Wiltshire Warrior Dragon
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Posts posted by Wiltshire Warrior Dragon
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On 08/06/2019 at 10:47, Steve May said:
It’s often said that you can judge the decline in insects by the number of squashed ones on your windscreen. And it’s been a long time since I’ve had a really grim windscreen.
I set out the other day and the M6 was shut so I had to drive from Wiltshire to Yorkshire on back roads trying to avoid even the traffic diverting away onto A roads. Downside, it took about eight hours. Upside, the windscreen was utterly grim with dead insects, which cheered me up considerably.
I have had to do the Wiltshire to Yorkshire (and vice versa) run for work and personal reasons umpteen times over the years. There are some great options, Steve, almost all of them not involving the M6. If you want some, just ask!
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On 06/06/2019 at 22:46, GUBRATS said:
Just been reading that particular site
The RSPB website also has comprehensive plans on building bat boxes and good locations for them.
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It's just been that time of year when my family's house - a conversion of a typical, 19th century, red-brick, Non-Conformist chapel - plays host for about ten days to some bats.
They are, specifically, serotine bats. These are large, by British standards, with bodies about the size of a starling and a wingspan of over a foot.
Their numbers build up and then decline to zero, all in a matter of days. I sit in the garden and count them out each evening at dusk, from a whole at the apex of the eaves, at one of the gable ends. This year the figures emerging each night were as follows:-
Thursday, 23rd May - 9
24th May - 10
25th May - 19
26th May - 22
27th May - 33
28th May - 42
29th May - 2
30th May - 34
31st May - 24
Saturday, 1st June - 4
2nd June - 0
Where have they come from, or were they already in the roof-space? Don't know! If they are gathering and then moving on, where to? Don't know! And why? Well, one theory put to me is that they are females, who gather together before moving on elsewhere for their maternity roost over the summer months.
I've no idea why the number dropped so dramatically on 29th May. The good news is that, at a time when there is concern for bat numbers of various species, the 28th May total of 42 is the largest for one evening in the five years we have lived here.
I'm glad to play host to them, albeit fleetingly, and look forward to next year!
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3 minutes ago, henage said:
How is it possible to spend £100 on a food shop .
If it's your main shopping trip of the week, is - strictly speaking - not just for food (ie for other household needs too) and - like me - you are shopping for a household of four growing adults (in my case, rather worryingly, growing outwards), then the answer is 'easy', even if I go to Aldi or Lidl (and run the risk of being seen doing so - not that I'm a snob, you understand!) rather than Waitrose.
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On 01/05/2019 at 23:09, Steve May said:
I am wondering if the ungodly screeching sounds coming from high up in the trees in my back garden are a barn owl.
Is it likely to be?
I’ve heard tawny owls - male and female - out there many times and I saw one once. But I didn’t think barn owls liked woodland.
Whatever it is, it’s loud!
I suspect, SM, that there are some birds that like a mix of woodland and open countryside, and in particular, where the two meet. Barn owls might be in that category. An 'ungodly screech' does sound quite barn owl-ish.
Near where I live is the New Forest, and one of the best nearby places to see (or more likely hear) nightjars in summer is where the heathland meets the woodland. They ground nest on the heathland, but the males roost in trees, and the species likes the point where heath and woods meet because it is particularly rich in moths, a favourite food.
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Yesterday evening at about 8pm, I was sat at my computer reading comments on this forum, looked up and out of the window - lo and behold - my first swift of the year. Summer really must be here!
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On 26/04/2019 at 08:15, Wiltshire Warrior Dragon said:
The Winchester Cathedral peregrines have hatched two of their four eggs within the last 48 hours. You can follow the daily drama on a permanently switched on webcam, on the cathedral website (www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk) Much better than EastEnders!
All four eggs now hatched. This is where it gets exhausting for Mr and Mrs P!
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The Winchester Cathedral peregrines have hatched two of their four eggs within the last 48 hours. You can follow the daily drama on a permanently switched on webcam, on the cathedral website (www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk) Much better than EastEnders!
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I had an interesting bird-listening experience last night at dusk.
Everytime I drive south, out of Salisbury on my way home, I pass a small wood which I know - and before the trees come fully into leaf - can see houses a heronry in some of the tree tops. I believe it may have been there for possibly hundreds of years. I have always thought I should turn off the main road, where a side road runs down the wood's west side, park up and take a better look.
Yesterday, at about 8pm, my wife, daughter and I made the effort to park there. We enjoyed seeing the herons, with at least half a dozen nests in use.
However, when we walked down and turned right on another side road, along the northern edge of the forest, we became aware of an odd gargling sound - that's the only way to describe it! - coming from some of the tree tops. Initially, we had no idea what it could be. On closer investigation it transpired that some little egrets have taken to inhabiting - and I presume nesting - in part of the herons' 'patch' in the wood (other 'patches' are taken by rooks, crows and jackdaws); it was them!
If you google 'little egrets gargling call' you will get a YouTube bit with this on. Hearing a few all doing this at the same time was really quite bizarre and spectacular!
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On 3/25/2019 at 9:54 AM, ivans82 said:
while out walking Saturday came across a pair of long tailed #### nesting and a robin building its nest , things seem to be about 2 to 3 weeks ahead of last year probably due to the mild weather . Also heard the first Chiffchaffs of the season ..
I agree that things seem earlier this year - no 'Beast from the East', I suppose. I heard my first chiffchaff on Friday. Hampshire has its first ospreys passing through to more northerly parts. More oddly, a glossy ibis has turned up in Romsey!
The Winchester Cathedral peregrine is now incubating its eggs (four of them) in earnest. By contrast, no eggs on the Salisbury Cathedral nest yet; not even sure the peregrines hanging around there have managed to make a mating pair yet.
I believe Wells Cathedral is hosting some ravens, which seems to be a species that is doing well and spreading its range. I see them occasionally in the New Forest. Does anybody else notice them more often that previously?
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Breaking news - but I hope not literally! - is that the Winchester Cathedral peregrine laid another egg this morning.
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10.50pm and I am about to shut down my computer for the night. So, one last look at the Winchester Cathedral peregrine live webcam, and I see that Mrs P is, as last night, not sat on her solitary egg, but rather sat a couple of feet above it on the stone parapet, watching the world go by. I wonder how long they sleep and how much they hunt at night, when - particularly at this time of year - there will be spring migrants moving north under cover of darkness.
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14 hours ago, CanaBull said:
This article from last year digs into the physics of a peregrines stoop. Amazing birds.
https://physicsworld.com/a/falcons-high-speed-dive-generates-forces-needed-to-catch-agile-prey/
Thanks for the link, CB - an interesting piece.
The Winchester Cathedral female has just been moving about on the nest (a gravel filled tray) and eating some of the gravel. I wondered if she was laying a second egg at one point, but no; she has just hopped back up on to her 'look out' perch, which is the wall a foot or so above her nest, and there is still just the one egg. Apparently, so I have read, they lay about four eggs over a period of a few days and only then start incubating them. I didn't realise that they could leave the first egg 'cold', as it were for a few days.
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I struggle to think of any bird species that, in this country, is covered by so many live webcams as the peregrine falcon!
A quick, far from comprehensive, scan through google suggest that venues with cameras that are, or soon will be, live, include Derby, Chichester, Winchester and Salisbury Cathedrals, St John's Church, Bath, and Nottingham Trent University, as well as places in Manchester and Rochdale.
Apparently the Norwich Cathedral female laid an egg yesterday, and her Winchester counterpart has done likewise, either earlier today or yesterday. The birds' liking for cathedrals and churches is not really surprising. There will be good nooks and crannies, safely away from any predators there might be at a lower level (though not sure what they might be, to be honest!) and an endless stream of tasty, slower flying pigeons that can be dive-bombed with ease!
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On 2/17/2019 at 10:20 AM, ivans82 said:
West Cumbria hit the dizzy heights of 10 degrees the other day , which is a miracle for us this time of year , and saw a peacock butterfly while out walking , earliest one i ve ever seen about . .
That's a great sighting, ivans82. There are Brimstone butterflies (quite large and yellow) appearing now around here (South Wiltshire), but that is about right for the first sunnier, warmer weather in late winter.
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On 2/11/2019 at 2:36 PM, Farmduck said:
I get a couple of bats come past my lounge room every night around 1:30-2am. I'm probably the only lights still on and the colony is at the bottom of the hill along the creek. Maybe they use my lights as a beacon. Probably not, as megabats have excellent eyesight. They fly out in the opposite direction every night just on sundown. I haven't seen these ones in my yard but I hear their voices as they pass. We only get the greys here.
I would imagine, Farmduck, that your bats are not themselves attracted by the lights but rather by the flying insects - lunch for the bats! - which have been drawn towards the lights.
You are right to point out that bats have good eyesight; the same is true of British bats species. To be "blind as a bat" is an example of an old saying that is factual nonsense! I went on a Hampshire Wildlife Trust course about bats. When someone asked why bats needed that sonic system to help them navigate if they had eyesight as good as ours, it was pointed out that, if we flew about on the random, prey-hunting flight lines of bats, and at the speed they must travel to catch prey, then we would need something other than our eyesight to help us steer around in the pitch black of a moonless night!
At my house, which is a converted, 19th century chapel, we have an interesting bat experience late each spring, round about the end of May, beginning of June. We come down one morning and there are bat droppings on the patio. So, next evening (with something pleasant to drink in hand!), we sit on the patio and at dusk, about a dozen or more bats emerge from our roof space. For the next few evenings, the number increases, up to a maximum nightly count of about three dozen. Then, in a couple of nights, it drops away to nothing. And that seems to be that, until next spring!
I made contact with the Wiltshire Bat Group, who think my roof-space might be being used as a congregation or collection point for pregnant females, who have roosted in various locations over winter, but then move on from my house to set up their actual maternity roost elsewhere. Perhaps - I cannot think of a more logical explanation.
They are all one species incidentally, namely serotine bats, one of the largest in Britain with a wingspan of up to a foot (which I realise is pretty small by Australian standards!). As they emerge and fly away, they look about starling size. It is quite a spectacle for the few nights it seems to last!
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Male blackcap in the garden, at the sunflower hearts bird-feeder, earlier this afternoon. We do well for bullfinches and a male one was at the feeder at the same time. I have heard that blackcaps can be quite aggressive to other birds, but there seemed to be a willingness from the two birds to eat in peace concurrently.
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20 hours ago, Ullman said:
Saw a huge flock of them yesterday to the west of Beverley just off the Walkington to Bishop Burton road.
My dad grew up in the Yorkshire Wolds and he always called them peewits after the noise they make.
1 hour ago, Moose said:They were called the same in South Leeds, only it was pronounced as puwit.
I think I have seen somewhere that a name for them in either the Dales or North York Moors is 'teeafits'; does that sound familiar to anybody? My Aberdeen born-and-raised mum called them 'teuchits', with the 'ch' being the soft, Scots 'ch' sound as in 'loch'.
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21 minutes ago, Number 16 said:
Daylight Saving wasn't introduced until 1916, so the clocks wouldn't have gone back, thus 1890's 4.50pm would be modern day 3.50pm. I think!!!
Thanks for that, No 16; I did wonder about that.
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18 minutes ago, Padge said:
Observations?
Three initial observations, Padge.
First, thanks for yet another little gem of rugby history; as ever much appreciated.
Second, has rugby always been played over two halves of 40 minutes? Sports do change their playing conditions rules from time to time. In my lifetime, for instance, Gaelic football and hurling matches have been extended from 30 minutes each way to 35, while ice hockey abolished the requirement to change ends at the midway (10 minute) point of the third period, because the number of games being played in the open (when weather conditions could be a factor) had diminished so much.
I ask about rugby playing time because if, in January, they didn't kick off until 3.20pm, and had some sort of half-time break (say, 10 minutes), even with no time added on, they would not have finished until 4.50pm. How could anybody - players, referee, spectators - see what was going on?
Third, the cutting reminds us that, in the industrial north at least, league competitions were being pursued, whether or not the London-based RFU liked the idea!
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1 minute ago, Old Frightful said:
I thank you kind sir.
And I shall show your helpful advice to any plod that pulls me over in the near future.
I am warming to this, OF.
The more I think about it, the more it occurs to me that arguably it is everybody else in the right hand lane who is in the wrong, as, to the best of my knowledge, it is a general maxim of the Highway Code that you should keep to nearside lane wherever possible, only moving out to overtake or pass a stationary car, or when you wish to turn right.
It is, of course, not just a Hull problem, as ckn's Ipswich anecdote confirmed. I experience the same unwillingness to go in the bus lane out of rush hour (despite this being explicitly permissible) when I come into Salisbury from the north, down Castle Road. As on-street parking (ie in the bus lane) is allowed after 6pm, I sometimes have to move out into the outer lane. I wonder who would be at fault if I pulled in front of somebody in the outer lane who had to brake smartish? Me, for an unsafe manoeuvre, or them, for not using the nearside lane when it was free? A further complicating factor on that bit of road is that, especially in quiet times, many drivers are ignoring the 30mph speed limit and coming into the city at about 40mph.
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1 hour ago, Old Frightful said:
I think you are able to pass on the inside as long as you are turning left, which I was...about 3 miles up the road.
I like your response, OF, but in all seriousness, you don't need the turning left in 3 miles reason. In congested traffic, passing on the nearside is not illegal; the Highway Code says so!
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4 hours ago, Futtocks said:
A special anniversary today!
Thanks for the reminder, Futtocks.
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3 minutes ago, graveyard johnny said:
we go there every year, I always keep a picture of Nicola sturgeon tucked in my sunhat just in case anything starts to arise, stare at that for 10 seconds and panic over.
Doesn't a sunhat count as cheating, GYJ?
spuggies and jackdaws and hedgehogs and frogs
in Any Other Business / Any Other Sports
Posted
I'm very envious, Ullman, one of the great bird sights!