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

Oh, thank you Prof. That's nice of you. It will cheer him up, as his good friend died two weeks ago and it is his funeral on the 28th . We've had too many over the past eighteen months.

*********
WA, that's good news, I thought she might. You don't fly that far and just give in

Websailor

he is more than welcome Webbie, my condolences to his friend/family

Thank you Prof. He was 85 and had been ill for a very long time. Th only person I have ever heard PHM call a friend as he is a bit of a loner.

Websailor

Thu. 23rd April 08
Weather: Mild, dull and showery

Sometime between 11.15pm and 12.15am the badger must have been as the brick and lid were both off and most of the food had gone. I can’t understand why I never get sight of them now, but they do seem to feed in a hurry.

This morning I filled up tables, feeders, dishes and peanut holders thinking I would get plenty of visitors, but I have just had a few dropping in between the showers. Most of the usual birds came, except the jay and woodpecker and I do miss them. I thought the fresh peanuts would sure to bring them, but unless they sneaked in when I wasn’t looking they didn’t show.

The bullfinches, nuthatches, long tailed tits, blue and great s flitted about, and the blackbirds, robin and collared doves joined a couple of magpies and wood pigeons. Ginger spent a short while lying in wait for a lucky strike but all the birds stayed clear. A couple of bedraggled squirrels had a quick scurry round between showers but didn’t stay long, just attacking the big peanut feeder till a wood pigeon bounced him off

The lilac and orange blossom is in full leaf now and the silver birch at last has tiny leaves sprinkled all over the branches, making a nice contrast to the glittering raindrops which cover ever inch of the branches. It is such a pretty tree, with a nice straight trunk. If it had bent, I think it would have driven me mad as it would have looked wrong!

Have a nice weekend folks. Hope the weather stays fine.


Websailor

Sat. 26th April 08
Weather: Dry, warm and sunny



10.45pm last night. The fox turned up, mooched round but didn’t touch the dish. She disappeared briefly and the badger came trotting up the middle of the garden straight to the dish. He shoved the brick off (such strength!) and lifted the lid with a *clank*. He tucked in, munching away, and clanking the lid with every mouthful thankfully no neighbours were about. While he was chewing every mouthful (must had a good Mum!) the fox came back and wandered aimlessly around the bottom of the garden, getting closer but not too close

The badger looked up a couple of times but carried on munching, and eventually the fox sat under the orange blossom bush, then laid down and waited...and waited… and waited… till I thought she would get fed up. The badger carried on munching till I thought he was not going to leave so much as a peanut for the fox. Bear in mind that this is a stainless steel pet food dish, and doesn’t hold a great deal.

At last, at 11pm the badger was stuffed and turned to go down the garden. The fox stood up …. they inched towards each other, stop, start, stop, start, till they were almost head to head , then all let loose as the badger chased the fox round the garden, then the fox chased the badger, until he finally ran out of the left exit. Well, he wasn’t bothered as he had eaten

The fox moved up the garden, inched round the dish, picked up a few bits and then had her nose in the dish eating so Brock must have left some food for her. Unlike the dog fox she stays to eat, instead of running off with a bit and coming back again. I suppose as she is a mum she needs the food more .

She stayed eating until 11.30pm before running off in to the darkness. By this time PHM and I were aching from standing watching for 45 minutes .

This morning the magpie was finishing off scraps, just cereal bits from the dish o not a scrap was wasted. The magpies are getting to be a pest now though, doing a good imitation of a sparrowhawk and flying at other birds an chasing them off

The female woodpecker had a head banging session on the peanuts at 12.10pm and the usual, Ginger has been on the prowl again and the birds are dropping in and out. No sign of babies yet, so I am not too worried about Ginger as yet. I have not been about much today but the food has gone down, and bullfinches, nuthatches, blackbirds and the collared doves have been seen, so I guess everyone came.

The showers have made the grass grow again, so I guess I shall have to do that again tomorrow. Too CC’d to do it today. The long tailed tits are chattering away still as I type

*See* you tomorrow,


Websailor

Wonderful stuff, Websailor I love the picture of the garden chase Thank you.



Fb

Hi, Fb,

I love the chases too I am sure the fox follows the badger around to find the food, and steals it if she can without getting caught. I think the stand-off only comes because they are in a confined space with only one way out.

It is funny because they both have poor eyesight, so they glare at each other in the gloom as if trying to work out whether the other is a threat, and I think scent is the only thing that identifies them properly. That is when they almost bump in to each other

The worst fight I have seen was between a cat and a fox, all teeth, claws, hissing and spitting

Websailor

I was on the edge of my seat reading last night's post . I thought any minute there is going to be a right fight, glad it all ended dignified though .

I am sat here this evening, just after the thunder storm and can hear the sound of different birds. I have never been much good at identifying them by their call . I will have to buy myself either a bird calling CD or a DVD .

Take care.

Nigel

*Waves* Nigel, I was listening to the birds too, it was lovely wasn't it. Glad you enjoyed the action last night with our wildlife. Wish you could see it for real! Hope you are feeling brighter today.

Sun. 27th April 08
Weather: Sunny, mild, heavy showers and thunder

Last night was a typical Saturday night for the fox and badger. A quick trip to the pub, a crawl round the local nightspots, and a late night visit to McWebbie’s Diner for a spot of supper before retiring to the sett.

And, of course we didn’t see a thing but by 1.30am they had been and gone, leaving a few morsels for the magpie next morning

I put the food out early this morning and was tempted to go back for some more it being Sunday, but decided to be good and stay up as I was expecting a human visitor later

A wood pigeon was feeding on the patio table when a squirrel turned up. The pigeon peered over the side at the squirrel with a no nonsense peck of its’ beak and the squirrel thought better of it and went chasing dunnocks instead.

Ginger and a with white feet were mooching about but there are not enough birds to occupy them at the moment. It has been quite quiet with just a few dropping in, mostly in pairs. The robin seems to be the only one by himself - he must have made sure the ladies had other things to do!

Have a good night, or have a nice day depending where you are. *See* y’all tomorrow,



Websailor

Oh goodness; human visitors are a pest, aren't they? Interrupting the important things in life

Ooh! Frenchbean, not this human visitor - he is most welcome any time but doesn't usually come round on a Sunday.

Websailor

Sounds intriguing

Back to and keep an eye on the human comings and goings chez 'Sailor

I was at my friends house Saturday afternoon and noticed a gang of magpies taking it out on the lawn . They were pulling all of the moss out and flying away, for a nest maybe? Is it too late for Magpies to be nesting?

I asked my friend to direct the gang to my house, I have lots of moss in our lawn . I am not as fit now to drag a hollow-tined rake about .

Take care all.

Nigel

Could still be building a nest as have seen Blue/Great Tits in last few days collectng nesting stuff, moss would make a good liner for a nest too you would imagine.
.
Saw quite a large white bird's egg the other day, well one half anway. Within last week or so I saw an article on remains of eggs you are likely to find on ground. I think, can't remember for sure, that large white eggs are Pigeon eggs. However what I do remember is that if the egg has a neat circle cut through middle, like the egg I found, then it was baby bird hatching and pecking through shell. I don't think if it was a Pigeons egg than the timing is unusual as if I remember correctly they will lay eggs on a casual basis at any time of year, and abandon eggs with same casualness. Aparantly if an egg shell doesn't have a neat ring cut through it it is likely to be an egg plundered from nest, and not a hatched baby bird.

Thanks SS

Nigel

Mon. 28th April 08
Weather: Sunshine and heavy showers



10.30pm last night and the badger was at the dish crunching away (if I open the window I can hear him, but he can also hear us which is not so good)

10.40pm and the fox appeared, trotting purposefully up the path till he saw badger already in residence He stopped at the line post about half way up the garden, then turned tail and ran back out. The badger finished eating and trotted down the garden, running straight in to the fox coming back again. A quick head to head and a snarl and badger exited left at 11.07pm leaving the vixen to head for the dish.

She was there for about two minutes and left. It seems that brock left her nothing much this time

This morning I woke to a gunmetal sky in the South West, and sunshine in the East which made all the leaves glow bright green against the dark sky. Sunshine and heavy showers meant that the birds came in waves, dashing to feed between showers.

Blue s, great and long tailed tits, blackbirds, wood pigeons, collared doves, bullfinches and starlings all visited, along with the robin and the nuthatch. I didn’t see the woodpecker or the coal tit.

It is just turned 9pm as I type this and I have just heard magpies sounding off outside. I wonder what's upsetting them Badgers, foxes?

Back tomorrow,



Websailor

Still having my regular