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Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15708

Posted: Wed Jun 05, 24 7:59 am Post subject:

Went our yesterday and heard another cuckoo. We haven't heard any for ages, and that is the second or third we have heard this year so are they more numerous this year? Also saw a lovely lot of trout in the River Test. They seemed completely unfazed with people walking past them or even stopping to watch them, so assume that they know the people there don't fish. Also strangely round the cafe areas there were chaffinches picking up the crumbs rather than the usual sparrow, robins or wagtails. or pigeons in towns.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15708

Posted: Fri Jun 07, 24 8:17 am Post subject:
I was wrong; the bluetits are still not flown. Saw the parents feeding them still yesterday. One parent completely ignores us but the other is very nervous and won't go to the nest if we are near. Have to move out of the way if we see it approaching.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45783
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Jun 07, 24 9:13 am Post subject:

well done , give them another week or so and check again

both daws will take mealworms from the feeder with me 2.8 meters away chatting to em

now they need to get used to me and a machine, the rest are, daws are different

of all the avians i have met or known, daws are perhaps the most intelligent in several categories of intelligence, including being a little wary of a camera that passes for a mortar tube

a naughty experiment a few years ago on the ings, i "shouldered" the walking stick and pointed it at all 60 or so daws, they were not keen on it
it did show how observant and coherent they are, it also suggested that within daw folk law they have been shot at and "we see the stick and scatter, etc" is a well known folksong

but

clever beasts

the two that are becoming very local are the ones that fell down the chimney, that was a disturbing introduction for all of us, slowly get friendly and letting the other avians risk being close to me has shown them i am worth taming

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15708

Posted: Sat Jun 08, 24 6:42 am Post subject:

Have found birds in particular, but other animals too see risk differently. Deer will not be bothered by most things that are still; not too sure about their eyesight as I think they may use their ears and scent more, but any movement and they are off, although some will tolerate a vehicle if it is not coming towards them. Wood pigeons fly off as soon as they sense a human, but pheasants stay still, even if rather obvious, until a person (or presumably a predator) is close, then fly up suddenly with a squawke.

As I said, one of the bluetits has decided we are harmless, but the other one not. As they have faded colours at the moment because of hard work, not sure which is which, but from previous contact with nesting birds, suggest the female just gets on with it.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45783
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Jun 08, 24 5:06 pm Post subject:

birdtown is jolly, the most striking thing is how little friction or unpleasantness there is between species

they have different feeding styles but are in the same restaurant eating the same dishes
mostly, occasionally one of them is on the menu if grin pops round

a couple of hours ago, there were 5 species being polite, including the now and again wren who seemed to be considered an honoured visitor

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15708

Posted: Tue Jun 11, 24 7:04 am Post subject:
It seems the bluetits have finallly fledged and gone, so we may be able to use the kiln again.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45783
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Jun 11, 24 1:21 pm Post subject:

now they have gone, you should have a window to shut the window

decades ago i was painting a client's house, i normally go clockwise as im right handed

not that time, angry bluetit in face as i topped the ladder, so..... start the next elevation counterclockwise from the nest and get round to them in 3 weeks or so a day before they were fledging
considering how many tiny flies stuck in my paint, they had chosen a good area

i got more ambidextrous thanks to bluetits, violent wee critters though

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45783
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Jun 11, 24 6:16 pm Post subject:

birdtown is worm crazy, 4 tubes during light
they look well on it, plenty of early birds and loads of "feed me" tweeting in a few languages in the bushes

a horrifying loss of pollinators and other overground inverts
the bramble is coming into full flower, very few white tail and other bees and no hoverflies or moths etc

very few wasps hunting, not much to hunt

i recon the little critters are the canaries in the mine, a decade of "odd" weather and seasons has nailed lots of them to below sustainable to them or useful to others

the things that managed 5 might not cope with 6, things will, and i now humbly welcome my new tardigrade over lords, "over to you stumpy"

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45783
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Jun 12, 24 5:45 pm Post subject:
bird town is starting to relax about me, spose i knew some gt gt grandparents and traditions get set into behaviour pigeons, more than there was a while ago, babies, i spose im looking after them, the parents trust me ditto sparrows one of the daws is fairly sure im OK, the other is deciding, very clever beasts for this much bramble flower, we have far fewer pollinators than a while ago

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15708

Posted: Thu Jun 13, 24 7:44 am Post subject:

I think we have plenty of insect life in the woods. Judging by the little biters, larger biters, the amount the bluetits were finding, they seem to be doing all right. Had a hornet visit the other day, and plenty of assorted bumble bees. In among houses might be more problematical, but things seem to be better here.

As you say, bluetits can be rather violent to anyone going near their nest. Son has been spat at a couple of times when he dared. They may be small, but they can defend themselves.

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8682
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Thu Jun 13, 24 8:08 am Post subject:
I think we must have had enough insects a little while back, as the redcurrants and gooseberries have a big crop coming.. blackcurrants not quite as much.. I see a quite few bumblebees around, but the usual honeybees and wasps who seem to want to go through the house just haven't been around. It has been rather cold windy and wet of late, so perhaps not surprising

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15708

Posted: Fri Jun 14, 24 7:51 am Post subject:
Certainly I think the wet cold weather has played a part. Honey bees are far less active in cooler weather, as are butterflies.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45501
Location: Essex

Posted: Fri Jun 14, 24 1:31 pm Post subject:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/14/wildlife-experts-urge-action-on-pesticides-as-uk-insect-populations-plummet

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45783
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Jun 14, 24 3:06 pm Post subject:
yep, well planned/managed crops and bugland areas removes the need for most pesticides it does not help if next door is crop spraying with your pollinators or predators in their field or their sprayaway drifts over

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45783
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Jun 14, 24 3:08 pm Post subject:
in jollier news ,an antirrhinum trebuchet and a sparrow was hysterical, a proper cartoon landing and surprise bounce

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