John's Mammals 2010 (1 Viewer)

[Jos Stratford]

Aulagnier S, Haffner P, Mitchell-Jones AJ, Moutou F and Zima J (2009) Mammals of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. A&C Black, London.

I was perfectly happy with the Collins for many years, but received the latter for Christmas. I was instantly impressed by the fresh layout and diagrams. I also like the fact text, illustrations and distribution maps are on the same, or opposite page.

Many thanks, now ordered. Somehow think I have a busy summer ahead, I can't imaging all the small mammals are going to easy!

 

[Jhanlon]

For anyone in the Inverness area soon (me in 2 weeks!!) there's a family of otters showing daily down to ONE METRE on the River Ness at Bridge Street. Marcus Conway has posted a pic on the Highlands & Islands thread on BF.

Having still not seen wildcat like most of you guys I'm hoping it will be my time this time! If not, I'll be back later in the year.

Yesterday I photographed CWD at Woodwalton during a torrential thunderstorm. Nice pose but needless to say the light was appalling and the final result rather grainy. I've spent drier periods in the bath, but at least I had a result!

James

 

[Farnboro John]

I've been totally on clearing Mum's house (sold) for two weeks so not much on the mammal front: mostly Grey Squirrels effortlessly avoiding Tansy's pursuit and Red Foxes' eyeshine slipping in and out of sight during her closedown walks late at night.

News from the Eastern front, however: my brother's partner's parents were heading home from shopping recently when an adult Lynx with two big cubs crossed the road in front of them. They live in South-east Finland not South-east England!

John

 

[Isurus]

So apparently my dad managed to unwittingly catch a polecat ferret over the weekend. A ferret keeper was summoned who confirmed it was a domestic but it promptly escaped before he could take it into custody proper. Apparently notwithstanding the recent bad weather it was big and very healthy looking.

Did anyone see the boar on countryfile? Quite a good segment I thought, worth iplayering if you missed it.

 

[Farnboro John]

Finished clearing stuff from Mum's house yesterday - half day from work and on until 2230 - only so much I could take due to room constraints, so I went through every photo album and just took the best (Mum always believed the purpose of a telephoto lens was to take blips from further away so binning most of them wasn't too guilt-ridden) which included the unmistakable velvety back of a Mole pushing through grass up Weardale. Well I'll be a sonovabitch.

The one really crap photo I took was of something I've never seen: mating Hedgehogs in her back garden, out of focus but unmistakable.

John

 

[Jhanlon]

Finished clearing stuff from Mum's house yesterday - half day from work and on until 2230 - only so much I could take due to room constraints, so I went through every photo album and just took the best (Mum always believed the purpose of a telephoto lens was to take blips from further away so binning most of them wasn't too guilt-ridden) which included the unmistakable velvety back of a Mole pushing through grass up Weardale. Well I'll be a sonovabitch.

The one really crap photo I took was of something I've never seen: mating Hedgehogs in her back garden, out of focus but unmistakable.

John

Mating hedgehogs? Sounds a bit S&M! Has anyone here succeeded in photographing mole? (above example aside). I've only ever seen one alive (at the 1995 Rutland birdfair) and the camera was nowhere in sight. I've heard mixed opinions on the ease of live trapping them.

 

[MarkHows]

I have a photo of one somewhere of a mole taken on film in 1998 in South Wales, it was just crawling along a road.

Mark

 

[TomSmith]

I also once found and photographed a mole crawling up a roadside, in Poland a few years ago. Maybe the tarmac confuses them somehow?

 

[Farnboro John]

I've also got a picture of a Mole on a road, taken in the Pennines the day after I ticked Swinhoe's Petrel. It was mid summer and if I remember correctly had been hot and dry for some time so Moles in general might have been struggling to find food just below the surface. Alternatively it might have been into the juvenile dispersal period.

A colleague of mine at work has been trying to live trap a Mole that is roaming his lawn, but after six months it seems the Mole is winning hands down.

John

 

[Mike Richardson]

Has anyone here succeeded in photographing mole? (above example aside).

Take a look under 'wildlife news' on the Potteric Carr Site. (BTW The vole misidentification is due to be rectified).

http://www.potteric-carr.org.uk/

I still need Mole and would welcome any advice. Most sightings seem to be down to pure luck.

 

[Jhanlon]

Take a look under 'wildlife news' on the Potteric Carr Site. (BTW The vole misidentification is due to be rectified).

http://www.potteric-carr.org.uk/

I still need Mole and would welcome any advice. Most sightings seem to be down to pure luck.

:-O

 

[Jhanlon]

seriously Mike, don't know what to suggest (I've heard jam jars work as well as any live traps!) but if you do find a photogenic mole I won't be far behind with my camera. It's frustrating to know they're so close to us (sometimes in gardens!) but so darned difficult to catch up with.

 

[Mike Richardson]

:-O

That's not a bad idea!

 

[Farnboro John]

I watched a bloke catch a Star-nosed Mole live on TV: he found a fresh mole-hill, slipped two sticks into the lightly turned earth in a slight cross so they would be disturbed by the passing mole, and when the sticks twitched he grabbed up a double handful (nearer armful) of mole-hill complete with Star-nosed Mole. Very impressive, and a cracking beastie to boot.

If anyone fancies their chances with this technique, let me know and I'll come to watch.

John

 

[Jhanlon]

I watched a bloke catch a Star-nosed Mole live on TV: he found a fresh mole-hill, slipped two sticks into the lightly turned earth in a slight cross so they would be disturbed by the passing mole, and when the sticks twitched he grabbed up a double handful (nearer armful) of mole-hill complete with Star-nosed Mole. Very impressive, and a cracking beastie to boot.

If anyone fancies their chances with this technique, let me know and I'll come to watch.

John

I say we combine those ideas. You put the sticks in John and I'll be waiting with the JCB. Little sod won't stand a chance! There were some great shots on that Potteric Carr website. Stoat is partial ermine for one - nice!

 

[Jos Stratford]

Last mole I saw was flying Being tossed skyward by a White Stork, got a photo somewhere, will try to dig it out (photo not mole)

 

[jurek]

I also saw flying moles!

When I was a little boy and a mole appeared on my grandparents' garden, grandpa took a shovel and waited until it started moving bits of dirt along one of tunnels. Then grandpa quickly sent it flying. At my request, all moles were put into a bucket and released some distance away to live happily ever after.

 

[Farnboro John]

The ultimate flying mole story (just clipped it from the 2007 thread - IT incompetence again)

Here's a tale from a friend, from the weekend just gone. She had gone to Arundel WWT for Water Voles, and had been chatting to a couple of whom the bloke was in a wheelchair being pushed round the reserve by his wife. Eventually their paths split when Clare went on the little boat to get different views of the voles while the couple carried on walking round.

Later on she saw them again, and in the meantime, they had been moving down a concrete path when suddenly a Mole fell out of the sky and landed on its back on the path in front of them. They looked up and saw a Jay vanishing into nearby trees. It must have picked up the Mole, found it too heavy and dropped it. They turned the Mole right side up and it ran off.

John

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Moles can run!? Wow, learn something new every day!

James

 

[Andrew03]

Sorry to change subject, but if anyone's wanting CWD they are showing very well around J13 of the M1 at present. Have seen them each time i've driven up the M1 recently, and yesterday saw one group of 5, one of 6 and one of 8 as well as singles/pairs in the area. Around midday several of them were laying down, in the open in arable fields.

Cheers
Andrew