Your day's wildlife

[matticus]

Red kites are extremely rare where I live. Just completed a MTB multi day ride around Wessex

It was lovely to see them so common and ubiquitous, presumably filling an ecological niche previously unfilled

You should try living here. They steal our rabbits. And small dogs. And children.
It was in the papers - don't tell me I'm making it up!!!

Actually, thinking about it ... I suppose the above IS an ecological niche, in a way ...

 

[Andy in Germany]

You should try living here. They steal our rabbits. And small dogs. And children.
It was in the papers - don't tell me I'm making it up!!!

Actually, thinking about it ... I suppose the above IS an ecological niche, in a way ...

They frequently fly over the apartment here.

 

[Dave 123]

Common plume moth

 

[Poacher]

View attachment 658454

Common plume moth

Thanks for putting a proper name to it - I always call them T-bars!

 

[KnittyNorah]

No. I won't have jumped, it hasn't got any legs. So it must have climbed, but why so far, why this particular leaf? Or could it have been dropped by a bird. I just thought it a bit strange.

I've seen both slugs and snails climbing trees and house walls in different places. The slugs were disgusting, they climbed inside an overflow pipe and to the top of a lavatory cistern. Why, I have no idea. They also climbed down again. They had to be cleaned out of the cistern and disposed of and I put salt around the edges of the house walls, front and back, for several months. They never recurred and the neighbours were never bothered by such a horrible thing.
When I lived in the little village, I had enormous snails which would cluster together in corners of the branches of shrubs and trees in my back garden, often high enough to be out of my reach. Perhaps they found it safer there from blackbirds and thrushes, who seem to look out for them on the ground.

 

[Proto]

You should try living here. They steal our rabbits. And small dogs. And children.
It was in the papers - don't tell me I'm making it up!!!

Actually, thinking about it ... I suppose the above IS an ecological niche, in a way ...

Kites becoming a bit of a problem in Thame, Oxon.. I think the problem may have started when a few people started leaving out scraps for them in suburban gardens, when kites were re-introduced, and kept on doing it. I've often seen as many as twenty circling and diving down into garden only 150m from our old house.

Now the kites have taken to snatching the sandwiches and snacks of schoolchildren as they wander about the the school playground*. Must be a bit scary, they are seriously big birds, big beaks and big talons, and there's lots of 'em.

I now live near Lyme Regis and whilst I've seen kites only a few miles away - Chard, Crewkerne, Honiton - I've not seen one here. Just a matter of time, I guess. We do, however, have plenty of buzzards, which I'm sure have become much more common in recent years.

*same problem in Lyme but gulls not kites. Be very protective of your fish and chips or a gull will swoop and it's gone. Gulls are nasty bastards.

 

[Gillstay]

*same problem in Lyme but gulls not kites. Be very protective of your fish and chips or a gull will swoop and it's gone. Gulls are nasty bastards.

They probably think the same of us as we have eaten all their food ! One took my ice cream in Lyme. Moment I looked away from it.

 

[biggs682]

I have noticed this one visiting hog seems to have less prickles on the right side (looking at) of his face so going to name it Bobby , it also has a light patch on it's right rear

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Sparrowhawk in my Scots Pine today. Lovely male. I didn't find my camera quickly enough to get a pic.

Back again today. This time I snapped him on my deceased Larch. I was about to take another pic but he launched himself at a passing possible lunch but missed.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

This was taken about a month ago. Mint Moth on a garden plant in the mint family. Quite a small day flying moth

 

[Andy in Germany]

An absolute shedload of dragonflies on today's ride.

Also expelled a hornet from the kitchen before Beautiful Wife encountered it.

 

[Poacher]

Back again today. This time I snapped him on my deceased Larch. I was about to take another pic but he launched himself at a passing possible lunch but missed.

View attachment 658769

Her. Males have reddish barring on the chest and belly. Superb pic of a very fierce looking bird!

 

[Poacher]

This was taken about a month ago. Mint Moth on a garden plant in the mint family. Quite a small day flying moth

Thanks for putting a name to it. I've seen these quite often, mainly on the mint plants. Now I know why!

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Her. Males have reddish barring on the chest and belly. Superb pic of a very fierce looking bird!

Ooops. Correct on the sexing. For some reason I thought the top half was blue grey as per male. I now look properly and see that I was wrong. Deffo a her. I didn't have time for that pic . Pointed and clicked and she was off. It was a grabbed thing with no framing etc attempted and no editing after. These little cameras are so excellent. Auto focus and stuff. Quite chuffed with the result.

 

[Dave 123]

There have been hummingbird hawk moths all over recently. I never seem to have my camera when they’re around.
I was up at 6 this morning. There were 2 in the garden. It took a lot of editing to brighten up the pictures. They were back an hour later, but it was still fairly dull. Hopefully I will catch them in the sunshine and I can get the shutter speed to 1/8000 of a second.