wildlife

[Vinny 123]

A flock of whooper swans has taken a rest on the frozen pond. They have stayed some time now. The pond froze over yesterday so maybe they will leave .
(Attachment Link)

A staging post for their trip to the Uk? Maybe.

[Vinny 123]

Snowy owls do not stay in one place. They migrate from one place to another. The "Norwegian" snow owls belong to the same population as the ones in Siberia, and even Alaska.

They do not migrate - they are irruptive - they follow food, or die. Moving away from poor food sources can mean moving Km or 100's Km.
The pair that landed on Fetlar in 1967 were fleeing starvation, almost certainly in Scandanavia.
In many areas their populations very closely follow lemming populations which rise and fall massively over periods of a few years. In lemming years snowys can rear 6-8, or more chicks, every pair. In crash years most pairs will fail to even produce eggs and any pairs that do will rear just one or two chicks, if any.

[Hoy]

A staging post for their trip to the Uk? Maybe.

Yes, maybe. Depends on the winter weather. Some years they stay all winter.

[Hoy]

They do not migrate - they are irruptive - they follow food, or die. Moving away from poor food sources can mean moving Km or 100's Km.
The pair that landed on Fetlar in 1967 were fleeing starvation, almost certainly in Scandanavia.
In many areas their populations very closely follow lemming populations which rise and fall massively over periods of a few years. In lemming years snowys can rear 6-8, or more chicks, every pair. In crash years most pairs will fail to even produce eggs and any pairs that do will rear just one or two chicks, if any.

Yes, they follow the food. In Norwegian they use the word "trekker" (migrate) to describe the movement of birds between Norway and Taymyr, Russia. This movement depends on the size of the population and the amount of food.

[cohan]

Jeepers-- I slack on my viewing for a while, and everyone has had all sorts of wildlife around-- great photos and info, everyone!

[Gerdk]

First blackbird song noticed this morning - 7.30 a. m./Solingen/Germany

Spring is just around the corner!

Gerd

[brianw]

This Pheasant either wanted to come in; or more likely admiring itself. We have 2 varieties; with and without the white collar. The resident has no collar. This is the challenger; with the collar.

[Robert]

Brianw

Jasmin:  Actually, the pheasant is stressed, miffed, and giving an initial warning display to his rival, the reflection of himself.  I recommend hanging tulle (a meshlike fabric net--in case you are not a seamstress or tailor) over at least the lower portion of the window door.  You will still have the view, and there will be less danger the bird will harm himself attacking the “rival”.  Concussions and death are the most prevalent risks birds suffer from crashing into or fighting images in windows.  The layers of their skulls are thin and supported by struts, leaving air space.  The whole skeletal anatomy is lightweight for flight; however, this increases bird vulnerability to lethal injury.

[MarcR]

Sorry no photos.

In the past few weeks I have seen several black-tailed deer, about 50 turkeys, 2 orange sided towhees & several Stellar's jays on my property.

[Roma]

I have 2 bird feeders I fill with sunflower hearts.  Most of the winter a small flock of Siskins has been hanging about, with a few Goldcrests and Chaffinches. Robins and blackbirds feed on the ground.  Quite a lot of seed gets spilt and is cleaned up by Wood Pigeons, sometimes Crows and this trio of Pheasants.  The Pheasants are rather flighty, especially the hens.  I was amazed how well this photo came out as it was taken at an angle at least a metre from a double glazed window.  You can see the middle bird has her beady eye on me even that far back from the window.  The last warm spell we had most of the Siskins disappeared but they came back when it turned colder.  It is warmer again and I have seen very few small birds yesterday and today.  There is little spilt seed so nothing to attract the Pheasants now.



 

[Akke]

It’s not going to get much wilder in my containers.

A good deal, the ants get a few Crocus specioses seeds and in return give a demonstration how strong they are, even walking up a plant label.

[MarcR]

Today we had an elk walk the length of our driveway and pause in front of our garage for about half an hour. The flock of turkeys has increased to more than 60.
Now that the Weigelias are in full bloom, we are starting to see Hummers and Western Bluebirds. My Halesia carolina is now in bloom. Its branches intertwine with Laburnum [also blooming] and several Rhododendrons to produce a riot of color.
I am seeing a pale blue butterfly that I can't identify.

[ian mcdonald]

Marc, have you any photos. of the Elk etc?

[shelagh]

In Tockholes, Lancashire elevation 230m last Sunday saw a stunning yellow butterfly which I think was a Brimstone.

[ruweiss]

A colony of antlions live since last year in the sand plunge of an unused frame in our garden.
It is situated under a conifer, which keeps it very dry. The wire mesh keeps the cats away
from using it as a welcome toilet.