tekno.mage
Established Member
Excellent moth photos there, EddieJ.
tekno.mage
tekno.mage
Nice to see these two guys in my garden !
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RogerS
Established Member
Superb moth photos!
Returning to birds, my sister who lives by the side of Loch Katrine had a visitor to her garden. It turned out to be a 2ft high European Eagle Owl. Best guess from the owl sanctuary where it's gone to, it was an illegal pet that escaped as it was very used to being handled and hadn't a clue how to catch prey for itself.
We encourage as many birds in our garden as we can although the contract is out on the magpies seeing as how they destroyed the housemartins' nest and killed the fledglings.
Returning to birds, my sister who lives by the side of Loch Katrine had a visitor to her garden. It turned out to be a 2ft high European Eagle Owl. Best guess from the owl sanctuary where it's gone to, it was an illegal pet that escaped as it was very used to being handled and hadn't a clue how to catch prey for itself.
We encourage as many birds in our garden as we can although the contract is out on the magpies seeing as how they destroyed the housemartins' nest and killed the fledglings.
Calpol
Established Member
Love the first pic Eddie, never seen one of those before! It reminds me of something but I can't think what :-k (It's not another moth :lol
Is there not a photo thread on here? Is it worth me starting one? So many questions, I'll go and do it anyway
Is there not a photo thread on here? Is it worth me starting one? So many questions, I'll go and do it anyway
tekno.mage
Established Member
Yes, that's a Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Roger. It's a male - shown by the red on the back of it's head. The females do not have this, and the juveniles have a red spot on top of the head.
tekno.mage
tekno.mage
devonwoody
Established Member
RogerM":njdinekr said:This fella has been a frequent visitor for the last few weeks. Great Spotted Woodpeckers i believe. Photo could be a little sharper, but it was taken on extreme zoom through a double glazed window.
lovely photo, do you mind if I use it for a watercolour painting?
devonwoody
Established Member
RogerM":1nkeq9d7 said:
Many thanks, just had half a bottle of plonk, which was given me, so will have to leave until this evening otherwise it will be a very abstract painting
As there are apparently some on this forum who share my passion for wild life may I recommend this site as of interest.
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/
Roy.
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/
Roy.
Calpol
Established Member
Is your feeder near the window Roger? I could never get that close to ours, they're very timid. It's hilarious how they climb backwards down trees though! Okay, maybe not hilarious but quite funny :lol:
Good site there Digit, I'll have a good look about
Good site there Digit, I'll have a good look about
Calpol":lj3gf8yc said:
The feeder is about 10 feet from the kitchen window. He really doesn't seem to care much - although he flies off if we come close to the window. We get Green Woodpeckers on the lawn, but they're not interested in the feeder.
BigShot
Established Member
Never had reds or never had greys?Calpol":s11ub2lx said:BigShot":s11ub2lx said:
:lol:
I don't think we've ever had reds here so they aren't a problem there... Didn't know they ate eggs and fledglings though :?
On a brighter note though there was a pine marten about not long ago thay probably got a couple of them
Eventually we need to get rid of all the greys if the reds are not going to vanish from this island altogether. The problem we have now started with just a few released by some toff years ago, if any breeding pairs are left it'll all start again. Seems a shame but c'est la vie and all that.
I thought the reds were found pretty much everywhere. Though I imagine they've probably been struggling for a long time even without the greys when you consider they are a lot pickier about habitat. (Decline of hedgerows and all that)
I was very surprised when I found out the greys raided nests. I always thought they were just a problem due to the pox and bullying the reds over food resources and the likes. Finding that they did a whole lot more damage besides was unexpected. Think it's probably the case for most people.
devonwoody
Established Member
Aren't greys a part of evolution?
The strongest survive, (I appreciate someone brought them in, but the Romans came here as well remember)
The strongest survive, (I appreciate someone brought them in, but the Romans came here as well remember)
Calpol
Established Member
BigShot":38pww5g2 said:
Never had reds. Certainly not in the garden although I think there are some not too far away...
BigShot
Established Member
Calpol...
I believe some people have reds living right nearby but don't know it as they don't come down to the ground as much as greys and are certainly more timid and smaller.
They are a bit pickier about habitat and diet too, I believe, so in a more built up area there certainly wouldn't be as many reds as you could have a short walk away in an area with more trees and suitable food.
As I understand it, if an area with reds has greys in close proximity, it's a matter of time until the reds decline and disappear, especially if the greys are carrying the pox.
devonwoody...
This is not a matter of evolution. This is not a matter of the strongest survive.
This is a matter of one complete and utter moron introducing a species into an ecosystem in which it had no part in. It is not just reds vs greys... it is an invasive species which does huge damage to the native reds (which should never have had to compete with it) to bird populations (raiding nests to eat fledglings and eggs) and to the native fauna.
The nearest thing there is to "part of evolution" is the blacks which are taking on the greys in the south... not that that has anything to do with evolution at all, but that's a natural change of some sort which leads to a variety which does better in this environment. Natural as opposed to man-made. (And no, that is not the same as evolution.)
Attempting to undo the mistake of releasing greys into the wild over here is attempting to undo a monumental cock-up which has had a much bigger impact on the stability of the British ecosystem than most people can begin to imagine.
The Romans coming here was (if we're trying to drag it all down to some loose argument about evolution) not one species wiping out another. It was one group of the SAME species trying to oppress another. If the greys from London march up to Birmingham and then on to Manchester, wage war against the local greys and levy a tax on all their acorns we'll have a parallel. As it stands there's just no comparison to make. If they use those taxes to build military roads, build forts and eventually begin to make raids into the "barbarian" territories in the north (funny that both "barbarian" elements in this had red hair - haha) before over stretching, getting into political turmoil and then collapsing back leading to a rejection of all squirrel culture from London and a return by the Northern and Midlands squirrels into some kind of squirrel-dark-ages we'll really have something to talk about.
As it stands the greys problem is a glaring example of how man is screwing up the planet and fortunately is something we can quite easily fix. Unfortunately the "animal rights" brigade, the RSPCA and so on are somewhat opposed to the completely humane and massively effective direct approach in favour of some daft "softly softly" approach which anthropomorphises the greys and just makes the problem even worse for the few pockets of reds left south of the border and things more precarious for those in the North.
I believe some people have reds living right nearby but don't know it as they don't come down to the ground as much as greys and are certainly more timid and smaller.
They are a bit pickier about habitat and diet too, I believe, so in a more built up area there certainly wouldn't be as many reds as you could have a short walk away in an area with more trees and suitable food.
As I understand it, if an area with reds has greys in close proximity, it's a matter of time until the reds decline and disappear, especially if the greys are carrying the pox.
devonwoody...
This is not a matter of evolution. This is not a matter of the strongest survive.
This is a matter of one complete and utter moron introducing a species into an ecosystem in which it had no part in. It is not just reds vs greys... it is an invasive species which does huge damage to the native reds (which should never have had to compete with it) to bird populations (raiding nests to eat fledglings and eggs) and to the native fauna.
The nearest thing there is to "part of evolution" is the blacks which are taking on the greys in the south... not that that has anything to do with evolution at all, but that's a natural change of some sort which leads to a variety which does better in this environment. Natural as opposed to man-made. (And no, that is not the same as evolution.)
Attempting to undo the mistake of releasing greys into the wild over here is attempting to undo a monumental cock-up which has had a much bigger impact on the stability of the British ecosystem than most people can begin to imagine.
The Romans coming here was (if we're trying to drag it all down to some loose argument about evolution) not one species wiping out another. It was one group of the SAME species trying to oppress another. If the greys from London march up to Birmingham and then on to Manchester, wage war against the local greys and levy a tax on all their acorns we'll have a parallel. As it stands there's just no comparison to make. If they use those taxes to build military roads, build forts and eventually begin to make raids into the "barbarian" territories in the north (funny that both "barbarian" elements in this had red hair - haha) before over stretching, getting into political turmoil and then collapsing back leading to a rejection of all squirrel culture from London and a return by the Northern and Midlands squirrels into some kind of squirrel-dark-ages we'll really have something to talk about.
As it stands the greys problem is a glaring example of how man is screwing up the planet and fortunately is something we can quite easily fix. Unfortunately the "animal rights" brigade, the RSPCA and so on are somewhat opposed to the completely humane and massively effective direct approach in favour of some daft "softly softly" approach which anthropomorphises the greys and just makes the problem even worse for the few pockets of reds left south of the border and things more precarious for those in the North.
devonwoody
Established Member
Fish species get carried to different locations by birds, and man. Natural.
Squirrels get moved by others as well, like man. Natural.
I remember transferring some golden carp from a pond in Southgate, London to a pond in Alexandra Palace, because it had not got any carp, and it was nearer for me to fish. I didn't catch any of the carp at the Alley Palley but perhaps some local boys do now.
Squirrels get moved by others as well, like man. Natural.
I remember transferring some golden carp from a pond in Southgate, London to a pond in Alexandra Palace, because it had not got any carp, and it was nearer for me to fish. I didn't catch any of the carp at the Alley Palley but perhaps some local boys do now.
BigShot
Established Member
It's still not evolution though.
It's an old mistake that is now wrecking an ecosystem, a mistake which can and should be undone.
I think it's a bit of a stretch to describe humans screwing with ecosystems as "natural".
Are the raised levels of harmful chemicals and hormones in waterways natural?
Are mass extinctions due to deforestation natural?
How about large areas almost devoid of life due to untreated sewage outfall?
Oil spillages?
Maybe we should just leave things on the downward spiral people put them on because it's somehow "natural".
It's an old mistake that is now wrecking an ecosystem, a mistake which can and should be undone.
I think it's a bit of a stretch to describe humans screwing with ecosystems as "natural".
Are the raised levels of harmful chemicals and hormones in waterways natural?
Are mass extinctions due to deforestation natural?
How about large areas almost devoid of life due to untreated sewage outfall?
Oil spillages?
Maybe we should just leave things on the downward spiral people put them on because it's somehow "natural".
devonwoody
Established Member
yes what man does is natural and the planet will not support humans one day like other mass extinctions.
We wont live forever.
Something will take our place.
We wont live forever.
Something will take our place.
BigShot
Established Member
Everything man does is natrual?
http://saferenvironment.files.wordpress ... _spill.jpg
http://www.outboardmotoroilblog.com/wp- ... victim.jpg
http://cache.boston.com/resize/bonzai-f ... 7/539w.jpg
I beg to differ.
We must be working with drastically different definitions of the word.
http://saferenvironment.files.wordpress ... _spill.jpg
http://www.outboardmotoroilblog.com/wp- ... victim.jpg
http://cache.boston.com/resize/bonzai-f ... 7/539w.jpg
I beg to differ.
We must be working with drastically different definitions of the word.
