Visitors

Use this board for general non-cycling-related chat, or to introduce yourself to the forum.
mercalia
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Joined: 22 Sep 2013, 10:03pm
Location: london South

Re: Visitors

Post by mercalia »

seems like Natural England in their war on birds also supplied licences to kill moorhens

http://jasonendfield.weebly.com/home/na ... their-eggs
100%JR
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Joined: 31 May 2016, 10:47pm
Location: High Green,Sheffield.

Re: Visitors

Post by 100%JR »

mercalia wrote:seems like Natural England in their war on birds also supplied licences to kill moorhens

http://jasonendfield.weebly.com/home/na ... their-eggs

Seems to be a justifiable reason to me?
mercalia
Posts: 14630
Joined: 22 Sep 2013, 10:03pm
Location: london South

Re: Visitors

Post by mercalia »

nice youtube video of squirrels

[youtube]Amv3D1oy79M[/youtube]
Oldjohnw
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Joined: 16 Oct 2018, 4:23am
Location: South Warwickshire

Re: Visitors

Post by Oldjohnw »

IMG_20190910_082129_011.jpg

Near Ullswater a couple of weeks ago.
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John
100%JR
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Joined: 31 May 2016, 10:47pm
Location: High Green,Sheffield.

Re: Visitors

Post by 100%JR »

mercalia wrote:nice youtube video of squirrels

[youtube]Amv3D1oy79M[/youtube]

Fluffy tailed Rats.
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661-Pete
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Joined: 22 Nov 2012, 8:45pm
Location: Sussex

Re: Visitors

Post by 661-Pete »

On the topic of unexpected wildlife encounters.

I nearly ran over a hedgehog a few nights ago. I was going along a residential street, slightly downhill in damp conditions, and fairly fast - and this hedgehog, quite a big one, was crossing the road, full-tilt, on a direct collision course for my front wheel. I had virtually no time to avoid it, I did my best, in the end I must have struck it with a pedal. I felt the jolt. By the time I was able to stop the creature had disappeared. I hope it wasn't badly hurt. I suppose they can live with a few broken spines. At least it didn't suffer the fate of so many hedgehogs on our roads - not yet!

One thinks of a hedgehog as a slow-moving, shambling creature, easy to catch: but this is not true. At times they can put on a good turn of speed...
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kwackers
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Joined: 4 Jun 2008, 9:29pm
Location: Warrington

Re: Visitors

Post by kwackers »

Tangled Metal
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Joined: 13 Feb 2015, 8:32pm

Re: Visitors

Post by Tangled Metal »

I had a similar close encounter with a duck and 8 chicks. Flat terrain but I had a bulk carrier truck 50cm behind me and making me cycle faster and faster to survive at the time anyway the duck doubled back into the bank but the chicks went between my wheels and into the bank safely. I meanwhile had to keep going another 100m before I could pull into a bus lay by and brake suddenly to catch my breath. Never did see the number plate or any way to identify the truck to complain.

I was however amazed to find that those chicks were part way to a cat's 9 lives. Not one died under my wheels or the trucks.
Tangled Metal
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Joined: 13 Feb 2015, 8:32pm

Re: Visitors

Post by Tangled Metal »

Other observations of animal encounters...
Rabbits squish under car tyres very easily due to soft body/ bones. Rats however are solid and feel like sleeping policemen.

I've been told you don't want to hit badgers, they're very solid and their skull doesn't really crush but get sent down the road leaving the squished body. It's also the case that after hitting a badger in the country you might not have actually killed it. The farmer who dug it up or poisoned it did that the chances are.

Deer can jump over a car bonnet but if they don't make it expect to get a replacement bumper and probably need your front end fixing too. There's a very good reason the red reflectives on posts direct headlights into woods they're a cheap deer scare.

Red squirrels are on steroids, at least in Cumbria they do. I don't know how close to them you've got but I once got half a metre from one and they've got muscles on muscles considering their diminutive size. Complete with little veins popping out. I know it was on steroids because the way it was angrily chatting away at us it could only be roid rage!

Mink are a beautiful creature and really a fierce hunter but they're not native to Britain. Do not release them from fur farms. They kill so much wildlife and not in a balanced way. Thanks to libbers doing that Garstang decades ago we've got mink around Lancaster area. Not good.

Stoats and weasels are a local species to Britain. They are also great hunters but sustainably. I've seen one hunt a shrew by scent. Heard the end of the shrew, very quick.

These ramblings are from a nature lover. I've seen some amazing examples of nature and natural behaviours, but I'm not romantic about it. Live then die is nature! Some I'm quite happy to help dispatch. Our dog took out a rabbit a year old then a few weeks later a rat. I knew there was a good reason for having her.
Oldjohnw
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Joined: 16 Oct 2018, 4:23am
Location: South Warwickshire

Re: Visitors

Post by Oldjohnw »

Grey squirrels are lovely little things: they just shouldn't be here.

I understand that eighteen Pine Marten are being reintroduced to the Forest of Dean.
John
Tangled Metal
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Joined: 13 Feb 2015, 8:32pm

Re: Visitors

Post by Tangled Metal »

Funny thing I learnt about grey squirrels was from a guy online from either side of the Canadian US border. Apparently he didn't know about uk grey squirrel problem. Where he's from the big issue is the grey's being out competed by foreign reds. The reds were bigger and better able to compete for resources so there was a legal take all you can, all year round for reds.

Obviously not our red squirrel species but it did confuse him awhile.
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Joined: 24 Oct 2012, 10:43pm
Location: English Riviera

Re: Visitors

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
Just recently had a few more bats fly into me in the dark, it always seems to be the same place, they must be leaving the roost somewhere there.(On the bike)
Not seen many deer lately.
Two young badgers the other night, unfortunately they tend to turn around when you're following them, one went forward and one went back , I was just getting ready to stop and lean against the post when they disappeared into the bush.
I have one hedgehog at the moment he has favoured my new boxes, Has stayed through the daytime several days this week.
Robins are around in the garden Waiting for food then getting chased off by blackbirds.
The blue tits are back but only occasional ones.
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Oldjohnw
Posts: 7764
Joined: 16 Oct 2018, 4:23am
Location: South Warwickshire

Re: Visitors

Post by Oldjohnw »

I started feeding last week. A couple of blue tits and a single goldfinch. The robin has never been away.
John
Cyril Haearn
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Joined: 30 Nov 2013, 11:26am

Re: Visitors

Post by Cyril Haearn »

Tangled Metal wrote:Funny thing I learnt about grey squirrels was from a guy online from either side of the Canadian US border. Apparently he didn't know about uk grey squirrel problem. Where he's from the big issue is the grey's being out competed by foreign reds. The reds were bigger and better able to compete for resources so there was a legal take all you can, all year round for reds.

Obviously not our red squirrel species but it did confuse him awhile.

A very familiar phenomenon, alien species driving out indigenous ones, - 1, happened to flightless birds in NZ etc etc
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