Birds and fluffy beasties seen today!

[Jayb]

It's a lovely sunny day but even better was to watch a Red Kite hunting overhead, so lovely to watch 
While I was standing watching the Kite a swallow flashed by, first of the season for me and must mean summer is on the way!

[Jayb]

[goodlife]

Oh its been wildlife full day for me too.. I truly feel like spring is here 

This morning at work I spotted perfect 'Easter postcard' scene. Amongst pile of logs that was dropped on middle of daffodil bulb mountain...now in full bloom, like sea of daffs, there was teeny little bunny rabbit sitting and munching blade of grass..still half of it sticking out of  its mouth....AWWWW...and not only that....there was female, hen pheasant standing foot away from the rabbit. Obviously looking at the rabbit and what it was doing. Two wild creatures standing against bright yellow backround..
Kept me smiling all day...

[Jayb]

What a beautiful sight for you, nothing like seeing a little of Mother Nature at her finest   

[Poppy Mole]

Heard my first cuckoo of the year today. Had to eject a large bumble bee from my study & a little shrew (unharmed!) that the cat had brought in to play with. 

[gazza1960]

Yep the last few days in our new home in Dorset have seen some delightful signs of spring.

Jude and I have never seen A Bullfinch let alone the pair so it was great to see them feeding on the seed feeder not 10 feet from us,her mocha browns are complemented by his stunning red Blaise of a chest.....then if that wasn't good enough we have a breeding pair of Nuthatches nesting in our birch tree bird box that was fitted by the previous owner.
The morning chorus wakes us and once the air in the forest over the back fense fills the trees the Buzzards are up and circling over our garden the Hen bird with her creamy under wing feathers calls her mate who is also busy avoiding the crackle of the rooks as they harass him overhead.
We have two Robins who are resident that seem to sit on the apple trees orchestrating the dunnocks
On the floor and the jenny wren who pops in and out of the pot plants looking for breakfast while the tits argue over the fat balls and a first for us both was seeing a lesser spotted woodpecker also munching on the fat balls before flitting off to the birch trees for some tap ,,,tap,,,tap,,,!

Lovely moments from our new spring garden.

Gazza

[Digeroo]

The first time I started seeing red kites I thought how lovely.

But they have scared off the kestrals who keep down the vole population and they take small birds constantly.  No buzzards now either.  Though they do seem to reduce the pigeons.  Personally I would like to shoot all red kites on sight, we were much better without them.  Hopefully someone will notice that there are hardly any other birds left.   At the moment they are blaming it on the weather.

I did however watch a chaffinch sitting on stem from a has-been sunflower which was waving about in the wind and marvelled at its ability to balance.  It will not be long before it gets eaten as well.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I've yet to see a red kite over Birmingham, but buzzards are now common. There was a fox in the lane today, but he was off too fast to get a pic. I didn't see so many butterflies today, but last week I saw Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Brimstone and Orange Tip.

[Paulines7]

The first time I started seeing red kites I thought how lovely.

But they have scared off the kestrals who keep down the vole population and they take small birds constantly.  No buzzards now either.  Though they do seem to reduce the pigeons.  Personally I would like to shoot all red kites on sight, we were much better without them.  Hopefully someone will notice that there are hardly any other birds left.   At the moment they are blaming it on the weather.

Red kites are a protected species and, quite rightly, should remain so.  You are wrong when you say that they "take small birds constantly".  Kites feed mainly on carrion.   The sparrowhawks' diet on the other hand is predominantly small birds and they also take nestlings.   

There is an article here about the decline in kestrel numbers. 

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jul/19/massive-decline-in-kestrel-numbers

[Digeroo]

I am sorry but I have never seen a red kite on carrion but day after day I watch them hoovering up the small birds.  I watch them do it. 

We had a lovely pair of kestrals until the kites arrived.   I use to watch them taking the voles. I saw the red kite take the kestrel.

We have lost 90% of our small birds since the red kites appeared.  They need shooting asap while there are still some small birds left which could spread back here.   

[Jayb]

We all have our own opinions on the merits of different wildlife, but suggesting breaking the law is not appropriate for A4A.  Red Kites are a protected species mainly because they were persecuted to near extinction by humans. I'm sorry you feel local birds are being preyed on in your area by Kites Digeroo. The loss of any of our wild birds is a sadness and to me that very much includes Red Kites and other feathered predators. Here the biggest problems seem to be Sparrow Hawks which regularly take birds from my garden, horrible to see but it happens.

[Jayb]

Not quite wildlife as I guess he belongs to someone, unless he has been abandoned.
But he is quite fluffy!

[goodlife]

Not quite wildlife as I guess he belongs to someone, unless he has been abandoned.
But he is quite fluffy!

Oh...I  animals...and he is loooovely...have you offered him a apple yet?...and then it keeps hanging around to see you again... ...like feeding a cat...

[Jayb]

Lol, no only carrot peelings and cabbage tops! I'll likely see him again as often ponies grazing by the bottom garden fence.
You would be in your element here, lots of beasties on the common as it has grazing rights and people use it for their cattle, sheep and ponies, sometimes goats and once I saw a donkey 
Quite a few year ago, I found a baby day old foal, that had been abandoned by it's mother. I found the ponies owner who said she had done it before and if I wanted I could keep the foal. So I did and raised her from a bottle, she was an absolute delight and I called her Bonnie. Sadly I couldn't keep her long term, but I did find her a good home with a family who had several young children.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Red kits will take small birds if they get a chance, but they aren't strong enough flyers to make them a regular item of diet. They take ground prey - worms, beetles, small vertebrates - and carrion in the main.

[goodlife]

Lol, no only carrot peelings and cabbage tops! I'll likely see him again as often ponies grazing by the bottom garden fence.
You would be in your element here, lots of beasties on the common as it has grazing rights and people use it for their cattle, sheep and ponies, sometimes goats and once I saw a donkey 
Quite a few year ago, I found a baby day old foal, that had been abandoned by it's mother. I found the ponies owner who said she had done it before and if I wanted I could keep the foal. So I did and raised her from a bottle, she was an absolute delight and I called her Bonnie. Sadly I couldn't keep her long term, but I did find her a good home with a family who had several young children.

Oh...sound lovely place to live. That's it!...be warned...I might turn up  with my cases and 'armed' with pockets full of carrots, apples, dandelion leaves etc.. 'Auntie Goodie' for animal rescue....! (trouble is I might like to rescue/feed creatures even if they don't need to... ....I'll do anything for a chance a little pet of fluffy 'coat')

[gazza1960]

Yer I agree.....let's shoot the red kites every chance we get......with a camera of course from every angle....well.....you didn't think I would want to see a beautiful creature shot any other way.

I do feel for any local animal population that kites will I've no doubt have an effect on as trying to establish itself it will feed on any and all things,Jude and I watched over 5 years of walking the children hills where the birds were re introduced their feeding habits were varied.

But having seen them up close in the bird sanctuary where injured birds get help was a pleasure as this stunning looking creature is a wonder of the animal kingdom and deserves it's place
In our country,......now the Otter on the other hand.....!!!!

Gazza

[RenewableCandy]

That Lindt rabbit is evil

That is all.