Mammal of the day

[Jez]

Thanks for posting a photo Shirl . Despite the muddy waters, your Shrewy seems to be having a wail of a time! Yesterday the water was mucky but today after my clearance Of Naomi's brook the lovely Shrew was in his element, diving down, swimming up stream and in & out of the Nooks & crannies! It dived right down straight in front of a female mallard who sat in in the water and didn't batter an eyelid. Great stuff, got a good feeling I'll be seeing a lot more Water Shrew activity! It just goes to show I have been living here in these parts for 8 years now, what else is around here? I can't wait to find out

[shirl]

You are most welcome, they are not the easiest mammal to photograph, but so exciting to watch. They can't survive long without food so they are always so busy, makes me tired watching them. Hope you find some more of natures wonders.

Shirl

[mh68]

That`s a very nice find Jez. I`ve seen a grand total of one. Luckily it was on dry land so I got a few shots. They still remain some of my most cherished mammal pics...I hope you get to see it/them regularly...



Mark H

[Jez]

Thanks both,

Well I think I know where it resides or at least I hope I do! According to a book they live solitary, but are more social than other red toothed Shrews. often in small groups in close proximity. So chances are there there could always be more one about?

Cheers

Lovely photo by the way Mark

[shirl]

Originally Posted by Jez

Thanks both,

Well I think I know where it resides or at least I hope I do! According to a book they live solitary, but are more social than other red toothed Shrews. often in small groups in close proximity. So chances are there there could always be more one about?

Cheers

Lovely photo by the way Mark

When I saw the one in Feb, there were 2 within a foot of each other, both foraging

Shirl

[mh68]

It`s been all go in the garden this evening. Firstly the Woodmouse made another appearance. I`m hoping its taken up residence in the mouse house i put in, as sightings 2 days running in the garden are rare.No pics this time though...
Then a little later, a young Hog appeared, feeding on the peanut butter i`d put down for the mouse Got these two shots before it wandered back into the hedgehog shelter close by...





Mark H

[Bub-les]

Great stuff
I haven't seen a live hog yet this year!
Barbara

[deer boy]

Originally Posted by mh68

Out at dawn today, but little about. Was hoping to catch a glimpse of the Foxes but drew a blank. Plenty of Rabbits out though, got this shot....not great but I liked the warm lighting on it



Mark H

Great pic,i love the lighting on it as well

[mh68]

Cheers Deer boy,the light was nice, but not enough to stop camera shake, hence the slight blur...

Barbara, the hog last night would have gone unnoticed had i not put that peanut butter out to try and tempt the mouse - might be worth putting a small amount of food out to see whats about?

Mark H

[Pat]

Don't you ever get foxes in your garden Mark, I would have thought you would with all the other wildlfe there.

[mh68]

Morning Pat.
I`ve seen them in the front street at night through the Winter,and regularly hear them at night a few hundreds yards away calling, but as far as i`m aware i`ve never had any visit the garden. Two doors down, one of the neighbours has a large kennel for his hunting dogs, so I imagine that may be one reason.

I`d be well chuffed if I had them visiting the garden

Mark H

[Pat]

I wouldn't have thought the dogs would put them off, where I feed mine near the wood there are plenty of dogs running around, it's more than likely they go where there is food available so possibly they might come in for your peanut butter sandwhiches !

[mh68]

Thanks Pat,thats encouraging. If thats the case I might try leaving some food out for them in the autumn once the longer nights arrive. The hedgehogs which visit the garden get food left out for them through the autumn, but mostly dried cat food.I`ll try putting some other stuff out too...

Mark H

PS forgot to ask - did you get those pics sorted out you had trouble with the other day?

[shirl]

Mark, the baby hog pics are super, we do have hedgehogs in our garden but I don't see them very often. Lovely shots, keep putting out that peanut butter.

Shirl

[mh68]

Originally Posted by shirl

Mark, the baby hog pics are super, we do have hedgehogs in our garden but I don't see them very often. Lovely shots, keep putting out that peanut butter.

Shirl

Thanks very much Shirl He/she must have been hungry - came back about 5 times to feed.It seemed in good health though, only one small tick on its head, going off my photos.I usually find the odd dropping through the summer, but usually its not until Autumn that they start to regularly show themselves.Now I know one`s about, i`ll put a little snack out for it each night, to put it in good stead for its night of foraging

Mark H

[Pat]

Originally Posted by mh68

Thanks Pat,thats encouraging. If thats the case I might try leaving some food out for them in the autumn once the longer nights arrive. The hedgehogs which visit the garden get food left out for them through the autumn, but mostly dried cat food.I`ll try putting some other stuff out too...

Mark H

PS forgot to ask - did you get those pics sorted out you had trouble with the other day?

No I didn't Mark but I'll try giving it another go. When I've uploaded them in the archive how do I attatch them to my post

[mh68]

Originally Posted by Pat

No I didn't Mark but I'll try giving it another go. When I've uploaded them in the archive how do I attatch them to my post

Once uploaded, if you click on one of the pics, you`ll see a text window underneath the image entitled "forum image code", click it once to highlight the text, press ctrl+C to copy it, then ctrl+V to paste it into your forum post. If you have any problems Pat pm me and i`ll post the pics for you

Mark H

[pressld2]

Originally Posted by mh68

only one small tick on its head, going off my photos.

Is that the small bluish-grey blob just behind his ear in the first photo? One of my hogs has three or four of these in similar positions and I was wondering what they were. Are they harmful? Should I try and pick them off? My hogs tend to freeze rather than run away if I step out into the garden while they're feeding so I'm pretty certain I could get the ticks with a pair of tweezers.

Dave P.

[mh68]

Originally Posted by pressld2

Is that the small bluish-grey blob just behind his ear in the first photo? One of my hogs has three or four of these in similar positions and I was wondering what they were. Are they harmful? Should I try and pick them off? My hogs tend to freeze rather than run away if I step out into the garden while they're feeding so I'm pretty certain I could get the ticks with a pair of tweezers.

Dave P.

Yep thats right Dave. If your hogs allow you a close approach, the best thing to do with ticks is to cover them in a few drops cooking oil or similar - stops them breathing and they just fall off in a few hours. Pulling them out with tweezers would have the same effect as removing them from ourselves in this way - there`d be a chance of leaving the mouthparts in place which could lead to infection.The odd tick probably wont do too much damage,apart from the risk of infection obviously, but sometimes hogs become infested, which must seriously weaken them.If you can get close enough to treat them, its certainly worth doing.

Mark H

[pressld2]

Thanks Mark. I'll fish out a pipette and some olive oil and give it a go. I didn't know that about tweezers so thanks for the advice.

Dave P.

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by pressld2

Thanks Mark. I'll fish out a pipette and some olive oil and give it a go. I didn't know that about tweezers so thanks for the advice.

Dave P.

Go get a tick remover from the vets..You have no chance of leaving the mouth parts in then...

You also don't want to risk killing the tick and it staying in the hogs that will also cause infection.

[mh68]

Kayleigh, the oil treatment method doesnt kill the tick straight away. The tick begins to suffocate, releases its grip on the host and falls off. It also has the advantage of allowing treatment with the minimum of handling, reducing stress on the hog.

Mark H

[Pat]

Originally Posted by mh68

Once uploaded, if you click on one of the pics, you`ll see a text window underneath the image entitled "forum image code", click it once to highlight the text, press ctrl+C to copy it, then ctrl+V to paste it into your forum post. If you have any problems Pat pm me and i`ll post the pics for you

Mark H

I've been trying for about half an hour Mark and I still can't figure it out,if you can do it for me I'll be very grateful, the picture is in the archives entitled foxes feeding. Thanks in anticipation.

[mh68]

Here you go Pat, and what a great shot it is too



Mark H

[Kayleigh]

Hi mark I didn't think of the minimal handling part.

Nice pics Pat. Hope you manage to sort it.