My log book

[PaulJ]

6 minutes ago, Naughty Cal said:

Our favourite spot from the boat was a Crane on the Norfolk Broads (not the mechanical variety) on the salt marshes between Stracey and Great Yarmouth.

 

Magnificent bird.

 

 

Certainly are. Was lucky enough to see a pair of those on the Little Ouse once.

They are HUGE.

Edited April 5, 2023 by PaulJ

[Jerra]

20 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said:

 

I'll keep a lookout for one of those.

 

Seemingly a solarity animal the heron. Uncommon to see two together anyway. Also difficult to tell male from female in passing. Same with the kingfisher.

I am not sure I can tell a male Heron from a female unless they are side by side to compare.    With Kingfishers, they need to sit still long enough to check the colour of the lower mandible.

[LadyG]

13 minutes ago, Naughty Cal said:

Like you we kept logs for the boat. Usually an annual diary each year. 

 

We would log routes, hours run, fuel purchased, receipts, points of interest, good pubs and takeaways etc. We have stacks of them at home and when we dig them out they do make for interesting reading and bring back some fantastic memories.

 

We have continued the same theme with the van.

It's a good idea. I've never been able to recall all my locations visited  just by thought processes though i can still recall quite a lot of places and details work wise even forty years on, strange thing, the brain.

I have lots of (real) photos from times long gone, but I can remember quite a lot of detail about those particular days, the people involved and the places we visited.

We nearly ran out of diesel in Cambeltown one Friday night, we could get a bowser on Saturday if we took  5000l, so we sailed on through the night, then met a small fishing boat moored up in Carradale, he let us have some, and it was 11p per litre!

Edited April 5, 2023 by LadyG

[Naughty Cal]

15 minutes ago, PaulJ said:

Certainly are. Was lucky enough to see a pair of those on the Little Ouse once.

They are HUGE.

Only ever seen the one despite many trips back to the same area we never saw another one again.

 

We are in Norfolk and Suffolk again in July so will be keeping our eyes peeled for them. Several day boat trips planned to the lesser explored areas of the Broads so fingers crossed we might stumble across another one.

[___]

22 minutes ago, PaulJ said:

Funnily enough one thing I have noticed more regulary in the last year is Herons and Egrets fishing close together which always suprises me.

Think the bird that actually suprised me the most looking back at me from the Riverbank was a pair of Rheas/Emus coming down the Ouse a few weeks ago 😀

 

I don't recall ever seeing an egret on the canal. Maybe I haven't been paying enough attention to the herons I've been passing.

 

Rheas and emus would be captive so technically couldn't be seen on a canal as they'd be fenced it. I guess they can dabble in the shallows but wouldn't be registered to wade into the main navigation channel of the river concerned.

 

Otherwise we could count the alpacas of Polesworth. In the days when I was responsible for maintaining a "stock-proof" fence I used to regularly have to explain that while deer are smaller than cows they aren't stock.

 

 

[Ewan123]

2 hours ago, Captain Pegg said:

 

I know we pull your leg about cruising but in all seriousness by far and away the best way to see wildlife on the canals is from the helm. Even better if you cruise either side of sunrise and sunset.

 

I've met boaters who tell me they've never seen a kingfisher and the only way that is possible is because they rarely if ever helm their own boat.

  

You will see kingfishers and herons pretty regularly on the canal, and seabirds on big rivers. Eventually you'll encounter a muntjac, even a big deer or stag, and a badger or fox. Wabbits are ten a penny. 

 

You did well with otters as I've only ever seen one. I can only count two voles, and there's a 50/50 chance one of those was a rat (so literally similar yet so metaphorically different) , a mink or two (not sure they count being invasive), a stoat and a couple of swimming grass snakes.

 

A few weeks back I walked up the top end of the Tardebigge flight in darkness after a rainy day and the towpath was littered with frogs. I was amazed I noticed them before I trod on one.

 

 

I do see the majority of my kingfishers while cruising.

 

I've seen a water vole every day for the last few days! At Marston Junction, just on the Ashby.

 

Apparently there is an otter near here too (I found a recent spraint) but not seen one anywhere yet. Very jealous of @LadyG 's sighting.

[Puffling]

Recorded my first Daubenton's bat earlier this week. That was with the bat detector, I didn't see the animal.

 

Perhaps bats have been out from hibernation earlier, but I only just put a new battery in my bat detector after poaching it for the smoke alarm last autumn (before the BSS inspection 😉).

 

Great idea with the log book, @LadyGa useful resource to look back over, I find.

[PaulJ]

18 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said:

 

Rheas and emus would be captive so technically couldn't be seen on a canal as they'd be fenced it. I guess they can dabble in the shallows but wouldn't be registered to wade into the main navigation channel of the river concerned.

 

 

 

And there was me thinking Emus are native..😀

[___]

12 minutes ago, Puffling said:

Recorded my first Daubenton's bat earlier this week. That was with the bat detector, I didn't see the animal.

 

Perhaps bats have been out from hibernation earlier, but I only just put a new battery in my bat detector after poaching it for the smoke alarm last autumn (before the BSS inspection 😉).

 

Great idea with the log book, @LadyGa useful resource to look back over, I find.

 

I once carried a bat as a passenger. It flew inside the covers on the ex-working boat I was steering through Gosty Hill tunnel and didn't escape until I'd exited the tunnel. I wasn't sure what impact being carried out into daylight would have had. No idea what type of bat but Gosty Hill is a good place to go boating with bats; in the evening they will swirl around around you in the higher roofed section of the tunnel.

 

8 minutes ago, PaulJ said:

And there was me thinking Emus are native..😀

 

That was for the benefit of our Australian readers.

Edited April 5, 2023 by Captain Pegg

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

5 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said:

once carried a bat as a passenger. It flew inside the covers on the ex-working boat I was steering through Gosty Hill tunnel and didn't escape until I'd exited the tunnel. I wasn't sure what impact being carried out into daylight would have had. No idea what type of bat but Gosty Hill is a good place to go boating with bats; in the evening they will swirl around around you in the higher roofed section of the tunnel.

Hence the Dracula picture? Maybe. 

[___]

4 minutes ago, Goliath said:

Hence the Dracula picture? Maybe. 

Quite probably. In need of some tlc that sign now. Or simply needs to be replaced.

[ditchcrawler]

This was my back garden https://youtu.be/TfaqoYxuy2w 

 

[Paul C]

2 hours ago, Jon57 said:

Saw a fat bird eating chips on Blackpool front once 🐦🍟😁

You didn't have to marry her tho.....

[cuthound]

4 hours ago, Hudds Lad said:

Our Bullfinch count is up to three!

 

I spotted a penguin once. It was in the fridge with alll the other chocolate biscuits...

 

[Hudds Lad]

6 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

I spotted a penguin once. It was in the fridge with alll the other chocolate biscuits...

 

That's plainly fake news, a fridge is for beer not chocolate* as any fule kno!

 

 

 

 

*although my wife does this, it's still wrong

[cuthound]

1 hour ago, Captain Pegg said:

 

I don't recall ever seeing an egret on the canal. Maybe I haven't been paying enough attention to the herons I've been passing.

 

Rheas and emus would be captive so technically couldn't be seen on a canal as they'd be fenced it. I guess they can dabble in the shallows but wouldn't be registered to wade into the main navigation channel of the river concerned.

 

Otherwise we could count the alpacas of Polesworth. In the days when I was responsible for maintaining a "stock-proof" fence I used to regularly have to explain that while deer are smaller than cows they aren't stock.

 

 

 

I've never seen an egret on the canals, but have seen several this year whilst walking the dog near the River Anker.

[IanD]

11 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

I've never seen an egret on the canals, but have seen several this year whilst walking the dog near the River Anker.

 

[Hudds Lad]

The last one seems to be a Scouse Egret, not a Cattle Egret  

[cuthound]

1 minute ago, IanD said:

 

 

So the ones I've seen are cattle egrets. Strangely I often see the in a field with horses in it. Perhaps they need to go to Specsavers?

 

[PaulJ]

Egrets are definetly on the increase. River Trent in particular seems to have gained a good sized population.

Anyone else come across one of these- quite specific to Beds- Herts I think and makes a nice change to the usual grey tree rat.

 

[Hudds Lad]

1 hour ago, PaulJ said:

Egrets are definetly on the increase. River Trent in particular seems to have gained a good sized population.

Anyone else come across one of these- quite specific to Beds- Herts I think and makes a nice change to the usual grey tree rat.

 

That’ll just be a melanistic (think thats right word) Grey, same tree rat, different coat. Nice tho

[Jerra]

3 hours ago, Puffling said:

Recorded my first Daubenton's bat earlier this week. That was with the bat detector, I didn't see the animal.

 

Perhaps bats have been out from hibernation earlier, but I only just put a new battery in my bat detector after poaching it for the smoke alarm last autumn (before the BSS inspection 😉).

 

Great idea with the log book, @LadyGa useful resource to look back over, I find.

When you get the signal shine a strong torch across the water and you will see a tawny flash as it passes about 30cm above the water.

[PaulJ]

4 minutes ago, Hudds Lad said:

That’ll just be a melanistic (think thats right word) Grey, same tree rat, different coat. Nice tho

Good word. Had to look it up though.

There was a few isolated small colonies in these parts-think like a few escapees started way back in Woburn originally.

Thought it was a mink up a tree first time I saw it 😀

[Naughty Cal]

2 hours ago, PaulJ said:

Egrets are definetly on the increase. River Trent in particular seems to have gained a good sized population.

Anyone else come across one of these- quite specific to Beds- Herts I think and makes a nice change to the usual grey tree rat.

 

Seen plenty of Egrets along the Trent and on the Witham.

 

We saw a few proper red squirrel on the Isle of Wight last year.

[PaulJ]

12 minutes ago, Naughty Cal said:

 

We saw a few proper red squirrel on the Isle of Wight last year.

Brilliant. Ive only ever seen one and that doesnt really count as it was very flat in the middle of the road (IoW too)