathic treatment as well. Most foxes with mange this bad don’t survive.
If a fox is healthy it’s harder for the mites (Sarcoptes Scabiei) associated with mange to take hold. So, other things you can feed are marmite sandwiches, fresh liver a...
Ratty visits the garden for one of the first times
I’ve been studying several foxes in the garden since New Year. There are about five local ones, most seem healthy but not all. For the last week a fox with very, very bad sarcoptic mange has been visiting. I’m sure it’s not one of the local family group (if it had been I’m sure I would have seen it before) but has been pushed out of another territory and is looking for food.
It’s coat is in very poor condition, in places on it’s back it’s bald and it’s tail is completely bare. I’ve named it Ratty. It’s not much bigger than a domestic cat and looks very sorry for itself. Since I first spotted it I’ve been putting out some extra food in a bowl. On the first night Ratty was very wary of it. The local foxes march straight up to the bowl without a care in the world but he didn’t eat a thing, and spent the entire night circling it.
more about “Fox with Mange : 27 January 2009 on V…“, posted with vodpod
That was Tuesday, since then he’s got much braver and last night was tucking into the food I put out. We had a problem with foxes and mange last year and I managed to get some advice from the National Fox Welfare Society. They sent me some homoeopathic treatment (for free) that I can put onto food, and suggested getting some SA37 vitamin/mineral powder from the pet shop. I used the SA37 last night, and if the fox stays around I’ll start it on the homoeopathic treatment as well. Most foxes with mange this bad don’t survive.
If a fox is healthy it’s harder for the mites (Sarcoptes Scabiei) associated with mange to take hold. So, other things you can feed are marmite sandwiches, fresh liver a...
5 foxes, 3 deer and 1 very cheeky mouse!
I thought it was about time we had a garden wildlife update (as I haven’t given you a fox update since August 07 - whoops!). It’s cold, it’s wet and it’s windy but in my Corfe Mullen garden life goes on.
Foxy picture courtesy of iStock photographs
Foxy goings on
I’m going to start with the foxes. It’s hard to say if the same characters are in the garden. I expect some will be but with their winter coats it’s so hard to identify them. What I can say is that (on the whole) they are pretty fit this winter and relatively free of mange (the awful parasitic infestation that infects quite a few of the foxes in the area).
I’ve put three 30 second films together (edited into one film below) which show the main visitors to the garden. First we have “Dark Face”. Dark Face also has a really dark coat and brush (tail). I’m not sure if it’s a he or a she but one thing’s for sure… it’s as round as a barrel and obviously finding plenty of food. Next is “Hoppity”. This unfortunate fox has injured it’s leg and has been hopping around on three legs for at least three weeks. However, looking at him I’m not convinced this is a new injury. He copes really well and doesn’t look underweight. I’m keeping an eye on him and assessing how he gets on. Finally there’s “Two Tone”. This little fox is light coloured at the front and has a dark bum. I’m pretty sure it’s caused by new fur growing back after a bout of mange. A pretty, perky little fox!
more about “Meet Three Foxes : January 2009 on Vimeo“, posted with vodpod
I said “5 foxes” so what about the other two? Well these two are in love. Well foxy love at any rate. This is the time of year when foxes pair up and find a mate for the coming season. Amazingly I managed to catch some of their courtship on video, and about 20 seconds into the film the male actually tries to mate with the little vixen. S...
Foxy picture courtesy of iStock photographs
Foxy goings on
I’m going to start with the foxes. It’s hard to say if the same characters are in the garden. I expect some will be but with their winter coats it’s so hard to identify them. What I can say is that (on the whole) they are pretty fit this winter and relatively free of mange (the awful parasitic infestation that infects quite a few of the foxes in the area).
I’ve put three 30 second films together (edited into one film below) which show the main visitors to the garden. First we have “Dark Face”. Dark Face also has a really dark coat and brush (tail). I’m not sure if it’s a he or a she but one thing’s for sure… it’s as round as a barrel and obviously finding plenty of food. Next is “Hoppity”. This unfortunate fox has injured it’s leg and has been hopping around on three legs for at least three weeks. However, looking at him I’m not convinced this is a new injury. He copes really well and doesn’t look underweight. I’m keeping an eye on him and assessing how he gets on. Finally there’s “Two Tone”. This little fox is light coloured at the front and has a dark bum. I’m pretty sure it’s caused by new fur growing back after a bout of mange. A pretty, perky little fox!
more about “Meet Three Foxes : January 2009 on Vimeo“, posted with vodpod
I said “5 foxes” so what about the other two? Well these two are in love. Well foxy love at any rate. This is the time of year when foxes pair up and find a mate for the coming season. Amazingly I managed to catch some of their courtship on video, and about 20 seconds into the film the male actually tries to mate with the little vixen. S...
5 foxes, 3 deer and 1 very cheeky mouse!
I thought it was about time we had a garden wildlife update (as I haven’t given you a fox update since August 07 - whoops!). It’s cold, it’s wet and it’s windy but in my Corfe Mullen garden life goes on.
Foxy picture courtesy of iStock photographs
Foxy goings on
I’m going to start with the foxes. It’s hard to say if the same characters are in the garden. I expect some will be but with their winter coats it’s so hard to identify them. What I can say is that (on the whole) they are pretty fit this winter and relatively free of mange (the awful parasitic infestation that infects quite a few of the foxes in the area).
I’ve put three 30 second films together (edited into one film below) which show the main visitors to the garden. First we have “Dark Face”. Dark Face also has a really dark coat and brush (tail). I’m not sure if it’s a he or a she but one thing’s for sure… it’s as round as a barrel and obviously finding plenty of food. Next is “Hoppity”. This unfortunate fox has injured it’s leg and has been hopping around on three legs for at least three weeks. However, looking at him I’m not convinced this is a new injury. He copes really well and doesn’t look underweight. I’m keeping an eye on him and assessing how he gets on. Finally there’s “Two Tone”. This little fox is light coloured at the front and has a dark bum. I’m pretty sure it’s caused by new fur growing back after a bout of mange. A pretty, perky little fox!
more about “Meet Three Foxes : January 2009 on Vimeo“, posted with vodpod
I said “5 foxes” so what about the other two? Well these two are in love. Well foxy love at any rate. This is the time of year when foxes pair up and find a mate for the coming season. Amazingly I managed to catch some of their courtship on video, and about 20 seconds into the film the male actually tries to mate with the little vixen. S...
Foxy picture courtesy of iStock photographs
Foxy goings on
I’m going to start with the foxes. It’s hard to say if the same characters are in the garden. I expect some will be but with their winter coats it’s so hard to identify them. What I can say is that (on the whole) they are pretty fit this winter and relatively free of mange (the awful parasitic infestation that infects quite a few of the foxes in the area).
I’ve put three 30 second films together (edited into one film below) which show the main visitors to the garden. First we have “Dark Face”. Dark Face also has a really dark coat and brush (tail). I’m not sure if it’s a he or a she but one thing’s for sure… it’s as round as a barrel and obviously finding plenty of food. Next is “Hoppity”. This unfortunate fox has injured it’s leg and has been hopping around on three legs for at least three weeks. However, looking at him I’m not convinced this is a new injury. He copes really well and doesn’t look underweight. I’m keeping an eye on him and assessing how he gets on. Finally there’s “Two Tone”. This little fox is light coloured at the front and has a dark bum. I’m pretty sure it’s caused by new fur growing back after a bout of mange. A pretty, perky little fox!
more about “Meet Three Foxes : January 2009 on Vimeo“, posted with vodpod
I said “5 foxes” so what about the other two? Well these two are in love. Well foxy love at any rate. This is the time of year when foxes pair up and find a mate for the coming season. Amazingly I managed to catch some of their courtship on video, and about 20 seconds into the film the male actually tries to mate with the little vixen. S...
The Jackdaw Roost at Sunset - In Sound & Motion!
On boxing day I watched a jackdaw roost at sunset on the edge of Corfe Mullen. A couple of days later I went back with my video camera and sound recorder to try and capture some of the atmosphere. This is what happened…
As I climbed up Mountain Clump hill at 4pm there wasn’t a bird in the sky. After about 15 minutes I started to wonder if what I’d seen on Boxing Day had been a complete fluke and the jackdaws were now roosting somewhere else. Maybe they move to a different roost every night? I suddenly realised how little I knew about jackdaws.
It was a gorgeous afternoon. Cold and crisp without a cloud in the sky. So I decided to set up the camera and wait. The birds behind me in the gorse were tucking themselves up for the night and a few seagulls drifted in and out of view but I needn’t have worried more birds were on the way.
I heard them before I saw them. A small flock of 20 jackdaws calling to each other as they flew in the direction of the woods. More flocks arrived. Swooping, circling and shouting there heads off as they greeted each other at the end of another hard day of foraging on the fields.
Soon the din was unbelievable and the massive flock of birds rose and fell like a roller-coaster, their fluid, rhythmic twists and turns keeping me rooted to the spot. Staring into the pink sky with my mouth open and a big grin on my face I decided this had to be high up on my list of amazing wildlife spectacles.
Here’s the video - it’s under 2 mins long. Make sure you have the sound turned on. I really hope you enjoy it!
more about “Jackdaw Roost - Corfe Mullen : 28 Dec…“, posted with vodpod
Posted in Birds, corfe mullen, Dorset, Nature, nature uk, UK, Wildlife, wildlife uk Tagged: Birds, corfe mullen, Dorset, jackdaw roost, jackdaws, UK
As I climbed up Mountain Clump hill at 4pm there wasn’t a bird in the sky. After about 15 minutes I started to wonder if what I’d seen on Boxing Day had been a complete fluke and the jackdaws were now roosting somewhere else. Maybe they move to a different roost every night? I suddenly realised how little I knew about jackdaws.
It was a gorgeous afternoon. Cold and crisp without a cloud in the sky. So I decided to set up the camera and wait. The birds behind me in the gorse were tucking themselves up for the night and a few seagulls drifted in and out of view but I needn’t have worried more birds were on the way.
I heard them before I saw them. A small flock of 20 jackdaws calling to each other as they flew in the direction of the woods. More flocks arrived. Swooping, circling and shouting there heads off as they greeted each other at the end of another hard day of foraging on the fields.
Soon the din was unbelievable and the massive flock of birds rose and fell like a roller-coaster, their fluid, rhythmic twists and turns keeping me rooted to the spot. Staring into the pink sky with my mouth open and a big grin on my face I decided this had to be high up on my list of amazing wildlife spectacles.
Here’s the video - it’s under 2 mins long. Make sure you have the sound turned on. I really hope you enjoy it!
more about “Jackdaw Roost - Corfe Mullen : 28 Dec…“, posted with vodpod
Posted in Birds, corfe mullen, Dorset, Nature, nature uk, UK, Wildlife, wildlife uk Tagged: Birds, corfe mullen, Dorset, jackdaw roost, jackdaws, UK
From a Handful of Coal Tits to Thousands of Jackdaws
I didn’t start the day with the intention of seeing any wildlife but it just kind of happened. One of those lucky days I guess when the wildlife appears and puts on a show right in front of you.
Jackdaws gather as the light fades
I had a slumpy day today. We had rushed around yesterday having lunch with Andrew’s family and seeing my sister and her partner in the morning, and by the time we got home at 6pm it was a bit late for a walk. I was determined to get out for some fresh-air today.
I spent this morning working out how my new Christmas camera attachments worked. The birds around the bird feeder became my guinea-pigs. With a new ultra-zoom lens I was able to get in pretty close - great to see their individual feathers and markings.
I’ve uploaded the video. It only runs for just over a minute and for the first (and maybe the last) time ever I’ve added a narration. Let me know what you think. The focus isn’t perfect but hey practise makes perfect and the birds got some extra sunflower hearts as a thank you!
The daylight was already fading this afternoon as I set out for my promised walk. I thought I’d take a look round the old Dragon Quarry (that I’d last visited in October). The quarry was bleak and grey, no dragonflies now. In fact nothing moved and the wind was vicious, so I changed tack and went to have a look in a nearby wood for badger setts. Drew a blank there as well. Oh, well…
Jumping a fence and making my way down the hill away from Mountain Clump (that’s a wood not an infliction!) I stopped to listen to the birds squabbling in the hedge. They were making such a din I thought something was attacking them… but no, it was just bad tempers and jostling for space!
The first flocks appear and join up
The sun was setting quickly now and small flocks of what I think must have been Jackdaws were joining up with other flocks above me. As I watched the flock got bigger and bigger and louder and louder. I keep promising myse...
Jackdaws gather as the light fades
I had a slumpy day today. We had rushed around yesterday having lunch with Andrew’s family and seeing my sister and her partner in the morning, and by the time we got home at 6pm it was a bit late for a walk. I was determined to get out for some fresh-air today.
I spent this morning working out how my new Christmas camera attachments worked. The birds around the bird feeder became my guinea-pigs. With a new ultra-zoom lens I was able to get in pretty close - great to see their individual feathers and markings.
I’ve uploaded the video. It only runs for just over a minute and for the first (and maybe the last) time ever I’ve added a narration. Let me know what you think. The focus isn’t perfect but hey practise makes perfect and the birds got some extra sunflower hearts as a thank you!
The daylight was already fading this afternoon as I set out for my promised walk. I thought I’d take a look round the old Dragon Quarry (that I’d last visited in October). The quarry was bleak and grey, no dragonflies now. In fact nothing moved and the wind was vicious, so I changed tack and went to have a look in a nearby wood for badger setts. Drew a blank there as well. Oh, well…
Jumping a fence and making my way down the hill away from Mountain Clump (that’s a wood not an infliction!) I stopped to listen to the birds squabbling in the hedge. They were making such a din I thought something was attacking them… but no, it was just bad tempers and jostling for space!
The first flocks appear and join up
The sun was setting quickly now and small flocks of what I think must have been Jackdaws were joining up with other flocks above me. As I watched the flock got bigger and bigger and louder and louder. I keep promising myse...
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