The Hide (chat thread)

Pie Man

Can any one tell me if this is Early Dog Violet or Common Dog Violet.
Thanks.


geo plotter

New Home

Have you any pictures of the leaves? They may help.

New Home

Also, pictures of the front of the flower would help, thanks.

Pie Man

I think this is the same plant, will check tomorrow.





This one I'm almost certain is Common Dog Violet, the leaves do look different.

This is Common Dog-violet, Viola riviniana. The easiest distinction with Early Dog Violet V. reichenbachiana is the spur (the backward facing projection behind petals) being light/white coloured. In V. reichenbachiana it is purple.

Early is a lot less often see, tends to stick with more basic soil. And doesn't pop up noticeably earlier!

Pie Man

Deleted User wrote: »

the spur (the backward facing projection behind petals) being light/white coloured. In V. reichenbachiana it is purple.

This is what's confusing me with the one in the first picture, because there's a hint of purple in the spur. The pictures I've seen of Early V has the spur the same shade of purple as the flower, is this all ways the case?

Pie Man

Pie Man wrote: »

This is what confusing me with the one in the first picture, because there a hint of purple in the spur. The pictures I've seen of Early V has the spur the same shade of purple as the flower, is this all ways the case?

Yes, the same or even darker. Common DV spur also has a little notch at the tip.

magicbastarder

https://www.irishhedgehogsurvey.com/

magicbastarder

https://twitter.com/BirdWatchIE/status/1384521155697123329

fryup

i've asked this in gardening,

QUESTION: do birds build nests in laurel hedging??

New Home

Yes.

Can't say I have seen any, I have cleared large areas of invasive laurel and it is just barren; unlike Rhodo for example. The general super toxicity of the plant must have some effect. But am willing to accept dense hedging will have nests.

I utterly loathe the thing though.

fryup

what did i kill?

found this teeny weeny critter in my bed sheets



a flea? bed bug? dust mite? something else?

New Home

A squished flea, I'd say. Definitely not a dust mite.

fryup

if there's one flea...does that mean more??

fiacha

Highs and lows here today. Despite a score of 1/5 for nest location, the Blackbirds outside the kitchen window have been feeding chicks in the nest for the last week. I had expected her to have abandoned the nest due to all the traffic in and out of that area. I came down this morning and first thing I see is nest material hanging out of the Pyracantha. The nest is empty and there is a clump of fox hair on the thorns. Looks like the fox climbed up the trellis and went in from there. Despite them breeding in neighboring gardens for years, it's the first signs of one in my back garden. I checked the CCTV and sure enough there is a young fox having a good explore. They also left me a turd on the patio

Alun

Our blue tit seems to have abandoned her nest building unfortunately. It was very near completion, but last sighting of her on the nestbox camera was around 10am on Saturday. There's been a large cat hanging around in the bushes below the nestbox for a few days now, and a pair of blackbirds nesting in the ivy on next door's back wall have been going crazy as only blackbirds know how. Maybe it's all the commotion that's put them off, I don't know.

Hoof Hearted2

Deleted User wrote: »

Can't say I have seen any, I have cleared large areas of invasive laurel and it is just barren; unlike Rhodo for example. The general super toxicity of the plant must have some effect. But am willing to accept dense hedging will have nests.

I utterly loathe the thing though.

Unusual visceral reaction towards another living entity, you do know it's just a plant.

fryup

what made this hole in the corner of my garden (please don't say rat)

Eddie B

fryup wrote: »

what made this hole in the corner of my garden (please don't say rat)

Need something beside it for scale. Coin, phone, lighter, etc

New Home

Probably, though. Or rabbit, but I don't think so.

Keplar240B

I saw something in the woods crossing a path, something in its mouth like a mouse.

Think it was a pine martin , never saw one before.

two foot long (long tale) skinny, short legs , black or dark brown.

Can a stoat be black or dark brown ?
Do minks live away from water , this woods is nowhere near a river or lake.

Eddie B

Keplar240B wrote: »

I saw something in the woods crossing a path, something in its mouth like a mouse.

Think it was a pine martin , never saw one before.

two foot long (long tale) skinny, short legs , black or dark brown.

Can a stoat be black or dark brown ?
Do minks live away from water , this woods is nowhere near a river or lake.

A stoat is very small. Close to rat size. Mink can be found in woods, but seldom. I'd say it more than likely was a marten. They are becoming more and more a common site in some parts these days.

fiacha

fryup wrote: »

what made this hole in the corner of my garden (please don't say rat)

Get some fine sand and make a bed of it covering the area in front of the hole. With a bit of luck you will get some decent prints as they pass through. Will be easy enough to identify from the prints.

fryup

i did put a sheet of white A4 paper in front of it, nothing that i can make out so far

New Home

You need to put down something that will retain the prints, A4 paper if the paws are dry/clean won't retain any marks.

Bsal

I noticed a sick looking female Greenfinch in the garden today and was able to pick her up, on closer inspection I saw a tick on its neck, I tried to remove the tick with a tweezers and it was very difficult to remove, really latched on, eventually I got it off but the Greenfinch sadly died shortly after.

In other news a couple of fledgling house sparrows have arrived in the garden today.

Well done on your efforts, I know they are natural but ticks are cruel things.

I had a House Sparrow fledgling practising his flying yesterday in the garden, whirring around like a bluebottle.

appledrop

Great to see the baby sparrows in the garden.

They are so cute when they do their little shake to let parents know they want to be feed!

pottokblue

This has probably already been recommend, yesterday I loved "Dancing with Birds" a 45 min doc on netflix showing birds of paradise in papua and panama and the mating dances voiced by Stephen Fry

and not to do with Nature but contemporary Art, SkyLadder was also a great watch.