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

Just been to my local wildlife sanctuary which has small ponds ideal for Drangonfly and Damselfly. There were loads today as so hot and calm, no Emperor Dragonfly but the medium size brown ones were around a lot. I found a shell of what looks like the skin of what a dragonfly was before. It is quite odd as looks a little like a hollow Dragonfly.
The Damselfly all seem to be breeding as either looked together in flight or bobbing into water, I believe laying eggs, W.S would know more as bit of an expert on them!
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A baby rabbit was the other side of pond so let it scuttle back home as a bit jumpy. In fact there were rabbits, mainly young all over the santuary today.
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I was walking out to leave and saw a Fox sitting in shade panting as hot. It got up and saw it was a baby and watched it wander around on path for a while then go up bank, I thought its mum was coming down as as baby went up one came down which turned out to be another baby Fox!
The baby Foxes looked to have very downey fur on tail and back. The fur on back was surprisingly grey though. I think the foxes were out during day as reserve is safe and not many people go there.

I was just lucky enough to look out of my window and saw a young Mistle Thrush looking quite ghost like on my lawn, then mum and young GS Woodpecker appeared on my water bowl while a young Robin was all speckly on my shed roof!!
I have just heard a zzziiiirrring noise as I type this and thought it was young Mistle Thrush again so looked out window, it was but with a second young Mistle and the 3 young Coal Tits, what a marvelous 10 mins!

I was sitting under a tree yesterday and 2 squirrels ran down trunk saw me and stopped around 3 feet from me and one made a low chesty deep grunt quietly. I was just in garden again just now and close to trees were squirrels were playing and again heard quiet sounds, one like a cat, as they chatted to each other. I know we all hear the loud tuts and scolds when angry but perhaps they have a more hidden everyday language often hidden from us?
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I went to reserve earlier and had a good view of around 6 runs of a Sparrow Hawk hunting. It is often difficult to get a good view but at one point it was only 20 feet from me 6 feet above ground as it made a level and quite fast run infront of me searching. I saw it had caught something later which looked like a mouse in one diving attack and seemed to eat it in flight as very small passing it from tallons to hooked beak. As I said they are often difficult to see there but clearly saw it was grey on top during low level flight in front of me.
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At one point 2 Lapwings flew up to mob it, as they did with several passing crows who just carried on flying straight ahead.

You are certainly seeing a lot of wildlife SS. Watching a Sparrowhawk is awesome, they are so fast. I nearly got scalped by one a couple of years ago. I am not sure who was most surprised!

I am sure squirrels talk to each other. Hearing the babies chattering and screaming for Mum, or getting angry with each other is amusing. Ours are in mischievous mode and wrecking everything at the moment. I keep trying to get a photo of one sliding down the pole, but I am just not quick enough with the camera, and don't have time to stand and watch.

I do so envy wildlife cameramen having the time to stand and stare till they get the picture they want. I always have something else I should be doing.

Make the best of the weather. I look forward to hearing what you have seen and to be honest I am a bit I really must escape from the chores one day soon or I will go stir crazy.

Websailor

Wow, I just saw something small in my garden with baby feathers still on neck and for a second I thought it was a very young Chaffinch as a male adult was in garden. However I looked again and the black and yellow feathers on rear end didn't look right for a Chaffinch. I then realised it it a Goldfinch a bird I have only seen a couple of times in my garden never mind a rather lonely looking very young baby!
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I also saw the first Blue and Great Tit young this year in my garden which was nice. They were trying to get on water bowl but a young Blackbird was chasing birds off water bowl, tut, tut.

I'll bring this one here not exactly wild life but half is ,

As some of you know I have a small pond in my garden in which I keep small Japanese fish (Medaka) well about 2 months ago a frog 2 "long moved in,usually at this time of year there would be a few hundred fish coming up for food when I feed them each morning, well I haven't seen any fish for about a week now and I am going to buy a big net and try to catch that fat frog, It's going to live in the river very soon

Moonraker, it sounds like the Frog could be eating your baby fish as they showed one on Springwatch eating all sorts of things underwater, same with the Newt as it was eating Tadpoles.
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WS, yep I have been lucky recently with birds. Although I call them 'my' birds some I think are just looking for food in area, and perhaps water, so passing through. I think I have some I would call my garden based like Robins, Squirrels and the GS Woodpeckers as seem to have made a nest in stump like tree near fence and always drinking water, calling from tree and druming from tree stump.
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I seem to get birds in swarms sometimes. It seems to happen more on days when conditions are favourable and hot and calm. I think also if some birds are already in garden other birds take it as signal of either food or safety as no cats around.
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I just had Swifts flying low overhead as has happend for last few weeks which is great, I heard them click as went over too.
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The younger man who kept throwing loads of food and bread on grass seems to have mainly stopped except for occasional bread. Which might be good as mainly he seems to have attracted ferrel(sp?) Pigeons and the killer cat in search of an easy kill. Fat balls and proper feeders would have been good but he seems to have just wanted to attract numbers so simply threw peanuts and feed all over grass. Irronically what seems to be really attracting the more interesting birds is the water bowl I keep filling up, the GS Woopeckers seem to use it hourly each taking turns or parent and young together which is bit of a shock and totally unexpected really.

It's funny you should say that about the birds coming in 'swarms'. I have commented many times that mine come in waves, as if someone is controlling the traffic Until I put two or three cages on poles they used to come racing in the length of the garden as if it was a runway, and we got more window strikes as they misjudged the window. They can't use it like a runway now, too many obstacles, and it slows the sparrowhawk down too.

Bread is not good for birds, and as you say it attracts feral pigeons, rats and goodness knows what else. Bread is ok in small amounts in the winter if the birds are really hungry and having trouble finding food, but I don't use any now, except wholemeal when I do a peanut butter sandwich for the long tailed tits.

The swifts scream over our garden and circle most mornings and evenings while it is warm and a bit humid. I t can be deafening.

Websailor

More interesting events in Strangely's garden.
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I was watching the young GS Woodpecker on small tree in my garden and another Woodpecker swooped down to pinch its place driving the other away a short distance. I asumed it was mum or dad but it was another baby GS Woodpecker!
From Collins Bird guide I read that a male young GS Woodpecker has a slightly larger red patch on top of head. I watched both youngsters now on a wall and one seems to have a slightly larger red patch so perhaps brother and sister.
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On Springwatch tonight they showed a classic agression from a bird which entails lowering head, stretching neck and openning beak as a threat, which is what I saw a young Blackbird do to a Starling on waterbowl to drive it away.
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One of the young GS Woodpeckers went onto water bowl with half a dozen young Starlings. A scrap started and young Woodpecker was fighting 4 Starlings at once, mouth open, with wings too. The GS Woodpecker was around the same size as young Starlings being a youngster too. It was quite an argy bargy with pecking too!

Goodness, they are a lively lot in your garden. Mine are much more sedate - most of the time

The young female GS woodpecker loses the red patch on the top of the head, and the young male replaces his with a red patch on the nape of the neck eventually. I haven't seen a juvenile yet but I am sure they have some.

Websailor

I went to a local wooded park this. morning for a couple of hours as weather wasn't too bad.
I saw 2 female/juvenile Black Cap birds, several Dunnock, a Wren looking for grubs on stream bank like a mouse as they often do, a Chiffchaff and a young male GS Woodpecker.
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I watched the fish in stream and noticed what I thought was some sort of creature more like a butterfly was actually a Damselfly wih clear wings and a blue patch which when moves on its 2 sets of wings gives a fluttering impression, very odd. Saw 2 rabbits there which was a little rare.
On the path I saw some sort of dead Shrew. I picked it up by tail and noticed its long snout.
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Altogether quite an enjoyable morning which involved as much time looking in streams as at birds.

Was the shrew blackish and light coloured underneath? It was most likely a Water Shrew. We had one in our garden some time back and a cat got it, playing with it till it probably died of fright. There was no way the cat would eat it as apparently they taste horrible

Websailor

Just checked my wildlife field guide and it seems to be just a Common Shrew as looked just like in book. I looked at its face as thought it was just a mouse to start with but had a shortish pointed nose and very small beady eyes. Interesting to see one as not sure I had seen one before or might have thought it was a mouse.

At the reserve today birds were in short supply as mainly seem to be singing from in bushes.
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There was a lovely view of an Emperor Drangofly laying eggs for around 10mins. It found a place on top of floating weeds and put the end of its tail bent like a fishing rod deep into the water. It took ages and slowly rotated around using its legs.
I rarely see a big Dragonfly still so it was a great opportunity as got a very good binos view. The legs are surprisingly thick and spider like as brown with what we would call a knee joint. They look quite sort of 'airey' in flight but the body looks really solid when still. The wings look like you would make for a child if dressing up like a fairy, very gossamer with small sections in a definate deliberate pattern. The clear wings were vibrating gently while laying eggs and glistened with multi colours when caught the light. The head was blue, body green.
Quite a wonderful 10mins!

Wow, I have just seen a Hobby bird of prey!!
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It was over my nature reserve and diving like a rocket towards ground with swept back wings sometimes. It was really fast and catching things. I believe they are so fast they can catch Bats, Swifts and Swallows.
I saw its face markings, grey back and pattern underneath and perhaps the redness towards rear end. It was there around 5 mins catching stuff nd understand they like water as has Dragonfly, etc. The Hobby is a fantastic bird and I was so lucky. It was recorded as seen over sanctuary a day ago too.
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The Dragonfly were around the small pound and 3 of them were having samll clashes with buzzing wing contact as I understand Emperor Dragonfly can be agressive with occassional deaths.
There seemed to be even smaller rabbits around so perhaps more broods. I believe I saw a young Long Tail Tit at reserve as had the extra brown on side of head and, well, it just looked young. A real sweetie.
I again looked for a Grass Snake but was unlucky again as they have been recorded twice recently

Hi, SS,

I just thought I would drop by and see if you were since you haven't regaled us with any wildlife for a few days. You have amazing luck. It must be nice to have time to go to a reserve like that. I really must try and get out soon.

Websailor

It's ok, I am ok, thanks for asking , just haven't seen much in garden or been to reserve for a few days. Just the very sweet baby Blue Tit that is interesting in garden at moment as still more a yelow tit. I might go to reserve on Tuesday morning if weather is ok.

Thanks for replying. So long as you are

Websailor

I'm pretty sure I saw A male pheasant yesterday it was about 3 Tamboes away so I couldn't tell for sure but it did have a long tail , I also saw a crow eating something next to the tambo walked down to see what it was , of course the crow sped up eating and flew away ,I did find some cray fish claws and an empty shell bit .

It could well be a Pheasant Moonraker as I believe that although you get them in England they came from your part of world originally. I saw a female one, which was a bit of a shock, in a wooded park near me. I heard it first and thought it can't be but it was. They look huge and brown away from their more usual countryside haunts.
I like Crows and they have a massive beak through binos when seen close up. They are surprisingly timid here for such a big and powerful bird.