Farnboro John
Well-known member
Thanks for that Simon. I may well have a look at the weekend.
John
John
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John's Mammals 2015 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Farnboro John
- Start date
Farnboro John
Well-known member
Well, here we are again. Cold and windy outside, and the canal Badgers decided not to play at all tonight - at least, not while I was there. I might have guessed, because they are never very forthcoming when its windy.
However, I dropped some muesli by the path yesterday and doing the same thing today quickly produced a couple of Wood Mice happy to grab a (presumably second) free meal.
Their antics kept me entertained till almost 2000 hrs by which time I couldn't feel my fingers to operate camera and night scope any longer and gave up. Pix later.
Both last night and tonight there were Little and Tawny Owls calling at the site.
John
Pix: Wood Mouse X 3
However, I dropped some muesli by the path yesterday and doing the same thing today quickly produced a couple of Wood Mice happy to grab a (presumably second) free meal.
Their antics kept me entertained till almost 2000 hrs by which time I couldn't feel my fingers to operate camera and night scope any longer and gave up. Pix later.
Both last night and tonight there were Little and Tawny Owls calling at the site.
John
Pix: Wood Mouse X 3
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Farnboro John
Well-known member
Farnboro John
Well-known member
One non-lingering Badger and one non-lingering Wood Mouse along the canal this evening: no pix!
Other mammals today: Rabbit, Grey Squirrel, Roe Deer, all at Moor Green Lakes where the drake Smew, drake Goldeneye and three Goosander (2 drakes) also entertained. Common Chiffchaff and Red Kite at Sandhurst Sewage Farm.
John
Other mammals today: Rabbit, Grey Squirrel, Roe Deer, all at Moor Green Lakes where the drake Smew, drake Goldeneye and three Goosander (2 drakes) also entertained. Common Chiffchaff and Red Kite at Sandhurst Sewage Farm.
John
Oo, I think that evening might have passed for tropical toasting out this way ... you might need to be investing in some mitts soon :t:
JCL
Well-known member
Blakeney Point 3
John
Other votes?
Farnboro John
Well-known member
There are boat trips out to colonies in the Thames Estuary, and I remember seeing a load around the Cairns of Coll on a whale-watching trip out of Tobermory. Orkney might be a place to dig into, as well. The Orcas turn up there mid-summer and Common Seal pups swim immediately: there might be a connection?
However I don't think the species in general has really big rookeries in the way Grey Seals do.
Cheers
John
JCL
Well-known member
Yep, that was my feeling. It's harder to see Harbour Seal pups than Grey. Having recently left the SE, am gripped by the Thames Estuary colonies & boat trips, John. News to me! From where?
I had been wondering about Chanonry Point & environs for Harbour colony. Seen them there in spring, but unclear whether they breed.
cheers
James
Farnboro John
Well-known member
MarkHows
Mostly Mammals
A wood mouse and a yellow necked mouse in the garage on Wednesday
Brown rat in Stoke while looking for Smew on Friday. But on Saturday the main target and a tough one considering the snow and wind conditions was mountain hare at Dovestones. But an hour in waist deep snow paid off and I found a nice hare which exploded from my feet and I had to track until I found it holed up.
Mark
Brown rat in Stoke while looking for Smew on Friday. But on Saturday the main target and a tough one considering the snow and wind conditions was mountain hare at Dovestones. But an hour in waist deep snow paid off and I found a nice hare which exploded from my feet and I had to track until I found it holed up.
Mark
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Farnboro John
Well-known member
I spent Sunday in the Forest of Dean again, with only moderate success (i.e. less than last time. The highlight of the day was an hour-long battle of wits with a Wild Boar that was going about its business close to a track I was on. I managed to get up to about twenty yards from it, and it then became aware of me through thickish cover and advanced cautiously to check me out. We stalked each other for the next sixty minutes, by the end of which I had some poor record shots and it had enjoyed an encounter with Man without getting shot. I'd like to say it was even but I suspect the boar did better then me!
The only other decent mammals of the day were a couple of Fallow Deer that shot off giving me brief bins views as I was toiling up a steep hill. Hawfinches, Ravens and Crossbills made up the other interest of the day.
John
The only other decent mammals of the day were a couple of Fallow Deer that shot off giving me brief bins views as I was toiling up a steep hill. Hawfinches, Ravens and Crossbills made up the other interest of the day.
John
Farnboro John
Well-known member
Seeing as I was struggling to photograph actual Wild Boars, I took the chance to take some pictures of related things. So here is a bit of a teach-in - apologies to readers for whom this is routine....
1. Typical Wild Boar habitat in the Forest of Dean. A forest ride with some evidence of snouting in the rough grass. Rushes in the area were flattened (they're quite difficult to squash so that they don't spring up again, but boars manage it.) Under the young conifers boars find sheltered, dry, comfy pine needles to relax on: most people wander past without ever knowing they are close.
2. Boar droppings (1) Sometimes they do come out and remain clumped together like this. Interestingly these are brownish - blackish is more frequent. There's a slight glisten to them that suggests they are fairly recent - in fact a fly flew off them, another indicator.
3. Boar droppings (2) These are more typical. Separate blackish discs, bulged on one side like macaroons.
4. Boar track. Bic biro (6" long) for size comparison. Not sure if the mark behind the two toes is a dew claw or a small boar going the other way.
5. Wild Boar being difficult. In fact there are two, in the shadows back and left of the main subject of the pic is another one. The pic is taken with the first outing of my new 100mm f2.8 and only cropped a bit: the boars are only about five to ten yards away.
John
1. Typical Wild Boar habitat in the Forest of Dean. A forest ride with some evidence of snouting in the rough grass. Rushes in the area were flattened (they're quite difficult to squash so that they don't spring up again, but boars manage it.) Under the young conifers boars find sheltered, dry, comfy pine needles to relax on: most people wander past without ever knowing they are close.
2. Boar droppings (1) Sometimes they do come out and remain clumped together like this. Interestingly these are brownish - blackish is more frequent. There's a slight glisten to them that suggests they are fairly recent - in fact a fly flew off them, another indicator.
3. Boar droppings (2) These are more typical. Separate blackish discs, bulged on one side like macaroons.
4. Boar track. Bic biro (6" long) for size comparison. Not sure if the mark behind the two toes is a dew claw or a small boar going the other way.
5. Wild Boar being difficult. In fact there are two, in the shadows back and left of the main subject of the pic is another one. The pic is taken with the first outing of my new 100mm f2.8 and only cropped a bit: the boars are only about five to ten yards away.
John
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MarkHows
Mostly Mammals
I spent last week trying to trap some small mammals, the reason Stephanie and Tim from Belgium were in the UK mammal watching and I hoped to get them a few additional species. However this would be quite difficult due to the very cold weather. So the first few days I trapped in barns on a local farm, the horse stables and in my garage which I had caught yellow necked and wood mice the previous week. But results were quite poor a wood mouse who escaped, but by Thursday when Stephanie had phoned I had caught a harvest mouse in the barn. This was a good enough draw for them to visit, but I wanted to get them something extra so trapping at my work would be needed a site that holds 8 small mammal species but in temperatures around freezing or below some ingenuity would be required.
So I modified my traps encasing them in bubblewrap leaving a pocked in the bublewrap under the nest chamber of the trap, here I would place a disposable heat pad (I have a box of them) to keep it warm, I added an immense amount of food to each trap and I set these where I caught plenty of small mammals during the autumn.
With my heated traps in place I headed home. I was on site early Saturday because I was nervous of the very cold conditions overnight. I only had three captures but all were alive and well and I was pleased to show field vole, water shrew in addition to the Harvest mouse to Stephanie and Tim who showed their appreciation with a box of chocolates - many thanks.
I only took a few pics below but Tim must have worn his camera out.
Mark
So I modified my traps encasing them in bubblewrap leaving a pocked in the bublewrap under the nest chamber of the trap, here I would place a disposable heat pad (I have a box of them) to keep it warm, I added an immense amount of food to each trap and I set these where I caught plenty of small mammals during the autumn.
With my heated traps in place I headed home. I was on site early Saturday because I was nervous of the very cold conditions overnight. I only had three captures but all were alive and well and I was pleased to show field vole, water shrew in addition to the Harvest mouse to Stephanie and Tim who showed their appreciation with a box of chocolates - many thanks.
I only took a few pics below but Tim must have worn his camera out.
Mark
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Farnboro John
Well-known member
Tremendous ingenuity! Well done. I shall look out for Stephanie and Tim's report with interest: I may well be asking for help from them in the spring.
John
MarkHows
Mostly Mammals
MarkHows
Mostly Mammals
Think I might have to keep a mammal list this year. On 5 so far, so don't think I'm ever going to be a contender really, but interesting reading/seeing how others with a little more commitment are doing.
Good stuff.
Nice one, I am sure we will all help with questions etc. you may have
Mark
Farnboro John
Well-known member
Think I might have to keep a mammal list this year. On 5 so far, so don't think I'm ever going to be a contender really
Good stuff.
You're in a good place to pick up some cetaceans, anyway. And its not far to go and get that pesky shrew!
John
prhodes
Well-known member
In north Herts on Sunday these Fallow Deer were nice to see.
By the way, we recently enjoyed a birding trip to Morocco including a long, long drive down to the Aoussard Road. As it was our first trip we concentrated on birds, and mammals were very limited - just Fat Sand Rat and African Savannah Hare. We did enjoy reading Mark's report and wondering about going back on a mammal trip one day (not under estimating the technical demands of such a trip) - well perhaps if you could fly all the way down on Easyjet!
Phil
By the way, we recently enjoyed a birding trip to Morocco including a long, long drive down to the Aoussard Road. As it was our first trip we concentrated on birds, and mammals were very limited - just Fat Sand Rat and African Savannah Hare. We did enjoy reading Mark's report and wondering about going back on a mammal trip one day (not under estimating the technical demands of such a trip) - well perhaps if you could fly all the way down on Easyjet!
Phil
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