http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums British Wildlife at Wild About Britain - The home of British wildlife, nature and environment conservation across the UK en Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:55:15 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/uk-weather/63198-november-floods.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:05:48 GMT Hi I live in Dumfries southwest scotland we also have been hit by terrible rain and floods the local river Nith is overflowing and burst its banks in several places causing flooding, it my not be as bad as in cumbria and uther parts of the country but has caused a lot of damage to property along... Hi I live in Dumfries southwest scotland we also have been hit by terrible rain
and floods the local river Nith is overflowing and burst its banks in several places causing flooding, it my not be as bad as in cumbria and uther parts of the country but has caused a lot of damage to property along the riverside. i had added some photos i took today friday at 11.30am.
...Alan.
]]> UK Weather alan45 http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/uk-weather/63198-november-floods.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/photography-equipment/63197-help-needed-dslr-upgrade.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:58:18 GMT Hi all, Ive had a Nikon D40 since May of this year and as a result have found a new interest in wildlife photogrphy. I use a 70-300mm lens but would like something a bit bigger or branch into Digiscoping. Ive had two of my photos exhibited recently and as a treat i though i would look to... Hi all,
Ive had a Nikon D40 since May of this year and as a result have found a new interest in wildlife photogrphy. I use a 70-300mm lens but would like something a bit bigger or branch into Digiscoping.

Ive had two of my photos exhibited recently and as a treat i though i would look to upgrade my D40.
I visited three local shops the first one tried to sell me a Nikon D90- which looked good and a serious contender.
the second suggested either a D90 or an Olympus E620- costing £800 with two lenses.
the third suggested either a Nikon D5000, told me the D90 is now discontinued??!! or to digiscope from my D40. they told me previously that this wasnt possible due to the weight of a larger lens or scope on the D40

:confused: i'm very confused and need some expert advice,
Can anyone suggest the best DSLR to spend my hard earned money on?
Has anyone used the D90/ D5000 and E620?

Please Help! the moneys burning a hole in my pocket!
Sandymere ]]> Photography Equipment sandymere http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/photography-equipment/63197-help-needed-dslr-upgrade.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/uk-weather/63196-floods-cumbria.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:29:46 GMT I've been following the news reports of the horrendous floods in Cumbria and other areas. Terrible news for people and wildlife alike, hope any Wabbers around that way are not affected too severely. ]]> UK Weather agrumpycow http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/uk-weather/63196-floods-cumbria.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/insects-and-invertebrates/63194-can-anyone-identify.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:43:04 GMT Hi everyone Could anyone identify this little critter for me please? I keep finding them on the walls in my bedroom. Should i be worried about them? I also found lots of little cacoon types thing on my towels, They were about 1cm and a rusty colour and i only found them on my orange... Hi everyone

Could anyone identify this little critter for me please? I keep finding them on the walls in my bedroom.
Should i be worried about them?

I also found lots of little cacoon types thing on my towels, They were about 1cm and a rusty colour and i only found them on my orange towel

Thanks in advance for any info ]]> Insects and Invertebrates spiderbait http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/insects-and-invertebrates/63194-can-anyone-identify.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/british-birds/63193-northern-bird-festival.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:34:49 GMT Don't forget folks its the Northern Bird Festival at Martin Mere this Saturday and Sunday. See North West Bird Watching Festival - Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) for more information but there's lots of traders' stands, some excellent speakers and a chance to take a look at the Whoopers, Pink Foot Geese, and the other visitors to the Mere as well as the collection in the ornamental gardens. ]]> British Birds Lensman400 http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/british-birds/63193-northern-bird-festival.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/general-wildlife/63192-chainsaws-stag-beetles-nitrogen-and-fungi.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:41:42 GMT Many of you out there who own and occasionally use chainsaws, may not be aware of a campaign to encourage users to fell dead standing trees higher than normal, say, at a height between waist and below shoulder height. This is not only easier on the back to do, but also leaves more wood available... Many of you out there who own and occasionally use chainsaws, may not be aware of a campaign to encourage users to fell dead standing trees higher than normal, say, at a height between waist and below shoulder height.

This is not only easier on the back to do, but also leaves more wood available for wildlife, such as fungi and invertebrates.
One of our most remarkable beetles, the Stag Beetle lives in such habitats for up to 6 years chomping away at the wood before emerging as that wonderful beast we all should know and love.

Many fungi, such as Smokey Bracket and Turkey Tail will often begin to grow on such habitats and it is these fungi which are most important, as we all need nitrogen to survive and there is very little, if any, nitrogen in dead wood.
It is known that the beetle can 'fix' nitrogen from the atmosphere, but so little that it would take 130 years for enough to be 'fixed' for it's survival needs, so how do they obtain their nitrogen ?

Research has already taken place with Lesser Stag Beetles and it is now known that they obtain their nitrogen from chewing the minute fungal threads called mycelium.
The mycelium is the main 'body' of the fungus, the toadstool itself being only there to produce spores.
It is suspected that the Stag Beetle too, obtains it's nitrogen 'fix' in the same way, and work is currently underway looking into this.

So in the meantime, can I appeal to anybody who has a dying or dead tree in their garden and is planning to have it taken down, please do your bit to help wildlife and tell the man with the chainsaw to cut it between waist and just below his shoulder height - the creepy crawlies and the birds and fungi will love you for it.

Many thanks, Neil. ]]> General Wildlife fairplay http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/general-wildlife/63192-chainsaws-stag-beetles-nitrogen-and-fungi.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/mammal-forums/63191-mouse-shed-type.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:33:38 GMT Hi,

Just thought I'd post a photo of the mouse in its own message to see if you can tell me which type of mouse we have in the shed..thinking it's a wood mouse maybe or a house mouse?? It's very tame and comes out to see us when we go in the shed and squeaks at us.. it's helping itself to the hens corn as you can see in the pic and seems very happy :)

Thanks for any info, love this site!!!

Carrie ~x~ photo taken by our 12 year old daughter.

]]> Mammal Forums carriesp http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/mammal-forums/63191-mouse-shed-type.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/spiders/63190-unidentified-spiders-my-loft.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:00:50 GMT Hi there, I went to put some stuff in my loft after working away from home for a month. I live on the Wirral, Merseyside. When I got up, there was spider webs all in the eves of the roof and loads of dead house spiders everywhere. I then saw a strange spider It was about the size of a... Hi there,

I went to put some stuff in my loft after working away from home for a month. I live on the Wirral, Merseyside.

When I got up, there was spider webs all in the eves of the roof and loads of dead house spiders everywhere.

I then saw a strange spider

It was about the size of a 1p, smooth,shiny, black with red dots on its back. Its back bit is much bigger than its front bit.

I took some photos which i will try and attach but there not that good, will try to get some better ones, a friend just told me about a macro setting on my camera.

I have only seen three of these spiders one the size of a penny and the others about the size of a 5p.Also it looks like there are egg sacks.

Does anyone have any idea what these are? are they harmless? Should i call pest control or just let them be?

Thanks for your help ]]> Spiders JayWirral http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/spiders/63190-unidentified-spiders-my-loft.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/mammal-forums/63188-badger-moved.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:11:31 GMT Hi all,
Just wanted to share what's been happening over at our house over the last few weeks. My husband, youngest daughter and I went to visit our new baby Grandaughter at the beginning of October and asked our 24 year old daughter to look after the animals and house whilst we were away. One night at about 11.00pm my mobile phone rang and it was our eldest screaming into the phone.. after a few minutes I calmed her down enough to tell us that she had been watching tv and suddenly the dogs had started barking and wanting to go outside.. she suddenly realised that she had forgotten to shut up our free range hens. She rushed outside with the dogs only to be confronted by a hen running around the garden in a panic closely followed by a badger. She ran inside.. the dogs a very soft lab and even softer springer ran after her. At the same time the hen, who obviously thought it the safest place to be ran inside the house as well and so did the badger! The hen ran into one of the dogs cages (clever hens we have lol) and my daughter quickly shut it in.. the badger was still trying to get at the hen. My daughter shut herself in the inner hall and rang me, meanwhile the dogs were trying to also get in the inner hall as they were scared of the badger. I rang a neighbour to go and help her and by the time he got there the badger had gone. We had sadly lost one hen but the one that escaped to the house was shaken up but was fine the next morning.. we were very lucky it wasn't worse. Our daughter feels very bad about forgetting to lock the hens up but we all learn from our mistakes.

Anyway we came home and since then the badger wanders our garden at night and regularly comes and looks through the glass patio doors during the evening, sometimes standing looking in at us for several minutes and ignoring our dogs barking at it on the opposite side of the glass. We found out that its lair was on some land a little way up the road and we were happy to see it in the evening although we've never been able to take a photo of it because of the shine from the glass. We have had to shut the curtains at night to stop the dogs barking at it and waking us all during the night. We have never fed him.
A couple of days ago our dogs suddenly started barking under a metal lock up we have on our property.. all hours of the day or night! I let them out, they bark I let them in.. it's a nightmare. Today we had a good look underneath and yes the badger is now living under our lock up.. its nice and cosy under there for him and he has taken some straw in there. He is a very big badger so I'm assuming he's a boy!
My youngest daughter has managed to take a couple of photo's of him although they're not very clear as she had to lie down to get them.
He is a very beautiful creature and we love having him but what I am wondering is if he will move on or will we have him for the winter now or longer? Will he attack our free range hens during the daylight hours if they wander too close to his lair? Should we feed it maybe to discourage it going after our hens? Will our dogs get used to him and actually use their pee time out in the garden to pee rather than bark.. the last one is slightly tongue in cheek ;o) Also we are in the process of selling our house.. should we tell the would be buyers or keep quiet about it as badgers around this area seem to be very common and people are getting fed up with them.. I'm not certain they would see it as a plus sadly. Photo coming soon!
Thanks,
Carrie ~x~ ]]> Mammal Forums carriesp http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/mammal-forums/63188-badger-moved.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/british-birds/63187-no-fishing-draycote-next-year.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:48:43 GMT Just wondered what the reaction was to the ban on fishing at Draycote next year. Good news for the birdwatchers there or no feelings either way? Just wondered what the reaction was to the ban on fishing at Draycote next year. Good news for the birdwatchers there or no feelings either way? ]]> British Birds spuggie http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/british-birds/63187-no-fishing-draycote-next-year.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/photography-equipment/63186-nikon-d300-mb-d10-grip-and-aa-batteries.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:39:26 GMT Anyone used AA batteries in their D300 grip at all?

I miss not having a grip, but the cost of a grip plus EN-EL4/4a battery, BL-3 cover and charger is eye watering :eek: and one of the major advantages is the extra couple of fps, which you don't get with the EN-EL3's.

Just wondered if anyone had any experience of using AA's? If so, any rough estimates on the number or frames/life you've had from a set of AA NiMH's?

Long shot I know... ]]> Photography Equipment Richard G. http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/photography-equipment/63186-nikon-d300-mb-d10-grip-and-aa-batteries.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/photography-equipment/63185-tripod-just-too-big.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:52:11 GMT I purchased a Bogen [Manfrotto] Tripod at a charity sale firstly because it looked really sturdy and secondly, I know very little so thought it'll do.

The tripod is a Bogen Professional 3236 and is fitted with a Manfrotto 3063 fluid head.

Is this tripod just too big to practically use with a camera/bigma? it seemed to look bigger when I got it home [I guess because I can now compare it with my old tripod].
I own a monopod for when I'm strolling but there are a few places where we are still for a while and like setting a tripod up.

What exactly is a fluid head and is it only any good for video camera's?

Lastly should I sell it on and get something else more suitable? bearing in mind this is a wonderfully solid stable platform for your camera [and really heavy:(].

Advice appreciated as always:D

Brian.



]]> Photography Equipment 1963bus http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/photography-equipment/63185-tripod-just-too-big.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/video/63184-sub-300-hd-cam.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:03:50 GMT Need to upgrade to a real camcorder under £300 - any advise? Needs... compact/pocketable cam longish zoom x10+ zoom whilst videoing IS 1920 x 1080 HD + 720p still pics button easy transfer to MS MovieMaker s/ware for editing Need to upgrade to a real camcorder under £300 - any advise?

Needs...
compact/pocketable cam
longish zoom x10+
zoom whilst videoing
IS
1920 x 1080 HD + 720p
still pics button
easy transfer to MS MovieMaker s/ware for editing

TIA ]]> Video nytecam http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/video/63184-sub-300-hd-cam.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/photography-equipment/63183-full-frame-photography.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:10:03 GMT Just being curious here. Do any members have any experience of using full frame DSLR's for shooting wildlife? If so, have you been pleased with the results and the possible lack of reach, assuming that you haven't forked out for massive lenses? - Wizzo ]]> Photography Equipment wizzo http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/photography-equipment/63183-full-frame-photography.html http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/fungi-forums/63182-few-confirmation.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:13:19 GMT Hi all!

A few firsts for me today....

The first I'm pretty sure is Amanita excelsa var. spissa growing in mixed woodland.



The second I've no idea on - keep flitting between Tricholoma and Clitocybe, in mixed woodland with birch. cap 8cm, cystidia absent, no spore print:mad:.



And the third - Leucopaxillus giganteus? cap 20cm on roadside by mixed woods.



Apologies (again) for the poor photography, I've got a new camera in the post so you won't have to put up with it for much longer!:cool:

Cheers, Nick. ]]> Fungi Forums stickman http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/fungi-forums/63182-few-confirmation.html