April Wildlife Challenge 2016

[LovelyLadyLux]

Flickers often eat early morning - crack of dawn. You can hear them hit the trees like a battering ram (especially now I have the bedroom windows open).

[LovelyLadyLux]

One lone sparrow in the bird feeder this morning and he or she was spending their time kicking seed down onto the ground so they could probably eat it there!

Yesterday morning I was up and out quite early and over to the daughters as we were going for a drive to the next town up Island. I was waiting in her kitchen for the twins to get ready for school when clang-clang-clang-clang-clang! Drilling on metal. Silence and then the drilling again.

Saw a beautiful red headed woodpecker sitting on the side of their basketball hoop and drilling its beak into the metal. Course I didn't have the camera with me but he was a beaut. Daughter says he comes quite regularly early mornings and sits on a bracket of the metal upright and pecks the post. He then flies over to the neighbours and has a go at their house eaves downspout and go across the street and does the same on that downspout.

Seems he is a bit confused but does this circuit every morning.

[Grandad]

Nothing much to report. The three vixens probably ALL have cubs even the one I thought didn't. Those three and the dog come every evening for supper and keep returning through the night to see if anything else is available (I get that on the night camera). No sign of cubs yet but maybe during next month.
We have in the past had a problem with rats on the railway embenkment but I have not seen one for a couple of years now. hopefully the foxes are keeping them down.
A few evenings ago I heard a lot of barking up on the bank and also some yelping, like a dog being hurt. Last evening I noticed what I think is a wound on the right side of Missy's neck. Couldn't get close enough to see properly as it was dusk but maybe she was attacked by a dog being walked.
On the subject of dog walking, my camera has recorded a hugh bear like dog coming down to see if there is anything to eat. I hear his master whistling and calling 'Davy' (I think) The thing is I have recorded this dog walker as late as 11.55pm. The footpath at the top of the bank is very overgrown and dark but I am sure the man feels secure with such a monster of a dog.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Doesn't sound good if your Missy has a wound on her neck but I guess that is wildlife possibilities (getting hurt that is). Would a domestic dog be able to actually catch a fox?

Most of the waddlers I see around here wouldn't have a chance to catch anything wild unless it was already hurt or really old.

My bird feeder had a lone redwing blackbird on it the other day briefly but it didn't stay and I haven't seen it come back. Nobody seems interested but maybe it is cause there is sufficient food out and about the marsh they don't need to bother coming up here to the feeder. Winter might bring more but right now I'm mostly watching an empty feeder.

[Grandad]

phpBB [video]

[Grandad]

I did manage to get a poor quality still from the IR video. Who walks a dog at nearly mid night on a dark and overgrown railway embankment?


Perhaps Robbo can enlighten me on what breed this is. Could it be a Newfoundland? I never see it in the daytime

[Horus]

Its got all the looks of a big Collie dog Grandad

[LovelyLadyLux]

Looks like some sort of big collie to me too. My guess would be the person walking it likes to let it run hence it is off leash and just following its nose. Once it has discovered food it'll be back to search for treats all the time.

[Grandad]

Well it is nearly the end of the month and I still have nothing new to post. Only one bird box out of 4 has a nesting pair so, all being well, I hope to see chicks leaving in a few weeks. The parents are not yet BOTH finding food so I assume the chicks have not yet hatched.

The Vixens' teats are receding so again I have to assume that the cubs are now on solids. Two of them, Missy and Tilly, are fairly confident in waiting for and coming down when I put something out. Millie, the third vixen is much more timid. All I can offer today is a picture of Missy last evening when I went out with camera and some jam sarnies. She DID smile for the camera though


See her left ear, it is torn so she has been in a scrap....

[Kiya]

Ooooo she looks a bit wild for my liking

[Grandad]

Ooooo she looks a bit wild for my liking

No! That's her happy smile for the camera Kiya

[Jayway]

Newfoundlands are all black and have bigger heads ? He is probably walking it late so he doesnt get a heap in the house ? Get a siren, and beep it next time, if its loud enough the dog wont come back, but remove it before morning (KEEP THE NEIGHBOURS QUIET . . HAAAA HAAAA)

[LovelyLadyLux]

Your fox definitely looks nice Grandad! Her teeth are nice and white so I think that means she probably isn't that old.

I've had zip zilch nada so far re: wildlife. I've seen a couple of interesting birds in the backyard but never when I have a camera close. Nothing is happening at the feeder hung out front. Hopefully my post out back will some feeders on it will get a few birds interested in it. I have the feeders just waiting for the cement to dry and for me to get the hangers to get nailed on them.

[Grandad]

Newfoundlands are all black and have bigger heads ?

Jay, they can be black, brown, grey, or black and white. But I agree on the head shape. Hopefully this is not a totally nocturnal dog and that I may see his master and check his breed. He is however a very large dog and I doubt that he is a collie.
:

[LovelyLadyLux]

None of these photos are recent. I was just going through some old files and thought I'd jazz up the Wildlife section by posting them!

Bald Eagle


Falcon


Owl


Redwing blackbird. One of these was at my bird feeder a few days ago. Didn't stay so I couldn't get a picture but he or she was at least having a look see at it.


These guys (Canadian Geese) are squawking up a storm in the marsh behind me. Not sure if it is mating season or if they're nesting but periodically throughout the day these guys left fly in high voice and natter on and on. I'm really hoping to see fluffy babies at some point maybe, hopefully.

[Grandad]

LLL, I opened this thread and saw that I had missed you post. The pictures may not be new but they are very good. I always look for pictures that stand out for me and in your collection it is a close thing between the eagle and the hawk, but I think on balance the hawk wins. I like its pose.

Elsewhere today we have; at least Horus and me; talked about some Fuji camera stuff. Sitting by the back door this evening a dog fox came to visit and I took a couple of shots to illustrate the range of the HS50 zoom.

These are both full frame hand held. The first is at maximum zoom, 42x (1036mm), and the second is with the 2x digital zoom switched on, so it is about 84x (2083mm). Just to show that a relatively inexpensive Fuji camera can get some very good shots. (it was near dusk so illumination was not good)



I will try to get something a bit more interesting, other than foxes, in the May thread.

[Horus]

Great shots Grandad and like you I also failed to respond to the wonderful pictures that LLL posted, I can only say that I must have been distracted by that football thread, but this is far more interesting. We also get visits from the Red Wings and they are a lovely sight to see. The Bald Eagle is superb as is the Owl, we also have loads of Canada Geese that frequent the local lakes and ponds, in fact in some areas they are considered as pests and are culled.

[Kiya]

Great pictures from you all

[Jayway]

I found a new-to-me bug yesterday, wonder if anyone has seen one like it ? Imagine a half inch of grey matter ( thought it was a piece of leaf that the ant was taking. ) At the end of this grey piece a black dot appeared, then emerged the tiniest yellow, black and green striped body with little legs scrabbling like mad. I poked the ant off and watched this tiny thing half in its coccoon, rush off my step and into the garden, watching it with my binocular end that I use to read the print on my drug warnings - - - -

[LovelyLadyLux]

@Jayway - not sure what that would be .....???