Re: Wildlife you have seen 2015.

That's interesting Nom we have 3 larger birds have been here about 5 years when they arrived they were browny colour and we wondered what they were but the following year they had a clear red topped head and green plumage so we were hoping the new birds might be offspring. What ever they are I hope they thrive that old tree supports several types of bird and the squirrels too. Love watching it.

Re: Wildlife you have seen 2015.

Lucky you, these are Green Woodpeckers, the young are indeed Brown, almost Thrush like, so a great garden visitor indeed. Cant say im not a tad jealous very shy birds around my way.

Re: Wildlife you have seen 2015.

Yes they are very shy they spook very easily, I watch them from the living room window which being an flat on the first floor puts me on a level with them in the tree, very fascinating to watch but they are off at slightest noise or movement.

Only thing shyer is our Bertie the bat, he comes out in the evening flying around the flats just missing open windows is absolutely breath taking to watch. We call him Bertie but he may be a girl we have no idea and not even sure he is the same bat each time, he has been flying around since 1990 so he would be an old bat by now I think. I am not sure how long they live.

Re: Wildlife you have seen 2015.

Yesterday started fine so i decided to visit a couple of places locally, First stop was the Rising Sun Countryside centre, or Swallow Pond as we birders have called it.

Established on a former colliery site with reclaimed land it is popular with locals as it has easy walking on miles of flat paths with pools woodland and open country.

Typically quiet at this time of year so just the usual woodland birds and wildfowl on the lake, however a sighting of Stan the Stag was nice. Stan is a Red Deer that turned up about 9 years ago, a magnificent wild animal that has become fairly tolerant of humans, he did look a bit less impressive as he is without his antlers at the moment.

Heres a photo i took in the summer a couple of years back.



On down to the coast for a wander, but the weather changed rapidly and the temperature dropped suddenly so the pain in my hands curtailed my visit. Still managed a few conversations with friends and visitors, including a lovely couple from Boston who shared my interest in birds and wildlife, and were suprised that we get a few American species turning up over here.

20 Snipe on the wetland, and sadly a lone injured Pink-footed goose on the rocks.

Snipe.

Re: Wildlife you have seen 2015.

Stags, complete with full antlers are indeed a stunning sight. The power and majesty they exude is remarkable. I would have felt very privileged to have seen him, Nom.

There are a lot where my friend lives in the highlands. She sent me a photo last year of the huge amount of damage done to her car when a large stag ran right in front of her. She was lucky she didn't end up in hospital.

I buy the antler 'chews' for my dogs. I HOPE it's the truth that they are collected from dropped antlers, and that the stags are not killed just for that?

Re: Wildlife you have seen 2015.

Lovely pictures our deer are much smaller I think they are called Muntjac, we also on our walks on the common see Roe deer also quite small.

Re: Wildlife you have seen 2015.

We don't get Red Deer down this way - only Roe Deer and they're virtually a pest, doing considerable damage to young trees and crops.

Antlers are dropped and you can buy them in loads of tourist shops. I believe that naturally dropped antlers are used for the doggie chews.

The Red deer however are managed to control numbers by shooting, mainly of old or injured animals. They are certainly not shot purely for the antlers. The venison is sold in butchers, game dealers and market stalls. It's a very healthy meat, low in fat and often cheaper than beef.

Re: Wildlife you have seen 2015.

That may be true here I do worry about what comes in from china and don't buy any chews etc from there.

Re: Wildlife you have seen 2015.

Yes Mups big animals and i would not like to get in ones way, Stan hangs around with horses, im sure he thinks he is one.

Im surprised that you dont have Reds your way GW, just assumed they were common in Scotland, Roe Deer are common in Northumberland.

Julie ive only seen Muntjac once in Sussex, quite surprised how small they were

Re: Wildlife you have seen 2015.

Yes they are tiny I believe they are escapees from a private collector in chobham, same people started the colony of wallabies we often see on the common.