Nature thread??

[Beaker]

I saw a baby mole somewhere on the Coventry in July.

[patty-ann]

Great idea, there are some real wowser moments..pink and black magpie...quite lot of herons when travelled through Brums canals..kingfisher, sneaky foxes...love em all. And went place a place early evening which was full of ducks..never seen so many together guess they collect to rest in safety overnight.

On Horror house front theres young buzzard been perched half way down field crying for mum and dad..have been tempted to take down red x parcel but noooo letting nature sort itself out. It is now soaring and hunting so I did right.

[Phil Ambrose]

Good idea....................then I can tell you about the Muntjac in the garden last week...

Don't talk to me about Muntjac, every spring they come onto my mooring garden and eat my tulips, grrr, never anything else, just tulips.

Phil

[Phil Ambrose]

normally low and fast

Earlier this year a Sparrowhawk nearly took the top of our heads off, we were sitting out enjoying a stubby or two when a pigeon flew low between us followed closely by a sparrowhawk.

The pigeon lands in the water while the sparrowhawk just managed to pull up in time. I had to retrieve the shaken but lucky pigeon in my dinghy.

Phil

[BGA]

I've seen a naturist on the Ashby canal, - - - well actually he was on the bank, not a particularly pretty sight but 'hey ho' each to his own

[craftycarper]

I've seen a naturist on the Ashby canal, - - - well actually he was on the bank, not a particularly pretty sight but 'hey ho' each to his own

. I think that may have been a pervert, different species altogether,

[pquinn]

saw a couple of crazy swallows chasing and divebombing a hawk the other day.

[Murflynn]

I've seen a naturist on the Ashby canal, - - - well actually he was on the bank, not a particularly pretty sight but 'hey ho' each to his own

was it breeding? apparently you shouldn't disturb breeding naturists, but I'm not sure if they are a protected species.

........................... if I acquire the correct defra ticket, see this is why we should have a nature section

so you want to start a nature section so that you can discuss the extermination of fluffy little rodents.

 

well, each to his own.

Edited September 3, 2015 by Murflynn

[MtB]

Thanks for starting the thread Crafty. I obviously would support the idea called as MtB suggests Flora and Fauna. Going by the comments on this thread while not being statements of support there is clearly interest in all things living.

 

 

Not much mention of flora so far...

 

I saw the Orchids on the lock island at Hillmorton were out again this year as I passed on my way to Braunston fest, so they've survived the grass cutting subcontractors again. (Same lock as Alan had his altercation with the locky AIUI, so I doubt he noticed them!)

[John V]

Love sitting in the wheelhouse in the morning, watching the waders wandering round the mudflats. My favourite though is dawn in the winter when no one else is around, as often there will be curlews wandering round within a few feet of the boat.

[Jerra]

I didn't take time to read things carefully when I got in last night so I had better clarify.

 

I was visualising a section for Flora and Fauna rather than an individual thread. Perhaps I am using the wrong terminology but I mean a heading somewhere on the opening page of forum listings.

[Sabcat]

There's lots of wildlife here. I regularly see wren, bullfinch, goldfinch, green woodpecker, speckled wood pecker. Less regularly king fisher and in late spring/early summer common turn fishing in the cut are brilliant to watch. Thinking about it, I haven't seen a heron for some time.

 

I used to shoot rabbits when we first moved onto the boat and I had a semi tame crow called Mikhail who took to following me about because I'd chuck him guts. Admittedly I gave him the name Mikhail, he might have had a quite different name but he never said.

[Starcoaster]

If there was a pet/animal forum put in, perhaps wildlife and flowers respectively could be sub-forums of it?

[John V]

Good idea Starry

[MtB]

A 'Nature' forum, with Pets, Flora and Fauna as subforums?

 

Then peeps would have somewhere to waffle on endlessly about dogs, too!

[Jerra]

A 'Nature' forum, with Pets, Flora and Fauna as subforums?

 

Then peeps would have somewhere to waffle on endlessly about dogs, too!

That sounds better to me than pretending there is some link between pets and wildlife by putting wildlife as a sub forum.

 

However Flora and Fauna covers all living things so why not a Flora and Fauna with pets/domestic animals as a sub forum.

[Jim Batty]

Sounds like a great idea to me.

 

 

I'll have a Fauna and Flora section please!

 

Oddest animal in the canal for us was a sheep that suddenly emerged from between two boats as we were slowly going by ... thought it was a large wayward dog at first. But it just swam across the front of the bow and emerged to the right ... reached the far bank ... where it clambered up and wandered off.

 

Kestrel news: We saw a kestrel through binoculars for the first time a couple of weeks ago, just around the corner from King's Lock on the Thames. In beautiful orange light near sunset. Hovering. Darting. Sitting on a fence post. Lovely.

[craftycarper]

was it breeding? apparently you shouldn't disturb breeding naturists, but I'm not sure if they are a protected species.

 

so you want to start a nature section so that you can discuss the extermination of fluffy little rodents.

 

well, each to his own.

. Or just the control of an alien invasive species, shooting and fishing are also country sports, and as such will come up from time to time, be nice to have a section were people were talking about things they love about our wonderful countryside, not were people are fishing for a quarrel, don't you think, ?

[billS]

A grass snake tried to climb on board the boat from the water in Banbury a couple of weeks ag0 - at least a metre long.

[Jerra]

A grass snake tried to climb on board the boat from the water in Banbury a couple of weeks ag0 - at least a metre long.

At that size it must have been a female and about as big as they come. Average female 75-80cm males a little smaller in the region of 65cm. Great sighting of the UK's largest snake species.

[tree monkey]

At that size it must have been a female and about as big as they come. Average female 75-80cm males a little smaller in the region of 65cm. Great sighting of the UK's largest snake species.

Years ago I worked on a private school estate in the grounds and one summer we had what cold be discribed as a plague of em.

never seen so many since, caused a bit of a panic amongst the teachers and I spent quite some time explaining they were no danger.

found a couple of slow worms that year too

[Jerra]

Years ago I worked on a private school estate in the grounds and one summer we had what cold be discribed as a plague of em.

never seen so many since, caused a bit of a panic amongst the teachers and I spent quite some time explaining they were no danger.

found a couple of slow worms that year too

Were they adults or was it that a clutch of eggs had hatched? It would have been fascinating surely some of the teachers could have got some good education out of it.

[tree monkey]

Were they adults or was it that a clutch of eggs had hatched? It would have been fascinating surely some of the teachers could have got some good education out of it.

A combination big buggers and the newly hatched but I am confidant it was more than one clutch, honestly they were all over the grounds

I ran the estate on organic principles and left many wood piles and quiet overgrown spots, so plenty of nesting locations.

The teachers reaction came from ignorance and concerns about the children so fair enough tbh, once their fears were calmed the kids were involved

[Jerra]

A combination big buggers and the newly hatched but I am confidant it was more than one clutch, honestly they were all over the grounds

I ran the estate on organic principles and left many wood piles and quiet overgrown spots, so plenty of nesting locations.

The teachers reaction came from ignorance and concerns about the children so fair enough tbh, once their fears were calmed the kids were involved

So it was all your fault.

[tree monkey]

So it was all your fault.

Oh yeah, well chuffed although more chuffed with the slow worms