Page 7 of 27

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2020 8:52 pm
by slarge
So, up there in Shafs pics is a yellow bird. It's not a yellowhammer, and it doesn't look like a wagtail. What is it? Golden Oriole is extremely rare so I doubt it, but it's been bugging me for a few weeks.

I thought I knew a lot of birds but I don't recognise this one (and it's not a baby robin before any STWers come playing)

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2020 9:33 pm
by Jurassic
I saw three weasel kits play fighting in the road (a quiet back road) that I was cycling down the other day. When I first saw them I couldn't work out what I was looking at as they were all three curled up together wrestling each other, it was only when I got closer that they separated and ran off allowing me to figure out what they were. Very cute but very ferocious I imagine.

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2020 10:15 pm
by mattpage
slarge wrote: Wed Jul 01, 2020 8:52 pm So, up there in Shafs pics is a yellow bird. It's not a yellowhammer, and it doesn't look like a wagtail. What is it? Golden Oriole is extremely rare so I doubt it, but it's been bugging me for a few weeks.

I thought I knew a lot of birds but I don't recognise this one (and it's not a baby robin before any STWers come playing)
Grey or maybe yellow wagtail?

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2020 11:05 pm
by redefined_cycles
Image

Image

Image

Came across several of these (the siblings to this baby and mum) crossing the path quickly whilst we hurtled down some singleTrack. Me and young un quickly cane to a stop and investigated. Then his quick thinking (or sharp ears) noted they were in the undergrowth as they we noisy. Must've been mum telling em to shush it whilst we did a seek n search. Soon as we spotted 1 or 2, mum seemed to get annoyed and went hurtling down the ST then kept a keen eye on us from about 50m down-track.

This cute baby tried to stay as still as possible in the hope we'd leave it alone... anyone recognise?? Partridge maybe??

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2020 11:26 am
by benp1
mattpage wrote: Wed Jul 01, 2020 10:15 pm
slarge wrote: Wed Jul 01, 2020 8:52 pm So, up there in Shafs pics is a yellow bird. It's not a yellowhammer, and it doesn't look like a wagtail. What is it? Golden Oriole is extremely rare so I doubt it, but it's been bugging me for a few weeks.

I thought I knew a lot of birds but I don't recognise this one (and it's not a baby robin before any STWers come playing)
Grey or maybe yellow wagtail?
I'd guess wagtail as well but not 100% sure

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2020 11:41 am
by redefined_cycles
mattpage wrote: Wed Jul 01, 2020 10:15 pm
slarge wrote: Wed Jul 01, 2020 8:52 pm So, up there in Shafs pics is a yellow bird. It's not a yellowhammer, and it doesn't look like a wagtail. What is it? Golden Oriole is extremely rare so I doubt it, but it's been bugging me for a few weeks.

I thought I knew a lot of birds but I don't recognise this one (and it's not a baby robin before any STWers come playing)
Grey or maybe yellow wagtail?
Thats it... I'm gonna go get out my Birds book...

[After looking.. and looking]... I'm going with yellow wagtail (thanks for spotting) but the one in my book, sits/holds itself the same but isn't as brightly yellow coloured

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2020 1:09 pm
by Bearbonesnorm
Grey Wagtails can have quite a bit of yellow on them.

Image

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2020 2:31 pm
by Mike
:-bd stu hit it on the head. Its a grey wagtail on the fence in shaffs pic.lovely little birds always make me smile as they bob up and down. Abit like when you hear the skylark over head

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2020 10:53 pm
by redefined_cycles
redefined_cycles wrote: Wed Jul 01, 2020 11:05 pm Image

Image

Image

Came across several of these (the siblings to this baby and mum) crossing the path quickly whilst we hurtled down some singleTrack. Me and young un quickly cane to a stop and investigated. Then his quick thinking (or sharp ears) noted they were in the undergrowth as they we noisy. Must've been mum telling em to shush it whilst we did a seek n search. Soon as we spotted 1 or 2, mum seemed to get annoyed and went hurtling down the ST then kept a keen eye on us from about 50m down-track.

This cute baby tried to stay as still as possible in the hope we'd leave it alone... anyone recognise?? Partridge maybe??
Baby of a red legged partridge apparently as we jyst went through the Birds book and Harun is convinced the bird that ran away in a huff was it (RLP)... According to the mum (ie. his mum... my missus) it must've been the dad that ran off as the mum would never leave its young!

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2020 10:39 am
by JimmyG
Out on my MTB yesterday and as I rode along a twisty woodland trail I suddenly saw something reddish brown briefly flash across the track about 15 metres in front of me. As I rode on I could make out a small roe deer loping off into the undergrowth. Later, on my way home along a shared pedestrian/cycle path alongside the river, I stopped for a couple of minutes to let a bit of a human logjam disperse. This meant I was lucky enough to spot a kingfisher as it flew downstream and disappeared into a bush. Their electric blue and orange plumage is always a pleasure to see. Just a pity they fly so fast that most sightings are usually just brief glimpses. Finally, here’s a pic of some related wildlife art I spotted during a ride a few weeks ago. Not as good as the real thing, though! PS: The matching bike was pure coincidence but it amused me!

ImageUntitled by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2020 10:46 am
by RIP
Nice pic - reckon Giant's marketing dept would be interested in that. And if they really had their heads on they would design a new bike called...ohhh, I don't know.. how about the Giant Kingfisher. Yes that would work.

No, honestly, there's no charge.

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2020 10:59 am
by JimmyG
:grin: Thanks Reg. A great idea right enough... if only the bike wasn't three years old now :sad:

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2020 12:18 pm
by mattpage
Mike wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 2:31 pm :-bd stu hit it on the head. Its a grey wagtail on the fence in shaffs pic.lovely little birds always make me smile as they bob up and down. Abit like when you hear the skylark over head
Reading my book, the grey is far more common and as Stu's picture shows the grey has a big chunk of yellow.
Always nice to see something new and the fun then finding out what it is.

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2020 1:18 pm
by slarge
Last night I heard a squealing in the garden and a stoat had just disabled a young rabbit. The stoat took a couple of goes to kill it, and then slowly dragged it away to the hedge. Had to convince my other half it was a weasel as we've got chickens......

First stoat I have seen in years around here. Good to see (and bad in other ways!!)

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2020 10:19 am
by redefined_cycles
Image

Smaller than length/width of my little finger (I'm 5ft 10.5) and spotted outside/near the nature reserve at top of Maccynleth road climb..


But what sort of lizard is it!!

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2020 10:42 am
by UnderTheRadars
I’d say it’s a smooth newt

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2020 10:51 am
by slarge
Fantastic spot the other day. Was at my son's house in Coventry, and looked up to see a peregrine hanging in the wind above his house - I thought it was a buzzard (common round here) but the narrow tail was all wrong for a buzzard. As I watched it hang in the air it started to dive, tucked it's wings in and shot into a tree 25m away. Never seen one dive before, and they really do shift - not sure what he (it was blue/grey) caught, but he was there for a few minutes before flying away.

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2020 11:46 am
by redefined_cycles
UnderTheRadars wrote: Thu Aug 06, 2020 10:42 am I’d say it’s a smooth newt
Thanks for that

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2020 12:46 pm
by UnderTheRadars
redefined_cycles wrote: Thu Aug 06, 2020 11:46 am [quote=UnderTheRadars post_id=227950 time=<a href="tel:1596706924">1596706924</a> user_id=3652]
I’d say it’s a smooth newt
Thanks for that
[/quote]

👍🏻

It’s a bewt

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2020 12:57 pm
by redefined_cycles
The Welsh Newt...

Is a bewt..

Must say it's all down to Stu't

Hope you don't miss it on your commute

Please don't squash it with your size ten boot :wink:

(next line goes here)

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2020 6:05 pm
by RIP
Please don't squash it with your size ten boot :wink:

Good spot and pic that was Shaf! :-bd

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2020 6:55 pm
by redefined_cycles
RIP wrote: Thu Aug 06, 2020 6:05 pm Please don't squash it with your size ten boot :wink:

Good spot and pic that was Shaf! :-bd
Ta Reg... added :lol:

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2020 8:34 am
by whitestone
Just had a wren in the house. I thought the cat had brought it in but it seems it just flew in via one of the windows we've got open because of the heat. Bashed its head against the big window for a while until I managed to get the door open and it flew out to sit on the garden wall sorting out what had just happened.

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2020 8:49 pm
by frogatthefarriers
Look at this baby...

Image

I had a shake-down bivvy with my son (who's never been bikepacking before) and saw this elephant hawk moth caterpillar in Newborough Forest, Anglesey. We also saw a fat rat trundling across the car park and a few glow worms at bed time.

Re: Wildlife

Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2020 7:03 pm
by TheBrownDog
No photos, just memories, but we saw a family of dippers at the far end of the Four Waterfalls Walk at Ystradfellte last weekend. Never seen one before and suddenly there were four of them feeding in a pretty rapid stretch of the stream.