Red deer from Saturday's WRT.



Also saw a Little Owl, which was nice (but flew away before I could wave a camera at it).

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-eur ... brown-bear

Canny dad backing off and keeping his boy between him and the bear (Actually seemed very calm as they retreated)

I saw this little Bambi with it's mum cross the road the other night at work, very cute and quite wobbly. The day before this I saw another Roe Deer with two young which weren't quite as small as this one. It's the time of year when we tend to see young animals, there's a semi-tame fox that we feed who looks as though she's nursing cubs at the moment although I haven't seen them yet.
VID_20200524_235743307 by Jurassic690, on Flickr

Two types of flying things today
-Azure Damselflies
-Southern Hawker Dragonfly

Been a really good week for me. I suppose not having a (fully built) road bike has kept me on the mtb for my RideEveryday personal challenge. Missed Friday unfortunately cos of work (at Maccynleth... needs must).

So, I think an Osprey or something similar as well as a kite (looked grey to me but hovered/looked like a kite) on Friday at mcknlth. Yesterday these beauties


Some calves


Some (I think) turkeys


Couple of buzzards (well thats what a local walking past told me) over Horbury. Beautiful they were and I only knew to stop n stare cos of how they were riding the currents and getting higher and higher into to sky. Probably one of the highlights of the week for me

Saw my first stoat on the ride yesterday, then a badger just as day was falling.

redefined_cycles wrote: ↑Sun May 31, 2020 12:47 pm cos of work (at Maccynleth... needs must). So, I think an Osprey

Blimey that's a fair way for a day. Bike commute? . Osprey presumably from Cors Dyfi? Lucky you being paid to go to BBB Central! Jealous.

A couple of weeks ago, early am on a local trail, 2 baby badgers. Size of a large rabbit. One of them gave me a cute but warning-sign growl like a little bear then they scampered off. I thought it was lovely that the woods were getting quiet enough for them to be out at 7am, my sister reckoned it was more likely that they were lost/confused after mum had been squashed on the road

One thing puzzling me yesterday, if someone knows more about these things? On Friday there was a jackdaw hopping around with it's wing held out a bit, I assumed it had flown into a window or got too close to a car. It couldn't fly. It went over to the hedge and took shelter there and I put a dish of water nearby that it drank while spending most of the day there. Later on it hopped up onto the 2ft wall between the garden and a lane so I went onto the lane to try to get it back into the garden rather than run over. It hopped off the wall, went into a glide then flew up into a tree So no broken wing, just something else.
Oddly though on yesterdays ride I saw 2 more of them in different places, hopping along the trail away from me but unable to fly away. Are they young birds with tired wings?

Self seeded Hemlock in the garden has reached 2.45 meters and just as I was there with a camera a Rose Chafer beetle turned up for a feed.
P1240748 (576x1024) by michaelwex10, on Flickr

P1240753 - Copy by michaelwex10, on Flickr

RIP wrote: ↑Sun May 31, 2020 1:07 pm

redefined_cycles wrote: ↑Sun May 31, 2020 12:47 pm cos of work (at Maccynleth... needs must). So, I think an Osprey

Blimey that's a fair way for a day. Bike commute? . Osprey presumably from Cors Dyfi? Lucky you being paid to go to BBB Central! Jealous.

Lol... yes was bloomin amazing (but no work for about 2 weeks so I felt I deserved a nice place to go work). The place pf work was in the shadow of the mountains too. even stopped to take a pic

jameso wrote: ↑Sun May 31, 2020 1:07 pm One thing puzzling me yesterday, if someone knows more about these things? On Friday there was a jackdaw hopping around with it's wing held out a bit, I assumed it had flown into a window or got too close to a car. It couldn't fly. It went over to the hedge and took shelter there and I put a dish of water nearby that it drank while spending most of the day there. Later on it hopped up onto the 2ft wall between the garden and a lane so I went onto the lane to try to get it back into the garden rather than run over. It hopped off the wall, went into a glide then flew up into a tree So no broken wing, just something else.
Oddly though on yesterdays ride I saw 2 more of them in different places, hopping along the trail away from me but unable to fly away. Are they young birds with tired wings?

A few years ago we were having trouble with slugs in the garden. My wife did the trick of putting some beer in an old dish near the plants The slugs are attracted to it, go in to soak it up, and die.

A couple of days later I was coming home from work and saw a crow wandering about on the road outside our house. As I approached it walked haphazardly away under a car, instead of just flying away.

Turns out, the slug dish was now empty. The crow had eaten the slugs and was now pissed. A couple of hours later it flew away no problem.

Are they young birds with tired wings?

Aye, quite possibly fledglings James. It won't take them long to develop full flying capability.

Ooh and while I'm here, I stood and watched the biggest fox I've ever seen, hunting in the field over the river from the house last night. Giving it some proper bouncing about he was.

Turns out, the slug dish was now empty. The crow had eaten the slugs and was now pissed. A couple of hours later it flew away no problem.

That's great...

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Sun May 31, 2020 3:47 pm

Are they young birds with tired wings?

Aye, quite possibly fledglings James. It won't take them long to develop full flying capability.

Saw 2 magpies like this today, perhaps it's that time when the parents turf them out and they just hang around for awhile.

Eagle
I saw him last year floating above upper Glendevon reservoir and couldn't believe it, then later that day he flew right by me. I quick bit of research indicated that there is a pair in the Ochills (Glen Eagles is nearby and aptly named although landowner persecution wiped them all out until this pair turned up.)

Anyway I was up above the res today on Shanks pony and saw it again - not bad for somewhere about 7 miles as the eagle soars from my front door

Whilst on the first test run of the (in dvlpmnt) NorthPeaks100 earlier this week, in order of appearance...

I saved this baby bird from the main road outside of Wessnden head with its parents screaming frantically trying to look for the silly beggar. Just chased the birdling (is that a word) back towards the fence/wores and into the moorland...

Then outran (I couldn't believe it myself and felt like Karl when he must've outran James Hayden on the HT550) this horse and rider on the uphill and asked if I could take a pic further up. She obviously wasnt trying or being extra humble or being careful on the little horse (maybe a pony or just a dwarf horse ), but because I'd gained permission earlier I took another pic once almost out of sight. The ground was rugged mind.

Then saw these beautiful little love with a yellow coat. Must've known she's/he's gorgeous as it didn't try to fly away when I crept up the banking trying to take some decent pics (did almost brake the leg when getting back down though)...

Then saw or heard various wildlife until I reached near home and there it happened. In the dark a tawny or barn owl, got startled by my light on the singletrsck towards the end of (as in at my end as the loop has no specific end/start) the loop. It was dark and hard to see but beautiful all the same and a few seconds after the owl had silently flown away the daft rabbit nearby realised it also needs to run off as there's a 'muzlamic'* coming...






Mum n dad had massive long beaks and in the moorland in below pic




Ain't she/he gorgeous.






If you look carefully behind that handmade shed, theres indeed a wild animal at work. Forgot the name of his building firm now but was well fascinated by the shed. Apologies for the cow too as I could not help myself (looked like it'd just been born very recently)

*what one of the vids of Tommy Robinsons youtube fridnds referred to my sort of HomoSapien couple years ago...

Soz.. forgot the horse and rider (with permission)

A visit from a hare this morning. I was stood on my workshop steps enjoying a brew early on and it appeared in the yard, mooched about for 30 seconds or so, then wondered back off up the drive. I've seen them on the mountains before but never this low down.

We've had a hare in the house - it was a hot day so we'd the back door open and it just wandered in and sat down about a metre into the house and had a look round then got up and lolloped off!

Shaf - those birds with long beaks are curlews. They are actually waders and spend most of the year on the sea shore and come inland to breed.

A reminder has just come up on my phone for BB300 entry, obviously they are not open yet due to the uncertainty of the situation. To cheer myself up I went to the kitchen to make a coffee. Just about to start grinding the beans when out the window I spot a stoat (or maybe a weasel) running round the garden. I don't recall ever seeing one on the Island before so that cheered me up

When out on a big ride/run and I'm flagging I will often see a squirrel or an owl or some other rare(ish) wildlife and think it's my late father coming to cheer me up/tell me to get on with it and stop being soft. He's clearly upped his game this morning

Saw my first fox pup, size of a slightly small domestig cat.
I scared it off the track I was riding on. It looked back at me, then up into the field, so I left thinking it's mum must be close. Saw both together minutes later from a distance.

Then, funnily, I've spotted two nothern goshawks just recently. We have loads of different kite and buzzards and some golden eagles and bearded vultures lf which I see more. Spotting the hawks was rather special.

Oh... and a red kite got really close last friday. Soaring in circles just a few meters away from me for many minutes.

Heard, and then saw, a couple of Lapwing in the fields near me. Flew over head from one field to another, seemed like a courting/mating ritual going on

Not seen them near me before, it's on a nice little track, was a pleasant few minutes just watching and listening

I have a lot of birds in my garden this year - robins, swallows, blue and great tits, a couple of nuthatch and even a woodpecker (seriously, we need to stop letting blokes name birds ...) but the best of all is the swarm of starlings that bomb in every morning to eat the meal worms I've left for them. I know they're considered a pest in many places but I love them. Honest nuggety social and gregarious things, so I'm feeding them till their kids have moved out.

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Sat Mar 10, 2018 9:57 am Superb Bob. I love Hares, it always brightens my day when I see one.

Are there many near you Stu?
I saw the first one locally to me just a few weeks ago and it wasn't on an open mountain as I always expected them to be.

Since lockdown I have started to enjoy birds more, spotting and listening to different breeds and birds of prey in particular.

Are there many near you Stu?

A few on the mountains Matt but I've not seen one this low down before.