Animals on the road....

Hedgelayer

Where I live the roads are peppered with foxes, cats, badgers and brave pigeons.

And every time I nearly hit one I swerve to avoid the creatures, but when my sister travels with me, she gives me stick.
Telling me that its dangerous to swerve, put yourself first.

And low and behold this morning I swerve around a pigeon and nearly hit an oncoming car.

Im driving within the speed limits but my cars quite solid and high powered.

Any suggestions shout I create clouds of feathers and squish cratures or what.
Its having an effect on me, other people just plough on.

Every morning there's something dead whether its a fox, cat or fattened bird....

Seth Brundle

Drive around beeping your horn every three seconds

Bóthar.

Hedgelayer

Seth Brundle wrote: »

Drive around beeping your horn every three seconds

That's practical, but i don't think it'll work either.

Capt'n Midnight

Why did the hedgehog cross the road ?


To see his flatmate. :pac:





Next time you swerve head for the ditch. Don't put other people's lives at risk.

Or slow down. Or be the agent of evolution.

Galwayguy35

Straight stretch of road I avoid or slow down to give them time to move but around a turn if a pigeon is there it's too dangerous and unfortunately the headlights of a navy Golf is the last thing he sees.

Del2005

Hedgelayer wrote: »

Where I live the roads are peppered with foxes, cats, badgers and brave pigeons.

And every time I nearly hit one I swerve to avoid the creatures, but when my sister travels with me, she gives me stick.
Telling me that its dangerous to swerve, put yourself first.

And low and behold this morning I swerve around a pigeon and nearly hit an oncoming car.

Im driving within the speed limits but my cars quite solid and high powered.

Any suggestions shout I create clouds of feathers and squish cratures or what.
Its having an effect on me, other people just plough on.

Every morning there's something dead whether its a fox, cat or fattened bird....

Drive into animals and avoid people, all you can do for animals is try to slow down. The speed of the other vehicle is irrelevant if you are on the wrong side of the road.

Thelonious Monk

I saw a squirrel at Merrion Square this morning running around terrified in traffic nearly being crushed by vans. Hope the idiot made it back to the park ok.

dodderangler

Get some bull bars. It’ll kill them quicker. Just don’t hit the badgers. They’re gorgeous. And pretty hard to kill anyway.
But make sure you reverse over the cat after you first run him over. Make sure the horrible bâstard is dead.

dodderangler

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

I saw a squirrel at Merrion Square this morning running around terrified in traffic nearly being crushed by vans. Hope the idiot made it back to the park ok.

I hope it didn’t. It’s an invasive species. And shouldn’t be here in the first place.

Thelonious Monk

dodderangler wrote: »

I hope it didn’t. It’s an invasive species. And shouldn’t be here in the first place.

You come across as such a lovely calm man bursting with joy in all your posts.

Feisar

Don't swerve, you could plough into a beech tree. Always pick the softest recipient.

I came around a bend one time to see a car coming at me over taking a tractor. Options:

Walkers with bushy trees was an unknown
Take the hit with the car
Take the hit with a tractor
Attempt to ditch her the far side of the tractor

RMAOK

You didn't mention the flies or the midges that could get killed by your windscreen. Will you be able to avoid them op?

Noveight

Flatten the fockers.

They’d do the same to you!

bazz26

Shake your fist at them angrily.

Capt'n Midnight

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

Straight stretch of road I avoid or slow down to give them time to move but around a turn if a pigeon is there it's too dangerous and unfortunately the headlights of a navy Golf is the last thing he sees.

navy Golf ? I thought you sounded familiar

The captain of the Royal Navy's HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier has been removed from the ship amid claims he misused an MoD car.

Pherekydes

Is this what you mean:

uck51js9zml2yt

Had a pheasant run out in front of me last week....I missed dinner:(

Sonny noggs

dodderangler wrote: »

I hope it didn’t. It’s an invasive species. And shouldn’t be here in the first place.

More immigrants, coming here, taking our nuts!

whisky_galore

dodderangler wrote: »

I hope it didn’t. It’s an invasive species. And shouldn’t be here in the first place.

If it ain't Red, squish it dead.

Del2005

Alaric Square Candy wrote: »

Had a pheasant run out in front of me last week....I missed dinner:(

You can't take your own road kill. The next person along can.

dodderangler

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

You come across as such a lovely calm man bursting with joy in all your posts.

Ok so let’s allow non native grey squirrels to just stay here alive shall we. You do know they played a major part in the decimation of our native red squirrel? Or are you the type to just judge someone without knowing the background behind his post?

FishOnABike

dodderangler wrote: »

I hope it didn’t. It’s an invasive species. And shouldn’t be here in the first place.

Post didn't say whether it was a red or grey squirrel. Greys are a more recent introduction, reds, though reintroduced in the 1800s have a history here going back at least hundreds of years before that.

dodderangler

FishOnABike wrote: »

Post didn't say whether it was a red or grey squirrel. Greys are a more recent introduction, reds, though reintroduced in the 1800s have a history here going back at least hundreds of years before that.

There are no reds in merrion square!. Only grey squirrels hence why I said I hope it didn’t make it.
Mate I’m well aware of where reds are in Ireland. You’re giving me a history lesson that I am well aware of!

martinedwards

My driving instructor said never swerve for animals.

If it's mammy loved it, it wouldn't be out on the road on its own.

Lurching

Nearly rear ended a car that did an emergency stop in front of me yesterday - for a bloody grey squirrel.

Del2005

Lurching wrote: »

Nearly rear ended a car that did an emergency stop in front of me yesterday - for a bloody grey squirrel.

Good job you were following at a safe distance then. The OP nearly drove headon into another vehicle for a bloody animal.

Luckily for the other driver there was an animal for them to brake heavy, as brake testing is common these days.

The Tetrarch

You need this optional extra
https://i.imgur.com/btEStUx.jpg

fryup

i slowed down for a mouse/shrew the other day

oLoonatic

Write them a strongly worded note about road safety.

jam_mac_jam

Jesus, its not the squirrels fault.

Slow down, if dangerous to swerve, the animal should get out of the way. If you can swerve, then do so. Don't just kill an animal for the sake of it.

Your wife is cold. (but right as per rules of the road. )

topper75

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

You come across as such a lovely calm man bursting with joy in all your posts.

The joy of invasive species? Explain that please.

Thelonious Monk

topper75 wrote: »

The joy of invasive species? Explain that please.

Do you really think they're ever going anywhere and reds are coming back? Should we get rid of rabbits too, another invasive species? Or the armies of domestic cats decimating our bird population? Or the idiot pet dogs let run around with no leads who scared to death all the hares on bull island over the years? We've hardly any wildlife as is and it's disappearing rapidly.
Seeing a squirrel freaking out in smoky traffic and running under a moving Transit Van isn't something I enjoyed, that's all, I wasn't starting a debate on invasive species.

Seth Brundle

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

Do you really think they're ever going anywhere and reds are coming back? They've a different hairdo, so what.

The decline of one species will always impact other species.
As it turns out, there is a relationship between Red squirrels and Pine Martens - the increasing presence of PMs is resulting in a decline in grey Squirrels which allows the natural increase in the Red's population...

https://www.irelandswildlife.com/squirrel-pine-marten/
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/good-neighbours-how-pine-martens-are-helping-red-squirrels-survive-1.3822153

Thelonious Monk

Seth Brundle wrote: »

The decline of one species will always impact other species.
As it turns out, there is a relationship between Red squirrels and Pine Martens - the increasing presence of PMs is resulting in a decline in grey Squirrels which allows the natural increase in the Red's population..

https://www.irelandswildlife.com/squirrel-pine-marten/
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/good-neighbours-how-pine-martens-are-helping-red-squirrels-survive-1.3822153

I've never seen a pine marten in the wild but I had read their numbers are increasing alright

This is interesting, we're still doing ok compared to England RE reds. When I was a kid I remember you'd see them regularly in St Anne's Park in Dublin. It's all Longford's fault apparently.

dodderangler

Seth Brundle wrote: »

The decline of one species will always impact other species.
As it turns out, there is a relationship between Red squirrels and Pine Martens - the increasing presence of PMs is resulting in a decline in grey Squirrels which allows the natural increase in the Red's population...

https://www.irelandswildlife.com/squirrel-pine-marten/
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/good-neighbours-how-pine-martens-are-helping-red-squirrels-survive-1.3822153

I wa bout to reply the same. Reds have been seen on foothills of carrigtoohil. Pine martins increasing is also leading to a decline in other animals aswell such as grouse but the cats and foxes re more at fault with them declining. Even hunters don’t bother shooting them anymore because they’re in enough trouble so foxes are being targeted. I’ve taken my fair share of foxes over the years and they don’t seem to be in decline at all. More and more show up. Less and less animals about.
Also our buzzard has a taste for squirrel now aswell so they’re helping to rid ourselves of the greys. But it’ll be a long long time before we start seeing a decline of them. I seen my first this year outside my garden in a estate in Tallaght. No woods or forests nearby

SEPT 23 1989

they are throwing themselves into the road to escape all this hideousness

whisky_galore

A friend of mine from the UK couldn't get over the amount of roadkill here, esp carcasses of big things like foxes and badgers left to rot on the roadside.

Roger Hassenforder

dodderangler wrote: »

There are no reds in merrion square!. Only grey squirrels hence why I said I hope it didn’t make it.
Mate I’m well aware of where reds are in Ireland. You’re giving me a history lesson that I am well aware of!

*adds to database of Boards expertise
*files under squirrels

Capt'n Midnight

Roger Hassenforder wrote: »

*adds to database of Boards expertise
*files under squirrels

How about a squirrel database https://cybersquirrel1.com/ ?

FishOnABike

dodderangler wrote: »

There are no reds in merrion square!. Only grey squirrels hence why I said I hope it didn’t make it.
Mate I’m well aware of where reds are in Ireland. You’re giving me a history lesson that I am well aware of!

Fair enough, you're more familiar with Merrion Square than I am - I guess I should have known from the name 'dodderangler'.

cj maxx

Feisar wrote: »

Don't swerve, you could plough into a beech tree. Always pick the softest recipient.

I came around a bend one time to see a car coming at me over taking a tractor. Options:

Walkers with bushy trees was an unknown
Take the hit with the car
Take the hit with a tractor
Attempt to ditch her the far side of the tractor

What dio you do ?

pgj2015

i remember years ago a colleague of mine wrote off his dads brand new jeep, he said he swerved to avoid a hedgehog but the reality was he was very drunk at the time, the stupid idiot did the same thing a year later.

dodderangler

Funnily enough after my rugby match I dropped my mate home and car in front jammed on breaks to avoid a hedgehog. I stopped and got out and picked him up and put him 100 yards away from the road in a field.

Bob Harris

dodderangler wrote: »

Funnily enough after my rugby match I dropped my mate home and car in front jammed on breaks to avoid a hedgehog. I stopped and got out and picked him up and put him 100 yards away from the road in a field.

...who did you put in the field, you mate, the person in the other car or the hedgehog?

Bob Harris

whisky_galore wrote: »

A friend of mine from the UK couldn't get over the amount of roadkill here, esp carcasses of big things like foxes and badgers left to rot on the roadside.

I drive in the UK often enough and I've never seen as much roadkill anywhere as there. The dual carriages are littered with carcasses.