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Daily wildlife moments

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  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    What a cracking photo Dove- you must have been thrilled to get that   :)
    Ain't nature grand!
    Fabulous bird Nollie - it's nice to hear about wildlife we don't get here too.
    Mind and get a pic next time.... ;)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    Oops that should have been ‘poplar’ trees of course. Yes they are gorgeous birds, I love their beautiful three and four note whistles, interspersed with raucous cackling. I do so miss the Bee Eaters though, we get them on fly-overs on their way south, but we don’t have the sandy banks they like nest in. On a recent trip to Lleida (further south) they were as numerous as pigeons in Trafalgar Square! 
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.

  • Sorry about the size and lack of clarity but as I went outside in torrential rain a little while ago to get in the car I saw this sparrowhawk? which had just caught a pigeon (not a woodie ... one of the stock-dove type) ... It was just beginning to pluck it when my neighbour came home and drove onto the driveway ... the pigeon escaped ...

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Fran IOMFran IOM Posts: 2,872
    One hungry sparrowhawk and one happy pigeon. Not something you see every day.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,143
    Goodness me!  A large heron just landed on the house roof opposite and stared intently down at where the neighbours fish pond used to be ... there have not been fish there since 2013 but the heron comes back every so often to check ... he obviously has a good memory and is ever hopeful, especially on a cold day like today when there probably isn’t a lot of his usual food around. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • RubytooRubytoo Posts: 1,630
    edited January 2019
    We think someone near us must have a pond as we sometimes see a heron on their roof here too Dove. It is lovely to see one but looks a bit strange.
    I guess because you don't expect to see them doing their funny walk along a roof apex, their gait is more suited to watery places.
    And in flight their long legs and "folded" necks look a bit valley of dinosaurs.
    Just because we do not see them everyday I guess.
     
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,143
    Herons are my favourite birds ... as we live close to the river and lots of marshland we do see them fairly frequently ... lucky me  :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • RubytooRubytoo Posts: 1,630
    edited January 2019
    They are handsome, I like their "chest hair" and stripey markings and even the grey is... a nice grey. We never got a good photo yet because by the time you see them, find camera, open a window, set camera, the bird has flown.
     



    This bee I found in our blow away a few weeks ago. Poor thing had got shut in overnight. I though it was dead, it was hanging off a watering can. I picked it up and it moved ever so slightly. I felt so guilty!
    Took it indoors to warm up and gave it some honey, and it perked up and flew away after about 20 minutes. I was so pleased.
    They get on the winter clematis which is right next to the blow away . We can guess what happened.
    So now I double check before closing.

    Can any bee specialists identify it?
    I know it is not a queen bumble. Could it be a worker?
    Sorry for no size comparison, it was smaller. Hope you can see the orange bottom.
    The dear little thing had full saddle bags.
    The slightly wonky (left side) one they polished up when preening before leaving.
     
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Buff tailed bumble bee?
    We get ones with very orange/rusty bottoms but that looks paler.
    We often have herons flying overhead here, as there's lots of water around. They always look so gangly when flying, but very striking when patiently waiting beside ponds...
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Probably an Early Bumblebee worker. Don't feed them honey, sugar water does the job just as well. If you give them honey it becomes like negative calories since you probably feed them more than they'd ever produce in their lifetime. It probably gives them an existential crisis.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
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