The Hide (chat thread)

ppink

house sparrow has started popping in through my velux into my bathroom. OH woke up the other day to a singathon going on from on top of my mirror/cabinet:D

littlebug

Hailstones :eek: small ones but definitely hailstones!

johngalway

littlebug wrote: »

Hailstones :eek: small ones but definitely hailstones!

There was a shower of hailstones here last night.

Mothman

An update on my swans...a relative disaster.
6 cygnets hatched last week and there are only 2 left:eek:

Nothing like this has ever happened before. One issue is that they are not nesting on an island like last year and with the lack of rain the past 3 months, their nest is in shallow water. This would allow fox easy access. They were very late nesting this year which hasn't helped.

I also wonder are there mink...because chicks of Mallard & Moorhen are not lasting long...
I have just put out a mink trap.

I feel the Swans are looking to get out of here quick. The male left today, I assume to scout out the route to walk out. They usually leave first week of June, but usually with cygnets much older.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Sounds like Mink problems.

Mothman

Mothman wrote: »

I feel the Swans are looking to get out of here quick. The male left today, I assume to scout out the route to walk out. They usually leave first week of June, but usually with cygnets much older.

They left this morning with their 2 cygnets. They got to same pond as last year, although via different route and thanks to neighbours cutting a hole in sheep wire (they were really snookered otherwise) to allow them them continue the journey. The cygnets despite their youth seemed well able for the journey.

littlebug

Mothman wrote: »

They left this morning with their 2 cygnets. They got to same pond as last year, although via different route and thanks to neighbours cutting a hole in sheep wire (they were really snookered otherwise) to allow them them continue the journey. The cygnets despite their youth seemed well able for the journey.

I hope they make it
Nothing in the mink trap?

whyulittle

Good weather due Thursday/Friday.

Make the most of it, god knows how long it'll last!

stupidusername

I was in stephens green today, I for some reason managed to get really close to loads of birds. there was a thrush only feet away, then there was a male chaffinch mating with a female in the tree right above me, and she flew down to the pond beside me, she was only like 4 feet away from me.

but then, I walked over near a water feature, and noticed a robin standing on the side, she flew off, and then i noticed another in the water, thought he was taking a bath, but then i noticed he was just flapping about. I went over trying to get him out of the water, but fluttered off towards the centre, where he could get out of the water. so i figured he's a baby, and can't fly.

waited ages, trying to figure out what to do. then a young guy came along and started throwing water at him, but this got him to leave the safety of his little area, got back into the water and i managed to grab a hold of him. i checked for any wounds, but he seemed ok, and put him into the middle of a bush, he started twittering a little, and it seemed to get more distanced so i think he was ok.

lots of gay mallard sex going on in the park too :pac:

after talking to bagmagnet about this a little, I'm not sure what the little guy was. he looked like this:

littlebug

I came across a hen with what I assumed was a mouse in it's gob because of the squealing it was doing. I got closer and the hen dropped it's catch.. a frog! I never knew frogs could squeal like that :eek:

Mothman

You know you can make men squeal like that if you grab them by the.....:o

And hens do seem to adore frogs :eek:

littlebug

Mothman I'll eh... take your word for it :eek:

stupidusername

Saw the heron in the basin catching a fish

littlebug

I just counted 76 apples on my little mini apple tree. It was a fathers day present for my husband 4 or 5 years ago. The most we've ever had on it before is maybe 20 apples... one year there were only a handful. I wonder what was different this year that worked in its favour when I lost so much other stuff in the garden through the winter...

trebor28

littlebug wrote: »

I just counted 76 apples on my little mini apple tree. It was a fathers day present for my husband 4 or 5 years ago. The most we've ever had on it before is maybe 20 apples... one year there were only a handful. I wonder what was different this year that worked in its favour when I lost so much other stuff in the garden through the winter...

im no expert on apple trees but we have a big one outside.

obviously if ye only bought it small and it grows more will come on it every year.

in this instance though i'd say its got to do with the good pril we had this year coinciding with the bloom on the apple tree.
it must have gotten well polinated during that time and that is why you have so many.

only problem is, or possible problem is that because there is so many all growing together, they all wont have room so will stay small, especially if the weather doesnt improve.

old wives tales will tell you that if there is lots of fruit on the trees that it will be a bad winter.
imo its just that the weather was good around the time the tree bloomed.

littlebug

It's a miniature tree so it won't get any taller but will continue to fill out I suppose. It just seems like a particularly big jump this year!

Yes I suppose the good weather in April would explain it. Would you believe I'd forgotten about that :eek::o now that I'm back to normal ie moaning about the weather

trebor28

i have several song thrushes in the vicinity all singing thheir hearts out till almost 11 every night.

bogtreader

I thought some people might interested in this they have a blog some
of the events that have happened i think is extraordinary
www.littleternconservation.blogspot.com

bogtreader

littlebug wrote: »

I just counted 76 apples on my little mini apple tree. It was a fathers day present for my husband 4 or 5 years ago. The most we've ever had on it before is maybe 20 apples
I went and counted the apples on our miniature apple trees this evening
we have 63 on one and 74 on the other so littlebug you are still in the
lead with your crop

ppink

trebor28 wrote: »

i have several song thrushes in the vicinity all singing thheir hearts out till almost 11 every night.

so do I and it is just fantastic:D
it was like listening to the rte concert orchestra out there last night:p

What I find amazing is that they have so many different calls. one of them sits on the tv aeriel and the others then in the trees. he is on the aeriel every single night!

whyulittle

Ouch!

Mothman

I had silhouette left by what I assumed was a pigeon, almost as clear as that owl.

Speaking of which, saw Long-eared again this evening...see picture thread.

Mothman

So where did you go on your holidays and what did you see?

I spent my holidays at home and thoroughly enjoyed it

stupidusername

I haven't gone anywhere yet.taking a short break to scotland in september,wonder what i'll see there

littlebug

Spent some time at my usual (Aran) island hideaway. I saw curlew:), oystercatchers, and lots of other shorebirds that I couldn't identify on spec (and photos were dreadful:(), lots of seals, unidentified dragonflies and lots of bees:) . Hopefully I'll have another weekend there soon without the mutt messing up my photo ops.

Mothman

stupidusername wrote: »

I haven't gone anywhere yet.taking a short break to scotland in september,wonder what i'll see there

Haggis's, caber's and kilts

stupidusername

Kilts I can deal with!

Mothman

stupidusername wrote: »

Kilts I can deal with!

littlebug

Weather is weird. I walked no more than half a mile this evening, can still see my house for most of that half mile, was stopped talking for a few minutes and there was a little rain on the way back...I'd call it just a little more than drizzle but nothing to write home about. Back home I was asked where I'd sheltered Torrential downpour back at the house it seems.... nicely dodged!

littlebug

With kids in tow all summer I've had hardly a chance to do any decent bird (etc) watching. Back to school tomorrow so I think we can probably expect a barrage of bad photographs from me again soon