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

Pigeons just seem to sit in the rain Nigel when even Squirrels have given up and found shelter. Mind you they are fat blighters so have a lot of insulation!
You have reminded me of this morning while elsewhere and an absolutely soaked Magpie was still out in rain and only about 6 feet away from me. I suspect it and its mate were looking for food for its young.

I have a baby Squirrel in my garden. Well I say baby it is just a little bit smaller than adults. I first noticed the fur on stomach was snow white which looked a little odd, then I noticed it is very lean and nervous, unlike all the adults. It is learning from mum and burying food, it buried a slice of bread! Aww the sweety I am sure it will get it right in end. Mummy Squirrel a garden resident with 6 large boobies is around to look after it.
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Talking of white fur, a male Spotted Woodpecker flew from left to right again via water bowl and is practically pinky brown like under Jays.
I also had a female Sparrow, a rare visitor, tempted by bread from the 50 feet away where there are always hundreds. In have a feeling it might have seen or heard the large number of Wood Pigeons who came en mass for the bread put out by neighbours.

As I type this my window is open, the bats are flying 6 feet from window, a Robin is singing in garen and a Blackbird is singing in next door's garden.
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In todays Springwatch a great Spotted Woodpecker was shown druming on a metal bar holding the electric conductors on a pylon, yikes! One is thought to have drilled into a tree stump containing a Creasted Tit nest and stole the babies, sadly. However that is nature at work, as is the juvenile Blackbird they showed yesterday throwing its much younger siblings out of nest after pecking them.
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What was fantastic and unexpected was they showed the inside of a nest of Tree Creepers. I was very lucky to have seen one this year and noted how much like look like oak tree bark from back. Indeed they showed 6 young Tree Creepers today huddled on a tree looking like a lump you often see on trees. The lump of birds looked very much like the film of a Nighjar I have seen with its fantastic camoflage.

I forgot to mention this elsewhere so I will bring it here , for the last week now the frogs have been making a heck of a lot of noise every night and all night,

Also my favourite birds are dive bombing the farmer on his tractor as he turns and flattens his rice field(tambo) over

Blimey, don't talk to me about frogs!
The frogs near here had been going non stop for weeks, I don't know how something so small can make so much noise. They are strangely lovely things though and provide hours of amusement. I like it when I walk by a pond and there is a constant plop as they all jump back into water as you walk by.
I am glad Canada Geese don't dive bomb as I walked around, only 5 feet away, a family with 6 youngsters a few days ago as no way around them. People don't often desribe Canada Geese as cute but their young are cute.

you have bats flying round by you . I wonder where they are living .

I am impressed SS by how much wildlife you get in your communal garden .

During summer time, we sometimes see bats flying round by us. The instant thing I do is watch where they are flying to, in case they are living in our loft space . It is nice to see something different flying around though.

All the best.

Nigel

I get bats flying around here every evening too not sure weather they come from the pension (bed and breakfast ) behind my house or the junior high school .

I love Bats Nigel they do no harm and infact eat all the gnats flying in my garden. I suspect they live in the Oak trees in my garden or as you said loft space of crevis around roof. I don't think many here notice them as hard to see. I am really lucky here as some people in countryside or even towns rarely see even just the Squirrels I get a lot of. Infact I find I often see more wildlife in urban areas than countryside as have often walked for miles in countryside and hardly seen anything, Squirrels seem particularly sparse there and very nervous. When I go to countryside I often meet people walking and they say I will see a lot more wildlife in countryside than in the urban area I conme from, althouugh I never say so I often find more wildlife at home.

Every now and then something happens that makes you go wow!
I have briefly seen Kingfishers a couple times and was pleased to see one today and expected the usual quick glance then gone. However it stayed still in a tree about 50 feet away which was really nice, across a pond in a park near me. It wasn't doing much but suddenly shot like a rocket towards the water below and grabed a small fish with a splash!! It then shot low and fast across the water into some bushes. It was fantastic to see something happen just like in the films.
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I walked around the pond slowly and it was sat on a low perch on branch only 25 feet away. It was a perfect view in bright sunshine and stayed for at least 10 mins. It was preening and looking around. The sheen on the electric blue feather was clear through binos and the long beak looked great with slightly lighter orangey colour underneath meaning a female bird and very ladylike she looked too. The Kingfisher was lifting wing up one at a time to preen and gave a great view of orangey body.
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What a fantastic moment to see one for 15 mins in total and most of all to a Kingfisher dive and catch a fish!!

It really makes your heart race when something like that happens doesn't it


Websailor

Yes it was truely magical, such a long view when used to the fleeting glances. I understand Kingfishers are creatures of habit so might go back another time. I was really lucky as there had been dogs jumping in a few mins before.
It isn't just that fantastic electic blue, orange and long beak it is the diving in like a rocket that I love! They are also kind of dumpy which is kind of cute too. The sun caught the its eye and it kind of glistend being black. The blue centre strip showed well from behind as it turned around.
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...truely a memorable moment.

SS, if you had a digital camera (I'm presuming you haven't got one - I forget ) you would get some fabulous photos. Imagine capturing the Kingfisher today, it would be amazing to keep exciting moments like that .

I have never seen a Kingfisher, only on television or in a magazine . I have heard, and you confirmed it, that the colours are truly amazing .

All the best mate.

Nigel

I think those pictures you see in magazines Nigel of Kingfishers diving into water are really difficult to get. I was 25 feet away at closest and I would have thought a really long lens would be needed to get a close up shot. Also I suspect a tempory hide would be needed and patience to wait for bird to arrive. But a photo of it diving in today would have been fantastic!

That is true. A very expensive camera would be needed to capture 'Magazine Style' photos .

I am looking forward to testing my camera out in a couple of weeks time, when we go on holiday to Llandudno . I am hoping to see different wildlife up there and hopefully take a few pictures for the Flickr site .

Now I am really into wildlife, I am more observant and look more closely when I see something fly past me or singing in the trees. , not when I am driving though .

Anyway, Nite Nite.

Nigel

Good grief what a racket!
I heard everything kick off in garden. Squirrels are tuting, Great Tits alarming, a Robin blink,`blinking away loudly and then Magpies starting barking loudly but could't see why it was happening. Then a cat walked calmly into the garden. I haven't heard that sort of racket for ages. The cat walked around building and a Blackbird started its alarm call loudly. I think even Blue Tits were joining in at one point.

I happened to look out of window and saw a tiny bird flit quickly around in a familiar pattern in fir tree hedge. I quickly got the binos on it for a fraction of a second, which is all I ever get, and saw it was a Goldcrest which I haven't seen in my garden for ages. How on earth they move non stop is beyond me, they must be so tired at end of day.
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What I saw high in Oak tree was very sweet. There was the young squirrel with very white fur laying head to head with another Squirrel. The young one gently held the head of other Squirrel, which closed its eyes, and groomed all along its back slowly with its mouth like a cat for a long time. It was very touching and something you would have thought would happen more in a nest. The other Squirrel couldn't be seen underneath well so thought it might have been mummy Squirell but when it moved I believe it was another young Squirrel that appeared recently, it has a very distintive set of lines in fur across top of tail.
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I find Squirrels quite human in a way in their playing, affection and build as today confirmed with a good view that male Squirrels are built the same way as male humans in the reproductive area.

I haven't seen a Goldcrest this Winter/Spring. Lucky you. I think squirrels are fascinating too, but my other half shoos them off in case they take a fancy to anyone's loft space!!

They are intelligent and entertaining but very destructive and greedy with food.

It takes all sorts, and anyway it is 'our' fault for bringing them here in the first place. I just wish I could see a red squirrel for real.

Websailor

I am going to try to alternate on my postings each day so

When I looked out this morning 9:45 am there were 4 different families working the Tamboes with a tractor each (they were flattening the land) ready for next Saturdays planting, about 1/2 an hour ago I went out and there was a fine drizzle happening ,I went onto the road and began watching the swallows 8 of them + another pair of birds small black and white don't know names maybe look later ,back to the swallows gliding back and forth over the water the road is about 2ft higher than the water so I was looking down at them some were even touching/dipping into the water and coming very close to me right under my feet not afraid of me ,I could easily count the white spots on their tails more brown than blue bodies when in flight very intent in looking down they must have been Ka (mosquito) catching.I stood there for 15 minutes watching them really enjoying the moment .Just went to look again and the swallows are gone now but the other pair are still there along with house sparrows and other birds hopping around on the mud lumps.

Also in my garden are many lizards which the mother cat comes to catch every day , A few years ago I saw a Japanese badger in my garden it stayed for about an hour and that same year a ginger stoat visited both early evening , no squirrels around this way

I went to the local sanctuary yesterday and apart from the sight of a very large female Bee and a smaller male mating for at least 5 minutes there were many young rabbits about, most looking exactly the same and grazing off the grass pathways which they seem to enjoy as perhaps not too long so softer and quite lush. There was one baby rabbit with a white patch on top of head so hopefully be able to keep a track of it.
Well at least while young as the adults get very cautious and run away easily if disturbed.
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The young rabbits are very cute as eyes appear quite large and ears look quite soft. They also have a leaner look than adults. They remind me of young Squirrels in my garden in many ways, their colour is very similar. I have noticed that both adult Squirrels and Rabbits have a very slightly tatty look as perhaps had more scrapes than youngsters.
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In general I think there is a lot to be learnt from watching wildlife closely. It is the little things that teach us a lot, like watching what Squirrels eat and how they groom. The diet of a Squirrel, from prawn balls in batter to chicked legs, perhaps gives a clue as to why they do so well and are thriving. They are just so adaptable!
Give a Squirrel a fat ball hung from a garden shed and it will hang by its toes and bite through string to release it, as the Squirrels in my garden do. I have also seen them hang casually for 10mins upside down from toes 3 floors up pinching nuts from a bird feeder!
Love or loath squirrels you can't but help admire their smartness and determination as if the challenge is part of the fun,
personally I love them as make me smile as they play and roll with twigs in garden just for the fun of it.

SS, the adult rabbits and squirrels are probably looking a bit rough because bringing up youngsters is exhausting, and they are also getting their summer coats. They will no doubt smarten up soon.

I agree with your the squirrels' ingenuity is admirable and very amusing.

Websailor