Wildlife early 2009

[cohan]

You'll just have to take it up with "Mother Nature" then, Cohan.   

lol--well, the robins certainly dont come this far in mid march, that might be suicidal i tend to suspect that mother nature's strategies dont always favour the individual, but rather the species: maybe one year a few early birds get good weather, and gain an advantage in early nesting/establishing territories, ahead of the main migration sometime later; in a bad year a few individuals might starve or weaken, and the latecomers will have an advantage; either way, overall the species does fine; same in reverse with those staying really late, or trying for a second brood--doubtless at times they benefit from sticking around when most migrants are gone (there are some waterfowl here late in the year when open water the next day is really debatable), and other times they pay a heavy price..
i noticed a couple of flocks of geese yesterday, i wonder what they eat at this time of year?, certainly no open water, i was looking at fields as we drove (40miles) into the city to see if there were open areas they could graze--a few fields had some exposed spots, but that will all be covered again today after snow all night probably they are strong enough to dig through some snow if they suspect there is something under it..

[Anthony Darby]

Anthony your birds are discussing a territory boundry dispute

Magpies are gregarious in winter. Round here they are just beginning to separate into pairs. This lot are are late, and are possibly young ones who haven't paired up yet? It was a very peaceful scene on the house opposite us.

[mark smyth]

Magpies here have finished their nests. Do 'yours' build late?

[Maggi Young]

"ours" are just thinking about it..... getting the surveyors in etc.


I've got frog spawn in my pond! Spotted it when having a stroll in the garden with my chum Helen on Friday and there was more yesterday. That's quite early for "my " frogs, who don't normally brave the deep and very cold water of my pond until April.
This weekend I have been minding the pet rabbits of a  neighbour's children .... the pond  there has a more open  aspect than ours and is  less deep.... the surface is heaving with passionate puddocks and full of spawn already. I think the love song of the frogs is deafening the rabbits!

[Anthony Darby]

I was driving home having collected Lucy from dancing. At Lecropt, just half a mile out of Bridge of Allan on the way to the Keir Roundabout I spotted a large bird carrying a twig. It was only when I was about to drive under it I noticed the tail. A red kite. Awesome!

[fermi de Sousa]

The Australian Magpies are more like crows but their song is evocative of still, country mornings even in the city!
Here's a juvenile:

And an adult bird in our garden,


Another visitor "from the wild" is the blue-tongue lizard; I think this is a young one,


cheers
fermi

[Anthony Darby]

Lovely blue-tongued skink. I've always wanted one. European magpies are crows, so similar to Aussie ones in that respect.

[Lori S.]

The robins (Turdus migratorius*) and crows are back here, at their usual time - 13 robins in the trees around the yard last night.  Re. the previous discussion, North American magpies (Pica pica, the one with the large western range, and yellow-billed, restricted to a small range in California) are corvids (so, crows, loosely).  (And Pica pica occurs in Europe too, I see.)

Apparently, Australian magpies are Gymnorhina tibicen, or perhaps magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca) and neither is a corvid... (though the plumage is black and white).  So, for me, that explains how magpies in Australia may be noted for their songs, while our magpies are definitely not... beautiful, smart and interesting though they are.

(* I don't normally go around quoting latin names of birds (and know very few) but it's useful here with so many confusing common names!)

[mark smyth]

The blame is on the shoulders of the first white settlers in North America, Australia and New Zealand who named similar looking 'new' birds after European species. The American Goldfinch is however in the same family as the European Goldfinch

[cohan]

The robins (Turdus migratorius*) and crows are back here, at their usual time -

no robins seen here yet--my lonely early birds in the snow last year were in mid april, so they must take their time coming the rest of the way up here....
not sure about crows, yet--we have so many ravens, that i'd have to watch closely to see if the crows were back..
interesting to see ravens around when i moved back--when i was a kid we only saw ravens when we went into the mountains; magpies, on the other hand seem less numerous, or less seen on the property, at least...
there are also now bald eagles around all year, never saw those when i lived here before, either, and they must be scavengers, around here--unless they hunt small game and birds: the reference i looked at mentioned them scavenging or catching fish, and there is NO  opportunity for fishing in this immediate area...

[Anthony Darby]

As you can see from the following, this is the real robin: http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?safe=vss&imgurl=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3236/2986402949_a2519000f6.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.flickr.com/photos/28424746%40N08/2986402949/&usg=__T3Z1MHlY7FswCcCuTjM92HnFDQA=&h=333&w=500&sz=77&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=aLyVokskXFfrbM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Drobin%2Bin%2Bhand%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dvss%26sa%3DG

[Paddy Tobin]

Fermi,

What species of snake is the long green one in the second photograph?

Paddy

[ranunculus]

Fermi,

What species of snake is the long green one in the second photograph?

Paddy

Probably a water snake, Paddy!  Just tap it and see ...   

[Maggi Young]

Fermi,

What species of snake is the long green one in the second photograph?

Paddy

Probably a water snake, Paddy!  Just tap it and see ...   

I'm a bit worried that the poor thing has eaten something that disagreed with it, either that or it has a nasty skin lesion.... look.....

[ranunculus]

Fermi,

What species of snake is the long green one in the second photograph?

Paddy

Probably a water snake, Paddy!  Just tap it and see ...   

I'm a bit worried that the poor thing has eaten something that disagreed with it, either that or it has a nasty skin lesion.... look.....
(Attachment Link)

Probably just had a joint!