Hobbies and Crafts

Dizzie......Vic says we use the A350!! did'nt know there are 8 white horses!!

jude

Jude, the Pewsey white horse is only one of 8 white horses in Wiltshire and bordering counties. We have a closer one up the road on the A4 at Cherhill, and the Uffington one is the one most people think of at mention of white horses.

Yes, that's the Whirlybirds I was thinking about. All black and white and grainy...

There are so many lovely areas to visit in the UK aren't there.

Jude they have got a couple. You will see there is a comment on it from me. When I bought it and first used it the bag was a tight fit, but I use it all the time and it has given a bit, it is a soft plastic. I have had no problem with it splitting or anything and I didn't find that it smelled.

Ann...will take a peak:)

DizzieLizzie......oh the White Horse, gawd the times l have driven past that, never stopped though!

Whirlybirds....do you mean this.........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp5gVv8Q048

We liked the Sussex downs but love The Wye Valley and beyond:o))

Jane...bet the Moorhen looked really funny, blesss it...lol

jude

PS we had a Greenfinch on nuts earlier, first in a while:)

I used to love the Whirly Birds lol.That must have been on tv in the early 60's??

All peaceful in the garden today ,and no sign of the lonely Stock Dove Jude ,so hopefully it is fine.This morning when I looked out the bedroom window I saw a Moorhen on top of that dead tree.How did it get that high????I know I have had them on the top of my Yew Hedge before but not this high.It looked a bit daft with it's great feet plonking around up there lol

Jude, have you not got a proper bag for the camera? Amazon do a reasonably cheap one (about £8. I think).

I was on the Wessex Downs where the Pewsey White Horse is Jude. I used to walk on the Sussex Downs though as Parents in Law lived in Sussex, and then years before that when I was a student in Brighton..

I was back up there again walking another section today. Didn't see any birds at all, but then there were whirlybirds in the sky instead taking people on the cheat's method of viewing the crop circles in the area.

Lor lumme, "whirlybirds" shows my age doesn't it? ;-)

Had my camera today, but took pictures of the general views and wild flowers instead.

Morning all:)

Suns trying to shine here:)

Dizzie....l can remember walking over the sussex downs when pouring with rain, not nice...lol
Not everyone is a nurd like me, my camera goes everywhere wrapped in a towel in me shopping bag or round me neck, wish l got a smaller one now, but love this one:))

The rain would have interested the birds too, we suddenly had 4 - 5 blackbirds looking for worms yesterday:)

Jane...your photo's are on the blog:) The collection of birds are Swallows, the pigeon is a young Stock Dove and the cheeky robin, is well Cheeky:o))

Take care:)

jude x

Sorry no Jude, it was pouring with rain. I got absolutely soaked. Me trousers are still hanging over the aga. Should have put walking ones on that dry quicker, but silly me had cords on - Lizzie dripping wasn't in it. I think it was because it was so quiet on the downs - no other idiots were out there - that there was more bird activity to spot. If I'm lucky I may have a picture or two from yesterday of a hawk once I get them downloaded/uploaded (whichever way it is) from my camera.

Evening all.....

Ann...the disease is still around then:( we have loads of blue, great and coal tits in our garden, will keep a closer on them now!!

Aww Jane thats horrible, poor birds, but yeh we all know its nature:((((
will go check the email.

Dizzie...you saw loads:)) camera???? lol

Take care

jude

jude

That is the side I find hard to deal with Ann.I know it happens .Just wish it wasn't in my garden lol.I tried picking up all the feathers ,but they just stuck to my gardening gloves .I gave up in the end and went to pick beans and carrots instead :-D :-D :-D
Have sent pics to Jude .

Nature is cruel sometimes Jane isn't it? Poor pigeon and hungry hawk.

Murder and Mayhem in the garden this morning.
I opened the bedroom curtain to see a hawk ripping a pigeon apart on the lawn.I know this happens ,but the sad thing was to see the mate of the poor victim stood by watching,plus another 'pair ' of pigeons .They were all stood around the Hawk .The pair of pigeons flew off and the bereaved one just standing looking at the pile of feathers.Tonight I have got a pic of a young pigeon just sat under our Bay Tree .I think he might be looking for it's parent.
I will send it to you Jude.Plus another pic of a Robin who found it's way into our house this morning.

I heard about that on the radio yesterday Ann. I shall have to have a look out especially since we're not so far from Oxfordshire. Great tits have generally been in the majority around my bird feeders, to such an extent I don't take a great deal of notice of them. I shall have to think again.

On my ramblings with the hound today, since it was decidedly wet out there on the downs I didn't see anyone else. This may be why I saw more birds than the last few days on my walks. There were quite a number of kestrels hovering in the sky, I saw a buzzard taking off from a fence post (disturbed by approach of dog). As we were walking between wheat fields there were a lot of skylarks that obviously weren't too happy with Guinness being at such close proximity. Not being bright and sunny they didn't do their usual rise into the sky singing, they just moved to another resting spot.

Although it was raining I did see a couple of butterflies surprisingly.

A lethal strain of Avian Pox could devastate the population of great Tits,
The disease causes large tumour like warts, particularly on the head, eyes and beak which can damage the bird's sight and ability to feed. In Great Tits the warts can be up to 2 cms wide and so heavy they prevent the bird from flying.
Avian Pox has affected other birds such as wood pigeons,starlings and sparrows for many years but their warts are smaller and usually heal. The first clusters of Great Tits suffering from the pox were recorded in surrey and Kent but this year it has spread to areas including Oxfordshire and as far north as Staffordshire. Last year the public reported cases in 100 different areas with 40 more added since January. Many more are expected over the summer months.
It is possible the pox is an aggressive new strain and it is causing great concern because of the severe symptoms.
The Great Tit population in the UK is about 5.5million. They account for around 90% of the affected birds, but the pox has also been seen in small numbers of other species such as the blue, marsh and willow tits.
Home owners with bird boxes have been urged to clean them because the condition can be spread through contact with other birds or even dust and scabs from lesions.

Members of the public can report cases of Avian Pox by calling the RSPB Wildlife Enquiries Unit on 0767 693690 or visit the charity's web site.


I have copied this from the D Mail for information.

Perspone...l love stories like that too, thanks for that:o)

DizzieLizzie...good to see you:o) Hope you are'nt too k-nackered from all the activities etc you've been involved in, you are a busy girl!!

Be good to have a catch up when you can.
l quite like the changes, especially the emoticons

l'm just back from son's after a couple of days looking after grandson....phewww, l slept right through till 7.30 am this morning....can't remember the last time l did that....lol


Take care all :-D

jude x

No problem being off topic Dizzie, just glad you are OK.

Ooh, now I've submitted I can see it shows as a proper emoticon.

Hello everyone, sorry I haven't been on for a long while and thank you for your concern about why that might be. I'm pleased to say that there's been nothing wrong, just that things got very busy there for a while between helping both kids move flats on the same weekend, having lots of choir performances (and the rehearsals to go with them), preparing for and holding the choir summer barbecue in my garden, having workmen in the house, and a number of other things going on too. So I haven't had the usual time to potter about on t'internet.

Don't we look different on the boards? It's nice that we can have a profile picture now. I'll have to decide on one and work out how to add it. I shall have to make time for a bit of a catch up. It's raining today so that might help. And aren't we post - emoticons and everything. :-) Oh, just tried one, do they actually appear as emoticons or as combinations of punctuation marks?

Anyway, sorry this is rather off topic, but good to be back.

I expect so Ann... I find some of the animal stories so rewarding with what they do to help them.

Bit like when the albatross here in NZ had hurt it's webbed foot they made it some foam rubber jandals (thongs/flip flops) to wear whilst it healed... and our elephant that eventually died... she had little boots made to help her feet. I should rephrase that she had big boots made... looked a bit like Noddy's shoes. Kashin died end of last August, they had a huge memorial service for her. The Zoo was closed for the day.

Persie