h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hello Websailor and everyone else. Just to say, I also read here faithfully, almost every day, but don't always post!

Anyways like I said elsewhere, I had a nice outing to a game farm yesterday. Interestingly, since we've been speaking about honey badgers and honeyguides a while ago, I happened upon a honeyguide yesterday! It made the typical kind of chattering call which is supposed to indicate honey, but it flew off and far away when I approached it.

I've done reading about honeyguides. Their habit of leading people to honey is apparently dying out, as people use sugar more, and wild honey less.

I noticed that when I read your post Willem. It is a shame they do not guide people to honey, but perhaps it happens more away from towns and cities. It always fascinates me the value that is placed upon honey where people live in a natural environment, yet we take it for granted.

Not any more I think, with the loss of so many of our honey bees Incidentally I have vowed not to let any of my wax worms develop in to wax moths!

Thanks for posting Willem.

Websailor

I read daily when can too.

Oh, thank you. I wasn't fishing, honest, well not much

Websailor

I read every entry and love them, just very rarely post

I'm always lurkingbehind the wallbut half the time I'm shoved out there's that many

Thank you all, that has put a big on my face. Another short entry coming up.

Good grief, it is getting dark early these days Must

Websailor

Sun. 16th August 09
Weather: Sunny and hot with a lovely breeze

I set the camera to take stills last night and was watching the four badgers munching away when I realised the camera wasn’t functioning properly! It kept blinking which meant I hadn’t pushed the switch up far enough

After they had gone I went out and sorted it, but visibility was very poor, even with the night vision glasses. It being Saturday night, there wasn’t much activity during the night, just one more badger (Boss Man) at 11.28pm but he didn’t stay long, was dashing about and the photos were rubbish, just a blur

The first of the daytime visitors arrived in the shape of a magpie at 6.14am but it was very quiet. I was rewarded with a visit from two foxes at 7a.30am and managed to get one photo on my digital camera before I got a ‘low battery’ signal Wouldn’t you know it.

The birds haven’t been around much today - partly my fault for mowing and strimming all afternoon and making a heck of a racket! It was very hot too. The grass seems to grow again as soon as my back is turned and it is hard graft.

Bullfinches, robins, nuthatches, great and blue s, together with dunnocks, magpies and wood pigeons, were the only ones I spotted.

Back tomorrow (nite nite ers *waves*


Websailor

Mornin Sailor,

Haven't dropped in for a while but thought you might be interested in the following. We're just back from hols in Portugal and spent last week not far from Portimao in the Algarve. In the evenings, watching the sun going down and the aerodynamics of the Swallows chasing insects, I noticed a whole flock of Swifts at a much higher altitude.

I'd read their numbers had been in steep decline this year but there were healthy numbers, over 50, in their flock. One evening they decended down to tree level and their flying skills make the Swallows look like trainees. Very, very fast, aptly named methinks, with fantastic changes of direction. Couldn't stop watching and smiling.

WA

That's interesting WA, I am so glad there are some swifts here still as mine appear to have gone now. Their swooping and screaming always makes me smile too, it is a typical sound of summer to me an I miss them when they go. Ours were fewer this year and it appears pretty general. We haven't had as many humid days this year, which suit them as it bring the insects out.

Perhaps next year will be better. Nice to *see* you again btw.

Mon. 17th August 09
Weather: Sunny and breezy.

Three badgers came last night at 10.05pm an quickly had the table over and the dish opened Two tucked in but the third went walkabout picking up peanuts and no doubt digging up a few worms.

It was 10.14pm before he joined the others at the dish. One was picking up sounds from down the garden, probably foxes, and kept pricking up his ears and listening. There was a fair bit of pushing, and the lid got slammed around a bit but in general they were well behaved After a lot of dashing about they finally left at 10.05pm leaving very little for anyone else as far as I could see.

11.38pm till 11.48pm and Boss Man was meandering round picking up bits and generally searching around, without much luck it seemed

11.57pm and the first fox showed up and was still around till 12.09am. 12.32am and 12.39am a fox was spotted again leaving at 12.44 only to return at 12.47am! Of course it could be a different fox as we have three that look the same 12.54am another dashed around for a few minutes!

2.47am Another one, still managing to find something to nibble till 2.58am. 3.23am a return visit or yet another fox? Hanging around till 3.28am.

4.13am; 4.59am; 5.09am. 5.17am; At one stage two foxes were glimpsed at the same time but didn’t stay long enough to see them properly.

5.44am till 5.59am at least one was loitering, and again at 6.02am till 6.13am, getting in the way of the clean up team. A magpie complained bitterly a the intruder

It was very quiet then till I started clearing the decks ready for McWebbie’s Diner clients at 7.29am. A squirrel waited impatiently for his nuts, leaping up the garden as soon as I disappeared for a moment

The usual magpies and wood pigeons arrived. Great tits, blue s, blackbirds and robins descended in a flurry having ‘sussed’ the presence of wax worms! It is amazing how quickly the word gets around.

There are a number of young bullfinches in varying stages of undress so I think they have have several broods this year. Nuthatches have been back and forth, and a male chaffinch was spotted briefly.

visitors this evening - two Long tailed tits, so I have put another peanut/insect cake out and will crush some digestive biscuits for them tomorrow

I forgot to mention yesterday that after I had mowed and strimmed and cleaned mower and strimmer I sat down for a and for a few minutes, waking suddenly to find I had company PHM was out bowling so it was a indeed. Little CC from next door had wandered in through the back door and was looking for food or company as his humans were out I don’t encourage feline visitors as you know and he was sent quickly on his way


Websailor

Hello Websailor! What do you feed those wax moths on?

Honeyguides are unique among birds for being able to digest beeswax!

Over here very, very little remains of traditional lifestyles before the coming of Europeans. Sugar is available pretty much everywhere and I think the gathering of wild honey is pretty much nonexistent.

it's getting worse for the bees

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/34372/Bee-virus-causing-world-crisis

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7739798.stm

Willem, when I get them the wax worms will survive for several weeks without food provided they are kept cool. If the birds had their way they wouldn't survive days They are supposed to have been treated so they don't develop further, but of course a few get through intact and I have had wax moths emerge. I now know not to allow them to go that far, as they are regarded as a pest by many beekeepers - and there are some not too far away

The wax moths seem to eat everything, or at least the larvae do:

http://www.newtonabbotbees.org.uk/pages/articles/004_waxmoth_pf.htm

Websailor

Tue. 18th August 09
Weather: Sunny and breezy.

Last night was another busy one with three badgers arriving at 9.38pm just over twenty minutes after I had put the food and camera out They had a good mooch around before opening the dish at 9.41.
There was a lot of pushing and jockeying for position, and one badger was very concerned that ‘someone’ was down the garden waiting He kept pricking up his ears and listening and twice he made a kind of bark/coughing noise as if warning them off It was undoubtedly a fox that was loitering

In fact at 9.54pm the camera picked up a pair of eyes down by the silverbirch which the badger spotted, and he repeated the warning noise as the fox came stealthily up the garden path. The badger snarled and ran him out of the garden

They wandered round picking up stray peanuts, then one tipped over the table and the others congregated round. There was a bit of a scrap between two of the badgers as one got in the way of another and got his neck nipped sharply.

On the dot of 10pm they all disappeared

10.57pm and the fox at least ventured to the table for a nibble but his visit was shortlived as a badger came at 11.03pm and was also attracted to the table. He pushed under the vertical table top and got his head underneath to the point where I thought it was going to land on his head. At 11.17pm he appeared to have given up on food after cleaning out the dish.

11.43pm A male fox was at the table. What is it about that table There surely can’t be any food left on it by now - just a taste perhaps Foxes were still flitting around and at midnight two were feeding together, until about 12.18am.

Further fox activity at 12.36am until 12.57am.

2.48am until 3am more fox activity and again at 3.57am until at least 4.04am.

There was little for the clean up team to do, and they wandered around aimlessly. A jay arrived and helped himself and bullfinches, ‘ticking’ robins, great and blue s arrived along with a male blackbird. I had put some wax worms out and they were clearly delighted.

The new peanut cake attracted a male GS Woodpecker at 9.40am., the first for a while, and the nuthatches were busy too.



Websailor

very dear abbi,

How are you? It is ages since we have spoken. hope you are keeping well.

You will love this thread of my friend. !! She has the wildlife of Birmingham in her pocket - in a manner of speaking!!

With much affection

Christiane.
Alsoran80
Wednesday 19th August, 2009 3.40.a,n, BST

Dear Orof.

I remember reading about this threat to the bees quite some years ago. To the best of my recollection it was because of the pesticides that are used on the fruit trees, used to keep our fruit looking good but in the process killing off the bees that are needed to pollitate them.

At the time it seemed that we either had to b contecnt with fruit that was not so perfedtly formed, but had a little bit of a kink here and there, or have no fruit at all.

No one bothered though and the fruit coutined to be sprayed with the pesticide that was killing off the bees. I even seem to remember the same.

Oh my goodness. What we have done to our wonderful planet.

Christiane.

Wednesday 19th august, 2009 3.45 a.m. BST

mankind will kill everything in time, even himself

It's not like you to be that pessimistic Prof I still have faith that we will 'wake up and smell the coffee' - just in time. Still civilisations have destroyed themselves before so lets hope you are wrong

Websailor

when we can remove the DNA genes for hatred/greed and jealousy then we'll progressto a united planet

end of serious bitI don't know what came over me