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John's Mammals 2020 (1 Viewer)

On my work trips out of Stansted, I keep seeing the Lauda flight to Vienna, and this reminds me of the recent Hamster footage on the BBC and the James Lowen, 52 European Weekends book. I'm really tempted to try and photograph one of them, but James has this down for August when the flight prices are going to be high. Any other advice from you guys? Have you tried this trip out?
 
On my work trips out of Stansted, I keep seeing the Lauda flight to Vienna, and this reminds me of the recent Hamster footage on the BBC and the James Lowen, 52 European Weekends book. I'm really tempted to try and photograph one of them, but James has this down for August when the flight prices are going to be high. Any other advice from you guys? Have you tried this trip out?

There is a Vienna Hamsters Facebook group which are pretty helpful if you DM them for information. I contacted them last April and the hamsters were already out of hibernation. I would guess they are active well into autumn so the window of opportunity to photograph them is quite large.

There is a nice report with site information on mammalwatching.com.

https://www.mammalwatching.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/JW-Vienna-2018.pdf

If you're on Facebook the hamster group link is below

https://www.facebook.com/feldhamsterinwien/

I intend to make the trip myself once I have a long weekend free.
 
Brilliant Mike, thank-you very much. Carrin (wife) is already looking up hotels and thinks end of June before the school holidays. Let us know if yourself (or anyone else) for that matter wants to meet up. First check on flights from Stansted shows about £100 return
 
Maz and I were thinking of doing the same thing, and turning it into a BF mammal bash would be great! (Assuming I don't see anything else new before that, it would be my 100th European mammal....)

John
 
Actually got out on Saturday and picked up a couple of mammals for the year.

First off was a visit to Stour meadows at Blandford Forum, where after one walk up and down the length of the meadows Clare and I (all right, Clare) found two Otters foraging under trees and snags hanging into the river along the island section. We watched them happily for about fifteen minutes and then they did the legendary otter disappearing act from right in front of us less than twenty yards away. All that was missing from the trick was the puff of smoke.

After a brief search we drove over to Arne RSPB where eventually we came up with a single Sika stag with a cataractal eye, feeding along the edge of the saltmarsh. The weather actually cleared to blue sky and sunshine, which encouraged us to finish off with a visit to the Hoopoe at Badminston - which turned out to be abck under cloud and staying that way. Also the bird remained relentlessly loyal to the exact middle of the horse paddock!

It was nice to be out (and for most of the day not rained on) anyway.

John
 
Not wishing to hijack the thread but hoping that some Mammalers will have the information I desire. Last week I saw a Stoat in Ermine on the outskirts of Mildenhall, Suffolk, about 2 miles East of the Cambs. border and 7 miles South of Norfolk. I have only seen two before now, both in Norfolk and the most recent 15 years ago.
How common are these this far South in the U.K.? How much further South do they get? Are they getting scarcer as the Climate ameliorates?
 
Not wishing to hijack the thread but hoping that some Mammalers will have the information I desire. Last week I saw a Stoat in Ermine on the outskirts of Mildenhall, Suffolk, about 2 miles East of the Cambs. border and 7 miles South of Norfolk. I have only seen two before now, both in Norfolk and the most recent 15 years ago.
How common are these this far South in the U.K.? How much further South do they get? Are they getting scarcer as the Climate ameliorates?

It is reasonably common, I have seen one at Lakenheath and there have been others in the area, one at Burwell and one at Titchwell in the last few years. They are more common up north where snow is more common but are present in most areas but in less numbers.

Mark

PS We are happy to discuss mammals here you picked the perfect place to post.
 
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Not much over the last few weeks, poor weather and weekend working but managed to pop out Sunday briefly and on the way home popped in to see the black squirrels in Letchworth.


Mark
 

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News flash:

Best value blip sighting for years: heading down the M3 between the Western Basingstoke junction and the A303 slip road, when a live Polecat appears in the headlights to a shout from Steve, and fortunately ruins like hell for the verge, avoiding my wheels by not very much.

Roadkill has suggested for years that we have quite a few Polecats locally but this is the very first live one I've seen in the area. Woo hoo!

John
 
After the Polecat we did encounter a few more mammals through the day: Rabbits by the dozen on a furzy hillside above the pools at Mansands where the Blue-winged Teal gave good scope views but remained aloof near the far side and two Harbour Porpoises heading North past Berry Head.

We also had belting Cirl Buntings at Broadsands and good scope views of the Bowling Green Marsh Long-billed Dowitcher, though this also remained at distance.

Unfortunately the Otter Beavers didn't play, in a river high and murky brown with rainwater. Unsurprising really.

An easy run home included a Barn Owl near Yeovilton.

Since then, not much in the way of mammals, a Bank Vole taking its life in its paws on the local Adder bank (one at least was out) being the only recent year-tick.

John
 
Three confiding Roe Deer - two bucks in velvet - at Moor Green Lakes yesterday from the road (another two yearlings just left Mum West of the main path). Got some nice pix, well I think so anyway, you shall judge in due course.

Big Whitey came for chicken twice last night. I'm fairly sure he and Rip are an item, and that she must surely be underground with new cubs at the moment: so maybe he's taking some food home for them (Monday night apparently he had five pieces of chicken over the whole evening - two from me and three from Maz!)

The work dog fox trotted across one of the avenues as I was driving in this morning, which was nice.

John
 
Loads of Fallow deer at Fowlmere RSPB last weekend, not done much else apart from that recently

Mark
 

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Popped down to Portland yesterday and dipped the Large Tortoiseshells - present earlier, frustratingly....

Hoping for a Med Gull as a day-saver we stopped briefly at Radipole, finding a second-winter by the reserve centre and a brief but decent view of a Brown Rat at the end of the wooden slats along the shore by the bridge. I find I prefer seeing them at Radipole to in my back garden!

Quite a few Roe Deer in fields on the way down and back.

John
 
Some photos:

Roe Deer group X 2

Honorary mammal: Black Adder X 2

Brown Rat
 

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Big Whitey visits nightly (sometimes several times) at the moment. Yesterday on his last visit he was all dirtied up with dry soil as if he'd been underground. Most unusual for him, normally immaculate (indeed had been earlier in the evening).

Later in the night Rip visited for the first time for a few days. She was immaculate.... I dunno what's going on but something is.

John
 
Friday at Lackford Lakes the bank voles performed well with some grey squirrels and rabbits. Found a golden rabbit near Lakenheath.
My last non local trip on Saturday was to Wales Goats and Red squirrels

Mark
 

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A lunchtime stroll along the River Alyn for our daily exercise today unbelievably yielded up a mammal tick for the boys in the shape of a rather bold and unconcerned American Mink. Although they don't belong, and our biodiversity will benefit from their overdue eradication, I will never not be excited to watch one. We may know they don't belong, but they don't know that, and I can't help but watch them on those terms.
 

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While watching the Mink yesterday Sam did say he thought there were two, and on comparing some of the photos last night I do wonder if I might have got pics of both. The one in the hole at the tree base disappeared, with presumably the second being picked up shortly afterwards along the shore. I assumed at the time it was the same beast, but now I wonder.
 

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Same beast for me. Fantastic sighting: as you say, they've got to go, but they are charismatic little predators to watch (and when present, a lot easier than our native Polecats!)

I haven't seen one for a few years now. Reluctantly envious!

John
 
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