Of song thrushes and adders ..
Baba Mung
Royal Park. Tried to catch sight of him but, as his kind often do, he
seemed to have chosen somewhere at the very top of a tree from which to
trill and so was blocked from view by intervening layers of foliage. I say
him because I fancy he was male who had lost or had yet to find a mate.
First time I've heard that song in years. I'd like to think that I was
witnessing the beginning of a comeback.
The people who manage the park these days have gone to great length to
protect threatened species already in the park but also to entice others
back. There seems to have been a surge in the numbers of woodpeckers; and
we caught sight of a goldcrest for the first time ever a fortnight or so
ago.
There's talk too of re-introducing the adder to the park. Conservationists
report that the adder population around London has declined precipitously in
recent years. Some want to import breeding pairs into the area from other
parts of the country and they seem to have found an ally in London's often
controversial mayor.
Baba
Gordon Harris
>Heard a song thrush last evening while walking through woods in our local
>Royal Park. Tried to catch sight of him but, as his kind often do, he
>seemed to have chosen somewhere at the very top of a tree from which to
>trill and so was blocked from view by intervening layers of foliage.
>
tree close by, greeting me every morning (if I'm up early enough)!
>The people who manage the park these days have gone to great length to
>protect threatened species already in the park but also to entice others
>back. There seems to have been a surge in the numbers of woodpeckers; and
>we caught sight of a goldcrest for the first time ever a fortnight or so
>ago.
>
Goldcrest are quite elusive, we have only seen them on two or three
occasions, after someone pointed them out to us the first time.
They are usually found in conifers, although I don't know the actual
tree type.
>There's talk too of re-introducing the adder to the park. Conservationists
>report that the adder population around London has declined precipitously in
>recent years. Some want to import breeding pairs into the area from other
>parts of the country and they seem to have found an ally in London's often
>controversial mayor.
>
I found a large toad in my woodpile early last year, then saw several
tiny ones. Yesterday I discovered no less than four mature toads,
hiding under the plastic sheet I built the pile of logs on, which
collects a small pool of water. There are only a few logs left, so I
didn't disturb their home this winter....
Looks like I'll have to install a water feature of some kind! :-)
--
Gordon Harris
Baba Mung
"Gordon Harris" <Gor...@g3snx.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:fAyQYbWH...@g3snx.demon.co.uk...
> Baba Mung <baba...@redyonder.co.uk> writes
>>Heard a song thrush last evening while walking through woods in our local
>>Royal Park. Tried to catch sight of him but, as his kind often do, he
>>seemed to have chosen somewhere at the very top of a tree from which to
>>trill and so was blocked from view by intervening layers of foliage.
>>
> There is a song thrush which serenades from the top of a 50ft poplar tree
> close by, greeting me every morning (if I'm up early enough)!
I envy you that. Such a strong and varied song. We have wood pigeons and
blue tits in our garden just now but also guttural magpies keeping an eye
out for fledglings. The magpies have had the fledgling blackbirds from a
nest in some ivy in our neighbours garden for two years running now.
Baba
Baba Mung
> I found a large toad in my woodpile early last year, then saw several
> tiny ones. Yesterday I discovered no less than four mature toads,
> hiding under the plastic sheet I built the pile of logs on, which collects
> a small pool of water. There are only a few logs left, so I didn't
> disturb their home this winter....
> Looks like I'll have to install a water feature of some kind! :-)
> --
> Gordon Harris
The water feature sounds a good idea to me, Gordon. I wonder whether you
noticed the ad for a solar powered fountain that the Guardian have been
running?
We had a couple of toads sheltering under a water butt which stands on
breezeblocks in shaded corner of the garden but I've not peeked in there
lately.
I think that maybe our garden has become a little too well-kept. We seemed
to have much more wild life when, pre-occupied with refurbishing the house,
we left much of the garden untended and the rest serving as a builders yard.
There were bumble bees then and field mice and toads and even a lizard who
I suspect had come in with a load of builders sand. Now bumble bees are few
and far between and there's been no sign of mice at all lately.
Baba
JD Cooper
> Heard a song thrush last evening while walking through woods in our local
> Royal Park. Tried to catch sight of him but, as his kind often do, he
> seemed to have chosen somewhere at the very top of a tree from which to
> trill and so was blocked from view by intervening layers of foliage. I say
> him because I fancy he was male who had lost or had yet to find a mate.
> First time I've heard that song in years. I'd like to think that I was
> witnessing the beginning of a comeback.
Too bad England has wiped out most of its species, huh? Who ya gonna
blame? Oh! Yes! Blame the USA! (PS: ya wanna hear birds? Well.. come on
down to my back porch... they will deafen you. We have been kinder to
our birds than you bloody Brits have...)
> The people who manage the park these days have gone to great length to
> protect threatened species already in the park but also to entice others
> back. There seems to have been a surge in the numbers of woodpeckers; and
> we caught sight of a goldcrest for the first time ever a fortnight or so
> ago.
How amazing! You might get to see a bird in a week or two! This must
make for some very boring bird watching... having to wait weeks to see
one. There! There's one! Oh! Wait! No... *sigh*... that's a 747 from
Heathrow....
> There's talk too of re-introducing the adder to the park. Conservationists
> report that the adder population around London has declined precipitously in
> recent years. Some want to import breeding pairs into the area from other
> parts of the country and they seem to have found an ally in London's often
> controversial mayor.
Too bad you've wiped out nearly all your native species. Maybe the old
ways were better wherein the King declared all wildlife his and nobody
could touch or hunt them but his own self. Oh, well... it's America's fault!
JD
Eugene Kent
"JD Cooper" <what...@outyonder.org> wrote in message
news:FoydnREbUoC...@texas.net...
Val Adams
> Lov those English Starlings hey?
>
it again; more'n can be said fer some of our rivers..cept maybe the Hudson...
EVal, the schizoid s*** disturber...
Baba Mung
"Val Adams" <va_a...@pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:qSKqe.2921$Z44...@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
Wish it was as lasting a clean-up as we need, Val. It was cleaned up. But
the companies responsible for supplying London with water and ridding it of
waste have found it less costly to discharge sewage into the Thames when the
system comes under strain than to update the disposal system in ways which
will keep the river clean. As a result the several trumpeted returns of
fish in any numbers have been shortlived.
Baba
Eugene Kent
some Robin's that have been kicking their butts. There is this mulberry tree
that the Starlings have been raiding. A couple of days ago I saw this group
of robins evict these suckers and they haven't been back since. Also my car
bonnet lately hasn't looked like the cratered moon.
"Val Adams" <va_a...@pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:qSKqe.2921$Z44...@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
Marian
> "Gordon Harris" <Gor...@g3snx.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:fAyQYbWH...@g3snx.demon.co.uk...
>
>>Baba Mung <baba...@redyonder.co.uk> writes
>>
>>>Heard a song thrush last evening while walking through woods in our local
>>>Royal Park. Tried to catch sight of him but, as his kind often do, he
>>>seemed to have chosen somewhere at the very top of a tree from which to
>>>trill and so was blocked from view by intervening layers of foliage.
>>>
>>
>>There is a song thrush which serenades from the top of a 50ft poplar tree
>>close by, greeting me every morning (if I'm up early enough)!
>
>
>
> I envy you that. Such a strong and varied song. We have wood pigeons and
> blue tits in our garden just now but also guttural magpies keeping an eye
> out for fledglings. The magpies have had the fledgling blackbirds from a
> nest in some ivy in our neighbours garden for two years running now.
>
> Baba
Now, now, Baba. Keep an open mind...<G> I was astonished to learn this:
Living On Earth ~ Mad About Magpies
http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=05-P13-00021&segmentID=7
Marian
Marian
You really are hard up for targets for your invective, ain't you, JD?
This was a delightfully non-political post from Baba. Couldn't keep your
hands off of it. Tragique. Such a narrow man you've become before our
very eyes. Used to write here about such, IIRC. I didn't read them, of
course, but others did. Said they enjoyed them, but then ~ there's
no accounting for taste... Marian
Bobbie
It used to be a common sight in my garden to see thrushes hammering the
snails on the rocks beside my pond, but they disappeared for years, same
with the starlings that used to eat the Leatherjackets. I am happy to
report, that here at least they are returning. Nothing like the music of
the song thrush, ans starlings are such clowns.
It isn't unusual to see Magpies actually swoop on people who dare to
approach their nests. Not that I have ever seen a Magpie nest, but my
garden at the moment is a hive of activity with nests in many of the
shrubs in my garden, they so seem to love the density of the ivy.
Wow, lucky you seeing a goldcrest, out smallest bird I believe.
Woodpeckers on the other hand are very common where I walk, both the
greater spotted and the common green.
What is strange though, this is the first year I have missed the Cuckoo.
Adders are still quite prevalent, here but for how long, one has to
wonder, so many are lost each year in Heath fires...
Lets hope that Ken remains an ally...
Thank you Baba.
Bobbie
Bobbie
Baba I forgot to mention that most of the frogs, and there were
literally dozens in my garden living under flower pots and other dark
damp places, and spawning in my pond each year, are gone, I was obliged
to plead a bucket of frog spawn from a friend in order to keep them in
the garden, (they do a grand job on the slugs) I was finding so many
dead around the place and the hedgehogs were having it easy pickings
eating what was left. So sad, nothing quite like the trickle of the
water in the pond and the sound of the frogs to make the summer
evenings so relaxing....
Bobbie...
Baba Mung
"Marian" <lust...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:3h1huqF...@individual.net...
Interesting piece Marian but it hasn't won me over to the magpies side.
I'll grant they're handsome and, like most of the crow family, seem pretty
intelligent. But at this time of the year they drain me of any better
thought about them than that.
The wood up in the park are alive with the sounds of young birds calling for
food. Blackbirds scrabble in the leaves in a desperate endeavour to feed
their young and, oblivious to all else, become themselves easy prey for
foxes and stoats. Other birds plucking at grubs in the oaks are equally
careless of much that goes on round them. But no matter what else they
disregard there's usually a quick and noisy reaction to the intrusion of
magpies or jays.
Our immediate garden squirrel population seldom rises above a pair and they
are well-fed by doting humans for their usually short lives. They travel
from garden to garden and in doing so seem invariably to get run over while
crossing local roads before very long. They do try the tit nest box we have
in our magnolia but that's well protected by a squirrel-proof cage inspired
by the sort of thing divers use when socialising with Great Whites off Cape
Town.
Baba
Baba Mung
"Eugene Kent" <franc...@fuse.net> wrote in message
news:7fc46$42ab878a$d8442adc$17...@FUSE.NET...
Sounds as if you're robins are just as feisty as ours here in the UK.
Baba
Baba Mung
"Bobbie" <onlymy...@ouch.com> wrote in message
news:d8gs2f$goc$1...@newsg1.svr.pol.co.uk...
Song thrushes, starlings, sparrows, frogs.. so many creatures seem to have
gone into periods of sudden decline in the last few years.
We also noticed a sudden drop in the numbers of starlings. At first we
attributed it to competition for food and nesting places from our immigrant
population of parakeets but then learned the decline was more widespread.
Hope we'll soon be noting returns to former numbers too.
One of our neighbours has a gigantic koi pond in his garden and that used to
be a local breeding place for frogs but its awhile since we heard them or
found them in our garden. The koi pond also attracts a heron from time to
time ... There's a protective net over the pond but the heron lives in hope.
Your garden sounds wonderful, Bobbie. Hope you manage to bring the frogs
back.
Baba
Bobbie
occupied.....John tends an allotment that also keeps us self sufficient
in vegetables for most of the year, Currently enjoying three different
variety of lettuce, the tomatoes are coming on a treat, and the
strawberries are making scrumptious desserts already..
Val Adams
I am very sorry to hear it. I think it was the single most impressive thing
about my solitary visit in 1983, that live healthy fish were being caught as
far upriver as London. The monuments, museums & all were wonderful for an
armchair historian who had only read of such, but the change in the living
environment spoke more of the future than the past, and so struck me as a
kind of beacon.
JD Cooper
Let's see... ol' baba posts 700 invective and nasty political posts to
one non-political and you bitch at me?
JD
Lorraine
>
> > Heard a song thrush last evening while walking through woods in our
local
> > Royal Park. Tried to catch sight of him but, as his kind often do, he
> > seemed to have chosen somewhere at the very top of a tree from which to
> > trill and so was blocked from view by intervening layers of foliage. I
say
> > him because I fancy he was male who had lost or had yet to find a mate.
> > First time I've heard that song in years. I'd like to think that I was
> > witnessing the beginning of a comeback.
>
> Too bad England has wiped out most of its species, huh? Who ya gonna
> blame? Oh! Yes! Blame the USA!
I am just waiting on the latest reports regarding a mad cow discovered in
the USA, as to WHO Americans are going to blame this time. Of course you
Americans are never wrong, it has to be somebody else's fault!
(PS: ya wanna hear birds? Well.. come on
> down to my back porch... they will deafen you. We have been kinder to
> our birds than you bloody Brits have...)
(snip snip snip)
>JD
Unfortunately, you have not been kind to non American human beings....and it
says a lot about you and your country where you would prefer to be kinder to
animals than you are to human beings.
Lorraine
Eugene Kent
own business. I once read that the English starling in England are neither
as numberous or agressive as they are here in America. Where the flocks can
go into the tens of thousands. And compete with the tree hole nesters such
as the Blue Birds and Woodpeckers. In America only the starling and English
house wren can be legally killed. This law is only for song birds. But the
house wren is really not much of a problen as they are more or less city
birds. And they are cute.
"Baba Mung" <baba...@redyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:yCTqe.1166$LH....@fe1.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
Eugene Kent
me?
In a way you seem to dislike Americans in general just because they are
Americans. Most of your posts are negative when it comes to Americans. Which
is really the same approach as JD takes.
"Lorraine" <lorraine.verona@(unwanted)cgocable.ca> wrote in message
news:dpYqe.78$df...@charlie.risq.qc.ca...
Marian
Baba Mung
I don't think I have never seen flocks of starlings running into the tens of
thousands here. At one time a thousand maybe. I'm surprised at the license
to kill wrens. Is that because they are not indigenous?
Baba
Marian
"[...]
HAND: In fact, one study found that songbird populations actually
increased as the number of magpies grew in the area. McGowan believes we
label magpies and other corvids as wanton killers simply because they
are big obvious birds and when they do something we find distasteful, we
notice it. Whereas lots of unexpected predators in nature sneak by
unnoticed.
MCGOWAN: As studies recently have been putting cameras on bird nests and
seeing who it is that's actually coming in and eating those eggs and
babies. What we're finding is that it's predominantly squirrels.
HAND: Squirrels?
HAND: And McGowan says nest cams have caught another unlikely suspect.
Deer eat a lot of eggs and nestlings of ground nesting birds. I tell
you, I didn't expect that. But it's not just a question of them
accidentally breaking eggs as they're cropping grass either. There's
video of them actually chasing down little fledglings that are trying to
run away from the nest and grabbing them and gulping them down.
HAND: Scientists say magpies are way down the list of animals that eat
baby birds. [...]"
As I said, astonishing!
~ ;-)
JD Cooper
Lorraine wrote:
And you Frogs were not unkind to non American human beings?.... and it
says a lot about your country where you prefer to be kinder to animals
than you are to human beings.
hahahaha! Look at your own history!
JD
JD Cooper
JD
Eugene Kent
I have seen flocks of starlings so large that it would take minuets for them
to fly over as they were heading south during our fall season.
At one time there was a big controversy because the Greater Cincinnati Area
Airport personal air dropped a feather defoliant that destroyed the feathers
ability to insulate the birds warnth. It is said that over a million of the
starlings were killed. They were being ingested into the jet engines. I once
was involved in a test where dead birds were thrown into a operating jet
engine to see what the result would be. They wouldd pass thru the front
frame blades but tear up the compressor blades that caused a shrapnel type
explosion.
"Baba Mung" <baba...@redyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:EM_qe.3315$ZG3....@fe2.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
Gordon Harris
>
>"Gordon Harris" <Gor...@g3snx.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
>news:fAyQYbWH...@g3snx.demon.co.uk...
>> Baba Mung <baba...@redyonder.co.uk> writes
>>>Royal Park. Tried to catch sight of him but, as his kind often do, he
>>>seemed to have chosen somewhere at the very top of a tree from which to
>>>trill and so was blocked from view by intervening layers of foliage.
>>>
>> close by, greeting me every morning (if I'm up early enough)!
>
>
>I envy you that. Such a strong and varied song. We have wood pigeons and
>blue tits in our garden just now but also guttural magpies keeping an eye
>out for fledglings. The magpies have had the fledgling blackbirds from a
>nest in some ivy in our neighbours garden for two years running now.
>
>Baba
>
chattering or stomping around on my gutter, at least they pick some of
the moss out of it, which is useful!
They also often warn me of the presence of a stalking cat which might
threaten my garden birds; I have seen a number of stand-offs between two
magpies and a cat in a tree just beyond my garden. :-).
--
Gordon Harris
Gordon Harris
>
>The water feature sounds a good idea to me, Gordon. I wonder whether you
>noticed the ad for a solar powered fountain that the Guardian have been
>running?
>
>We had a couple of toads sheltering under a water butt which stands on
>breezeblocks in shaded corner of the garden but I've not peeked in there
>lately.
>
> I think that maybe our garden has become a little too well-kept. We seemed
>to have much more wild life when, pre-occupied with refurbishing the house,
>we left much of the garden untended and the rest serving as a builders yard.
>There were bumble bees then and field mice and toads and even a lizard who
>I suspect had come in with a load of builders sand. Now bumble bees are few
>and far between and there's been no sign of mice at all lately.
>
>Baba
>
Leaving a corner of the garden alone is often enough to allow wildlife
of some sort to form a habitat, but like your garden, mine is now neat
after a major assault on it, but there is an area behind the garage
where I used to grow vegetables which could be turned over and perhaps
some wildflower seeds sown.
We saw some delightful meadows on our walk today in the Yorkshire Dales,
and I took photographs, and also managed to capture a curlew which stood
on a wall and made a series of loud calls before returning to the nest
among the wildflowers.
I was glad I took the camera on what was forecast to be a cold, wet day!
--
Gordon Harris
JD Cooper
Baba Mung wrote:
Why? Perhaps because your island nation is so ambivalent to wild things
that humans rule?
> We also noticed a sudden drop in the numbers of starlings. At first we
> attributed it to competition for food and nesting places from our immigrant
> population of parakeets but then learned the decline was more widespread.
> Hope we'll soon be noting returns to former numbers too.
So! You accept your country's decimation of native species and accept
foreign ones with abandon?
> One of our neighbours has a gigantic koi pond in his garden and that used to
> be a local breeding place for frogs but its awhile since we heard them or
> found them in our garden. The koi pond also attracts a heron from time to
> time ... There's a protective net over the pond but the heron lives in hope.
That means your indigionous species depend on man made ponds to support
a few frogs? Are Koi native to England? What place do they have there?
Why do you have non native species to celebrate? Do the occasional Heron
eat all the little frogs in the "gigantic koi pond" and the koi? What
does "gigantic" mean in England? Is it a pond of a hundred acres or so?
What's a "garden" in England? does a "garden" in England raise anything
for a human to eat or is it something found in a back yard that supports
some pithetic little toads and flowers and the occasional Heron? Want
Herons? come on down! I'll show you Herons!
> Your garden sounds wonderful, Bobbie. Hope you manage to bring the frogs
> back.
> Baba
I am sure it is. I'd like to see it.
JD
PS: how's the farms doing in South Africa?
Gordon Harris
>
>Wish it was as lasting a clean-up as we need, Val. It was cleaned up. But
>the companies responsible for supplying London with water and ridding it of
>waste have found it less costly to discharge sewage into the Thames when the
>system comes under strain than to update the disposal system in ways which
>will keep the river clean. As a result the several trumpeted returns of
>fish in any numbers have been shortlived.
>
>Baba
>
had a holiday cruiser on the Thames in '75,'76 and '77, and I swam in
the river in 76, a very hot year, and swallowed some of it I suppose.
There was always a swarm of fish behind the boat when my daughters threw
bread for the ducks, they would thresh up the water like pyranhas!
Gordon Harris
>Baba Mung wrote:
>
>> Heard a song thrush last evening while walking through woods in our
>>local Royal Park. Tried to catch sight of him but, as his kind often
>>do, he seemed to have chosen somewhere at the very top of a tree from
>>which to trill and so was blocked from view by intervening layers of
>>foliage. I say him because I fancy he was male who had lost or had
>>yet to find a mate. First time I've heard that song in years. I'd
>>like to think that I was witnessing the beginning of a comeback.
>
>our birds than you bloody Brits have...)
>
your political persuasion, methinks. ;-)
--
Gordon Harris
Eugene Kent
and Lorraine mostly makes negative remarks about Americans in general.
To me it is simple cultural predudices.
"Marian" <lust...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:3h3apaF...@individual.net...
Marian
I've heard that flocks of starlings bring down airplanes! Sucked into
the jets... They're hated here, and are not native.
Marian, who saw a program recently on recipes for kudzu... ~ :-)
Marian
> Lorraine wrote:
>> Unfortunately, you have not been kind to non American human
>> beings....and it
>> says a lot about you and your country where you would prefer to be
>> kinder to
>> animals than you are to human beings.
>>
>> Lorraine
> And you Frogs were not unkind to non American human beings?.... and it
> says a lot about your country where you prefer to be kinder to animals
> than you are to human beings.
>
> hahahaha! Look at your own history!
>
> JD
Er, her country is Canada. She and her people are Quebecois. Get a clue.
Marian<heh>
Jean B.
into adders....
Jean B.
JD Cooper
Methinks the same of you, ya know.
BTW... we have at least three types of "herons" that visit here. How
many do you have?
JD
JD Cooper
Marian wrote:
And what did the french do the "indians" there"? Get a clue.
JD<heh>
Baba Mung
I'm beginning to feel chastened! Little will those darned magpies in my
garden ever know what you and Gordon have done for them. I'll feel easier
about poaching the Queen's deer in future though.
Baba
Baba
Baba Mung
The most common heron found in England is probably the grey aka Ardea
cinera. . There are also populations of the so-called great bittern,
Botaurus stellaris, and the little egret, Egretta garzetta . Ardea
purperea, the purple heron turns up in South East England from time to time
as does the great white egret, Ardea alba
Baba
Baba Mung
>
>
> Baba Mung wrote:
>
>>
>> Song thrushes, starlings, sparrows, frogs.. so many creatures seem to
>> have gone into periods of sudden decline in the last few years.
>> We also noticed a sudden drop in the numbers of starlings. At first we
>> attributed it to competition for food and nesting places from our
>> immigrant population of parakeets but then learned the decline was more
>> widespread. Hope we'll soon be noting returns to former numbers too.
>
> So! You accept your country's decimation of native species and accept
> foreign ones with abandon?
>
>> One of our neighbours has a gigantic koi pond in his garden and that used
>> to be a local breeding place for frogs but its awhile since we heard them
>> or found them in our garden. The koi pond also attracts a heron from time
>> to time ... There's a protective net over the pond but the heron lives in
>> hope.
>
> That means your indigionous species depend on man made ponds to support a
> few frogs? Are Koi native to England? What place do they have there? Why
> do you have non native species to celebrate? Do the occasional Heron eat
> all the little frogs in the "gigantic koi pond" and the koi? What does
> "gigantic" mean in England? Is it a pond of a hundred acres or so? What's
> a "garden" in England? does a "garden" in England raise anything for a
> human to eat or is it something found in a back yard that supports some
> pithetic little toads and flowers and the occasional Heron? Want Herons?
> come on down! I'll show you Herons!
>
> JD
>
> PS: how's the farms doing in South Africa?
>
I've heard about North America's herons. You do have several different kinds
and I'm sure viewing them gives many people pleasure. If you are fond of
herons perhaps you should consider visiting Africa some day. Not counting
birds which bear some resemblance to herons such as ibises, storks and
spoonbills, Africa has over 20 kinds of heron including one large species
which can sometimes be seen feeding on baby crocodiles.
Talking also of farms, I believe our common white cattle egret has found its
way to the Americas and is numbered among the kinds of herons that can be
seen on some cattle ranches not too far from you these days. Are they among
the visitors you mention?
I'm surprised at your attitude to non-native animal species by the way -
given that so many "American" birds appear to have originated in other parts
of the world, not least the pheasants, francolins and partridges imported
from Asia and Europe for hunting purposes.
Baba
JD Cooper
I am somewhat aware of the African birds. L happen to like birds and
like to know things about them.
> Talking also of farms, I believe our common white cattle egret has found its
> way to the Americas and is numbered among the kinds of herons that can be
> seen on some cattle ranches not too far from you these days. Are they among
> the visitors you mention?
The white "Cattle Egret" as we know it is supposed to have entered the
Americas riding on a hurricane in the 19th century. They are generally
regarded as the only non native species of anything that has been
successful and proven not to be detrimental to any natives species.
They are common as house flies thruout the southern states but are
resident all over the remaider of states in smaller quanities. The
species now resides worldwide from what I gather.
> I'm surprised at your attitude to non-native animal species by the way -
> given that so many "American" birds appear to have originated in other parts
> of the world, not least the pheasants, francolins and partridges imported
> from Asia and Europe for hunting purposes.
>
> Baba
Many old world species of things plant and animal were introduced to the
new world. Most have had a detrimental effect on native species.
JD
Jean B.
the neighbors' cats are always prowling through the yard, sometimes
with our wildlife in their mouths. I don't know how to prevent that,
so I refrain from attracting more critters. :-(
Jean B.
Jean B.
garden makeover?
Jean B.
Jean B.
to think of it, I don't recall his EVER being nasty.
Jean B.
Jean B.
As I have said, I am returning part of my yard to nature. I am helping
it along a bit to speed the process up though. (And I am also hand
weeding the really aggressive/invasive stuff.) I would do more of
this, but the neighbor is probably already having a fit. Also, at
first, such endeavors don't look that great to say the least....
Anyhoo, I love my critters--except for the darned caterpillars, which
are wreaking havoc.... Speaking o' such, I heard something that
sounded like an owl when I was working out there. I am puzzled, since
owls are nocturnal. I have only seen one here once--very early in the
morning when I looked out the window. Hmmm. What do they like to eat?
Bats? Mice?
Jean B.
Dink
Some of them are so bad they are legendary - like rabbits in Oz and hogs
in Hawaii.
--
Dink
N 30.21, W 97.81 http://snipurl.com/whereiam
If you ever have trouble sounding condescending, ask a UNIX user
to show you how it's done. ~~ Scott Adams (1957 - )
Gordon Harris
>
>BTW... we have at least three types of "herons" that visit here. How
>many do you have?
>
>JD
>
I have only seen the grey heron, but I don't go searching for them.
This is relevant to what?
--
Gordon Harris
Dink
The price of rice in China???
Winifred Barnard
from Bobbie <onlymy...@ouch.com> contains these words:
> Baba Mung wrote:
> > Heard a song thrush last evening while walking through woods in our local
> > Royal Park. Tried to catch sight of him but, as his kind often do, he
> > seemed to have chosen somewhere at the very top of a tree from which to
> > trill and so was blocked from view by intervening layers of foliage.
> > I say
> > him because I fancy he was male who had lost or had yet to find a mate.
> > First time I've heard that song in years. I'd like to think that I was
> > witnessing the beginning of a comeback.
> >
> Bobbie
Hi Bobbie.
I have thrushes in my garden . I also see broken empty snail shells too.
I'm following Bill Oddie's instructions,more than I used to follow
RSPB's rules.
If we see the results of providing food for birds, then we follow advice.
We have woods all round the town here, but don't see many woodpeckers.
Lots of blackbirds, starlings, few sparrows, blue etc tits,even though I put
out several peanut containers.Ring doves and jackdaws occasionally.
Robins nested in my garden again this year. I was not around when they
left the nest,
so I don't know how many were reared.
I often saw kestrels nearby. Its ages since I heard a cuckoo.
Wonder where they have all gone.
Win
Gordon Harris
>Gordon Harris on 6/13/2005 in alt.fifty-plus.friends wrote:
>
>> JD Cooper <what...@outyonder.org> writes
>> >
>> > BTW... we have at least three types of "herons" that visit here. How
>> > many do you have?
>> >
>> > JD
>> >
>> If you include summer visitors, vagrant and accidental, six.
>> I have only seen the grey heron, but I don't go searching for them.
>> This is relevant to what?
>
>The price of rice in China???
>
:-)
--
Gordon Harris
Marian
Yes! Think of what that nest cam did to Bambi's image! Who'd a thunk it?
Marian
JD Cooper
cats and rats in the Galapagos isles...
JD
JD Cooper
Gordon Harris wrote:
The sex life of the Sprem Whale?
JD
Toddy
Toddy
"Jean B." <erstwhil...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1118679707.2...@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Dink
--
Toddy
Toddy
"Dink" <m...@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:xn0e3gkhm24x...@news.individual.net...
Baba Mung
"Toddy" <tod...@q-net.net.au> wrote in message
news:3h6resF...@individual.net...
> Jean, we have a frog that makes a sound just like an owl.....
> Toddy
>
I wonder if that helps keep some would-be predators at bay?
Baba
Baba Mung
> Hmmm. Thrushes sound fine, but I don't know that I would like to run
> into adders....
>
> Jean B.
>
Britain's adders can give one a nasty bite but normally do so only in self
defence. People sometimes get bitten as a result of inadvertently trampling
them or attempting to pick them up. These things seem most likely to happen
in cool weather when the snakes are sunning themselves and are too sluggish
too take cover in time. As Anne implies, they are not normally aggressive
towards larger animals like us.
I've come across snakes in Africa many times, but I saw the greatest number
of snakes I've ever seen in one place while walking a network of coastal and
moorland paths on the Isle of Wight here in Britain some years ago. The
surrounding land was heavily covered in brambles with leaves all aglisten
from a melting frost. Sunshine only touched ground on the paths I was
treading; and, along some stretches, I came across three or four adders at
a time - all taking the sun and barely able or to move.
Baba
Bobbie
Oh Win, how lucky you are, there is nothing quite like the sound of
their song. I hope they will return. I do feed the birds through the
winter, but there is usually enough 'natural' food for them around my
little garden in summer and I wouldn't want to discourage them from
eating the caterpillars and like.....
Funny thing to see is the careful watch the blackbirds keep on Pickles,
while she is sunning herself in the garden, they come and go quite
openly to feed the young ones in the nest, but they are so much more
cautious when she is not.....Pickles keeps the cats at bay.
All my bird boxes were inhabited this year thank goodness. The blue tits
have been most prolific as usual. For the couple of seasons I was
dogless, after Lucy died, the blue tits stayed away, they and the wrens
are back. I can watch the wrens from my kitchen window, 'climbing'
through the shrubs. I rarely see them on the wing. Strange?
I see birds of prey all the time on the Heath from the large red kits to
the much smaller kestrels, but try as I may I have never managed to get
a picture. I saw the most wonderful aerial display the other afternoon,
with 4 hawks of some kind just playing. swooping and diving together,
what a wonderful sight that is.
Lovely to see you here, I hope you are quite well now, and looking
forward to the new arrival.
Take care, enjoy the nice weather.
Bobbie...
Gordon Harris
>
>I have thrushes in my garden .
You are lucky! I get blackbirds, sparrows, goldfinches, great tits,
blue tits, robins at certain times, collared doves, wood pigeons, and of
course starlings. Occasionally I am delighted to see long tailed tits,
beautiful little birds.
> I also see broken empty snail shells too.
>I'm following Bill Oddie's instructions,more than I used to follow
>RSPB's rules.
>If we see the results of providing food for birds, then we follow advice.
>We have woods all round the town here, but don't see many woodpeckers.
>Lots of blackbirds, starlings, few sparrows, blue etc tits,even though I put
>out several peanut containers.Ring doves and jackdaws occasionally.
>Robins nested in my garden again this year. I was not around when they
>left the nest,
>so I don't know how many were reared.
>I often saw kestrels nearby. Its ages since I heard a cuckoo.
>Wonder where they have all gone.
>
I only once saw a cuckoo, many years ago whilst out walking in the
country. This year I have seen new broods of great tits, blue tits
and goldfinches reared on my meal worms (for the tits), sunflower hearts
and thistle (Niger) seed for the goldfinches. I started with two
goldfinches last year and now I sometimes get 7 or 8 on the feeders at
one time!
The young ones are easy to recognise because they do not yet have the
red and black heads.
--
Gordon Harris
Toddy
Toddy
"Baba Mung" <baba...@redyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:uhxre.4790$n_6....@fe1.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
Gordon Harris
>Jean, we have a frog that makes a sound just like an owl.....
>Toddy
>
car or house alarm sirens......
--
Gordon Harris
Gordon Harris
>"Jean B." <erstwhil...@yahoo.com> said:
>> Hmmm. Thrushes sound fine, but I don't know that I
>> would like to run into adders....
>
>likely to disappear into the undergrowth at the first
>sound of someone approaching.....
>
That's what happened when I saw one for the first and only time.
--
Gordon Harris
lamb
There should be laws against that!
Loes
Phxbrd
"lamb" <lambwil...@chello.nl> wrote in message
news:t_Fre.1297$vS6.1129@amstwist00...
As I post I hear a Mockingbird running thru his repertoire in my backyard
Bottlebrush tree. The stupid pigeons seem transfixed....
Phxbrd
"Anne Jackson" <amyg...@zetnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:3130303034323...@zetnet.co.uk...
> "Jean B." <erstwhil...@yahoo.com> said:
> > I really want to put in a water feature, but then I keep recalling how
> > the neighbors' cats are always prowling through the yard, sometimes
> > with our wildlife in their mouths. I don't know how to prevent that,
> > so I refrain from attracting more critters. :-(
>
> Cats don't like being "shot at" with those high-powered water pistols....
>
> --
> AnneJ
Especially if they're loaded with ammonia instead of water....
lamb
>As I post I hear a Mockingbird running thru his repertoire in my backyard
>Bottlebrush tree. The stupid pigeons seem transfixed....
>
>
Send him to Amsterdam .........
Loes
Phxbrd
Would you settle for the pigeons?
lamb
Of course not !
It's the pigeons here that are the problem
Phxbrd
My wee air rifle should arrive any day. Enjoy your last hours in my palms,
pigies!
Gordon Harris
>"Jean B." <erstwhil...@yahoo.com> said:
>> I really want to put in a water feature, but then I keep recalling how
>> the neighbors' cats are always prowling through the yard, sometimes
>> with our wildlife in their mouths. I don't know how to prevent that,
>> so I refrain from attracting more critters. :-(
>
>Cats don't like being "shot at" with those high-powered water pistols....
>
--
Gordon Harris
Gordon Harris
>
>My wee air rifle should arrive any day. Enjoy your last hours in my palms,
>pigies!
>
the same bird of course), when my best efforts don't scare them off.
The rest seem to learn fast, and disappear for some time....
--
Gordon Harris
Phxbrd
It's to be a progressive pumper, with 750 fps @ 10 pumps, but I'll start
with 1. I don't need them dead, I just need them elsewhere....
Toddy
Toddy
"Gordon Harris" <Gor...@g3snx.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:FsbWDdCk...@g3snx.demon.co.uk...
Bob Shirk
deter pigeons, and if moved frequently is supposed to keep pigeons at
bay for some time. I have seen a real nice ones with a movable head
that turns with the breeze. Bob.
Phxbrd
"Bob Shirk" <bobs...@tds.net> wrote in message
news:42af8...@newspeer2.tds.net...
Bob Shirk
I have also seen a false owl being attacked by crows. Bob.
Gordon Harris
They keep coming back when I shoot them with a water pistol....
--
Gordon Harris
Phxbrd
Try ammonia instead of water - really! It repels both man & beast, so mind
the blow-back....
A Super-Soaker is the ultimate water gun here - don't get hit in the eye....
Gordon Harris
>
>"Gordon Harris" <Gor...@g3snx.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
>news:FsbWDdCk...@g3snx.demon.co.uk...
>> Toddy <tod...@q-net.net.au> writes
>>>Jean, we have a frog that makes a sound just like an owl.....
>>>Toddy
>>>
>> There was a blackbird round here a year or two ago which used to
>> imitate car or house alarm sirens......
>> --
>> Gordon Harris
>
>I have parrots flying around that make sounds like the phone!!
>Toddy
When I was living at my parents house, we had mice running around at one
time/
Dad and I would make a noise like a piece of cheese to attract them and
then biff them with the poker.
--
Gordon Harris
Kelly
>
> When I was living at my parents house, we had mice running around at
> one time/
> Dad and I would make a noise like a piece of cheese to attract them
> and then biff them with the poker.
LOL
Our cat ate cheese to attract mice...
--
kelly
lamb
>"lamb" <lambwil...@chello.nl> wrote in message
>news:6MHre.1313$vS6.1226@amstwist00...
>> Of course not !
>> It's the pigeons here that are the problem
>
>My wee air rifle should arrive any day. Enjoy your last hours in my palms,
>pigies!
>
>
Thank you!!!!
Loes
Gordon Harris
>
>Ammonia is the prime ingredient in commercial window cleaners such as our
>blue Windex. Bleach is altogether different. Ammonia burns the eyes, but
>is relatively harmless....
>
I remember a commercial heavy duty window cleaner which had to be
handled very carefully, they used it to clean roof lights, which became
ingrained with dirt.
I'm trying to remember the acid, Hydrofluoric, I think. It had to
be kept in plastic containers, and I when I was in Works Engineering I
begged some from the workshop foreman to use for etching printed
circuits.
Dangerous stuff....
--
Gordon Harris
Phxbrd
> Phxbrd <lesliese...@yahoo.com> writes
> >
> >Try ammonia instead of water - really! It repels both man & beast, so
mind
> >the blow-back....
> >
> >A Super-Soaker is the ultimate water gun here - don't get hit in the
eye....
> >
> would have bleached my Levis by now......
> I don't mess with ammonia, but I suppose we call it bleach?
> --
> Gordon Harris
Gordon Harris
Can't remember which one.
--
Gordon Harris
Gordon Harris
>
>Try ammonia instead of water - really! It repels both man & beast, so mind
>the blow-back....
>
>A Super-Soaker is the ultimate water gun here - don't get hit in the eye....
>
Phxbrd
Reminds me of the hoary tale of the guy inventing a 'universal solvent'.
His friend sez, "Whatcha gonna keep it in?"....
Main Entry: am·mo·nia
Pronunciation: &-'mO-ny&
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin, from Latin sal ammoniacus sal ammoniac, literally,
salt of Ammon, from Greek ammOniakos of Ammon, from AmmOn Ammon, Amen, an
Egyptian god near one of whose temples it was prepared
1 : a pungent colorless gaseous alkaline compound of nitrogen and hydrogen
NH3 that is very soluble in water and can easily be condensed to a liquid by
cold and pressure
Kelly
> I'm busy gardening and babyminding. That should be Rami minding.
> I adore those moments when I am allowed to have him under my care.
> I hope that I can be helpful when the new baby arrives.
> Next month I am dog minding too, for a neighbour.
> I feel better if I walk for a couple of hours each day, so a dog makes
> that exercise taken care of.
> Yesterday I had two committee meetings. One for our town's museum
> amd the other for Guisborough Town Pride.That latter is a group trying
> and succeeding in making our town more 'cared for' looking.
> Today I have made two bean-bags for Rami's room. I did the curtains
> last week,
> so the B.B's were made of the same material. I hope that he likes
> them. So I am doing very well.
> I often feel tired and old, but a rest and nap can help that.
>
> There are so many new people on this group nowadays,
> and as I don't often understand what they are 'on' about,
> I often don't add anything to the day's in- take.
> Rami knows where I am on the picture of our group,
> so the other day, I told him about all my friends also on the photo.
> That brought back some lovely memories,from Australia, USA, France and
> Cambridge.
> Of the 58 friends on the photo, I have met 16 and I will never forget
> that pleasure.
>
> Win
>
You seem to have a busy, but very satisfying life, Win-:)
Isn't it just a treat to be with these little ones? I'm sure you'll have a
lot of fun with the one to coime too.
Yes, there have been many changes on the group these past months. But some
of us "oldies" are still sticking it out here-:)
I'll soon be off for the summer, so I take the opportunity to wish you a
happy one.
--
Kelly
Sinclair
"Winifred Barnard" <winba...@zetnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:20050614232...@zetnet.co.uk...
> I'm busy gardening and babyminding. That should be Rami minding.
> I adore those moments when I am allowed to have him under my care.
> I hope that I can be helpful when the new baby arrives.
> Next month I am dog minding too, for a neighbour.
> I feel better if I walk for a couple of hours each day, so a dog makes
> that exercise taken care of.
> Yesterday I had two committee meetings. One for our town's museum
> amd the other for Guisborough Town Pride.That latter is a group trying
> and succeeding in making our town more 'cared for' looking.
> Today I have made two bean-bags for Rami's room. I did the curtains last
> week,
> so the B.B's were made of the same material. I hope that he likes them.
> So I am doing very well.
> I often feel tired and old, but a rest and nap can help that.
>
Sinclair.
Gordon Harris
--
Gordon Harris
Gordon Harris
>
>Reminds me of the hoary tale of the guy inventing a 'universal solvent'.
>His friend sez, "Whatcha gonna keep it in?"....
>
>Main Entry: am·mo·nia
>Pronunciation: &-'mO-ny&
>Function: noun
>Etymology: New Latin, from Latin sal ammoniacus sal ammoniac, literally,
>salt of Ammon, from Greek ammOniakos of Ammon, from AmmOn Ammon, Amen, an
>Egyptian god near one of whose temples it was prepared
>1 : a pungent colorless gaseous alkaline compound of nitrogen and hydrogen
>NH3 that is very soluble in water and can easily be condensed to a liquid by
>cold and pressure
>
when I was a lad, and I'm not sure whether it was used as a bleach or a
disinfectant.
--
Gordon Harris
Winifred Barnard
from Gordon Harris <Gor...@g3snx.demon.co.uk> contains these words:
That was Gainsborough.
Don't you like his paintings?
Win
Winifred Barnard
from "Sinclair" <labeh...@wanadoo.fr> contains these words:
> Sinclair.
It's only Lord Gisborough who uses the Gisborough spelling.
Everyone else, inhabitants and council and national concerns
use Guisborough.Something to do with viking invasion long ago I think.
On Sunday next there is to be a Fair at Gisborough hall, which is where
Lord Gisborough used to live.It's now a splendid hotel, still called
Gisborough Hall,,
and Lord G now lives in the stable block, which is modernised of course.
So Guisborough is the name of the town, and Gisborough is the name of
our local Lord.
Win
Winifred Barnard
from Gordon Harris <Gor...@g3snx.demon.co.uk> contains these words:
> Winifred Barnard <winba...@zetnet.co.uk> writes
> >
> >I have thrushes in my garden .
> You are lucky! I get blackbirds, sparrows, goldfinches, great tits,
> blue tits, robins at certain times, collared doves, wood pigeons, and of
> course starlings. Occasionally I am delighted to see long tailed tits,
> beautiful little birds.
> > I also see broken empty snail shells too.
> >I'm following Bill Oddie's instructions,more than I used to follow
> >RSPB's rules.
> >If we see the results of providing food for birds, then we follow advice.
> >We have woods all round the town here, but don't see many woodpeckers.
> >Lots of blackbirds, starlings, few sparrows, blue etc tits,even
> >though I put
> >out several peanut containers.Ring doves and jackdaws occasionally.
> >Robins nested in my garden again this year. I was not around when they
> >left the nest,
> >so I don't know how many were reared.
> >I often saw kestrels nearby. Its ages since I heard a cuckoo.
> >Wonder where they have all gone.
> >
> I only once saw a cuckoo, many years ago whilst out walking in the
> country. This year I have seen new broods of great tits, blue tits
> and goldfinches reared on my meal worms (for the tits), sunflower hearts
> and thistle (Niger) seed for the goldfinches. I started with two
> goldfinches last year and now I sometimes get 7 or 8 on the feeders at
> one time!
> The young ones are easy to recognise because they do not yet have the
> red and black heads.
> --
> Gordon Harris
I must look for some mealworms tomorrow.I would love to attract some
goldfinches to my garden.
Win