Hobbies and Crafts

Hi everyone:o)


Madoc is back to his cheeky self today thanks Tec, still wearing the bucket though. He has a check up at 9am tomorrow. We take the bucket off when he eats and the little tike immediately has a quick lick at the stitches. He's not been for a walk and is abit miffed by that, probably Friday. Vic say's he'd love to walk your Lanto.

Did anyone watch 'Spring Watch' yesterday and today?? love the prgramme. Vic found a dead polecat on one of his walks about a yr ago, we took photo's incase it was a Pine Martin and sent them to Gwent Wildlife, they were pleased to get it as it gave them information as to where they have been sighted:o))

A couple of greenfinches have been back this past couple of days, and most evening round about 7pm we get about 6 or 7 doves, all lined up on the wall, tried taking a photo but they saw me move....grrrr

nite nite

jude :o)

Hello Margaret, nice to see you have read some of this thread, it's really interesting.
Tec I haven't heard the Cuckoo again but it was too windy to have the windows open yesterday. It also could have been passing on it's way to Ogden Water where there is a small wood.
Jude I was lucky enough to see a Pine Martin once, again on the North Yorkshire Moors. We had my daughter and grandson in the car with us and it ran across the road in front of us. I knew what it was but hubby said they had not got so far down from Scotland. I showed him the book on animals and birds I always kept in the car and he had to admit it was a Pine Martin. There was an article on our local T.V. news programme a couple of months later saying that Pine Martins had been seen on North Yorkshire Moors.

Caz xx

Morning all:o))

Its not too bad weather wise here today.
Madoc is fine and yes he's had a few of his favourite treats.....as soon as l say "carrot" he's off to wait by the fridge, it takes abit longer for him to eat as his bottom teeth are flat from chewing on stones before we had him:o((, he also hogs the sofa!! lol and has his own blanket on there. He's had a couple of walks on the lead now and gets so excited when Vic gets ready. Vics gone a 7 mile walk today with a rambling group:o)) l said he loves walking.....l'm here with my germs, almost lost my voice and a cold starting, sore throat gone now:o((

Loads of W/pigeons about and doves, the crow, a magpie and the gang of jackdaws dominate the garden first thing. 2 male blackbirds still meeting chest to chest and squabling....ooo the sparrow thats been chirping for a few weeks now......l think has 2 youngsters, l'm sure they are part of the same family, they were all on the fence yesterday, bless em:o)) Mother and baby squirrel are often giving the poor peanut holder a good bashing, mum chews and shakes it whilst bay sits on the ground eating up what falls out..... babe will also run along the low walls and pick out the seeds.

New neighbour next door has been sorting the garden ready for his mate to arrive with his dog, that should be interesting with Madoc. We have 2 low walls that madoc can jump onto and over the fence!!!!!! mmmm fun ahead me thinks!! lol

Off to finish making the beds for arrival of family tomorrow:o)))
Will put the poppy pics on blog first.
jude :o)

PS...hello Margaret from Kent:o)

PSS....doww l kept meaning to say to Y/Caz..... how exciting to see the Pinemartin, l would love to see one, would also love to see a live Polecat:o)

Pics are on the blog:o))

jude

Remember that we were watching the hawks that we think are probably kestrels? Well today we saw two of their babies way below us on the cliff. I had a go at taking the photo of one (well about10 goes actually good job we don't use film any more.), hope one of them comes out OK.

Ann
Glos

Look forward to that Ann:o)))

Vics 7 mile ramble turned out to be 9 miles and he did'nt take any food cause the organiser said no need to!!!!! he was k...nackered but loved it:o))

jude :o)

Hi everyone,

Jude.........So pleased to know that Madoc is nearly back to normal after his altercation - hope he doesn't meet that boxer again. I'm sure he will soon make friends with his new neighbour - might be a little territorial growling to start with - dogs don't understand boundaries do they?
Ianto (pronounced Yanto) in English shares a three seater sofa with me, but only leaves me just enough space - I am not a big man, he grumbles if I move, but can't resist getting up to follow me, in case I escape without him.
Your squirrels sound good. We used to get them here, but I haven't seen one for ages. My regular birds seem to be returning, last few days the blackbirds and the robin have appeared again. The usual sparrows, chaffinches, greenfinches, doves and jackdaws are always here. Seagulls are usually on the chimneys, and we can here them cackling ;, with the noise coming out of the hearth.
Went for a walk through the woods today - the bluebells look spectacular. Looking up into the trees trying to spot a bird I could hear but not identify, I tripped over a fallen branch and landed flat on my face in the mud. Ianto came to look at me - if that dog could talk I think we would fall out.

Caz............I think they are going to talk about cuckoos on Springwatch tonight. Maybe they will answer a query I have. Is it the male, or female we hear - or both? I have always wondered.

Ann......Your photo's sound interesting - but I hope you are not standing too close to the cliff edge trying to get a good shot. That would be beyond the call of duty!

No, it is not a cliff edge, it is a high level promenade over the cliff with a wall to leqn over.

I have found 2 dead baby magpies in the garden.They look too big to have fallen from the nest .They looked fully fledged.So I don't know why.

I have found 2 dead baby magpies in the garden.They look too big to have fallen from the nest .They looked fully fledged.So I don't know why.Anyone have any idea why ?

Hi Everyone,

A buzzard flew over the garden this morning - unusual to see just one, they often come over two, even three at a time. Haven't seen a red kite for must be a month now.
Lots of swallows flying low yesterday evening catching the insects.
Noticed a dove lying on the ground in the garden today with her wings and tail stretched wide open. I thought she was dead, but as soon as I went into the garden she flew up into a tree. Must have been sun bathing.

I always make sure there is clean water available in the garden for the birds - especially in this heat - they do need it.

Jude...........Hope your cold is better. Has the new neighbourhood dog moved in yet? The new pics on the blog are good - I will get there soon!!!

Helen.........Strange what happened to your magpies, especially if there was no evidence that a cat had attacked them. Maybe they were poisoned somehow - mysterious isn't it?

Regards
Tec.

Hello everyone .

There is a Mr Blackbird in my area to whom I have been whistling certain " notes" over the past few weeks . Now , when ever I go out in the back garden he seems to spot me and starts whistling the " notes" back at me........he has even added them to his dawn chorus ( I've heard him a few times at dawn if I've been on feeding my baby Granddaughter duty ).

My daughter says that she spotted a Sparrowhawk this morning at 6am , it was chasing a Blue tit across the garden , I know there is one in the area as the lady across the road has seen it in her garden .

I hope you are all enjoying this lovely sunshine : ))

Hi all, Just catching up with who's seen what. I didn't see the Springwatch Tec, so did you find out which does the call, or like you say do both. I haven't heard it again (the Cuckoo) so I think it must have been passing through.
We have a lot of Wood pidgeons up here, although come to think of it there are a lot of fields and trees.
I was sat in the kitchen late last night and heard an owl really close, I had the window wide open and it sounded very close.
Weather here today is scorching hot, we have the fan on and our bird is sat on my shoulder relishing the cool breeze. Have to go and get a cool drink.

Caz xx

Hi all~~~~~I am getting very worried about my little robin I photographed in the pond. Haven't seen him for over a week now. We do have a sparrow hawk that visits now and again trying to get the birds, and I am worried he may have been snatched . I did get a photo of the hawk but it is very blurred. May send it to Jude though. Also saw a wood pigeon the other day in the pouring rain. He just sat there ...lol

Maggie

Hi
I've just witnessed two small Magpies chase a blackbird forcing it against our fence. The poor Blackbird fell to the ground where upon the adult Magpies descended and killed it.
My neighbour saw a Magpie in her garden kill a small mouse a couple of weeks ago. The mouse was scurrying along a step.
Maybe that's why I don't have too many small birds in the garden at present.

On another note does anyone have Michaelmas daisies out in their garden?
I have several that are in flower and having read that they are a source of food for certain butterflies I'm wondering if they will be affected later in the season.
Regards
Von

Hi Everyone,

Amanda..........I have known a blackbird imitate a human whistle before. We had an elderly gentleman living near us.Every summer evening he would sit in his garden whistling back to a blackbird singing in the apple tree. Occassionally, the old chap would alter the notes of the "tune", and sure enough, the blackbird would answer accordingly. it never failed, and was highly amusing.

Y/Caz............They didn't mention on Springwatch which cuckoo we hear - trust me to wonder about something nobody else would think of. I still haven't heard one this year, I think it may be too late now. They did mention that cuckoo numbers have dwindled by a third in recent year, and are now carrying out a national survey.
What kind of bird do you have on your shoulder? owl? buzzard? duck?
Do excuse me Caz.....it's the heat! Weird sense of humour!

Maggie..........Wouldn't worry too much about your robin - the one here disappears for weeks sometimes - he'll be back

Hi Von....... Magpies can be vicious - they will kill smaller birds, steal eggs out of nests. They even steal a friends hens eggs out of the coop. I don.t care for them at all.........but I suppose that's nature.
I have Michaelmas daisies that start to flower in August, and go on into November, but I once had an earlier variety that flowered through June/July August. They had short stems. Maybe this is wat you have.
I have seen more butterflies in my garden in the last few days than I've seen for years. Must be the weather. Mainly tortoiseshell, meadow brown, and frittlllery, and cabbage white of course.

Regards
Tec.

Hi Tecwyn
You reminded me about a blackbird that used to mimic the ring of a phone when we had a public telephone box next to our house.

The daisies I have are the tall varieties that normally flower in the autumn which was why I was suprised to see them flowering so early. Mind you I still have some Hellebores which are still in bloom.

We have just returned from a holiday in Cornwall and there were an amazing amount of butterflies there.
Take care
Von

Lol Tec. It's a Cockatiel, pale yellow with grey markings. He loves my hairdryer as well, especially after a shower, (spray bottle).

I have been looking in one of my books for the Cuckoo, and it says " A much lesser known call is a comparatively subdued liquid bubbling sound. It is likely that most of the 'cu-cooing' comes from the male and most of the bubbling from the female, but both sexes can make these calls". So there you are, I don't suppose we will ever know unless we see one, which would be rare.

Caz

I have had hay fever quite badly for a couple of weeks and it has made me cough loudly.

It has also made a starling cough loudly!

Bit of a Micky take,what!

Hi everyone:o)

Amanda......we have so many birds singing dusk to dawn, mostly blackbirds, will have to try adding a few notes myself, but knowing me l'll forget:o(((

Are'nt some birds horrible, but it is only nature, would hate to have seen that though. l understand Jays can be the same.

Y/Caz....l used to have a cockertial, also a few budgies, but could'nt get the cockertial to be friendly:o(((

My cold is more of a throat virus, no cold as such....just no voice and abit of a sore throat and a rotten cough at night:o((

Did anyone watch Spring Watch this evening, the Redkite place is the one we have visited a few times. Its very good there:

http://www.information-britain.co.uk/showPlace.cfm?Place_ID=1220

nite nite

jude :o)