wildlife

[Roma]

Thanks, Tom.  That is interesting. The feathers were pretty wet when I found them and after Saturday night's heavy rain are sodden.  I do not know a lot about birds of prey.  I see buzzards frequently.  I have not seen a kestrel for a long time.  I know my neighbours had a sparrowhawk catching small birds at their bird feeders and I frequently see heaps of feathers which I've always assumed were remains of a sparrowhawk's meal but a quick flash is all I usually see of the bird itself.   

[Maggi Young]

Not sure we get Goshawks in this area?  But I don't doubt they could make short work of a sparrow hawk.

[ian mcdonald]

I thought goshawk could be the bird. The RSPB site suggests southern Scotland and the Inverness area for most likely areas.

[Peter Maguire]

The Scottish Raptor Study group website lists eastern Scotland and the border (English) forests as strongholds, with a Scottish population of around 150 pairs. The BTO (British Trust for Ornitholgy) atlas website shows confirmed breeding along the length of the Dee valley down to the coast so goshawks in the Aberdeen area are entirely possible.

[Anthony Darby]

Gosh - awkward when the predator become the prey.

[Gabriela]

Cardinalis cardinalis


Sometimes he likes to pose for photo shoots 

[Maggi Young]

If I had a smart coat  like that I'd pose myself!

[Michael J Campbell]

The UK government just okayed a plan to sow bee-endangering seeds across the country.

http://action.sumofus.org/a/neonics-uk/?sub=fb.

[Anthony Darby]

The UK government just okayed a plan to sow bee-endangering seeds across the country.

http://action.sumofus.org/a/neonics-uk/?sub=fb.

Why am I not surprised. Wonder who's getting the back hander?

[Lampwick]

If I had a smart coat  like that I'd pose myself!

If I had a smart coat like that I could be Father Christmas 

[Maggi Young]

If this is true  it's good news!   

"Queen creates army of super honeybees that can defeat deadly varroa mites
The queen’s mother was from a colony in Vermont which managed to survive the cold winters there and also outbreaks of disease  "

 http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/queen-creates-army-of-super-honeybees-that-can-defeat-deadly-varroa-mites-a6813301.html

[Maggi Young]

The UK government just okayed a plan to sow bee-endangering seeds across the country.

http://action.sumofus.org/a/neonics-uk/?sub=fb.

  I've been given this information by Ben Probert  to explain why  these treated seeds are not such a problem and why it is important to keep up the vigilance on neonic sprays......


Ben Probert : 

Neonics were originally intended as seed treatments. Seeds easily fall prey to insects when in storage and when initially planted, so the neonics were initially designed to be used as coatings for seeds. Once the soil borne organism comes into contact with the seed coating it dies, allowing the seedling to germinate. Later it was also realised that neonics could be used on plants actively in growth using water or oils as carriers. These sprayed applications use more product each time; there is physically more plant to treat! Also, as the plant is actively in growth it's either in flower or will be flowering during the effective period of the insecticide it's treated with. This is obviously bad news for bees! Just as an aside, spray neonics were initially used because they were considerably safer than the ironically natural and organic nicotine treatments that went before- this is why scientific reviews are so important!

Back to seed treatments. The neonic dose used for seeds is considerably smaller than the dose used in spraying of plants in active growth. Add to this the fact that the product is applied as a coating to the seed shell, which is not actually attached to the plant tissues and is shed shortly after germination and the amount of product in the plant tissues after germination is further reduced. By the time the plant is anywhere near flowering size the product has diminished completely or is found as a miniscule trace in tissues- this is why the plants are sprayed; there's not enough neonic in the tissues to kill a baby aphid, let alone cause troubles to the neural pathways of beneficial insects! To suggest that neonics might be found as a trace in plant tissues is a bit of an exaggeration... we're talking homeopathic doses here!

We need to keep the anti-neonic campaign focussed on accurate science. If the pro-neonic groups can bring out tested scientific results and the anti-neonic groups are muddied by inaccuracy and poor science then the pro lobby will win hands down.

 Similarly we need to remember that if a neonic has a maximum lifespan in tissues of six months (which is about maximum for horticultural products) and the plant won't flower until its second year then the risk is absent. Neonics aren't like radiation with a long half-life; the problem with them is they're fairly unstable and break down too easily. If Lisa wanted to treat first year perennial and shrub seedlings with a neonic like Provado to protect against vine weevil (and I'm not suggesting that she does), then providing the plants don't flower in their first year the product will be absent by flowering time in the second year and beyond, unless it's reapplied. Persistent neonic products for vine weevil had to be slow release granules to stop the product disappearing before its year was up!

[annew]

Very interesting and helpful.

[Peter Maguire]

I guess they hibernate (like Small Tortoiseshells and other Nymphalid butterflies) and the warm weather has woken them up. Hopefully there are some nettles around for them to lay eggs on.

[David Nicholson]

I had a couple in the garden around Christmas.