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Getting close to wildlife - literally


Guest 34008Padstow
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It's now time to start looking at the fan-trained nectarine tree on the south wall of our house for the first buds, and maybe throw a piece of fleece over the younger tenderer branches if the blossom opens too quickly and there is a hard frost warning.

 

Whilst doing so today, I spotted Eddy Lizard, who was obliging enough for me to let me take my camera out of my pocket. P'raps he/she is a bit of a poser, because they normally disappear in an instant.....

 

 

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Close up of head

 

 

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Doug 

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Not close exactly, about two hundred feet up this one.  I was in Chichester on Tuesday morning photographing the buses in West Street when in addition to the Archbishop of Canterbury arriving(!) the cathedral's regular season visitors, a pair of pereguine falcons made one of their first appearances of the year:

 

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This little fella was outside my place just now looking far from happy.  In fact since some local farmer set up a bird scaring gun in the fields over the back of my place, he is the first garden bird (except several fat pigeons who have taken no notice whatsoever of the gun that was supposed to be scaring them off) I have seen in almost three months.

 

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Out walking yesterday our progress along the riverside path was blocked by this fine Greylag.

 

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Something in it's genes must have told it we were Gaullish malcontents, as we were treated to a fine display of raucous honking and wing flapping.

 

Having no Anser to this we executed a flanking maneouvre.

 

Honour having been satisfied, the Greylag was then happy to pose for photographs.

Edited by cary hill
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Waiting just north of Corfe Castle on the Tornado rail tour yesterday (that didn't have Tornado as some twerp at Network Rail decided to impose a steam ban at about half eleven the previous night!) there were a fair few butterflies fluttering about.  The speckled white with black bits ones kept moving but I did managed to take this:

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This chap[pess] Bombylius major is the ultimate jump-jet! Perfectly adapted for long tubular flowers you know when they are around 'cos they make a Greek yob's moped sound like a Rolls-Royce, and when two have a hissy-fit over whose flower it is they are quite loud. Also known as a Beefly.

 

Sadly they predate on Solitary Bees by flying over their nests and dropping eggs nearby which quickly hatch, find the bee-burrows and start to slowly but surely eat the bee-larvae.

 

Taken last week in the wild flower bit of the garden.

 

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Doug

Edited by Chubber
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and on the floral side, got quite excited this year when in addition to our normal pale mauve bee-orchid [top], we found a white one nearby, which I can't find in my books...

 

 

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Not quite sure why the lower one is shown sideways, it didn't leave here like that...

 

 

Doug

Edited by Chubber
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Just moved into a new house and we seemed to have inherited something of a menagerie:

 

Two hedgehogs visit every evening at around the same time:

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We also have this scruffy female blackbird who is very tame and often walks into my shed whilst I am working:

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And finally every morning this stern little fellow is waiting on the back doorstep for his breakfast and giving us hard stares through the window:

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Went to the Severn Valley yesterday - usual excellent day out

 

Butterfly population up the valley seemed excellent - hundreds of conspicuous large whites but also peacocks and red admirals - and unless I am very much mistaken silver washed fritillaries on the buddlias outside the engine house at Highley. They wouldn't keep still long enough for a photo so can anyone else confirm please?

 

Also a very noisy green woodpecker yaffling outside the house at 07.30 this morning....

 

Phil

 

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