Wildlife corner

I made a couple of bird feeding tables a while ago alongside a nesting box for Tits and one for Robins. We also have attracted a pair of Wood Pigeons which bully the small birds out of the way and and hog the seed.
So today I did this,
20210412_174515.jpg

It kept the Pigeons off and the small birds flocked in, until that was, the Pigeons worked out how to by-pass the wire. So, Mk.2.
20210412_191502.jpg

This had it thinking, for about 15 minutes before it worked out how to get to the food. Mk.3 will be made tomorrow.

View: https://youtu.be/fz709GurwZg


Tony.
 
t-tony said:
I made a couple of bird feeding tables a while ago alongside a nesting box for Tits and one for Robins. We also have attracted a pair of Wood Pigeons which bully the small birds out of the way and and hog the seed.
So today I did this,
View attachment 178273
It kept the Pigeons off and the small birds flocked in, until that was, the Pigeons worked out how to by-pass the wire. So, Mk.2.
View attachment 178275
This had it thinking, for about 15 minutes before it worked out how to get to the food. Mk.3 will be made tomorrow.

Video here soon.

Tony.
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Doesn't seem to matter how hard you try or how complex the arrangement, there is one greedy pigeon that seems to be able to find a way of contorting itself to evade the protection. Had the same on a hanging table too. Covered it in chicken wire that was inverted at the base - something like a sombrero that extended well beyond the dish itself. The small birds can still fly underneath but larger birds cannot nor can they land on it without it bending down and chucking them off. One bird however found that by hanging upside down and flapping its wings it could still reach round under the wire and steal the food. An avian squirrel. :mad:
 
Been threatened already Murray. Ha,ha. Certainly very inventive when it comes to food these Pigeons, more like Turkeys.

Tony.
 
Redline said:
A short video of a family of moorhens living on our local pond.

View: https://youtu.be/BGQOQkhDGlU
Click to expand...
Great stuff that must of taken some time we have a moorhen but she’s to shy to get a picture of and I’m not camouflaged and quiet enough.on another note out resident owl has just hatched I’ll try and get a pic but don’t disturb her a lot
 
miller1098 said:
Great stuff that must of taken some time we have a moorhen but she’s to shy to get a picture of and I’m not camouflaged and quiet enough.on another note out resident owl has just hatched I’ll try and get a pic but don’t disturb her a lot
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Could get within a few feet of these if you are stealthy. The nest though is some 50 feet from any viewpoint. We get a nesting pair most years. Just hoping the local fox can't get at them.

It took about an hour to get the video (which is far from perfect) but about 6 hours to process and edit the video and sound. The audio took a while due to wind noise, somebody using power tools and the odd plane flying over. Am slowly getting to grips with the workflow.

Doh - Just spotted a typo in the titles. Only matter to those seeing this locally on FB though.
 
We usually see a single Moorhen coming from the ditch which runs along the roadside as it crosses the field at our end of the lake. It seems to head for the overgrown hedge at the back of our garden.

Tony.
 
Redline said:
Could get within a few feet of these if you are stealthy. The nest though is some 50 feet from any viewpoint. We get a nesting pair most years. Just hoping the local fox can't get at them.

It took about an hour to get the video (which is far from perfect) but about 6 hours to process and edit the video and sound. The audio took a while due to wind noise, somebody using power tools and the odd plane flying over. Am slowly getting to grips with the workflow.

Doh - Just spotted a typo in the titles. Only matter to those seeing this locally on FB though.
Click to expand...
I can imagine the time it takes just for the short film,well done. I’ve an answer for the fox problem,it’s a thermal imaging spotter a night vision scope and a 22.250 ballistic, ive shot 2 this week from our bedroom window that were after our geese.They had three of our lambs last week.
 
miller1098 said:
I can imagine the time it takes just for the short film,well done. I’ve an answer for the fox problem,it’s a thermal imaging spotter a night vision scope and a 22.250 ballistic, ive shot 2 this week from our bedroom window that were after our geese.They had three of our lambs last week.
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They are indiscriminate and kill for fun. Thankfully we have little animal farms close by but some friends who have a rare breed farm were always losing stock. Very sad.
 
Redline said:
They are indiscriminate and kill for fun. Thankfully we have little animal farms close by but some friends who have a rare breed farm were always losing stock. Very sad.
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I find it hard to shoot a fox as they remind me of a dog and have to put it out of my head but left to breed indiscriminately it would be carnage for the local wildlife and livestock.
 
miller1098 said:
I find it hard to shoot a fox as they remind me of a dog and have to put it out of my head but left to breed indiscriminately it would be carnage for the local wildlife and livestock.
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They are lovely to see - I often see one late at night walking the dog, but most people don't see the carnage they bring.
 
miller1098 said:
I find it hard to shoot a fox as they remind me of a dog and have to put it out of my head but left to breed indiscriminately it would be carnage for the local wildlife and livestock.
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That's the country man's view of it Hugh. My brother used to milk a herd for a local old lady farmer years ago and at nearly finishing school age I used to go help. We got there one evening and poor old Gladys was in tears as a Fox had got into the hen house overnight and killed everything inside. Few "townies" would understand what was wrong, after all you just get chicken from the supermarket along with a other meats . . . .

Tony.
 
t-tony said:
That's the country man's view of it Hugh. My brother used to milk a herd for a local old lady farmer years ago and at nearly finishing school age I used to go help. We got there one evening and poor old Gladys was in tears as a Fox had got into the hen house overnight and killed everything inside. Few "townies" would understand what was wrong, after all you just get chicken from the supermarket along with a other meats . . . .

Tony.
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There’s space for everything in moderation. We definitely don’t want a fox in our hen house
 
My garden in Sunderland is bursting into life, I've started to see the local dolphin population feeding regularly and on today's beach walk I spent my time looking for terns, didn't spot any though.

My last 2 months have been spent on an oil rig in shetland, the daffs are just starting to sprout that far north and I must have passed around 5000 geese in the fields around sumburgh airport when i caught my flight home on Friday morning. I sat for an hr hoping to see the famous shetland orcas which have been feeding off sumburgh for this last week, no joy tho.

I do love a bit of nature.
 
Grudging respect . . . . . for a Wood Pigeon. Pigeon proofing work carried out on Saturday.
20210417_171047.webp
20210417_171058.webp

This worked, for one day, till just now.
View: https://youtu.be/9VHbT9szHio


I ain't done yet .:mad:

Tony.
 
On holiday in the McKenzie country, South Island, NewZealand. Staying in Tekapo. Been off doing some photography shoots. It's Autumn down here, so time for something a little different.

How about a few black swans.
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Another view of the lake
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And one of the night sky just to finish off the day. Maybe @Mint and @Mrs Mint will know this spot.
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