Mammal of the day

[mh68]

Originally Posted by Jez

Can you not still pay the pub regular visits? I hope so, I'm looking forward to more great Fox piccy's from you

Not really mate - its in a pretty dodgy area. If i`d known sooner, I`d have been able to bait up and photograph from the pub itself. I wouldnt sit outside down there with a disposable cam, let alone a DSLR etc, and I wouldnt approach anyone I didnt know about baiting up etc as you dont know what an individuals attitude to wildlife may be....would hate to see the Foxes poisoned or shot..not worth the risk imo.

Dont worry, i`ll get some more Fox pics if it kills me(which is a distinct possibility at this rate!!)

Mark H

[Bub-les]

Well here's my effort at photographing a rabbit!



Barbara

[mh68]

Originally Posted by Bub-les

Well here's my effort at photographing a rabbit!



Barbara

Good one Barbara, nice catchlight in the eyes

Mark H

[pressld2]

Just spent a very pleasant hour with my nose glued to the patio doors.

Three hedgehogs there tonight, and then a fox arrived too! Who needs telly? Such a shame they're all nocturnal - makes it very difficult to get pics. I don't mind snatching a quick flash photo of the hogs when they've finished eating but not much chance with the fox.

Dave P.

[mh68]

Nice one Dave...a Fox too, excellent!! (not jealous...honest!! )...
We now have 2 hogs visiting - the youngster and an adult female.Both were sat together munching on the peanut butter a short while ago, before drinking from the pond and wandering off into the dark

Mark H

[ellen h]

Originally Posted by pressld2

Just spent a very pleasant hour with my nose glued to the patio doors.

Three hedgehogs there tonight, and then a fox arrived too! Who needs telly? Such a shame they're all nocturnal - makes it very difficult to get pics. I don't mind snatching a quick flash photo of the hogs when they've finished eating but not much chance with the fox.

Dave P.

Re: photographing a fox,this one I have fed on and of for nearly a year.My father used to feed the foxes every night and when he died I carried on but reduced it to 3 to 4 nights a week.Its uncanny how this fox knows when I am going to put out the chickhen wings(2-3) as she is always waiting across the road.This year she raised 3 cubs so I increased the issue,but now she is back on normal rations.She has peculiar eyes dont you think?She is my mammal of the day anyway!
ellen

[mh68]

Great pic Ellen. Yes its eyes do look a bit strange, nice animal none the less though

Mark H

[Pat]

Originally Posted by ellen h

Re: photographing a fox,this one I have fed on and of for nearly a year.My father used to feed the foxes every night and when he died I carried on but reduced it to 3 to 4 nights a week.Its uncanny how this fox knows when I am going to put out the chickhen wings(2-3) as she is always waiting across the road.This year she raised 3 cubs so I increased the issue,but now she is back on normal rations.She has peculiar eyes dont you think?She is my mammal of the day anyway!
ellen

Another fox lover like me Ellen, I've got foxes that I feed 3 to 4 times a week ( sometimes more ! ) They certainly do love their chicken wings, I've got 3 adults and 8 cubs at the moment, I feed them near my local wood, I don't go up at any particular time ( usually after dark ) but they seem to know the sound of my car, as soon as I pull up they all come out of the wood, Lovely creatures aren't they, why anyone would want to kill them I don't know

[deer boy]

Great pic Ellen

[shei111]

Lovely pics im glad you are feeding him and his family regulary so nice with piercing eyes. shei

[ellen h]

Originally Posted by shei111

Lovely pics im glad you are feeding him and his family regulary so nice with piercing eyes. shei

She has got peculiar eyes hasnt she? She was a bit worse for wear when that photo was taken,but she is looking better now.Think bringing up a family took its toll!
ellen

[mh68]

We`ve now got 3 hedgehogs visiting - looked out tonight and saw 3 together all feeding within inches of each other, the youngster and 2 similar sized adults.Amazing how a little food attracts them, i`m only putting (literally) a table spoon of peanut butter out per night

Mark H

[mh68]

Just spent an interesting hour in the garden. 2 hogs appeared - one from each hog shelter and sat feeding side by side for at least 20mins, then while watching them I noticed a Woodmouse scamper back into the artificial mouse burrow.A third hog appeared as one of the pair already there wandered off, the first hog that came out tonight was still munching on birdseed, and while it put up happily with the previous hog, it seemed a lot less tolerant of the new arrival - lots of snorting and shoving going on.
Also watched a Pipistrelle fly down the back of the houses,then do a couple of circles round a large Elderberry bush 2 houses down before disappearing. Nice to see, as its the first i`ve seen over the gardens this year

Mark H

[vole-woman]

A good evening all round, then!

[The Black Rabbit]

Originally Posted by mh68

Just spent an interesting hour in the garden. 2 hogs appeared - one from each hog shelter and sat feeding side by side for at least 20mins, then while watching them I noticed a Woodmouse scamper back into the artificial mouse burrow.A third hog appeared as one of the pair already there wandered off, the first hog that came out tonight was still munching on birdseed, and while it put up happily with the previous hog, it seemed a lot less tolerant of the new arrival - lots of snorting and shoving going on.
Also watched a Pipistrelle fly down the back of the houses,then do a couple of circles round a large Elderberry bush 2 houses down before disappearing. Nice to see, as its the first i`ve seen over the gardens this year

Mark H

I take it you missed the herd of WIldebeest then, sweeping majestically through the begonias?

Mammal HQ your gaff pal!
Far from our cruddy little garden becoming an SSSI - YOU'D better watch out it doesn't happen to yours!
Doug

[mh68]

Originally Posted by The Black Rabbit

I take it you missed the herd of WIldebeest then, sweeping majestically through the begonias?

Mammal HQ your gaff pal!
Far from our cruddy little garden becoming an SSSI - YOU'D better watch out it doesn't happen to yours!
Doug

I want some Shrews and Voles, and the odd visiting Fox....which isnt outside the realms of possibility in the future....then i`ll be one happy man!!

Mark H

[vole-woman]

A water vole I just saw now on my way to the cobblers. We're fighting a battle with rats - I saw five of them last night! - so I can't tell you how relieved I was to see this little chap.

[mh68]

Originally Posted by vole-woman

A water vole I just saw now on my way to the cobblers. We're fighting a battle with rats - I saw five of them last night! - so I can't tell you how relieved I was to see this little chap.

Nice pic Kate. I can imagine combatting the Rats is a very awkward problem with the Water Voles being present. How are the Rats being dealt with while avoiding any harm coming to the Voles?

Mark H

[vole-woman]

There's a code of Best Practice on the internet somewhere - I'll see if I can find it, though the precise strategy depends on the individual waterway to an extent. Live trapping's foolproof but not very practical here (or successful generally, I understand) so the pest control officer uses wax blocks which the water voles won't touch, and puts them in a 'ratty' area away from the water. It's an ongoing problem in this small urban stretch, because it's next to a supermarket, and swimming pool and a youth centre, and inevitably waste food gets deposited around.

When the rats first got going last year I was very reluctant to do anything in case it did somehow harm the voles - with the result that a few weeks later all the voles were gone. I learned my lesson! (And luckily the voles came back.)

[mh68]

Originally Posted by vole-woman

There's a code of Best Practice on the internet somewhere - I'll see if I can find it, though the precise strategy depends on the individual waterway to an extent. Live trapping's foolproof but not very practical here (or successful generally, I understand) so the pest control officer uses wax blocks which the water voles won't touch, and puts them in a 'ratty' area away from the water. It's an ongoing problem in this small urban stretch, because it's next to a supermarket, and swimming pool and a youth centre, and inevitably waste food gets deposited around.

When the rats first got going last year I was very reluctant to do anything in case it did somehow harm the voles - with the result that a few weeks later all the voles were gone. I learned my lesson! (And luckily the voles came back.)

Rats were a problem with one of our Water Vole colonies (when we still had some!!), but I cant recall how they dealt with them (I was a kid at the time).Fingers crossed your Rat problem is sorted out quickly

Mark H

[Pete Collins]

My Mammal Of The Day was a Hare. I didn't get to see many this Spring for some reason, so I was delighted to see one near Ringshall on the Bucks/Herts boundary. I also saw three Fallow Deer on my walk today, and two separate Muntjacs (a male and later a female).

[vole-woman]

Know Your Vole

There you go. It feels as though you're between a rock and a hard place when a water vole colony's being overwhelmed by rats, but if you make sure you involve fully-clued-up professional pest controllers, that really is the only way forward.

In any waterway there'll be a rat or two - I'm talking about when you get regular sightings of more than one it's a problem, and especiallly if they're appearing in different sizes. We haven't seen any baby water voles in this particular stretch, and I've a horrible feeling it's because they've been eaten by rats.

But if you're regularly watching a water vole colony and you glimpse the odd rat just occasionally, there's probably no need to do anything.

[tufftie]

A young wood mouse, which Kayleigh and i looked at for ages with treat amusement as it dived in a and out from under the steps trying to find courage to get to the bird nuts. Then later a mink - think American rather than European as very short tail. Funny thing made me laugh

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by tufftie

A young wood mouse, which Kayleigh and i looked at for ages with treat amusement as it dived in a and out from under the steps trying to find courage to get to the bird nuts. Then later a mink - think American rather than European as very short tail. Funny thing made me laugh

Don't forget the grey squirrel running around the tree and sitting on the chair.

[vole-woman]

Could you report the mink to your local wildlife trust, tufftie? I don't know where you're based, but mink presence could be disastrous for certain fragile species in your area.