Your day's wildlife

[gbb]

Cuckoo, low level in flight. They are a strange looking bird, almost primaeval. (IMO)
Funnily enough, it was almost exactly in the same place i saw my unidentified Harrier last week, headed from the same scrub land on the edge of the fens.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Saw a snake yesterday in Leicester. Presuming it was a grass snake, about 3 foot long slithering across the cycle path on the GCW

 

[biggs682]

Daffy and friends at Sywell Reservoir

 

[Mandragora]

New to the thread, so apologies if this is the wrong note, but roadkill today included either a dead weasel or stoat - not sure which - at first I thought it was a red squirrel, but then realised it wasn't as I whizzed by. Will have a google and see if I can identify what it was. I sometimes see weasels round here when driving, so will start there, but the tail looked too short.

ETA - yep, definitely a weasel.

 

[gbb]

Once again, a fleeting flypast of something I can't identify..Brampton racecourse, lots and lots of lakes nearby, overhead flew a bird, duck size, brilliant white underneath, black edges to it wings, white neck and head, yellow bill, short fanned tail feathers, emitting a high pitched 'peep'...'peep'. Fast wingbeat, direct flight...and then its gone.
Goosander ?...their head and neck are dark.
Oystercatcher ? ..you do see them inland, but ditto the above.
Wader ?...not likely, its bill was quite heavy.

Domesticated hybrid, cross duck maybe ? But the peep peep isnt a typical dabbling duck call.
Ah well....

 

[summerdays]

Mine have yet to start forming legs or at least the ones I've seen.

 

[Deleted member 23692]

Yesterday..
A Hare running down the road just in front of me for around 200yds.
A Buzzard hovering low over a field doing a fine Kestrel impression

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Couple of stoats ran across the road in front of me the other day. They move very fast out in the open.

 

[gbb]

Trouble with many birds is you only get a fleeting glance..and its gone.
Driving to work, 6.30am. Right on the edge of town bordering the fens a raptor crosses low in front of me, low enough to see his back as he glides past 30ft in front and to the side of me.
I tried to concentrate on detail in that few seconds, smaller than a kite, slimmer than most buzzards, bigger than sparrowhawk or kestrel. Moderately slim, longer neck than kestrel, head quite out front. Mottled plumage, NOT speckled, lightish coloured head, mid brown mottled feathers on its upper and noticeable grey patches on the upper wings near its body. And then its gone....
Ive seen so many Buzzard and Kite, quite a few Marsh Harrier, Hobby and Merlin ive seen, nothing obviously like this, so frustrating because many raptors have such varied plumage, male , female, jeuvenile...its so variable.

Looking at photos on google, Marsh Harrier have grey patches on their upper wings although more toward the wingtips. I'm guessing Marsh Harrier, maybe a young one judging by the siz and there is a breeding population near Whittlesea, only a few miles away as the crow flies.

Not easy based on the description. Have a look at the various plumages for Hen Harrier and Montague's Harrier. The males are very grey but the immatures are mottled. They transition from mottled to grey. The size and shape you describe fit both these species well. I'd guess Montague's at this time of year given your location

Now i'm (metaphorically) getting excited..
1/2 mile from the sighting above, tonight on the way home....a harrier flew 30 ft right in front of me, across my view. 4 seconds before it wheeled over a hedge and gone, 4 seconds to try to absorb as much as I could...
Marsh Harrier tend to have light coloured heads...not my sighting tonight
Light coloured round the eyes would indicate Montagu's Harrier, but I didn't see that, despite trying in a few seconds. Dappled brown..and i'm quite sure I got a seconds look at a white rump...Hen Harrier ?

Hen Harrier ? so close to the edges of the city ?...but still on the edges of the flatland fens ?
Also, seeing them in roughly the same area perhaps indicates they're nesting.

And perhaps its nothing special...but ive seen so many Buzzard, not one of those, this is large but slender.
Marsh Harrier...don't AFAIK have white rump.
Montagu's surely too rare to be one of those ?

Seriously tempted to get my binoculars out tomorrow morning and have half an hour before work in that area.

 

[subaqua]

red Kites in the field opposite head office in Maple Cross. far better than listening to a death by powerpoint that i heard droned out verbatim yesterday

 

[surfdude]

a big fecking swarm of bees , went around a corner and rode straight into them . thousands of the little blighters . lucky non decided i was a threat so passed through without any stings . being allergic to stings and having to carry two epipens at all time during the summer time i very nearly needed a new pair of shorts

i would just like to thank to the other cyclist who must have rode through them 20 seconds earlier for the warning that never came .

 

[gbb]

Stood in the first floor works canteen, looking out the window across a fen vista, fields as far as the eye can see. In one field, I see a swan beginning its take off (you'll often see swans in fields out here)...ponderously slow at first, wings flapping, I followed its path, across another grassy field and judged it was only a few feet (maybe 3 or 4) above the ground. It reminded me of something like a V Bomber, cruising now, then it turned and headed out of view.
What then struck me was the distance it had covered in a relatively short time...I don't know what the cruising speed of one is, but it covered that field faster than a landrover would have been able to.

 

[Alex H]

Just come back from a few days in the Pyrenees . On the way down we stopped at a walled village perched on the side of the valley. While walking round and going through an arch at the front of the village church, a cat appeared and seemed to be crouching down as it walked along . The reason soon became apparent - it was being 'bombed' by swallows upset at it's presence. Due to the bird's speed this is not a good photo - I'm surprised anything came out at all

The birds did seem to make an a buzzing sound as they passed the cat - extra effort flapping their wings?

Later on in the actual mountains managed to get this shot - any butterfly experts here?

 

[nickyboy]

Now i'm (metaphorically) getting excited..
1/2 mile from the sighting above, tonight on the way home....a harrier flew 30 ft right in front of me, across my view. 4 seconds before it wheeled over a hedge and gone, 4 seconds to try to absorb as much as I could...
Marsh Harrier tend to have light coloured heads...not my sighting tonight
Light coloured round the eyes would indicate Montagu's Harrier, but I didn't see that, despite trying in a few seconds. Dappled brown..and i'm quite sure I got a seconds look at a white rump...Hen Harrier ?

Hen Harrier ? so close to the edges of the city ?...but still on the edges of the flatland fens ?
Also, seeing them in roughly the same area perhaps indicates they're nesting.

And perhaps its nothing special...but ive seen so many Buzzard, not one of those, this is large but slender.
Marsh Harrier...don't AFAIK have white rump.
Montagu's surely too rare to be one of those ?

Seriously tempted to get my binoculars out tomorrow morning and have half an hour before work in that area.

Given that this is potentially a Montagu's harrier strongly suggest you don't post further details on here

 

[nickyboy]

Once again, a fleeting flypast of something I can't identify..Brampton racecourse, lots and lots of lakes nearby, overhead flew a bird, duck size, brilliant white underneath, black edges to it wings, white neck and head, yellow bill, short fanned tail feathers, emitting a high pitched 'peep'...'peep'. Fast wingbeat, direct flight...and then its gone.
Goosander ?...their head and neck are dark.
Oystercatcher ? ..you do see them inland, but ditto the above.
Wader ?...not likely, its bill was quite heavy.

Domesticated hybrid, cross duck maybe ? But the peep peep isnt a typical dabbling duck call.
Ah well....

Call description is perfect for Oystercatcher and they always call in flight. Description isn't quite right but I am pretty sure that's what you saw