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spuggies and jackdaws and hedgehogs and frogs


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On 01/07/2020 at 17:27, Wiltshire Warrior Dragon said:

Is it that they are singing again, ivans82, or could it be that some other things are shutting up and so those birds still singing can be heard more easily?  I ask because just the other day, in The Times nature column, the point was being made that one of the most dominant - and beautiful - singers, the blackbird, is now shutting up, by and large, and will not be prominent again until early in 2021.

I have found over the years that the male birds especially the migrants are very vocal until they get a mate and then once nesting is taking place clam up . After the fledglings leave the nest they are too busy to sing anyway , apart from perhaps the Chiffchaff which sings non-stop until it returns home and thats because once the female lays its eggs  , he`s off to find another mate and start again .

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Called round at my mates garage earlier , he'd been servicing a Renault Clio  , when he picked up the air filter box before changing the filter he realised there was something rattling inside it 

20 odd acorns , a local squirrel has been using it as a food store 😀

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Walking through the nearby wood the other day noticed what looked like an old nest that was a bit the worse for wear , it was about 6 inches off the ground in just a leafy bush , turned out it had 5 young Bullfinches just about to fledge in it .I always thought they nested high up or in very thick hedgerows , this one wasn`t choosy anyway .

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Ivans82's reference to bullfinches makes me think about the odd contrast between their appearance (well, the male's anyway) and their call.  The appearance is strikingly bold and handsome with that wonderful rich, pink chest, and contrasting grey, black and white.  Their call -you may well have never realised that you have heard it - is a thin, reedy, soft, monotone 'tseep'. 

Can anybody think of another British bird species in which there is such contrast between a bold appearance and feeble song (or vice versa)?

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I love all the finches and are amongst my fav British birds. Goldies and bullfinches are beautiful. We have goldies in the garden with a busy nest last month. Bullies are much the rarer species here in rawmarsh. Not seen one locally in years. Like Linnets, they were plentiful when I was a kid.

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11 minutes ago, Robin Evans said:

I love all the finches and are amongst my fav British birds. Goldies and bullfinches are beautiful. We have goldies in the garden with a busy nest last month. Bullies are much the rarer species here in rawmarsh. Not seen one locally in years. Like Linnets, they were plentiful when I was a kid.

My memories of the Linnet are similar Robin. Growing in South Leeds they were numerous, I seem to remember their favourite nesting sites was in gorse or bramble bushes. The only ones I’ve seen lately have been at West Ardsley Reservoir. Goldfinches also numerous in our garden, last Bullfinch I saw was about 5 years ago at Oakwell Hall.

Butterflies have suddenly burst onto the scene locally. Saw a lovely Red Admiral yesterday as well as a Wall Brown and Ringlet. The Ringlet which was rarely seen locally seems to becoming more numerous.

 

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Strangely enough during lockdown i went on lots of walks nearer home that i have never been on before , and have never heard and seen so many Bullfinches before in my life , this year they seem to be everywhere . Agree with the Linnet comment only ever see them on heathland on gorse bushes , but Yellowhammers have all but disappeared , just the odd pair again on gorse near the fells .

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As a youngster I thought a male yellowhammer was a canary🙂 Still to be seen around Ardsley Reservoir and in the fields between John o Gaunts and Rothwell Country Park, they are easier to see after farmers have harvested their grain crops, I often see them on the ground picking up the leftovers.

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5 minutes ago, Moose said:

As a youngster I thought a male yellowhammer was a canary🙂 Still to be seen around Ardsley Reservoir and in the fields between John o Gaunts and Rothwell Country Park, they are easier to see after farmers have harvested their grain crops, I often see them on the ground picking up the leftovers.

I believe they are still to be seen around Broomhill and the old Moor nature reserve near wath on dearne..... one of my fav spots. If you enjoy flora fauna and all feathered things, its a must visit. Run by the RSPB now. Great visitors centre too.

There's wild flowers there again ive not seen since I was a kid. A cracking place 

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On a lighter note a mate of mine was on the east coast at hornsea last Thursday.  He was going nuts convinced he'd seen a penguin..

Now, knowing my mate and acknowledging his propensity for taking the pizz, I did a bit of research and its an oft sighted phenomenon. Most likely being the sight of a razorbill.

Naturally, the pizz take is now all mine!!😆😆

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I see linnets occasionally on the heathland of the New Forest.  Back in the 1970s, in Yorkshire, when I was courting the future Mrs WWD, we used to go sometimes to her folk's cliff-top chalet at Skipsea, south of Bridlington, and carried on doing so after we were wed (the property has long since disappeared into the North Sea!)  I very much think of linnets as the small bird on the clifftops there, flitting between the scrubby bushes.

At the height of lockdown, when I was walking our dog just around the village here (as opposed to driving to the nearest bit of the New Forest), I was delighted to see a pair of yellowhammers on a quiet, hedgerow-bedecked, country lane just outside the built up part of the village.  I cannot recall when I last saw one down here.

By contrast, they were pretty common in the backroads of south-west Durham - broadly speaking, the lower reaches of the Tees between Darlington and the Cummings' favourite, Barnard Castle.  It was from a village there called Ingleton that we moved down here, having lived thereabouts for seven years from 1988 to 1995.  On a fairly recent visit back, I was reassured to see that there still seemed to be yellowhammers thereabouts. 

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On 13/07/2020 at 10:06, ivans82 said:

Strangely enough during lockdown i went on lots of walks nearer home that i have never been on before , and have never heard and seen so many Bullfinches before in my life , this year they seem to be everywhere . Agree with the Linnet comment only ever see them on heathland on gorse bushes , but Yellowhammers have all but disappeared , just the odd pair again on gorse near the fells .

Always see (and hear) loads of yellowhammers in the East Yorkshire countryside. They're one of the most common birds in the area.

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"I'm from a fishing family. Trawlermen are like pirates with biscuits." - Lucy Beaumont.

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The night before  we left for summer school holidays to Spain on Thursday we found 5 lovely duckings out in the grounds checked on them before we left and down to 4 (Damm foxes) locals say that since fox hunting was banned its just got worse as before the sick ones were the only ones caught (Foxes that is) 

 

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1 minute ago, Leeds Wire said:

Bempton?

Certainly is. Didn't think we'd get to go this year but fortunately did. Not overly busy (probably because the overflow car park was shut) and easy to social distance - helped that everyone seemed happy to do so - even at the viewing platforms. Called for a paddle at North Landing on the way home too! Only slight disappointment were the big queues for the chippys in Brid so we gave that treat a miss. 

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2 hours ago, Les Tonks Sidestep said:

Certainly is. Didn't think we'd get to go this year but fortunately did. Not overly busy (probably because the overflow car park was shut) and easy to social distance - helped that everyone seemed happy to do so - even at the viewing platforms. Called for a paddle at North Landing on the way home too! Only slight disappointment were the big queues for the chippys in Brid so we gave that treat a miss. 

Wonderful photos mate, thank you 👍

Where's North Landing?

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13 hours ago, Leeds Wire said:

Wonderful photos mate, thank you 👍

Where's North Landing?

Flamborough. It's a small cove with a good beach, caves and old lifeboat station. Big car park and cafe at the top of the cliffs. It was fairly quiet but can get very busy as it's the nearest beach to the huge Thornwick Bay caravan site. One thing we've noticed is that there's very little litter left behind by those using the beach.

Couple of pics from last year

IMG_20190714_155214.jpg

IMG_20190714_155218.jpg

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On 17/07/2020 at 21:39, Les Tonks Sidestep said:

Feels like summer now we've been to see these.

Unfortunately summer ends in West Cumbria around the 1st of  July most years , that blue splodge you notice at the top left hand part of England on the BBC weather map will be there until September when we usually get a couple of weeks of decent weather.........noticed with having to queue outside now for our local Fish and Chip Shop , the owner has kindly installed a tub of umbrellas for people to use while queueing in the rain....nice Man .

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1 hour ago, ivans82 said:

Unfortunately summer ends in West Cumbria around the 1st of  July most years , that blue splodge you notice at the top left hand part of England on the BBC weather map will be there until September when we usually get a couple of weeks of decent weather.........noticed with having to queue outside now for our local Fish and Chip Shop , the owner has kindly installed a tub of umbrellas for people to use while queueing in the rain....nice Man .

We're regular visitors to the Lakes so know all about Cumbrian weather. It's been interesting looking at the glorious weather on the webcams during lockdown and seeing the return to normal once things started opening up 😀

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Post from OZ, 

Saw a Black-Necked Stork in a swampy area I have fenced off to keep the cattle out.

Probably seen about ~8 over the last 15 years. Magnificent creature. 

It was very shy and flew away soon as I appeared,  it circled and returned to the same area , unfortunately I was working in the area and it flew off again. There was other smaller storks in the swamp who weren`t concerned by my presence nearby. 

They can have a wingspan of up to 2m`s, this one was probably 1.5m`s.               

 

 

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