The Great Outdoors (1 Viewer)

bringbackrattles · Apr 26, 2017

On the round this week I've seen squirells,robins,blue tits,goldfinches,and heard woodpeckers in the distance. The weather has been chopping and changing one minute sunny,the next cold and windy. But stopping and pausing and looking around I thought how much I love the outdoors, add in the exercise of walking etc and it just can't be beat in my opinion. Many people though prefer being indoors and dislike outdoor stuff, but to me they're missing out. Anybody else feel the same way ?

olderskyblue · Apr 26, 2017

bringbackrattles said:
On the round this week I've seen squirells,robins,blue tits,goldfinches,and heard woodpeckers in the distance. The weather has been chopping and changing one minute sunny,the next cold and windy. But stopping and pausing and looking around I thought how much I love the outdoors, add in the exercise of walking etc and it just can't be beat in my opinion. Many people though prefer being indoors and dislike outdoor stuff, but to me they're missing out. Anybody else feel the same way ?

Blimey, you cleaning the windows on tree houses now??

henry the wasp · Apr 26, 2017

Might just be me, but there seem to be loads more robins this year. Got a nice sized garden with trees and a proper hedge on one side. Got two crows nesting in one tree and sparrows in the hedge. All kinds of birds feeding in the day. sadly not seen any hedgehogs yet.
I've got three dogs so always out walking. Did the Worcester to Birmingham canal walk not long ago. Prefer to be out and about whatever the weather.

bringbackrattles · Apr 26, 2017

A house down Henley Road last week had a rifle sticking out from a bedroom window.I asked the owner what's all that about ? He said his garden is plagued with squirells nicking bird feed and messing up his flower beds etc. So he shoots them !! I said can you do that without getting nicked ? He laughed and said grey squirells are vermin,if they were red it would be different.

pastythegreat · Apr 26, 2017

bringbackrattles said:
A house down Henley Road last week had a rifle sticking out from a bedroom window.I asked the owner what's all that about ? He said his garden is plagued with squirells nicking bird feed and messing up his flower beds etc. So he shoots them !! I said can you do that without getting nicked ? He laughed and said grey squirells are vermin,if they were red it would be different.

Yes squirrels are fair game! Although I think the law states they must be despatched humanely. Shot or a single blow to the back of the head. You can't bludgeon them to death or drown them etc.
I think it's common sense with hunting tbf. Always ask the land owners permission or you could potentially be seen as poaching.
Most farmers are happy for you to keep the numbers down. I used to have a farmer in Berkswell would pay me £2 per rabbit I caught on his land!

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Covstu · Apr 26, 2017

Over this time of year. Out on the bike and the fields are all bright yellow! Fantastic

bringbackrattles · Apr 26, 2017

Covstu said:
Over this time of year. Out on the bike and the fields are all bright yellow! Fantastic

Think yellow fields are usually rape seed ?

bringbackrattles · Apr 26, 2017

Off track a bit. I had only ever saw a kingfisher once as a kid down by a stream in Walsgrave.Then on a walk not long ago down by the wyken slough I saw out of the corner of my eye a bright blue flash. It was a kingfisher diving into the water trying to grab a fish.
Then it was gone but its times like that you need a camera/phone at hand to take a picture. They are elusive but it was a good moment !

footyfrenzy · Apr 26, 2017

I saw a Jay in the hedgerows between Coombe Abbey and Brinklow yesterday, beautiful birds

lifeskyblue · Apr 26, 2017

Lovely thread. Yes now I only work two days a week i go for a long walk often down the canal in the city or to a couple of country parks at least one day a week. See lots of birds...couple months ago a group of fieldfares and a couple of redwings.
Rattles I haven't seen a kingfisher in 10yrs or more. And Henry wasp like you I think there does seem more robins than usual. Was down at daughters at Amersham a couple weeks ago and the red kite population has increased greatly...majestic when they soar and glide

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bringbackrattles · Apr 26, 2017

footyfrenzy said:
I saw a Jay in the hedgerows between Coombe Abbey and Brinklow yesterday, beautiful birds

When I see something like that it thrills me but many people say so what ! I stood and watched a woodpecker chipping away up a tree and a few people stopped to look up too. When I told them what I was looking at they walked off as if it was dull !

lifeskyblue · Apr 26, 2017

bringbackrattles said:
When I see something like that it thrills me but many people say so what ! I stood and watched a woodpecker chipping away up a tree and a few people stopped to look up too. When I told them what I was looking at they walked off as if it was dull !

Absolutely is thrilling...whether it's a rare sight or one you can see anywhere. I remember in Scotland watching sea otters feed on a remote part of the Isle of Mull coast for an hour or more...fascinating. Equally watching the greenfinches coming to the bird feeder is great fun.

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bringbackrattles · Apr 26, 2017

lifeskyblue said:
Lovely thread. Yes now I only work two days a week i go for a long walk often down the canal in the city or to a couple of country parks at least one day a week. See lots of birds...couple months ago a group of fieldfares and a couple of redwings.
Rattles I haven't seen a kingfisher in 10yrs or more. And Henry wasp like you I think there does seem more robins than usual. Was down at daughters at Amersham a couple weeks ago and the red kite population has increased greatly...majestic when they soar and glide

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Red Kites I'm envious ! But last year down by Cardinal Wiseman school there is wastelands and to my amazement/delight above my head was a sparrowhawk hovering looking down at the ground.
That was a one off but never forgotten.

lifeskyblue · Apr 26, 2017

bringbackrattles said:
Red Kites I'm envious ! But last year down by Cardinal Wiseman school there is wastelands and to my amazement/delight above my head was a sparrowhawk hovering looking down at the ground.
That was a one off but never forgotten.

If you can get to that part of Buckinghamshire rattles they are unbelievably common. As for a sparrowhawk I haven't seen one for a few years but sometimes see the remains of their catch

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clint van damme · Apr 26, 2017

footyfrenzy said:
I saw a Jay in the hedgerows between Coombe Abbey and Brinklow yesterday, beautiful birds

I used to work in Redditch. I'd never seen one until I went over there but there's loads of them. no idea why.

pastythegreat · Apr 26, 2017

bringbackrattles said:
Red Kites I'm envious ! But last year down by Cardinal Wiseman school there is wastelands and to my amazement/delight above my head was a sparrowhawk hovering looking down at the ground.
That was a one off but never forgotten.

I was driving to work a couple of months back, and on the way up towards Hampton in Arden this great huge shadow swooped out of the tree and over my car. This huge Buzzard flew right over the top of me and went to catch something on the road up ahead! It never caught was it was going for and pulled back up. I think that I/the car must've spooked it but it was right there, about 5m in front of me.
When it swooped over the car it's wingspan must've been the width of the car easily. With its shadow over me it felt like if was coming down for me

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torchomatic · Apr 26, 2017

bringbackrattles said:
On the round this week I've seen squirells,robins,blue tits,goldfinches,and heard woodpeckers in the distance. The weather has been chopping and changing one minute sunny,the next cold and windy. But stopping and pausing and looking around I thought how much I love the outdoors, add in the exercise of walking etc and it just can't be beat in my opinion. Many people though prefer being indoors and dislike outdoor stuff, but to me they're missing out. Anybody else feel the same way ?

Me. I.love watching birds in the garden and I said to mu wife on the way over here I will really miss the sky, clouds and trees whilst being stuck in hospital again. But most of all fresh air.

clint van damme · Apr 26, 2017

pastythegreat said:
I was driving to work a couple of months back, and on the way up towards Hampton in Arden this great huge shadow swooped out of the tree and over my car. This huge Buzzard flew right over the top of me and went to catch something on the road up ahead! It never caught was it was going for and pulled back up. I think that I/the car must've spooked it but it was right there, about 5m in front of me.
When it swooped over the car it's wingspan must've been the width of the car easily. With its shadow over me it felt like if was coming down for me

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You were quite safe mate! Buzzards only have a small claw span and only hunt small prey.
Their main food source many years ago were snakes which were rife in Warwickshire when it was covered in woods and forests. The declining number of snakes lead to a decline in the number of buzzards but they've had a renaissance - and that's my fact for today!!

Monners · Apr 26, 2017

This thread to me is like an accounting thread to OSB58. Made a career change 14 years ago to work in the environment sector. Keep it going chaps.

Gazolba · Apr 26, 2017

bringbackrattles said:
On the round this week I've seen squirells,robins,blue tits,goldfinches,and heard woodpeckers in the distance. The weather has been chopping and changing one minute sunny,the next cold and windy. But stopping and pausing and looking around I thought how much I love the outdoors, add in the exercise of walking etc and it just can't be beat in my opinion. Many people though prefer being indoors and dislike outdoor stuff, but to me they're missing out. Anybody else feel the same way ?

Well my indoors is around 2500 square feet and the outdoors is a hell of a lot bigger (and more interesting), so I'll vote for the outdoors.

Gazolba · Apr 26, 2017

torchomatic said:
Me. I.love watching birds in the garden and I said to mu wife on the way over here I will really miss the sky, clouds and trees whilst being stuck in hospital again. But most of all fresh air.

Here's a couple from the tree in my garden, a House Finch and a Hummingbird:

Nick · Apr 26, 2017

Are these standard cameras? Or do you have huge lenses / zoom?

Gazolba · Apr 26, 2017

bringbackrattles said:
When I see something like that it thrills me but many people say so what ! I stood and watched a woodpecker chipping away up a tree and a few people stopped to look up too. When I told them what I was looking at they walked off as if it was dull !

Here's one on a tree in my back garden. They are hard to shoot as they tend to scuttle around the back of the tree when they see you.

bringbackrattles · Apr 26, 2017

Gazolba said:
Here's one on a tree in my back garden. They are hard to shoot as they tend to scuttle around the back of the tree when they see you.
View attachment 7273

The one I saw was near Wood End !

Gazolba · Apr 27, 2017

Nick said:
Are these standard cameras? Or do you have huge lenses / zoom?

I use a Fuji Finepix SL.
It does not have interchangeable lenses but it zooms out 30x. That's about equivalent to 700mm on an old 35mm camera.
Usually when I'm photographing birds, I leave it zoomed out to the max.
I usually take about a dozen shots of a given bird to get one good one, they are very twitchy subjects.
Quite often they fly off before I get a good shot.

Gazolba · Apr 27, 2017

bringbackrattles said:
The one I saw was near Wood End !

There's an owl somewhere in my neighbourhood.
I hear it hooting all the time - like it's very close, but I've never been able to spot it to take a photo.

bringbackrattles · Apr 27, 2017

My sister lives in rural Leicestershire and they had a neighbour who had a cockerel. It drove her nuts as the bird made a racket early morning waking the whole road up. This went on for months until strangely an eerie silence replaced the din. She heard the cockerel had mysteriously vanished one night never to be seen/heard again. The owner got up to see his beloved bird gone. Rumour had it the noisy bird had got bumped off ? Her whole street were happy though !

shmmeee · Apr 27, 2017

Been teaching my daughter about birds and things recently. Took her to Ryton Pools the other week and there's a bit with boxes for blue tits and great tits.

On the way out she exclaims loudly "Granny's got great tits I think"

Nick · Apr 27, 2017

shmmeee said:
Been teaching my daughter about birds and things recently. Took her to Ryton Pools the other week and there's a bit with boxes for blue tits and great tits.

On the way out she exclaims loudly "Granny's got great tits I think"

Ha legend

Were there other people in there? The pros always get offended with kids in there!

richnrg · Apr 27, 2017

pretty sure climate change is to blame for the decline in some species. I've seen loads of robins this year but not a single batman :emoji_confused:

olderskyblue · Apr 27, 2017

shmmeee said:
Been teaching my daughter about birds and things recently. Took her to Ryton Pools the other week and there's a bit with boxes for blue tits and great tits.

On the way out she exclaims loudly "Granny's got great tits I think"

You should take her to Brandon marsh

Nick · Apr 27, 2017

olderskyblue said:
You should take her to Brandon marsh

That's even worse. Went there last summer and looked at a few and the silly old twats kept looking at us like we were shit because my daughter dared to speak and ask what bird it was.

Cafe was quite nice though.

olderskyblue · Apr 27, 2017

Nick said:
That's even worse. Went there last summer and looked at a few and the silly old twats kept looking at us like we were shit because my daughter dared to speak and ask what bird it was.

Cafe was quite nice though.

I took my grand-daughter there last year, and the old boys and girls were letting her look at the birds through their camera telescopes. Nice as pie.

Nick · Apr 27, 2017

olderskyblue said:
I took my grand-daughter there last year, and the old boys and girls were letting her look at the birds through their camera telescopes. Nice as pie.

I must have just caught some miserable ones

There is Hartshill Hayes in Nuneaton but not properly setup for wildlife as much.

On a side note away from photos (sorry). At Ryton pools etc they do stuff in the holidays for the kids, really good!

olderskyblue · Apr 27, 2017

Nick said:
I must have just caught some miserable ones

There is Hartshill Hayes in Nuneaton but not properly setup for wildlife as much.

On a side note away from photos (sorry). At Ryton pools etc they do stuff in the holidays for the kids, really good!

Agreed. You ought to take her to Hoar farm too. good for the kids, and reasonably priced too.

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