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John's Mammals 2018 (1 Viewer)

Farnboro John

Well-known member
Happy New Year when it arrives everyone!

I'm putting this up a day earlier than last year, just because I have a few minutes with nothing else to do and I've noticed some of the other annual threads being put in place. I promise its not a sign of the same date creep (actually that sounds wrong....) that put Christmas cards in the shops in August 2017!

Again I won't be trying to achieve targets in 2018 but will be trying to get better pictures of some stuff I have had trouble with to date and keeping my usual eye out whenever I'm in the field. What I am hoping to do is get out at night a lot more than I did this year, after small mammals, Badgers, bats and anything else I can get at.

As for last year there will be Farnborough fox updates, I'm expecting breeding after the events described a few days ago in the 2017 thread.

So hopefully plenty going on.

All news, sightings, pictures, queries welcome as usual, not to mention old friends and new posters alike.

While most people will be bird listing on New Year's Day (weather permitting) perhaps those on here would like to see what sort of 1 Jan Mammal list we could come up with? Not that much came of it last New Year's Day. No domestics though please.

Cheers!

John
 
For me January 1 is about birds, but I managed 4 incidental mammals on the way to a bird list of 103:

Grey Squirrels at Eyeworth Pond, New Forest; Roe Deer and Common Seal Pennington Marshes; and Fallow Deer at Black Gutter Bottom, back at the top of the New Forest.

Camera left at home on this pure listing day. Happy New Year everybody!

John
 
I've "borrowed" the BF combined 1st January British Isles mammal list for this thread:

Common Seal
Grey Seal
Red Fox
Fallow Deer
Roe Deer
Brown Hare
Rabbit
Grey Squirrel
Red Squirrel
Brown Rat
Bottlenose Dolphin

Eleven species - I think that's not bad for a single midwinter day.

Cheers

John
 
Had a cracking day out in Gloucs today. Some great birds but also my first Wild Boar. A sow and 4 piglets:t:

Rich
 

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Bravo! Presumably combined with the Penduline Tit? Must admit I'm tempted, if only the weather would play ball for a while.

John
Yup. And Hawfinch and Great Grey Shrike. :t:

The family were at the Arboretum by Speech House, and Kev spooked another on Crabtree Hill as we were quietly trying to get a little closer to the Shrike.

Rich
 
In the USA I saw Gray Squirrel and White-tailed Deer on January 1. I also heard but didn’t see Red Squirrel. I’m not sure if the Gray Squirrel is the same species as the Gray Squirrel that’s found in the UK.

Dave
 
Not Jan 1st, but my first day at work on the 2nd at Mercedes-Benz World, Weybridge, I saw 2 Roe Deer, 1 Red Fox, Rabbits & Grey Squirrels.

Simon
 
Wildcat in Bulgaria yesterday on the way home from Greece (where we also saw one on New Year's Eve)!

Chris
 
Starting well everybody! Hope it keeps up, by all means stick pix up too...

I heard foxes last night but haven't seen one this year yet.

My brother is in Finland with his wife and in-laws at present and has just been gripped off/has gripped me off with a Eurasian Lynx photographed ambling through Savonlinna (the nearest town to him!

Photo in the local newspaper (and on its website): https://ita-savo.fi/uutiset/lahella/462f2790-7cd7-4f4d-8a3a-5a67d1365d48

Hope your Finnish is better than mine...

John
 
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Starting well everybody! Hope it keeps up, by all means stick pix up too...

I heard foxes last night but haven't seen one this year yet.

My brother is in Finland with his wife and in-laws at present and has just been gripped off/has gripped me off with a Eurasian Lynx photographed ambling through Savonlinna (the nearest town to him!

Photo in the local newspaper (and on its website): https://ita-savo.fi/uutiset/lahella/462f2790-7cd7-4f4d-8a3a-5a67d1365d48

Hope your Finnish is better than mine...

John

The scream of a red fox is absolutely chilling. We sometimes hear them in our yard. Sounds like one of my kids pulling a tantrum.
 
White Tip made her first proper visit of the year (in fact since Christmas) yesterday evening. I was pleased to see her: the foxes' Christmas absences are routine but still difficult after a few days! I got a photo but not up to scratch so I'll have to do better before posting.

Earlier yesterday I added Rabbit to the year list, on Lydd Ranges.

John
 
Added Fallow Deer (x4) & Muntjac (x2) at work today on the Luton Hoo Estate, Bedfordshire. Hopefully will get out & about properly some day soon!

Cheers, Simon
 
Couple of pictures of White Tip turning up to wish me a Happy Birthday yesterday (not really, she wanted chicken). But the pix turned out nice.

Tonight both she and Big Whitey turned up really early - 2000 hrs - and I got pix of both of them, so I can put a nice profile of the dog fox up tomorrow.

John
 

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I saw a roadkill Hedgehog in Hampshire this afternoon (10th Jan 2018), between Lymington and New Milton while visiting friends.
 
I saw a roadkill Hedgehog in Hampshire this afternoon (10th Jan 2018), between Lymington and New Milton while visiting friends.

Bad news both for the individual and because it should have been hibernating.

Dunno when I last saw even a roadkill one, they are thin on the ground round here now (and not because of being ironed out.)

John
 
Had a morning watching these guys at Whisby Nature reserve, Lincs , plenty of the public asked about the large mice and all but one horrified they were rats.


Mark
 

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