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Post by murphthesurf on Sept 18, 2018 15:44:50 GMT
PS: What's the hotel called, please, Fel? I was wondering if they might know if the water training is a regular thing? I would love to see the Newfs doing it. Ta! I always refer to it as the Rudyard Hotel however the signs on the roads say "Hotel Rudyard"....all day carvery and you can park and wander down to the lake.
Here you go hotel-rudyard.com/
It was on the lake so you might be better trying the visitor centre. www.rudyardlake.com/visitor-centre/
There's a nice friendly small café down there that they're extending as well. Well worth a trip.
Thx, doll. xxxxxx
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Post by felonious on Sept 20, 2018 7:34:09 GMT
I spotted a Stoat on the low roof yesterday. I've seen them on the lawn no doubt after the odd rabbit that ventures in but I can only suppose he was heading for the vicinity of the bird table. It's getting like a war zone, Sparrowhawk one side and Stoat the other and the stray cat visiting 3 or 4 times a day.
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Post by Northy on Sept 22, 2018 18:13:08 GMT
Was down in London village today for the people's walk for wildlife hosted by Chris Packham, Billy Bragg and others on stage, then a march from Hyde park to Downing street via Piccadilly, St James, Trafalgar square, very strange marching down main roads in London closed off for us. Finished outside Downing street gates with a good middle England fist shaking at the government 😁 Michael Gove was going to attend but pulled out last week.
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Post by felonious on Sept 22, 2018 18:22:30 GMT
Was down in London village today for the people's walk for wildlife hosted by Chris Packham, Billy Bragg and others on stage, then a march from Hyde park to Downing street via Piccadilly, St James, Trafalgar square, very strange marching down main roads in London closed off for us. Finished outside Downing street gates with a good middle England fist shaking at the government 😁 Michael Gove was going to attend but pulled out last week. Was there a good turnout? I got my finger out and subscribed to the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust a couple of weeks back. I've enjoyed their sites over the years so it's not before time.
Meant to ask you, what's Parrots Drumble like?
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Post by Northy on Sept 22, 2018 20:13:24 GMT
Was down in London village today for the people's walk for wildlife hosted by Chris Packham, Billy Bragg and others on stage, then a march from Hyde park to Downing street via Piccadilly, St James, Trafalgar square, very strange marching down main roads in London closed off for us. Finished outside Downing street gates with a good middle England fist shaking at the government 😁 Michael Gove was going to attend but pulled out last week. Was there a good turnout? I got my finger out and subscribed to the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust a couple of weeks back. I've enjoyed their sites over the years so it's not before time.
Meant to ask you, what's Parrots Drumble like?
Estimates at about 10000, when walking along Piccadilly we were in the middle and couldn't see either end. No BBC or ITV coverage but sky news were there all day. Only 2 MPs turned up, green party leader and a labour guy from Essex. The draft manifesto is available to read or download. Parrots drumble, going back a few years, it was great in the 70s for us kids to play in.
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Post by murphthesurf on Sept 26, 2018 9:03:36 GMT
Today…….. the beautiful Jay. It says: 'Jays will spend much of their time in Autumn gathering and storing acorns. It has been estimated that an individual Jay may store up to 3000 acorns in a single month. Jays store acorns by burying them which makes the task of remembering all the individual sites all the more remarkable. This acorn harvest sees them much more visible as they often fly out on occasionally long journeys to individual oak trees or hedgerows and they can appear in unfamiliar urban settings as a result. They do frequently use garden lawns as burial or cache sites for their acorns and can turn up in gardens that they would never visit at other times of the year.'I get Jays in the garden and over the years have found several baby oak trees growing here and have always potted them up & found good homes for them - a few years ago I had two baby oak trees potted up which I'd had for a few years and which had both reached a good 5 or 6 feet in height, and luckily I heard of a local-ish 'planting a new wood' scheme which was in progress, so they both went there. I've never known if any of the acorns had been buried by the jays or by any of the squirrels who frequent the garden and are 100% welcome - I love seeing them here (they're all called Cyril) and they're welcome to eat as much of the bird food as they like as there's stacks of it and more than enough to go round. And you've never lived until you've seen a squirrel pick up one of the fat balls whole, tuck it under his arm and scamper off down the garden with it like Barry John. voice.gardenbird.co.uk/a-garden-birders-diary-jay-secretive-screecher/?utm_source=GardenBird
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Post by murphthesurf on Sept 28, 2018 12:15:25 GMT
Right then: Teasels:I want to plant some in a corner of the field (& hope I'll be able to get away with it) for birds to help themselves to for food when the seedheads ripen (or whatever the term is…..) Then hopefully the plants will keep self-seeding year after year as long as a few seeds survive!!!???? On the EEFC thread on August 27 Cheesy said "I'm also nurturing several teasels" and Dees said "The teasels will self seed and spread everywhere if you're not careful. The ones I grew didn't get much chance though as the birds completely stripped the seeds." Anybody else got any pointers on growing teasels, please? Will a few packets of seed like the one on this link do the job? C'mon please, folks - need your advice on this - ta! www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009NSZSES/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_8?smid=A28BCVP7DU4J85&psc=1
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Post by Northy on Sept 28, 2018 14:01:12 GMT
sitting in the garden earlier having lunch and was blessed with a flock of longtail tits flittering and chattering about all around us.
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Post by felonious on Sept 28, 2018 16:31:14 GMT
sitting in the garden earlier having lunch and was blessed with a flock of longtail tits flittering and chattering about all around us. I think our lot where virtually wiped out by the Beast from the East.
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Post by marylandstoke on Sept 28, 2018 16:57:53 GMT
Today…….. the beautiful Jay. It says: 'Jays will spend much of their time in Autumn gathering and storing acorns. It has been estimated that an individual Jay may store up to 3000 acorns in a single month. Jays store acorns by burying them which makes the task of remembering all the individual sites all the more remarkable. This acorn harvest sees them much more visible as they often fly out on occasionally long journeys to individual oak trees or hedgerows and they can appear in unfamiliar urban settings as a result. They do frequently use garden lawns as burial or cache sites for their acorns and can turn up in gardens that they would never visit at other times of the year.'I get Jays in the garden and over the years have found several baby oak trees growing here and have always potted them up & found good homes for them - a few years ago I had two baby oak trees potted up which I'd had for a few years and which had both reached a good 5 or 6 feet in height, and luckily I heard of a local-ish 'planting a new wood' scheme which was in progress, so they both went there. I've never known if any of the acorns had been buried by the jays or by any of the squirrels who frequent the garden and are 100% welcome - I love seeing them here (they're all called Cyril) and they're welcome to eat as much of the bird food as they like as there's stacks of it and more than enough to go round. And you've never lived until you've seen a squirrel pick up one of the fat balls whole, tuck it under his arm and scamper off down the garden with it like Barry John. voice.gardenbird.co.uk/a-garden-birders-diary-jay-secretive-screecher/?utm_source=GardenBird
Did have a lovely moment one year watching a baby blue jay who was collecting nuts but hadn’t quite got the whole concept yet. He would find a nice leaf and then carefully drag it over his latest treasure. In the meantime there were three squiggles just patiently waiting till he hopped off to get his next nut. I feel very much the same about our squirrels (usually Suzy for the girls and Sid or Cyril for the boys) There’s plenty to go round really. I do have two squirrel proof feeders that are hugely effective but we do get one squig a year usually whe decides to go up the screen door and try and do the math (5 feet up, 3 feet out, 45 degrees, factor in the wind, carry the three) It’s great cat tv and when they hit the deck and look at me in amazement I usually tell them they forgot to carry the three....being cursed out in squirrel is always funny. They do get me in trouble with the lovely old lady next door but I do love my deck vultures. This years babies are just getting their black around the beaks turning red. Mum brought them when they were quite young to teach them that I am a soft touch but there is so, so much roadkill this year they will do just fine and do a great job of cleaning up and helping out too.
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Post by cheeesfreeex on Sept 28, 2018 17:18:55 GMT
Right then: Teasels:I want to plant some in a corner of the field (& hope I'll be able to get away with it) for birds to help themselves to for food when the seedheads ripen (or whatever the term is…..) Then hopefully the plants will keep self-seeding year after year as long as a few seeds survive!!!???? On the EEFC thread on August 27 Cheesy said "I'm also nurturing several teasels" and Dees said "The teasels will self seed and spread everywhere if you're not careful. The ones I grew didn't get much chance though as the birds completely stripped the seeds." Anybody else got any pointers on growing teasels, please? Will a few packets of seed like the one on this link do the job? C'mon please, folks - need your advice on this - ta! www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009NSZSES/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_8?smid=A28BCVP7DU4J85&psc=1 A bit like Foxgloves, Teasles are a bit of an enigma for me. They pop up where you don't really want them, but select a location and try to nurture them and you've got bob hope. I transplanted and seeded sections of me garden but one popped up in the greenhouse and loads on the road outside the house. I've been trying to spread them about ever since, this year have got a few going in pots. They're biannual, if you're buying a pack of seeds I'd start them in trays/pots rather than broadcasting them. They seem to thrive in full sun with shit soil. Interesting indigenous carnivorous plants.
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Post by felonious on Sept 28, 2018 18:05:45 GMT
That little bit of rain that we had last Thursday has increased the level of Tittesworth by 14%
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Post by murphthesurf on Sept 28, 2018 18:12:46 GMT
Right then: Teasels:I want to plant some in a corner of the field (& hope I'll be able to get away with it) for birds to help themselves to for food when the seedheads ripen (or whatever the term is…..) Then hopefully the plants will keep self-seeding year after year as long as a few seeds survive!!!???? On the EEFC thread on August 27 Cheesy said "I'm also nurturing several teasels" and Dees said "The teasels will self seed and spread everywhere if you're not careful. The ones I grew didn't get much chance though as the birds completely stripped the seeds." Anybody else got any pointers on growing teasels, please? Will a few packets of seed like the one on this link do the job? C'mon please, folks - need your advice on this - ta! www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009NSZSES/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_8?smid=A28BCVP7DU4J85&psc=1 A bit like Foxgloves, Teasles are a bit of an enigma for me. They pop up where you don't really want them, but select a location and try to nurture them and you've got bob hope. I transplanted and seeded sections of me garden but one popped up in the greenhouse and loads on the road outside the house. I've been trying to spread them about ever since, this year have got a few going in pots. They're biannual, if you're buying a pack of seeds I'd start them in trays/pots rather than broadcasting them. They seem to thrive in full sun with shit soil. Interesting indigenous carnivorous plants. Thx mate.
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Post by murphthesurf on Sept 28, 2018 18:22:53 GMT
Today…….. the beautiful Jay. I've never known if any of the acorns had been buried by the jays or by any of the squirrels who frequent the garden and are 100% welcome - I love seeing them here (they're all called Cyril) and they're welcome to eat as much of the bird food as they like as there's stacks of it and more than enough to go round. And you've never lived until you've seen a squirrel pick up one of the fat balls whole, tuck it under his arm and scamper off down the garden with it like Barry John. voice.gardenbird.co.uk/a-garden-birders-diary-jay-secretive-screecher/?utm_source=GardenBird
Did have a lovely moment one year watching a baby blue jay who was collecting nuts but hadn’t quite got the whole concept yet. He would find a nice leaf and then carefully drag it over his latest treasure. In the meantime there were three squiggles just patiently waiting till he hopped off to get his next nut. I feel very much the same about our squirrels (usually Suzy for the girls and Sid or Cyril for the boys) There’s plenty to go round really. I do have two squirrel proof feeders that are hugely effective but we do get one squig a year usually whe decides to go up the screen door and try and do the math (5 feet up, 3 feet out, 45 degrees, factor in the wind, carry the three) It’s great cat tv and when they hit the deck and look at me in amazement I usually tell them they forgot to carry the three....being cursed out in squirrel is always funny. They do get me in trouble with the lovely old lady next door but I do love my deck vultures. This years babies are just getting their black around the beaks turning red. Mum brought them when they were quite young to teach them that I am a soft touch but there is so, so much roadkill this year they will do just fine and do a great job of cleaning up and helping out too. Delightful post, MD. Thank you!
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Post by murphthesurf on Sept 28, 2018 18:27:32 GMT
sitting in the garden earlier having lunch and was blessed with a flock of longtail tits flittering and chattering about all around us. I think our lot where virtually wiped out by the Beast from the East. What did he do? Bring a catapult with him last time he visited? Oh - you meant the WEATHER......... Sorry!
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Post by felonious on Sept 28, 2018 18:38:44 GMT
I think our lot where virtually wiped out by the Beast from the East. What did he do? Bring a catapult with him last time he visited? Oh - you meant the WEATHER......... Sorry! I've only seen roughly half the number of swallows here this year. Normally the Sparrowhawks are well and truly chased off but this year they're being brave.
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Post by felonious on Oct 5, 2018 6:57:48 GMT
I saw an amazing example of the food chain in operation on the beach at Sidmouth on Monday, early evening. a shoal of mackerel half a mile wide right up against the beach feeding on sprats/ whitebait that they were forcing on to the beach. Scores of fisherman rushing down to the beach and catching the mackerel by the bucketload. They were casting in an promptly hauling out a full line of fish. Mackerel were literally jumping out of the water within feet of the beach. There was a line of whitebait three feet deep across the beach trying to flip back into the sea on the next wave.
Here's a short video showing the sprats on the beach unfortunately it doesn't show the volume of mackerel churning up the sea.
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Post by murphthesurf on Oct 5, 2018 8:11:23 GMT
sitting in the garden earlier having lunch and was blessed with a flock of longtail tits flittering and chattering about all around us. How appropriate - here is the latest offering from Garden Bird: Long-tailed Tits aka 'Long-tailed Leapfroggers'
What tiny little beaks they've got! Apparently they love suet which people put out for them on bird tables. Here's an extract from the article - the rest of it describes watching a pair nest-building: 'I try my best to keep reasonably fit and for the last year and a half as part of that I’ve been running, but my route takes me through some of the local countryside and I’m always keeping an eye out for any birds. I regularly come across small tribes of Long-tailed Tits often hearing their ‘zerrrr’ and ‘sree, sree, sree’ calls ahead of me before I catch sight of any.
They’re constantly restless feeding behaviour, flying short distances before pitching into the hedge to snatch a meal, then moving on to leapfrog those in front combined with the big ‘tribes’ or family parties they move in, often make it seem as if they’re accompanying me often for a few hundred metres as I run. To my shame despite my best efforts they are faster than me.
Long-tailed Tits are another species that have probably benefited from the rise in garden bird feeding. They’re certainly partial to suet in our garden, particularly later in the winter when natural food resources are at a low.
They often seem to make an appearance towards late afternoon or dusk, for ‘supper’. As they are so small they’re keen to make the most of available high-energy food like suet just before going to roost to help them maintain a high body temperature.
Long-tailed Tits appear to be gradually adapting their behaviour to exploit the abundance of energy-rich foods provided in gardens and they’ll feed on suet as well as peanuts or even scattered cheese crumbs on a bird table.' voice.gardenbird.co.uk/a-garden-birders-diary-long-tailed-leapfroggers/?utm_source=GardenBird+%28Main%29&utm_campaign=564a6dac33-GBA1018_G
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Post by felonious on Oct 6, 2018 17:44:13 GMT
I was sitting at the café at Rudyard Lake tucking into a nice piece of Victoria sponge when a couple of newly weds came ambling down to have their photos on a boat by the lakeside. Everyone around had a huge grin at the sight
They then proceeded to get in the boat and sail up to the sailing club for their reception. I was halfway down the other side by the time they were getting out. The weather had become really sunny, what a lovely idea
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Post by chuffedstokie on Oct 6, 2018 19:00:04 GMT
I was sitting at the café at Rudyard Lake tucking into a nice piece of Victoria sponge when a couple of newly weds came ambling down to have their photos on a boat by the lakeside. Everyone around had a huge grin at the sight
They then proceeded to get in the boat and sail up to the sailing club for their reception. I was halfway down the other side by the time they were getting out. The weather had become really sunny, what a lovely idea It must be a popular choice for the photos. Last time I was there a couple wandered down from the hotel and used the dam and lake as their backdrop. I could think of worse. One of the stations on the railway line in Wales I volunteer for is registered for marriages. Steam hauled wedding train is very popular.
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Post by cheeesfreeex on Oct 6, 2018 19:06:37 GMT
sitting in the garden earlier having lunch and was blessed with a flock of longtail tits flittering and chattering about all around us. How appropriate - here is the latest offering from Garden Bird: Long-tailed Tits aka 'Long-tailed Leapfroggers'
What tiny little beaks they've got! Apparently they love suet which people put out for them on bird tables. Here's an extract from the article - the rest of it describes watching a pair nest-building: 'I try my best to keep reasonably fit and for the last year and a half as part of that I’ve been running, but my route takes me through some of the local countryside and I’m always keeping an eye out for any birds. I regularly come across small tribes of Long-tailed Tits often hearing their ‘zerrrr’ and ‘sree, sree, sree’ calls ahead of me before I catch sight of any.
They’re constantly restless feeding behaviour, flying short distances before pitching into the hedge to snatch a meal, then moving on to leapfrog those in front combined with the big ‘tribes’ or family parties they move in, often make it seem as if they’re accompanying me often for a few hundred metres as I run. To my shame despite my best efforts they are faster than me.
Long-tailed Tits are another species that have probably benefited from the rise in garden bird feeding. They’re certainly partial to suet in our garden, particularly later in the winter when natural food resources are at a low.
They often seem to make an appearance towards late afternoon or dusk, for ‘supper’. As they are so small they’re keen to make the most of available high-energy food like suet just before going to roost to help them maintain a high body temperature.
Long-tailed Tits appear to be gradually adapting their behaviour to exploit the abundance of energy-rich foods provided in gardens and they’ll feed on suet as well as peanuts or even scattered cheese crumbs on a bird table.' voice.gardenbird.co.uk/a-garden-birders-diary-long-tailed-leapfroggers/?utm_source=GardenBird+%28Main%29&utm_campaign=564a6dac33-GBA1018_GLovely bird, seen ';swarms' of them this week, mopping up the last of the greenfly etc no doubt. Similary loads of ladybirds, some funky mostly black two spotted 'eye' like ones, like mini voodoo masks. This week I have mainly been expanding me carnivorous plant and cacti collection.
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Post by Northy on Oct 13, 2018 16:37:18 GMT
Managed to get quite close to this Heron earlier when out for a walk, almost behind it before it took off.
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Post by murphthesurf on Oct 13, 2018 17:18:32 GMT
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Post by chuffedstokie on Oct 13, 2018 17:23:41 GMT
Ladybird invasion and it turns out that they're not particularly pleasant ones either. Rather than being the domestic two spot variety they're multi spotted and have a passion for eating our home grown sort. They also carry some sort of STD which is deadly to our native type should they reproduce. Somehow managed to get here from the states and near continent. North West of the UK in particular being affected. I saw a tv news bulletin with the reporter doing a piece to camera with dozens of the things all over her, kept her nerve til the end.
Called Harlequins. I know this because Murph just posted it. 😁
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Post by murphthesurf on Oct 13, 2018 17:26:42 GMT
I was sitting at the café at Rudyard Lake tucking into a nice piece of Victoria sponge when a couple of newly weds came ambling down to have their photos on a boat by the lakeside. Everyone around had a huge grin at the sight
They then proceeded to get in the boat...... and sail up to the sailing club for their reception. I was halfway down the other side by the time they were getting out. The weather had become really sunny, what a lovely idea ..........which promptly sank. Yep, yep. My version's better.
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Post by murphthesurf on Oct 13, 2018 17:29:53 GMT
Ladybird invasion and it turns out that they're not particularly pleasant ones either. Rather than being the domestic two spot variety they're multi spotted and have a passion for eating our home grown sort. They also carry some sort of STD which is deadly to our native type should they reproduce. Somehow managed to get here from the states and near continent. North West of the UK in particular being affected. I saw a tv news bulletin with the reporter doing a piece to camera with dozens of the things all over her, kept her nerve til the end. Called Harlequins. I know this because Murph just posted it. 😁
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Post by Northy on Oct 13, 2018 17:47:23 GMT
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Post by murphthesurf on Oct 13, 2018 18:15:05 GMT
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Post by Northy on Oct 13, 2018 18:58:43 GMT
Had a few Dunnocks in amongst the undergrowth recently
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Post by murphthesurf on Oct 14, 2018 14:01:54 GMT
Had a few Dunnocks in amongst the undergrowth recently Ahhhhhhh........ little sweeties..........
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