John's Mammals 2015 (1 Viewer)

[Farnboro John]

This is Black Notch. He's the first Red Fox that got used to me sitting over chicken legs in my front garden and I've already posted a few nice pix of him. Unfortunately he turned up today with a damaged front left leg - which was very obvious, held up most of the time. He took his chicken away to eat it out of sight but I could hear the crunching.

I got him another from the fridge, clucked to let him know I was moving about outside and he came straight back out for it - and showed me a deep cut on his head in the process. RTA. None of the other foxes would have come out to my call like that, nearer the reverse.

The cuts are clean, which I guess is good. Its up to him to get well but the chicken will be there each evening to give him a boost.

John

 

[Farnboro John]

Today the third fox - with a black-tipped tail - that comes for the nightly chicken leg turned up just as I was chatting to one of our neighbours. Once I'd invited the chap into our darkened hall, Black Tip was content to come in for the treat and I got a nice pic as the chicken was grabbed.

John

 

[GusHawk]

Nice shots, haven't heard my local Foxes in months now. Hopefully when their cubs are out I'll hear a lot more from them and maybe see them for once.
In other news I finally managed to see my first small mammal and identify it today. Found a Common Shrew run in an old tree stump and had great views of them going back and forwards. Cheers for the advice you gave me ages ago Haven't managed and Voles yet though... Heard them though so getting closer!

 

[Farnboro John]

Nice shots, haven't heard my local Foxes in months now. Hopefully when their cubs are out I'll hear a lot more from them and maybe see them for once.
In other news I finally managed to see my first small mammal and identify it today. Found a Common Shrew run in an old tree stump and had great views of them going back and forwards. Cheers for the advice you gave me ages ago Haven't managed and Voles yet though... Heard them though so getting closer!

Thanks for posting, Gus. Good luck with the voles later!

Cheers

John

 

[Farnboro John]

The injured Black Notch pitched up this evening (two days since I saw him last) holding his leg up a lot of the time but able to carry weight on it. His wounds looked clean. All good news.

He also ate his first chicken drumstick (yeah, I fetched him a second one again!) in full view of me, which is a new level of confidence.

John

 

[prhodes]

I talk from scant evidence, but the rabbit population a Weeting Heath seems to have recovered somewhat, and the enthusiastic young warden reports both Weasel and Stoat have been seen recently (unfortunately not by us).

The Roe Deer was in a potato field (I think) near the Lakenheath reserve.

Phil

 

[Farnboro John]

I have been in Scotland. I am just back. Full report later but visitors to Loch Garten RSPB may wish to be aware that in the damp grass by the grey electrical box in the corner of the car park there is a Field Vole that can be tempted out with seeds. We put seeds down on a run and two days later he sat out for two minutes in the open. Pix later along with many other of the 20 mammal species of the trip and some smart birds too.

John

 

[crazyfingers]

Trying this again. OK Mammals of 2015

A couple weeks ago I was at a pond and way in the distance I saw movement but what it was I didn't know. I was suffering from snow blindness and just took a photo where the commotion was. I waited after I got my eyesight though the viewer back. But it didn't return.

Getting home I got the photo on the computer and, happy days, river otters. At least two and I think likely three. Only my second photo, and even sighting, of a river otter in the wild.

And then a couple days ago my first white tail deer photo of the year. With 109 inches of snow this winter I just didn't see them in my yard. Not even tracks. But with the snow finally going, the deer are showing up. I live next to about 150 acres of conservation land. They visit the yard to see my shrubs. But this was taken looking down my hill into the woods.

 

[Farnboro John]

Trying this again. OK Mammals of 2015

A couple weeks ago I was at a pond and way in the distance I saw movement but what it was I didn't know. I was suffering from snow blindness and just took a photo where the commotion was. I waited after I got my eyesight though the viewer back. But it didn't return.

Getting home I got the photo on the computer and, happy days, river otters. At least two and I think likely three. Only my second photo, and even sighting, of a river otter in the wild.

And then a couple days ago my first white tail deer photo of the year. With 109 inches of snow this winter I just didn't see them in my yard. Not even tracks. But with the snow finally going, the deer are showing up. I live next to about 150 acres of conservation land. They visit the yard to see my shrubs. But this was taken looking down my hill into the woods.

River Otters are nice, and you did well to nail the focus on the deer through those branches!

John

 

[crazyfingers]

River Otters are nice, and you did well to nail the focus on the deer through those branches!

John

Thanks. There was a large enough hole among the branches to get a focus on the deer's belly. Once focused I just moved the frame to the head.

 

[Farnboro John]

I think I may have a new fox. I sat over the chicken this evening - I wanted to see if Black Notch is mending - but the first fox in seemed intact, completely furred where Black Notch's injuries were, and on top of that much shyer than the regulars. It took him three passes before he grabbed the chicken. Although his tail has a similar amount of white in it, I can't believe the forehead and leg would be totally furred again (or indeed totally healed) so this is probably fox no. 4.

Feeling keen I put another leg out and waited. Next fox in was Black Tip, who true to form came straight in and indeed posed for a third shot after I took two of her approach.

I'll post pix when I've processed them.

Re Scotland I shall do it as a trip report, kick-off when I have a couple of pix to illuminate proceedings.

EDIT: Now started in Vacational Trips: The Easter Bunny Lives in Scotland.

John

 

[crazyfingers]

Just now I went on a quick run to the grocery for dinner food and on the way passed a house with this in the yard.

Never go anywhere without the camera.

It's my first photo of a Groundhog/Wood Chuck/Whistle Pig. I think I posted one in the 2014 list but my wife took that one.

 

[Farnboro John]

Dipped the GBH yesterday with Clare, but otherwise quite a reasonable day (he said through gritted teeth).

We had a mixed bunch of Harbour Porpoises and Common Dolphins in Mounts Bay on arrival at Penzance, then a couple of small groups of Common Dolphins on the way over on teh Scillonian. Clare had a Lesser White-toothed Shrew at the end of Old Town Bay where the track turns right along the top of the beach, past the fields: TC had another briefly among rocks below the Old Town Churchyard exit to the track along the bottom of the fields.

We had more Common Dolphins on the way back.

For pan-listers we also had a stick insect (Prickly Stick Insect, is it?) in the Old Town Churchyard.

John

 

[crazyfingers]

I posted this in the Mammals forum but trying here too. Photographed today.

I'm leaning towards Otter but not completely sure. Only one shot. It surfaced a couple times for perhaps two seconds while moving across the shore by the reeds where the red-wing blackbirds hang out. It didn't appear again while I was there, about 30 minutes. If a beaver it's a new arrival as there are no beaver houses on this pond. It looked small, perhaps overall just over 2 feet in length in this photo.

 

[Jon Turner]

The warm evening air a couple of days ago brought out several Pipistrelles and a Noctule - not seen one for several years.

 

[MarkHows]

A while since my last post which has been quite good mammal wise only local stuff with badger and polecat sightings. Plenty of deer, CWD, muntjac, roe and fallow, a few foxes, hedgehogs very active in my garden. Brown rat sharing my lunch and loads of brown hares showing very well.

A mammal trapping session produced wood mouse, harvest mouse, field vole and pygmy shrew.

Mark

 

[MarkHows]

And a couple of more

Mark

 

[Farnboro John]

Two House Mice London last night, Green Park Underground Jubilee line southbound. Or do they call it eastbound?

John

 

[crazyfingers]

I found the hind end of a house mouse on my basement floor this morning. There were two hind legs and a tail. No sign of the rest yet.

My cats bring things in a lot but usually just play them to death.

(The cats have an enclosure that they can go in the back yard from the cat flap under the deck to the basement. They get lots of rodents and frogs but never get birds.)

 

[Farnboro John]

Put the chicken out for the foxes last night and the lactating vixen turned up so quickly I suspect she was lurking nearby in anticipation. No messing about, trit-trot straight in, not fazed by the flashing camera at all, picked up chicken thigh and round behind the shrubbery to eat it.

I stayed watching as I suspected she would come back to make sure of any scraps (I knew a bit of jelly had fallen from the meat when I put it down.)

Sure enough, out she came. She had eaten the flesh off the bone, decided the bone was too substantial to spend time on and brought it with her: she checked the lawn, put the bone down, ate the chicken jelly, picked it up again and trotted off with her snack for later. Now to me that's quite sophisticated planning - no wonder they can outsmart some humans!

John