wildlife

[Tristan_He]

They do hibernateas adults, yes. Red Admirals seem to be doing this increasingly too - hence the famous 'red admiral and the snowdrop' photo a couple of years ago. Also, if you find a butterfly in your house in winter, please put it in a safe place outside (e.g. in an ivy bush or in an open porch). Heating will kill it.

There is a good article about it on the Butterfly Conservation website.

http://butterfly-conservation.org/3114-3219/heating-and-hibernation.html

[brianw]

In winter our local stream (Thames tributary) has a Little Egret as an winter visitor. Cars passing it ignores but gets a bit twitchy with walkers ~ 80' away, and usually flies further into the adjacent field. Noticed this morning we now have 2 birds, although they were on opposite ends of the village so need to get their act together yet. Doubt they will find anywhere locally quiet enough to nest and they will probably head for the Thames and the old gravel pits area a couple of miles away. Quite a delicate bird when it flies towards you as you drive along parallel to the stream. The much heavier swans and herons look clumsy in comparison when they try to avoid the trees and power lines etc.

[Hoy]

Sometimes squirrels enjoy being in focus:

http://www.nrk.no/nordland/disse-ekornbildene-far-stor-oppmerksomhet-1.12788438

[Anthony Darby]

Tortoiseshell butterflies and peacocks need to be in outhouses and unheated garages, not hedges. Commas hibernate in hedgerows. Not sure red admirals hibernate in the true sense. Perhaps they just rest up in cold weather, and if they survive, they are lucky.

[Maggi Young]

The day I find a squirrel making a snowman in my garden is the day I take to drink! 

[scatigaz]

If I saw one making a snowman in my garden it would be the day to stop drinking. 

[johnw]

For those who you who have not seen this CBC Special 'A Murder of Crows' it's an absolute must. The experiment around 24:00 is particularly surprising.

http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episodes/a-murder-of-crows

johnw -  +2c & overcast

[Anthony Darby]

Was away Sunday to Wednesday last week on one of our 6 year 9 camps. First day was a rather steep 14 km tramp through the Waharau Regional Park, near Kaiaua on the western side of the Firth of Thames, south east of Auckland and about 80 minutes by double decker bus from our school. On our way down the bush track we had to cross a stream and jump over this huge spider. I have found out it is Dolomedes dondalei, a species only described in 2010. Like D. aquaticus, the large water spider found further south, it floats its front legs on the water waiting for a trapped insect or unlucky fish to get close. It was not for moving, even though about 5 dozen students and adults had to stride over it. There is a third species very common in Auckland, the nursery web spider (D. minor), which is still quite big, but this one was at least 2" across the legs. There is an even bigger species, D. schauinslandi, but it's only found on the Chatham Islands.

[fermi de Sousa]

...we had to cross a stream and jump over this huge spider... waiting for a trapped insect or unlucky fish to get close. It was not for moving, even though about 5 dozen students and adults had to stride over it...

Maybe it was waiting for "an unlucky student" to get close
 
cheers
fermi

[brianw]

Wildlife weekend. Found Mallard as fresh roadkill while out shopping and brought it home. Tied the legs to a rock with thin wire, in the hope that a fox would not try and bury it in my sand bed, and left it in an open wild part of the garden for the Kytes. One had daintily plucked a pheasant some time back. Next morning all that was left were feathers scattered around. No corpse. A feathered wing-tip was buried in an area of mulch but the fox must have carried the rest off, minus the rock but still with the wired legs. The Kites went hungry.
Later saw a Muntjac the other side of my hedge/fence and crossing the drive entrance before disappearing. 30seconds later it reappeared and walked round the garden looking for another escape route. I managed to get round the back of the house and drive it back out the entrance.
Kestrels still appearing daily but usually alone now. Drew the curtains the other morning and the male was looking straight at me from the middle of the apple tree. Photo from earlier a bit dark; a dull day.

[Roma]

Saw the first bumble bee of the season yesterday.

[David Nicholson]

Saw the first bumble bee of the season yesterday.

They were around my Mahonia flowers before Christmas

[fermi de Sousa]

Our resident 'roo had been taking a snooze under a nectarine tree in a mixed bed but took himself off to another section as we went about watering
cheers
fermi

[Maggi Young]

Is he quite old then, fermi? His haunches look a bit bony - tho' he still has a very cute face.

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Maggi,
we think he's an old male who has kicked out of the mob so he's on his own .
This is all conjecture on our part though!
cheers
fermi