John's Mammals 2021 (2 Viewers)

[Allen]

Thanks John. I was lucky that it fed in the bay for 2 hours and then it just 'bobbed head up tail down back to ramp and then decided to haul itself out and chill for the next 2 hours!

 

[MarkHows]

Recent Roe deer and otters in the brecks, brown rats (under the feeders at Lakenheath RSPB)

 

[Farnboro John]

Nice! From after this weekend I guess we can all get around a bit more freely, time to get the sightings up a bit.

John

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Last night there was a house alarm going off a few doors down. Arch was curious as to where it was coming from, so stuck his head out his bedroom window and was lucky enough to spot a Hedgehog pottering across the road. This means his mammal yearlist is, while short, remarkably eclectic - Grey Squirrel, Rabbit, Fallow Deer, Walrus, Hedgehog!

 

[Farnboro John]

One of our foxes, Patch (he's one of the two male cubs from last year for new readers) has lately been chancing his arm a bit by turning up in the early morning when Maz goes out the front for a smoke, in the hope of a bonus chicken breakfast. Sometimes he's even been still around when I'm heading out....

I don't begrudge him the meal, but I do worry that he's in the morning dog walking zone and I don't want him to have an accident, so a strict no morning feeding regime is now in place. However, the other morning Patch simultaneously made me laugh and nearly broke my resolve.

Maz goes off to work a bit ahead of me: partly this is a result of her being on a strict shift time at the hospital and partly deconfliction of bathroom use by the finely honed machine of our partnership. This particular morning I was behind the drag curve more than usual and had to wave her goodbye from the bedroom window instead of the door. As she went out of the door Patch scuttled from the step, and as she proceeded along the path he retreated to the archway through the terrace. Once she had passed, he emerged again and stood gazing forlornly at her back, ears down and tail sagging to the vertical. As she reached the car parking end of the road, she went to go right and pass a car, realised the gap between it and the next car was narrow and half-turned to the left.

Instantly Patch's ears shot up and his tail rose, indeed his every line stiffened in hope "ooh, she's coming back...." Maz went round the left side of the end car and off to find her own motor. "Oh no she's not" Patch drooped, his ears lowered, his tail fell, and he sagged disappointedly into a sitting position to gaze wistfully at where she had vanished.

In the bedroom I had to clap my hand over my mouth to suppress a huge laugh. But he was so full of pathos I nearly cried as well.

Perhaps it was fortunate that by the time I was dressed and downstairs Patch had decided it was time to get the hell out of the people place.

John

 

[Blueboy52]

The most exhilarating sight of the year (I know its early days, but he's been my boy for four years):

View attachment 1362671
Big Whitey waiting to be fed outside the garden for the first time since late November.

John

Hi John
What a stunning photograph, did you use a "Trail Camera"? and if so what was the model? cheers

 

[Farnboro John]

Hi John
What a stunning photograph, did you use a "Trail Camera"? and if so what was the model? cheers

Hi,

No trail cam, this was taken by hand with my normal DSLR - a Canon 7D2 - and a Canon Speedlite on top.

I have an arrangement with the local foxes, they get chicken, I get pictures. I have found they all get used to red light torch (enabling autofocus) and speedlite flash very quickly.

Big Whitey had been attending for four years when that photo was taken. He was absolutely not bothered by almost anything I did, torch, flash, even limited moving around outside to get better angles.

Cheers

John

 

[prhodes]

My work colleagues returned with phone pictures of an apparently poorly Otter today at the Tear Drop Lakes in Milton Keynes. They called the RSPCA so hopefully it would have been treated. A fisherman was also looking out for it. Interesting for us that they apparently so local. There have been reports of Otters at Willen Lake nearby as well.

 

[ClarkWGriswold]

Hi John. Came across a dead bird in the garden this week with only the head left. Now I’ve been having good views of the local foxes in daylight over the last few weeks. Would this be one of their MO’s?

A handsome dog Fox (I presumed due to size) just walked across the lane in front of us just now.

Cheers,

Rich

 

[Farnboro John]

Hi John. Came across a dead bird in the garden this week with only the head left. Now I’ve been having good views of the local foxes in daylight over the last few weeks. Would this be one of their MO’s?

A handsome dog Fox (I presumed due to size) just walked across the lane in front of us just now.

Cheers,

Rich

I'm not sure - I've seen Sparrowhawks decapitate prey but they tend to leave feathers as well even if they take it away to eat. Judging from the way my foxes crunch up chicken drumsticks with a substantial femur, I'd expect them to eat the head as well?

I've visited a nearby fox earth a couple of times recently and a visit last week resulted in me seeing not only the guarding adult (which doesn't seem to be one of mine) and six cubs but on my return home all five of my regulars turned up for a total evening score of 12 foxes!

Today I had a trip round to Otmoor RSPB with friends and we had fantastic views of Brown Hare (pix later, not today) and on the way back round the M25, three Muntjac on the opposite verge. Tonight it's wet and windy but Patch, Smudge, Scally and Hoppity all rocked up for their chicken.

John

 

[ClarkWGriswold]

Cheers John. There were a few feathers so maybe Sparrowhawk the most likely candidate.

Rich

 

[Farnboro John]

Brown Hare photos from Otmoor.

John

 

[MarkHows]

A few things recently, I managed a trip to Scotland for the Sei Whale, which was pretty mobile and tricky to photograph, but I got a few in the end. Some local mammals as well Brown hares, a yellow necked mouse trapped at home and the melanistic grey squirrels locally.

 

[Farnboro John]

Any advice for would-be Sei Whale watchers, Mark? I've suppressed the desire so far but I can feel the cracks beginning to open....

Cheers

John

 

[MarkHows]

Take a whole weekend, spend it at Kinghorn, the car park there has a great vista over the area, and there are public toilets as well, so a useful spot. There are more watchers at the weekend so makes the possibility of locating it better, and it is often quite far out so monster zoom lens for photos. Fulmar colony can keep you entertained during the hours of watching.

Let me know if you want any more info

Mark

 

[Farnboro John]

Take a whole weekend, spend it at Kinghorn, the car park there has a great vista over the area, and there are public toilets as well, so a useful spot. There are more watchers at the weekend so makes the possibility of locating it better, and it is often quite far out so monster zoom lens for photos. Fulmar colony can keep you entertained during the hours of watching.

Let me know if you want any more info

Mark

Hopefully not, that's terrific guidance. TYVM!

John

 

[Farnboro John]

The fox cafe has a new customer. He's an adult dog fox who seems to be familiar with the routine, comes in, sits on the lawn among the other foxes, takes the chicken thrown to him and doesn't chase the others. He fits in so well it took me a while to realise there was a fox attending that I didn't recognise, so I got the camera out and took some pix. That certainly showed he was different, but its not a returner as far as I can tell. It's definitely not Whitey!

So has has a name of his own: Terminator. Photos below should clue you why I thought of big Arnie. I need your clothes, your boots and your chicken drumstick.

Now I am typically wrangling five to six foxes at once, it is a bit busy at feeding time!

John

 

[Allen]

I'm presuming, John, that his comment as he left with his drumstick was "I'll be back"!

 

[Farnboro John]

I'm presuming, John, that his comment as he left with his drumstick was "I'll be back"!

Jeez I wish I'd thought of that....

 

[MarkHows]

A few bits locally Badgers and Foxes in my garden, brown hares and muntjac nearby.