Wildlife 2007

[mark smyth]

oops repeated myself

[Paddy Tobin]

Big wildlife - caught a mouse in the garage - the dog loved playing with it.

Paddy

[Olga Bondareva]

Very big wildlife.  We met an elk-cow yesterday near our home in Moscow. Here is a park named Elk’s Island. Sorry, image made by mobile.

[Maggi Young]

Yes, Olga, that is certainly BIG. How fast can you run?

[Joakim B]

Maggi that does not matter they are twice as fast and BIG!
Nice shot Olga
Joakim

[Olga Bondareva]

Maggi 

I wonder it did not run. So many people walked and welcomed it. I was so happy to see it, wanted to embrace… Husband asked to stop do not know why. 

[Susan Band]

joakim,
It doesn't matter if you are not as fast as the elk, only that you are faster than the person standing next to you.
susan

[David Nicholson]

Susan, that's the kind of reasoning I like

[John Forrest]

That's when you find out who your friends are.

[Lesley Cox]

I like her rather pointed nose, quite like an anteater's. Poor cow!

[Maggi Young]

Lesley, I bet you wouldn't have said that to her face!

Olga, either your husband loves you very much or else you do not have a large life insurance policy which pays to him if you are trampled by an elk!  I think he loves you!

[John Forrest]

I was down at my local park again tother day and took a picture of

1 a male Widgeon (some spell with a D and other sources without)

Then I saw a duck that was similar in some respects but I hadn't seen before. I wondered if it was a hybrid because it had some of the features of a Widgeon , bill & feet colour etc but a head reminiscent of a male mallard. After posting it on the Wild Britain Forum I got an ID, telling me that it was a Chiloe Widgeon from S America. I confirmed this by Googling.
I wonder if they have gone wild from private collection or whether it was an escape from the Zoo which is quite close. I will ask them.

2 Chiloe Widgeon

3 Chiloe Widgeon

[mark smyth]

I thought our Wig(d)eon was lovely but that Chiloe looks better. I take it they arent free flying?

[John Forrest]

Didn't see it flying, just swimming but it must have flown in because I haven't seen it there before.

[John Forrest]

Another few snaps from the local park

1 Tufted Duck

2 Great Crested Grebe always seem to keep their distance and away from all the ducks etc

3 Great Spotted Woodpecker. Whilst I was trying to take this picture I felt pins and needles in my leg and when I looked a grey squirrel had run up my leg. I had some peanuts in my pocket which I gave to it. I don't know what kind of nuts it was after.