Nature on your farm.

Mossie1975

gozunda wrote: »

Watch out for the feking mossies. The warm temperatures and plenty of standing water means that they are breeding overtime.

Have to keep the bedroom window closed at night or they would drive us demented.

Feckers ...

Leave us Mossies alone

Rows Grower

Mossie's lives matter.#

ganmo

Mossies over rossies

gozunda

ganmo wrote: »

Mossies over rossies

Rossies?

ganmo

gozunda wrote: »

Rossies?

Roscommon ppl

gozunda

ganmo wrote: »

Roscommon ppl

Here was I thinking it was some type of bug

Say my name

Cockatiel.

This past few weeks I've been hearing this bird making an unusual like a whistling sound about the garden.

This morning then I was shutting up the cows and a flock of starlings flew up out of the grass onto the esb wires except one bird flew up into an ash tree. Tis a strange looking bird I thought very parrot like. And then he starts whistling and using his short bill to move from branch to branch. Then it flies off doing a round of the fields with its long tail and whistling away.
I couldn't see it's exact colour but it flies like a parrot and is the shape of one and sounds like a cockatiel. And it's seemingly at home now with the resident starling population.

So yeah that..

NcdJd

Say my name wrote: »

Cockatiel.

This past few weeks I've been hearing this bird making an unusual like a whistling sound about the garden.

This morning then I was shutting up the cows and a flock of starlings flew up out of the grass onto the esb wires except one bird flew up into an ash tree. Tis a strange looking bird I thought very parrot like. And then he starts whistling and using his short bill to move from branch to branch. Then it flies off doing a round of the fields with its long tail and whistling away.
I couldn't see it's exact colour but it flies like a parrot and is the shape of one and sounds like a cockatiel. And it's seemingly at home now with the resident starling population.

So yeah that..

If you shout out Captain Birdseye does it answer ya back ?

Joking. We had a few escapee budgies around here over the years...

blue5000

Say my name wrote: »

Cockatiel.

This past few weeks I've been hearing this bird making an unusual like a whistling sound about the garden.

This morning then I was shutting up the cows and a flock of starlings flew up out of the grass onto the esb wires except one bird flew up into an ash tree. Tis a strange looking bird I thought very parrot like. And then he starts whistling and using his short bill to move from branch to branch. Then it flies off doing a round of the fields with its long tail and whistling away.
I couldn't see it's exact colour but it flies like a parrot and is the shape of one and sounds like a cockatiel. And it's seemingly at home now with the resident starling population.

So yeah that..

There are feral parakeets in London, so I suppose they'd survive in the sunny SE too.
https://londonist.com/london/great-outdoors/london-s-parakeets-everything-you-need-to-know

Say my name

blue5000 wrote: »

There are feral parakeets in London, so I suppose they'd survive in the sunny SE too.
https://londonist.com/london/great-outdoors/london-s-parakeets-everything-you-need-to-know

It could have been one of them.
The size would fit with a parakeet too.
It was a parrot of some sort anyway and liked the safety of a flock.

First woodpeckers and now this. Probably a Pelican next!

Say my name

blue5000 wrote: »

There are feral parakeets in London, so I suppose they'd survive in the sunny SE too.
https://londonist.com/london/great-outdoors/london-s-parakeets-everything-you-need-to-know

I was just looking there. Seemingly they have arrived in Wales and Bristol in the last few years. There's feral cockatiels in Wales too.
So with the east wind of late. It could in fact be an import and not a release from someone. It's only a skip across water to wexford from Wales.

_Brian

Say my name wrote: »

I was just looking there. Seemingly they have arrived in Wales and Bristol in the last few years. There's feral cockatiels in Wales too.
So with the east wind of late. It could in fact be an import and not a release from someone. It's only a skip across water to wexford from Wales.

Could easily be an escaped local pet either. People have them loose in their house and they can escape out opened door or window.

atlantic mist

young swallows lining up to leave here, adult swallows left last week

Say my name

_Brian wrote: »

Could easily be an escaped local pet either. People have them loose in their house and they can escape out opened door or window.

Could be but it's here a few weeks now and there's been no reports of anyone looking for an escaped pet. Usually it'd be all over Facebook or something.
That's not to say anyone didn't report it.
But to me it didn't look that tame or used to people. The opposite in fact. And the starlings seem to have taken it as one of their own.

NcdJd

Seen a Kestrel for the first time in years today. Used to be very common around here but disappeared some years ago.

Capercaillie

NcdJd wrote: »

Seen a Kestrel for the first time in years today. Used to be very common around here but disappeared some years ago.

Rodenticide secondary poisoning a major problem.

Danzy

gozunda wrote: »

Here was I thinking it was some type of bug

In a way.

NcdJd

Capercaillie wrote: »

Rodenticide secondary poisoning a major problem.

I don't understand that Capercaillie with Kestrels. Considering they would be only taking small rodents and wouldn't be involved in eating carrion like say buzzards or kites. How would you explain this if you look at a similar sized bop such as a sparrowhawk. Plenty of them around although having said that they would be more into catching birds. Would it not be a case of loss of suitable nesting sites and less small rodents in general due to more intensive farming practices? Speaking now about tillage and veg growing. We always had loads of them about but you'd also see a lot of field mice. Something you would see when chopping up a field you'd be seeing the mice scarper everywhere. Don't see that as much now.

NcdJd

Also would the likes of another bird if prey such as buzzards preying on them? Seem an easy target when hovering in the sky for something to swoop at them from above.

ganmo

NcdJd wrote: »

Also would the likes of another bird if prey such as buzzards preying on them? Seem an easy target when hovering in the sky for something to swoop at them from above.

Regularly see them up here, crows and magpies would harry them rather than buzzards...but them again crows harry buzzards too

ganmo

Decided to check on some of the glas bird boxes today. As you can see it looks like it might be used, one definitely wasn't.

Oh and I found a big puff

Birdnuts

NcdJd wrote: »

I don't understand that Capercaillie with Kestrels. Considering they would be only taking small rodents and wouldn't be involved in eating carrion like say buzzards or kites. How would you explain this if you look at a similar sized bop such as a sparrowhawk. Plenty of them around although having said that they would be more into catching birds. Would it not be a case of loss of suitable nesting sites and less small rodents in general due to more intensive farming practices? Speaking now about tillage and veg growing. We always had loads of them about but you'd also see a lot of field mice. Something you would see when chopping up a field you'd be seeing the mice scarper everywhere. Don't see that as much now.

Secondary poisoning is when a BOP consumes a rat/mouse that has consumed rodenticide and was sick outside making it easy prey for the likes of a Kestrel. Certainly intensive farming has reduced habitat and prey base but rodenticides are a major issue for such birds. Too many feeds of this will sicken the bird and it will possibly die or certainly fail to breed succesfully. Same issue with Barn Owls sadly:(. Tis why I only use traps these days for vermin problems - plus don't want the dirty feckers dieing inside cavity walls and stinking the place out.

NcdJd

ganmo wrote: »

Regularly see them up here, crows and magpies would harry them rather than buzzards...but them again crows harry buzzards too

Will miss the swallows now as they are like a mini car alarm when there is a bird of prey close by, especially sparrowhawks. We haven't got many rooks around now since the buzzards established themselves. Plenty of young buzzards this year.

NcdJd

Birdnuts wrote: »

Secondary poisoning is when a BOP consumes a rat/mouse that has consumed rodenticide and was sick outside making it easy prey for the likes of a Kestrel. Certainly intensive farming has reduced habitat and prey base but rodenticides are a major issue for such birds. Too many feeds of this will sicken the bird and it will possibly die or certainly fail to breed succesfully. Same issue with Barn Owls sadly:(. Tis why I only use traps these days for vermin problems - plus don't want the dirty feckers dieing inside cavity walls and stinking the place out.

Stopped using poison along time ago birdnuts for this reason. I go into woodies and see the big tubs of it and there are probably people out there that lash it all over the place cause they see a mouse running across their lawn.

The foxes look after the rats for me. The poor mice usually end up getting fried in our boiler. Anything in the attic will eventually die due to insulation ingestion.

Birdnuts

NcdJd wrote: »

Stopped using poison along time ago birdnuts for this reason. I go into woodies and see the big tubs of it and there are probably people out there that lash it all over the place cause they see a mouse running across their lawn.

The foxes look after the rats for me. The poor mice usually end up getting fried in our boiler. Anything in the attic will eventually die due to insulation ingestion.

Yeah - education is key to this issue like so many other environmental problems. Never forget the time I stayed in digs during my 20's and the landlord dealt with the building mouse issue in a standard way that stunk the place out for months!! I actually developed pneumonia from having to leave the bedroom windown open during that time such was the "aroma" coming from the hot press:(

NcdJd

Birdnuts wrote: »

Yeah - education is key to this issue like so many other environmental problems. Never forget the time I stayed in digs during my 20's and the landlord dealt with the building mouse issue in a standard way that stunk the place out for months!! I actually developed pneumonia from having to leave the bedroom windown open during that time such was the "aroma" coming from the hot press:(

I was told first place a rat will head for after eating poison baits is water. I did have two rats in the attic of the house at one stage but caught both with traps. No problem since. Not sure how they got up there. Never could figure it out.

Birdnuts

NcdJd wrote: »

I was told first place a rat will head for after eating poison baits is water. I did have two rats in the attic of the house at one stage but caught both with traps. No problem since. Not sure how they got up there. Never could figure it out.

I find the best place for nailing rats with traps is on or near compost heaps - got a monster female last year that way!!

NcdJd

Capercaillie wrote: »

Rodenticide secondary poisoning a major problem.

I take that was yourself on rte news a couple of months ago Capercaillie. How did you get on with the corncrakes? Did you see an increase this year ?

TooOldBoots

Sowed a 200m hedge back in Reps about 15 years ago. A mixture of whitethorn, Green Beech and Ash. I never coppiced the Beech trees.
Hedge is alive with wildlife mainly small birds but I spotted red Squirrel in it this year.

Capercaillie

NcdJd wrote: »

I take that was yourself on rte news a couple of months ago Capercaillie. How did you get on with the corncrakes? Did you see an increase this year ?

7 calling male corncrake this year up from 5 calling males in 2019. 5% of national population, so happy enough with that.