theweatheroutlook

Remove ads from site

Roger Parsons
11 March 2023 07:41:56
We don't seem to have a slot for current wildlife news - so hopefully we will have some spring and summer news to post.
Our local Barn Owl webcam is worth a look. The pair are in the box as I post...
Enjoy. 🦉

Barn Owl family in South Lincolnshire
https://www.lenpicktrust.org.uk/owl-project/ 

 
RogerP
West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire
Everything taken together, here in Lincolnshire are more good things than man could have had the conscience to ask.
William Cobbett, in his Rural Rides - c.1830
fairweather
11 March 2023 14:40:25

We don't seem to have a slot for current wildlife news - so hopefully we will have some spring and summer news to post.
Our local Barn Owl webcam is worth a look. The pair are in the box as I post...
Enjoy. 🦉

Barn Owl family in South Lincolnshire
https://www.lenpicktrust.org.uk/owl-project/ 

 

Originally Posted by: Roger Parsons 


Sadly, the current wildlife news centres around the lack of it. Talking to my birding friends we all agree how much less frequently we see once common songbirds like Yellowhammers, Bullfinches, Chaffinches, even Linnets and so on.Personally I think the mass extinction has actually started and we are moving obliviously along pretending it isn't happening.  Of course this is very topical at the moment as the BBC, as with Lineker, are trying to "shut down" Sir David Attenborough, via his last episode of his new series which will only be shown on iPlayer. It is said that is due to criticisms that may offend right wing Tories and cronies in the Countryside Alliance.
S.Essex, 42m ASL
+1
picturesareme
16 March 2023 17:31:32
Fascinating article on the infamous false widow taking on a shrew. 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tiny-spider-fells-prey-many-times-its-size/ 

Pictures included 
+1
Roger Parsons
18 March 2023 16:00:43
Loch of Lowes Ospreys are back and busy tidying up and repairing their nest - arrived on 17th.  [Raining quite heavily as I post!]
Speakers on to hear them calling - and hear the wind! Enjoy. 👍
https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/watch-wildlife-online/loch-of-the-lowes-webcam/ 
RogerP
West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire
Everything taken together, here in Lincolnshire are more good things than man could have had the conscience to ask.
William Cobbett, in his Rural Rides - c.1830
Roger Parsons
21 March 2023 07:39:16
The Loch of the Lowes Ospreys were lining their nest yesterday. They don't hang about. The male is very determined about his DIY and the female corrects his shortcomings, repositioning any overzealous efforts. That's fair enough as she will have to sit on it!
Addictive. I saw one enjoying a fish yesterday. I also enjoyed seeing the two of them try to deal with a y-shaped twig!
https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/watch-wildlife-online/loch-of-the-lowes-webcam/ 
 
RogerP
West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire
Everything taken together, here in Lincolnshire are more good things than man could have had the conscience to ask.
William Cobbett, in his Rural Rides - c.1830
fairweather
27 March 2023 00:19:13
Talking of ospreys:-
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/major-incident-declared-pipeline-leak-184804131.html 

Just in time for thee returning Ospreys to Poole Harbour. I hope whoever is responsible gets a hefty fine but it is unlikely.
S.Essex, 42m ASL
fairweather
27 March 2023 00:26:51
For anybody interested in conservation, the environment and birds in particular I can thoroughly recommend this book I am currently reading.
"Re-Birding" by Benedict Macdonald.
It goes back to pre-historic times and the habitat that was around then for many of the same birds we have now. How man and animals have modified that habitat over the centuries (not always detrimentally), why we are having a mass extinction of our bird life now and why the UK fairs worse than much of the rest of Europe. How new habitat re-creation alone won't bring the birds back and what type of re-wilding can be achieved economically and successfully. A fantastic riveting read and makes you realise if we don't act we will have hardly any wild birds in the UK in the not too distant future.
S.Essex, 42m ASL
+2
Roger Parsons
28 April 2023 11:25:17
An interesting take on the evolution of life over time. New Scientist.
Timeline: The evolution of life. By Michael Marshall
"The story of evolution spans over 3 billion years and shows how microscopic single-celled organisms transformed Earth and gave rise to complex organisms like animals."

Timeline: The evolution of life
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17453-timeline-the-evolution-of-life/ 

If paywalled, try:
https://www.michaelcmarshall.com/blog/bbc-earth-the-secret-of-how-life-on-earth-began 

 
RogerP
West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire
Everything taken together, here in Lincolnshire are more good things than man could have had the conscience to ask.
William Cobbett, in his Rural Rides - c.1830
NMA
  • NMA
  • Advanced Member
06 May 2023 19:10:48
Just back from a coast hop in thick fog but chuffed to hear a nightingale in the undercliff.
Vale of the Great Dairies
South Dorset
Elevation 60m 197ft
Devonian
06 May 2023 19:35:48

Just back from a coast hop in thick fog but chuffed to hear a nightingale in the undercliff.

Originally Posted by: NMA 



Oh! Now that is encouraging! I wonder if there are some in Somerset this year 🤞

Still, we do seem to see more redstarts here than we did 👍
Roger Parsons
16 May 2023 16:52:56
Loch of the Lowes Ospreys have hatched 2 chicks so far - I spotted them yesterday.
https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/watch-wildlife-online/loch-of-the-lowes-webcam/ 

Female's been nagging the male because he is not a great provider! A bit windy there too just now!
RogerP
West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire
Everything taken together, here in Lincolnshire are more good things than man could have had the conscience to ask.
William Cobbett, in his Rural Rides - c.1830
Roger Parsons
19 May 2023 12:48:54
Wolf story - Washington State - New Scientist
"Bobcats and coyotes seeking refuge from bigger predators near towns and roads don't find it. Humans are even deadlier neighbours than cougars and wolves"
Wolves are scaring smaller predators into deadly conflict with humans
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2374106-wolves-are-scaring-smaller-predators-into-deadly-conflict-with-humans/ 
RogerP
West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire
Everything taken together, here in Lincolnshire are more good things than man could have had the conscience to ask.
William Cobbett, in his Rural Rides - c.1830
DEW
  • DEW
  • Advanced Member
19 May 2023 19:06:02
216 hours community service for red kite poisonings. Sentence described as derisory by wildlife groups.
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/23534087.dumfries-galloway-man-sentenced-poisoning-hawks/ 
 
War does not determine who is right, only who is left - Bertrand Russell

Chichester 12m asl
Roger Parsons
23 May 2023 20:28:51

We don't seem to have a slot for current wildlife news - so hopefully we will have some spring and summer news to post.
Our local Barn Owl webcam is worth a look. The pair are in the box as I post...
Enjoy. 🦉

Barn Owl family in South Lincolnshire
https://www.lenpicktrust.org.uk/owl-project/ 

 

Originally Posted by: Roger Parsons 

Still only one egg - but another expected tonight or tomorrow!
RogerP
West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire
Everything taken together, here in Lincolnshire are more good things than man could have had the conscience to ask.
William Cobbett, in his Rural Rides - c.1830
Roger Parsons
24 May 2023 19:55:41

Still only one egg - but another expected tonight or tomorrow!

Originally Posted by: Roger Parsons 

2nd egg today - next one due Friday.
RogerP
West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire
Everything taken together, here in Lincolnshire are more good things than man could have had the conscience to ask.
William Cobbett, in his Rural Rides - c.1830
fairweather
07 June 2023 08:21:08
The last two of seven hatched blue tits sadly finally succumbed overnight to the weather induced food shortage and died of starvation after the parent finally gave up. The constant cold strong wind for two weeks has blown all the caterpillars off the branches and despite me putting out some live mini mealworms the parent was unable to find them before other birds got them. The local wildlife hospital was going to accept the last two and hand rear them as they were near fledging but as the parent came in late yesterday they said I shouldn't interfere with the nest.
That's three consecutive years now none have fledged, all due to lack of food.
S.Essex, 42m ASL
MRazzell
08 June 2023 08:12:28

The last two of seven hatched blue tits sadly finally succumbed overnight to the weather induced food shortage and died of starvation after the parent finally gave up. The constant cold strong wind for two weeks has blown all the caterpillars off the branches and despite me putting out some live mini mealworms the parent was unable to find them before other birds got them. The local wildlife hospital was going to accept the last two and hand rear them as they were near fledging but as the parent came in late yesterday they said I shouldn't interfere with the nest.
That's three consecutive years now none have fledged, all due to lack of food.

Originally Posted by: fairweather 



What a shame FW. This morning i got back from my dog walk and found a fledged Blue Tit by the back door and wondered how it ended up there. I decided it best to leave it to its fate as i wasn't sure if it was being fed still or had perhaps taken a knock from the window (I did elevate it off the ground to give it half a chance). 

The relentless cold wind and dry conditions here in E-Sussex have wreaked havoc with my garden and the wildlife. Our bird numbers are down, especially so the Tit species, we've lost our marsh tits and our coal/blue tit numbers are significantly down too. Our Wisteria Sinensis has bloomed and finished with barely a bee or any other flying insect present to collect the nectar. Same can be said for the foxgloves which are nearly always a guaranteed top tier bee watching location. Very few butterflies and moths too. My wildflower meadow, on the face of it, looks great but is conspicuous by its almost complete emptiness of life.

It would be lovely if we could just catch a break, every year i think the same around March "will this be the year?" just a couple of years on the trot where our absurd climate just calms down a bit and gives nature a chance. 
Matt.
+2
NMA
  • NMA
  • Advanced Member
08 June 2023 12:46:59
Just had a quick look at some foxgloves and apart from a couple of ants near the top of one spike  that's it. No bees but spotted a damselfly on one of my raised pools. A start perhaps.
I'll be watering again the whips we planted around the new lakes across the road later today. Without this irrigation they would have been long gone by now I think. A watering can per tree and there's a hundred or so to water. Good exercise.
But when does feeling a tad concerned about this years insect paucity become full blown paranoia? However, yesterday pm I saw a fair number of these odonates over there. There's hope at least.
Vale of the Great Dairies
South Dorset
Elevation 60m 197ft
+1
MRazzell
09 June 2023 06:50:41
That's a good cubic metre of water NMA! Make sure you swap arms or you'll be unbalanced by the end of the summer 🤣

A warmer day yesterday notable by the presence, finally, of red tailed bumble bees buzzing about the garden. Its set to be warmer this weekend so I'm hoping the next couple of days see an uptick in numbers. A pair of Nuthatches have moved on to our feeders in the last few days muscling out the house sparrows and robins.  
Matt.
NMA
  • NMA
  • Advanced Member
09 June 2023 07:56:47
By chance Spotify plays Blackbird by Tash Sultana as I read this thread.
The real life Blackbirds in and around the garden have had what I think is a couple of broods this year. Raised just in time when the garden was full of bounty.
However there is a large fat grey cat that sometimes hops over the gate.
The blackbirds then sit on a roof making the noise that only blackbirds make when alarmed as they monitor the beast.
The same sort of thing happens when a buzzard is overhead but it’s then mobbed by the rooks. If the birdsong stops completely I know there is a smaller predator like a sparrowhawk very close by.

Swapping arms is essential in the watering game and life in general or else as you suggest the danger is you become unbalanced.
Music helps too.
Nick
Vale of the Great Dairies
South Dorset
Elevation 60m 197ft
Roger Parsons
09 June 2023 10:53:29
Went for a walk in the woods today on Scotgrove Wood before the heat got going - it was up to 15C by the time we got home. Spring flowers have pretty much gone over - bluebells, orchids - with summer flowers like ragged robin and foxglove now showing. Less bird song than earlier - mainly robin. Roe deer barking. Few insects. The usual woodland spp.  e.g. Speckled Wood - but fewer than usual. This wood is usually quite wet, but is now very dry bar a few persistent damp patches and a small pond. It is famed for its dragonflies - but usually later in the year. Nothing now. No bees. One wasp! Very quiet and calm. This site is next to the airfield from which the attack on "The Dams" was launched in WW2 and was also the site of the Thor Missiles in the Cold War. Hard to imagine now, tho' only yesterday a friend was mentioning "...counting them out and counting them back" - recalling the Lancaster Bombers. She would have been about 7 then.
RogerP
West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire
Everything taken together, here in Lincolnshire are more good things than man could have had the conscience to ask.
William Cobbett, in his Rural Rides - c.1830
+1
NMA
  • NMA
  • Advanced Member
09 June 2023 11:40:41

Went for a walk in the woods today on Scotgrove Wood before the heat got going - it was up to 15C by the time we got home. Spring flowers have pretty much gone over - bluebells, orchids - with summer flowers like ragged robin and foxglove now showing. Less bird song than earlier - mainly robin. Roe deer barking. Few insects. The usual woodland spp.  e.g. Speckled Wood - but fewer than usual. This wood is usually quite wet, but is now very dry bar a few persistent damp patches and a small pond. It is famed for its dragonflies - but usually later in the year. Nothing now. No bees. One wasp! Very quiet and calm. This site is next to the airfield from which the attack on "The Dams" was launched in WW2 and was also the site of the Thor Missiles in the Cold War. Hard to imagine now, tho' only yesterday a friend was mentioning "...counting them out and counting them back" - recalling the Lancaster Bombers. She would have been about 7 then.

Originally Posted by: Roger Parsons 



Poignant if that's the correct word Roger.
By coincidence I live across the road from another WW2 airfield. Warmwell.
After years of gravel extraction, the site is now part nature reserve with the lions share earmarked for a 1000 units of holiday homes. So far the cheapest are about half a million £ and selling so there must be spare cash available for people to afford them. It’s a gated community so the riff raff can’t access the posh bits.

The original plan was for an Avon Heath Country Park https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/countryside-coast-parks/country-parks-and-visitor-centres/avon-heath-country-park/avon-heath-country-park 
style reserve but houses were added at one point a few years back in the plans. Infrastructure improvements seem well hidden (non existent) for local road improvements and of course potable water for the people who will use the properties.
Still the lakes have thriving collections of waterfowl including swans and Canadian geese. I noticed some damsel and dragonflies there recently too. Knighton Heath Wood in the middle will in due course then be surrounded by houses. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6372896 

Nick
Vale of the Great Dairies
South Dorset
Elevation 60m 197ft
+1
fairweather
09 June 2023 14:39:45

What a shame FW. This morning i got back from my dog walk and found a fledged Blue Tit by the back door and wondered how it ended up there. I decided it best to leave it to its fate as i wasn't sure if it was being fed still or had perhaps taken a knock from the window (I did elevate it off the ground to give it half a chance). 

The relentless cold wind and dry conditions here in E-Sussex have wreaked havoc with my garden and the wildlife. Our bird numbers are down, especially so the Tit species, we've lost our marsh tits and our coal/blue tit numbers are significantly down too. Our Wisteria Sinensis has bloomed and finished with barely a bee or any other flying insect present to collect the nectar. Same can be said for the foxgloves which are nearly always a guaranteed top tier bee watching location. Very few butterflies and moths too. My wildflower meadow, on the face of it, looks great but is conspicuous by its almost complete emptiness of life.

It would be lovely if we could just catch a break, every year i think the same around March "will this be the year?" just a couple of years on the trot where our absurd climate just calms down a bit and gives nature a chance. 

Originally Posted by: MRazzell 


I think we are fighting a losing battle now. It's not just the run of bad weather it is the lack of insects and their larvae. An EWLT Nature Reserve has chucked off its grazier due to him using anti-biotics so all the dung produced was inert. They have installed their own and the dung flies and beetles are returning. but this is just a pocket. We live in a Country obsessed with tidiness. Pesticides abound and most of our Northern and Welsh National parks are little more than overgrazed picturesque lawns bereft of wildlife. The rest are grouse moors put there for the benefit of a few rich people. Just been for a walk around a mixed wooded and scrub area and barely a bird to be seen. Contrast that with Bulgaria where even the Town Parks were full of Shrikes, Nightingales singing at every turn and warblers in the treetops. We had that once 😞
S.Essex, 42m ASL
Roger Parsons
10 June 2023 09:51:13
Filmed an adult badger in the garden early this morning! Have had foxes before and badgers have occasionally got into local gardens and the nearby churchyard. I think it was after some hedgehog food near the camera - a sign of the dry weather perhaps? And there is water available too that the hedgehogs use. A bit exciting. I hope it does not come back to trash the tomatoes and strawberries!!!! 🦡
RogerP
West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire
Everything taken together, here in Lincolnshire are more good things than man could have had the conscience to ask.
William Cobbett, in his Rural Rides - c.1830
fairweather
10 June 2023 15:07:23
Badgers are great but not the gardeners friend. Nearest sets to me would mean crossing a fair bit of housing estate which is unlikely. Were signs of a lot of soil disturbance on our allotment though which adjoins a wooded park where I think there are badgers. I think you are right about lack of water and hard ground making it hard to get to the worms.
S.Essex, 42m ASL
+1

Remove ads from site

Ads