April Wildlife Challenge 2016

[LovelyLadyLux]

Starting this thread in the hopes we all might get some decent wildlife photos in April.

This is the status of my bird feeder after - hmmm about 3 weeks out there. Food is down about 1" and I'm just not getting anybody to come and feed from it. I do get the odd like sparrow but nobody really seems that interested. I even moved a couple more plants in planters around it to add a bit more cover. About all I can think is that it is too much out in the open to attract birds.



Weather has been lovely so I did catch this one lone Canadian goose swimming close to the shore in the march out back.



Just an interesting tree stump



Since I don't have wildlife photos am including a photo of my pieris. Nice bright read is looking lovely in the garden and a viola I just planted.

[Grandad]

A couple of contributions to this months thread. Still fox watching and still no cubs...yet. This little vid is an update on the two pregnant mums, our friendly vixen who is not pregnant, perhaps she is gay and one of the two dog foxes in the area.

phpBB [video]

This afternoon I spent a little while sitting outside with the Fuji. Much chillier today so I didn't stay out long. What I wanted to do was try to get pics of the bluetits leaving the nestbox. I also tried the same thing with the seed feeder.
I set the camera to 'S' shutter priority and set 1000th of a second. I set the ISO to 1600 on the basis that it should stop the action, near enough, although there would be a loss in quality. I was quite pleased with the results and here is:

A bluetit leaving the nest


A collage of five successive shots of a bluetit leaving the feeder


And although no merit in this pic, the bigger birds do get a peck at the top of the fatball holder


PS: Forgot to mention, I set the camera to 16 Fps to get rapid snapping.

PPS: Also forgot to say, the group of foxes is a 'Skulk' apparently (Had to look that one up )

[Horus]

First off LLL, sorry for not commenting sooner (PC problems)
Keep getting out with that camera I am struggling at the moment trying to find something interesting to take as there is nothing much happening out and about where I am either, I do like the log and fungi though, my sort of picture.

Grandad, more great shots of the foxes, I particularly like the one who kept sneaking in and wagging his tail trying to ingratiate himself Nice action shots of the Blue-tits by the way.

[Grandad]

LLL, I too had forgotten a particular comment on your post. It is about your apparent absence of interest in your seed feeder. I am sure the birds will find it but mine are situated in amongst the bushes, not concealed in any way, but close enough for birds in the bushes to confidently fly there to feed.

On our seasonal wildlife programs on TV they quite often visit peoples gardens and many have a pole with several feeders situated right in the middle of a lawn and they are getting many visitors. I don't think it really matters where you put your feedwes. Once they find a regular source of food they will come back.

I also like the tress stump with fungal growth. I have a similar tree stump near the river at our local supermarket and through the seasons the growth changes so it is one to watch.

I expect you are now in the US, any Bald Eagles flying around

[Kiya]

Lovely pictures from you folks

[Grandad]

LLL, I found that I had a pic of my local tree stump with fungal growth. This was in April a couple of years ago and the growth changes through the year so I will keep an eye on it when we go shopping.

[Jayway]

Love your action collage Grandad. Wonder where your foxes live, very far away?

[Horus]

I will hopefully be adding some more of my own once the new PC is all up and running

[Mad Dilys]

The only wild life I see here are a multitude of seagulls, a few pigeons and even fewer jackdaws.

There was a snail on the front garden wall a couple of days ago, I guess as soon as I put bedding plants out in the troughs it will be snail and slug wrangling every morning. I'm quite looking forward to it.

PS One of last years geraniums still has a couple of leaves on it out in all weathers.

[Grandad]

Love your action collage Grandad. Wonder where your foxes live, very far away?

Jay; LLL, Horus and me have similar Fuji cameras and I wanted to try something that I had not done before. That was setting the shutter to take 16 frames a second. It was just a trial but one I will use in future to get action shots of larger birds.

As for the foxes, I am sure they live not too far from the 'supermarket' But, much as I like having them around I did say to Mrs G this morning that perhaps I will cut back on the rations and make them forage further afield. I don't want them to forget how to hunt for themselves....

[Grandad]

I am still getting regular pictures of the two pregnant vixens who are now late in producing their cubs. They normally come into season early January and mate. The cubs are born 53 days later which would put it early to mid March. I am getting a theory that if their cycle is triggered by cold winter weather, the milder winter may have upset their natural cycle.

Whatever the reason, Tilly the most advanced should be ready to drop any day so I am leaving the camera on every night until she disappears from the scene and that will be a good indication that she has gone to earth.

Still feeling like an expectant dad.

[Horus]

And we are like Aunts & Uncles

[Grandad]

And we are like Aunts & Uncles

[LovelyLadyLux]

Love the fox videos. I actually saw it this morning but the wifi was going too slow at the restaurant and it kept stopping. Just watched it again now. I wonder what all the rapid tail wagging means and I also wonder how much tail movement is significant to foxes?

They all look quite nice and healthy too.

A couple of little birds have found the feeder but nobody seems to be coming back to it that often. Same place I hung the suet and they 'found' that and loved it 'til the crows would come in and decimate it. Maybe there is just enough other food around that is making everybody not bother with the feeder. Will see. It hadn't been out there that much and I do have it where I can see it out front and there really is not lots of cover. I've only got 1 large bush in a pot beside it but it really isn't too covered.

[Grandad]

I think that I (or actually Mrs G) have soled the mystery of the 'late arrival of the cubs'. I have just gone through all my trail cam pics and I had a gap from mid February to third week of March when I had no outside camera. During that period I believe the two pregnant vixens had their cubs and I also believe that the third vixen has been helping one or both mothers.
If that is the case, the cubs would now be around 4 weeks old and just getting on to solid food which could explain why the third vixen has been taking food away and not eating it on the bank.
So I would expect the cubs to be taken with parents away from the earth any time in the next 4 weeks or so.
I think the quandary is now solved and they are actually on track for normal development and appearance late May and into June.......

[Horus]

Great analysis Grandad, we should have you on a Richard Attenborough program

[LovelyLadyLux]

This morning I solved the mystery of the diminishing bird seed yet NO birds. Although I was up quite late last night talking to my gf for some reason I woke up extremely early this morning. Unable to go back to sleep I got up, made coffee, opened the blinds and gazed out upon the bird feeder. The seed is now down close to half.

What I saw was that brown woodpecker hanging off the side of the feeder probably trying to drill it with his beak tipping it sufficient to spill seed out the one feeder onto the ground!!!

I haven't seen other than a fleeting occasional sparrow around the feeder yet the seed has been going down and from what I saw this morning the woodpecker has sufficient weight behind him or her to slant it and spill out seed..........GEEZ! Mystery solved but gosh darn it all.

Strolled out housecoat and all and 'yup' there on the ground is mega seed. Probably ALL going to sprout too...... (Stupid woodpecker)

[Horus]

At least you have the culprit

[LovelyLadyLux]

Yeah - the brown woodpecker aka Flicker! I'm not seeing hardly any birds around the feeder at all however slowly the seed is going down. And now it is down, at least, by 1/3. Doesn't help when you see a big Flicker hanging off of it spilling seeds down on the ground.......AGH!

[Horus]

Isn't it interesting that something we see quite often we consider to be common place or a nuisance, I would love to have one of your Flickers visit my garden.