Wildlife

[sprint95m]

Times like these, with the hard frozen ground, scavengers do well.
Red kites and buzzards both scavenge. They find food quickly and easily so spend most of their time perched trying to conserve energy. Crows and ravens will compete with buzzards and kites for carrion. (The only sociable corvid, the rook doesn't eat carrion.)
Although they don't scavenge, kestrels and sparrowhawks both do very well too, taking advantage of the starving song birds.
Owls don't scavenge either, but struggle because their primary food source (mice and voles) remains hidden under the snow. The normally nocturnal owl species will be driven by hunger to hunt during daylight hours. Unfortunately they prey tends to remain nocturnal, if venturing above the snow at all.
(Incidentally, with their very sharp hearing, foxes are still able to detect and catch mice and voles by digging them out of the snow.)

Winners and losers, its nature's way.

[Jon Tilson]

Okay here is a weird spot for your bir watching types. On the Longford river near my house as I walked over bridge I saw what looked at first glance to be a small white swan. On second glance it isn't a swan at all...its got long legs....and a heron shaped beak. Then it flies off as I'm extracting the phone cam and looks distinctly heron shaped wing wise but again on the small side.

I'd say it was an Egret of some sort,

Any other ideas...

Jonners

[trackerjack]

Yes Jon sounds like an egret to me, funny to think that when I was a boy there were none to be seen, but now they are common, certainly here in Hampshire and also Devon so perhaps common all along southern coasts, in my childhood it was an African bird.

[Jon Tilson]

Yes think you are bang on...a little Egret I reckon

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdgui ... ttleegret/

I just looked and the RSPB say they are now a "recent colonist". The Longford runs into Bushey park and then out into the Thames near Hampton Court palace. We do get a disproprtionate number of odd birds for a suburban location because of the park, the Indian ring necked parakeets are quite well known now.
I dont really study what's current bird wise so thought this must have escaped from a zoo...
Now I find its relatively ordinary. Still ...a nice spot and a very nice addition to local bird life. Lovely looking thing....

Jonners

[Jod Clark]

Many hundreds of Egrets spotted along the East Anglia estuaries last year whilst yachting with Bird's parents from West Mersea Island to Aldeburgh.

[trackerjack]

Out walking on the south downs near Harting on Sunday, Diane and I spotted a herd of dear and amongst them was a pure white doe, this is about the fourth one we have seen over the years.

[trackerjack]

Spring sure is here whether you can feel it or not.
I will add his picture tomorrow but as I was putting the wheely bin out tonight there was a full grown male frog sitting by our gate.
Dianes cat did not spot him as he kept perfectly still as I shot him 3 times with the camera.

[sprint95m]

Spring sure is here whether you can feel it or not.

Is there no end to the snow?

I did hear a few (only a few) skylarks this morning and saw some snowdrops.
The days are getting longer .......

[trackerjack]

Yes it is spring it really is the birds are singing in the morning and the frogs are spawning right now as we have seen it today.
Of course global warming has made a cooler winter with more snow

[NickMorgan]

The frogs will have to hold off here for a while, unless they have some little pick axes to get through the ice. When the sleet stopped yesterday morning the birds were all singing their spring songs, so hopefully the weather will soon warm up.

[trackerjack]

Frogs have a type of antifreeze in their blood and can live in icy water. but are not equipped with picks yet as evolution has not got around to it yet

[Jon Tilson]

The brain to use it will of course come first...

Yes lots of snowdrops and the crocuses and early daffs appeared this last week. A lot later than this time last year, when we had almost the full show at Hampton Court by now.

Saw a green woddpecker in the garden last week too...

Jonners

[trackerjack]

The brain to use it will of course come first...

Yes lots of snowdrops and the crocuses and early daffs appeared this last week. A lot later than this time last year, when we had almost the full show at Hampton Court by now.

Saw a green woddpecker in the garden last week too...

Jonners

Who says they have no brain perhaps "rivet rivet" means "give me a pick you stupid human"

[Jon Tilson]

Yours must have Hampshire accents...

Ours clearly say..."kneedeep, kneedeep".

Jonners

[Nick C]

Yours must have Hampshire accents...

Ours clearly say..."kneedeep, kneedeep".

Jonners

Don't be silly, how can they be knee deep in ice?