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dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45538
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Apr 14, 24 4:00 pm Post subject:

the daws are getting more chilled about me, a collar dove is here as a visitor

the newbracks are regulars, ditto pigeons and sparrows, considering how well dressed the daws and dove are the locals might need to ask about a good tailor and a bath house attendant

a 5 min outside had the two daws getting mealworms from the feeder and another watching with me a couple of meters away, ideal for snaps

i recon there is merit to study a small, very local place and its critters, just on time and logistics grounds,

another advantage over "expeditions to study......" is that most of those barely have time to scope for and establish themselves comfortably* in good observation spots, aside from the critters ignoring them(or interacting on their terms) rather than hiding or being grumpy

* see tropical and arctic medicine, dangeroos exotic critters and parasites etc, angry locals and dangeroos landscapes etc
and the bears might eat you while you watch the wolves

ps my otter spot is only in scotland, it is a little challenging to access and live in, i might make it with a boat to water to landing approach, down and up the side no, along no
most fit folk would be wary of down and up, or swimming the last 30 m with all the kit and scrambling up the rocks
the almost civilized descent to an also landable, if tiny, beach is about half a mile away, easy ingress from there if you swim with the jellyfish or a take a stroll along a charming selection of rocks with massive crevasses between them(Ditto the lochside route from the house with a beach)

it would be possible to canoe land about 50m from the spot, only at low neap tides and with only a bit of rock crevasse work

the otters are well chilled, the landscape and other critters are a bit challenging

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15612

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 24 7:26 am Post subject:

Yes, there is a lot to be said for observing one area carefully. Your observations in your yard will be biased as the birds expect you to feed them, but if they act naturally you will get some very useful observations. I have only seen otters in semi captivity, although I understand one used to go awol every so often and may have founded a local dynasty. We are able to observe other things without much effort; wood mice, roe deer sometimes, grey squirrels and various birds, which is interesting if somewhat brief sightings most frequently.

I like to observe the flowers as at least they stay still. Know where some of our unusual ones are, but still trying to work out why some of them are there.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45538
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 24 12:57 pm Post subject:

the sparrows are gathering building materials, weaving stuff at the mo, moss will follow

the daws are getting more chilled, and defensive of their tame human's restaurant
sumu hummingbird in a nice suit getting mealworms from a feeder is funny, it works for them
a bit of beak grab, plenty of shake, the downstairs one gets the shake, then they swap roles

mice are about and avoiding rain as much as poss, stores and "home deliveries" helps

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15612

Posted: Tue Apr 16, 24 7:05 am Post subject:

Sounds good. We have seen and heard more bird life in the woods recently. Had a robin come asking for food yesterday, but I was about to get into the car, so couldn't stop. Will give it something if it turns up on cue next time I go out and not in a hurry. The down the garden and yard robins haven't been seen since last year, so don't know what has become of them. We do have at least one 'up the garden' robin though as have seen this one and heard one as well.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45538
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Apr 16, 24 9:34 am Post subject:

i have created unnatural feeding supplies and the environments are a work in progress(at over 10 times natural speed)

most of the environments are far from natural, in a decade or so it has gone from a few species to many

it may not be natural but it is fun to watch it develop and how the critters use it and interact

the invertebrates pick and mix has shown dramatic changes as the place develops
some things are local fauna, some things thrive for a year or two, new things arrive most do not thrive but lots try

the composition of the slimy horde has developed dramatically over 15 years(we are now chums)

the worm estate is blessed with riches, semi natural feeding for birds, a good place but where i put it

the random flora, see birds etc, can fail struggle or establish
ditto my slightly less random introductions (i'm not sure how many vetches are lurking now or have had their genetics distributed in the past)

it is more intensive than my little forest, that is mostly natural between targetted seed distribution and 5 decades is developing
i should survey and record it, that needs help as a proper one of it needs several disciplines and some agile folk with cameras and sample pots etc

it looked ok last time when i was planting tahir's kind contribution of appropriate species
that and the occasional eyeball or new google earth snaps gives me an overall impression
to record it would require living in it for a while

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45538
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Apr 17, 24 5:00 am Post subject:
birdtown news early edition mr brack has a podium about 15 meters away, his closest rival is about 100 meters away in or about cat crescent, the other rival is the other side of the A19 about 150M away or perhaps on the green if the sound was getting swerved

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15612

Posted: Wed Apr 17, 24 5:24 am Post subject:

Sounds good. I am afraid I am not a fan of the slimy hoard as they get where I don't want them and eat things I don't want them to eat. Otherwise, our garden is fairly natural for the most part too. I am hoping for better things in the vegetable garden this year as the two laylandii have been cut and the sycamore trimmed in next doors garden to the south and the two buddleias have come down. Now we need to keep them down.

Have heard more birds in the woods. We have a blackbird fairly close and have heard at least one more at a distance. Heard thrush, tawny owls, and one I haven't identified yet but might be a blackcap, as well as the usual tits, wren and robin.

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9717
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Thu Apr 18, 24 9:56 am Post subject:
my garden is far too natural - should have fewer brambles! But I like to leave the lawn to meadow etc, and we get a lot from seeing nature go about it's business the flower/ pretty bits of the garden has to be full of things that cope with slugs, so have ended up with cottage garden feel. saw my first adder of the year yesterday - out and about , not at home.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45440
Location: Essex

Posted: Thu Apr 18, 24 9:58 am Post subject:

Nicky cigreen wrote:

my garden is far too natural - should have fewer brambles!

Ours too, have managed to get some cleared this year though

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15612

Posted: Thu Apr 18, 24 3:29 pm Post subject:

Ours is very over natural. Some bits resemble a wood where things have self set, so we are working our way though them slowly-when I can get husband to do some work in the garden. One lawn is covered in a mixture of primroses and cowslips at the moment with various crosses, the other is emerging from the undergrowth and we have plenty of fritillaries in that. I wasn't able to get into the apple bed this winter, so that needs a good going through, as does a lot more, but don't think I will be managing too much this year.

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8625
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Thu Apr 18, 24 5:07 pm Post subject:
The goldfinches have arrived and found the niger seed feeder

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45538
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Apr 18, 24 5:46 pm Post subject:
"nature"with a bit of acceleration and useful plants is my style none were here 15000 yrs ago, so Corsican rosemary(very nice) and nettles are equally welcome as diversity but not as monocrop ditto the critters a few plants and critters are in the wrong place and get "seen to"

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45538
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Apr 20, 24 11:23 am Post subject:

birdtown news

i should not suggest queenie has developed a waddle out loud

across various species, the women are starting "to show"

this year's must have domestic furnishing for sparrows is lavender, good choice for the bedstraw layer of the nest

among materials of choice are the exposed tufts of a massive dreadlock (a bit of a csi scene in a garden "planter" but good plant food etc)
feathers
moss and slug glue composites are used by the blackbirds, that is a very messy at the "mining" and construction stages but an effective technique, it binds the moss to the twigs well which is then ready for lining with feathers end soft plant stuff etc

11 sparrows, 2 bracks, sufficient named pigeons, 2 daws(and any daws they invite, they disapprove of the others taking advantage of their hummingbird style mealworm wrangling), at least one wren, occasional woody and collar visits, pie passes by and sometimes decides here is not comfortable, grin is grin maybe passing maybe dining
heron passes above rather than uses of the river and beck, probably dining in man crÃ¨che fish bothering ponds and looking for sashami grade koi carp in gardens

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45538
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Apr 20, 24 12:14 pm Post subject:
did i mention grin, birdtown is very quiet at the mo , grin on their tv ariel is rude and worrying

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15612

Posted: Sun Apr 21, 24 9:18 am Post subject:

Extremely rude of Grin. When we had a peregrine in the pylon near us all the rooks decamped to the next one in the line.

Took some cousins for a walk in the woods yesterday. Flowers at their absolute best at the moment. Loads of bluebells, some wild garlic coming into flower, primroses, violets, early purple orchids; we saw the lot. The leaves are coming out on the trees, and beech leaves in particular are spectacular against a blue sky; almost surreal in colour contrast.

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