Observations Of Nature Through The Seasons.

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The seal sanctuary at Gweek

The old fella

Going down

Youngster

Edited March 28, 2019 by knocker

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First Moorhen chicks of the year at the country park.

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Those chicks must have been early as a couple were nest building this morning. At least I assume that's what they were doing

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The Moorhen and the Terrapin

 

[ciel]

Spent a chilly hour or so at Balgavies late this afternoon, but nice to see the Ospreys back and in usual form – a couple of distant (blurry) pics, and the reds:

Female Osprey calling on the nest 

The male deciding to be selfish and scoff his fish elsewhere 

 

Paws for thought 

Where's there's a will 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2019 by ciel

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The magnificent swan

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Herons cavorting at the Hayle nature reserve

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Mudlark

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Wee Moorhen chicks this morning. Note the feet

[Methuselah]

Just spent my first ever day working on a farm: and what a pleasure it is to be able to talk to animals, instead of human-beings! I guess that's autism for you!

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I always find this little fella tricky when trying to get a decent photo. Apart from the size they are always on the move. But I have found that they can fairly often be found in the open in one area of the lake where there is a lot of detritus

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A Glossy Ibis ha been seen recently at Marazion and yesterday at Godrevy. Not very likely but it would be great if it popped into the lake for a visit

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A song for Easter? And feeding the bairns

Edited April 22, 2019 by knocker

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An interesting article in May's Geographical magazine.

The return of the pine marten to UK forests has been celebrated as a win for the red squirrel, but some scientists advise caution

Humans love a story of heroes and villains and can be all too quick to apply the labels to nature. Red squirrels - good. Grey squirrels - bad.  But pine martens? That’s not so clear.

Following an absence of nearly a century, the pine marten, a small, chestnut-brown carnivore once almost hunted to extinction in the UK in a bid to protect game birds and poultry, is now returning through a series of planned releases. From 2015 to 2017, 51 martens were released in Wales with two more releases planned for 2019 - the first, a translocation of wild pine martens to the Forest of Dean, due to take place in the Autumn; the second, a smaller release of captive-bred martens in north Wales.  For a decent chance of success a release of around 25 pine martens is generally considered necessary.

The animals have been celebrated in the media as a natural way to control grey squirrel populations which, ever since their arrival from North America in 1876, have led to regional extinctions of the native red squirrel. This optimism stems from research carried out in Ireland and Scotland which found that the more pine martens researchers recorded in a woodland, the more likely they were to find red squirrels and the less likely to find grey squirrels.

However, while the research is compelling, Craig Shuttleworth, an honorary visiting research fellow at Bangor University, who is involved in the second proposed release, cautions against an unguarded approach. ‘We should be careful that just because we see a set of results or associations in one ecological circumstance, it doesn’t mean to say that we’ll find that everywhere. Ecology is complicated and systems are quite dynamic. I’m acutely aware that the borders of Scotland and Ireland are very different from the south of England:

He adds that pine martens are known to eat red squirrels and that it is too simplistic to say that they simply prefer to eat greys. He is also dismissive of the theory that, being smaller, red squirrels can escape to the ends of thin branches.  One of Shuttleworth’s main concerns is that simplistic reporting will encourage enthusiasts to reintroduce pine martens without proper thought.  ‘Under-the-radar dumping of animals almost certainly takes place; he says.  ‘That’s not something we would support in any way. It breaks all the guidelines and there are disease implications:

Though an advocate for the marten and its role as a grey squirrel predator, he is wary of the tendency to pick heroes so easily. ‘Lay advocates will just say pine martens are going to be the saviour and ask why we are denying it. They’re not prepared to look at the potential complexities and barriers

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Guess who came a calling this morning?..............Sidney!

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Keeping an eye on the little fellas having a rest on the knoll

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And the little fellas a tad earlier

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Lolling around in spring sunshine: 

 

A Shelduck - on a mission: 

Edited May 3, 2019 by ciel

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Ablutions

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Young Heron at Copperhouse Creek this morning

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[ciel]

Very relieved to see this late-returning Barn Swallow investigating the barn this morning - still just the one though.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/swallow/population-trends/

[jtay]

Salisbury Cathedral's Peregrine Web Cam is back up, now the chicks are hatching.

https://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/visit-what-see/peregrine-falcons-0

It's great watching and listening to them screeching from ground level too, when we pop into town.

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The little fellas still okay as of yesterday

Cue Tom Jones

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Although the were no cygnets again this year all of the large brood of Mallards appear to have survived intact which is a tad unusual