Wildlife -January 2010

[krisderaeymaeker]

While I put the right name of the bird on my pics ,I see that I have some other nice pictures .
You can see that the bar-tailed godwit was hunting for some insects.
Pic 1 : Oh ,I see a nice bite passing by
Pic 2 : I go for it
Pic 3 : feast

[Gwenblack]

Stephen   your posting reminds me of a situation that provided some humour ... my elderly mother was a great birdwatcher  and one day she was chatting to me on the phone and said"   Oh! Oh! I have to got to go. There's a cat sitting under the bird dispensers"      Of course she meant seed dispensers but our response was   Smart Cat

[Lesley Cox]

Magnificent pictures from those links Maggi. Thanks for those.

We find that if we go on feeding the native bellbirds and tuis after the winter has finished, they continue to feed even though there's plenty else around. They are both honey eaters in the main and I suppose they find it easier and cheaper of energy to go on at our sugar/water bottles than look elsewhere. So we still have them even in mid summer. All year round in fact.

[Lesley Cox]

They are both beautiful creatures and the discussion is interesting. Because of those factors Maggi, could they perhaps be transferred to the new 2010 Wildlife thread?

[Maggi Young]

Good idea, Lesley, will do.

[Tomas]

On the other hand ,the snake is not clear for me.Tomas ,Melvyn and Maggi thanks for your reply but it looks that snakes are even more difficult then birds .My first tought on it was Natrix???So together with my own effort we got 4 names...

I think it is juvenile Elaphe quatuorlineata. This species has different colour as young and as adult. Telescopus fallax has different shape (broad head and thin neck). Pictures from Corfu:
1) E. quatuorlineata juvenile (my wife caught...)
2) and 3) same species, two adults
4) Vipera ammodytes juvenile for comparision

Please excuse my poor English.
T.

[Maggi Young]

Tomas, you make yourself perfectly clear! Thank you.
That is an unusual and brave wife you have there, who likes to handle snakes!


The young viper is just perfect.... so tiny! 

[Lesley Cox]

I assume this species is not poisonous? But the little viper? Yes?

[PDJ]

Vipera ammodytes is highly venomous and often seen in the Peloponnese.  The cute tiny one could still cause you a few problems if you were bitten.  In the Peloponnese they are most abundant just after sunrise when they bask in order to achieve working temperature.  On one visit to the Peloponnese I found one living in a drainage pipe next to the apartments back door and many hatchlings sunning themselves on top of the gardeners compost heap probably where they incubated.

[Tomas]

Vipera ammodytes doesn't lay eggs, this species is ovoviviparous.
T.

[krisderaeymaeker]

On the other hand ,the snake is not clear for me.Tomas ,Melvyn and Maggi thanks for your reply but it looks that snakes are even more difficult then birds .My first tought on it was Natrix???So together with my own effort we got 4 names...

I think it is juvenile Elaphe quatuorlineata. This species has different colour as young and as adult. Telescopus fallax has different shape (broad head and thin neck). Pictures from Corfu:
1) E. quatuorlineata juvenile (my wife caught...)
2) and 3) same species, two adults
4) Vipera ammodytes juvenile for comparision

Please excuse my poor English.
T.

Super ! Thank you Tomas ,everything clear now due your  explanation and of course the fantastic pictures you put on this forum.Never tought on a juvenile form with snakes en therefore completely misled.I am happy and put the right names on my pictures.Don't ask my wife to coach a snake a   
 

[Anthony Darby]

Scotland only has three native species of reptile, including Vipera beris, and they are only able to breed because they retain their eggs inside their bodies.

[maggiepie]

Lovely patterns on the snakes.
I am very fond of reptiles.

[TC]

The only bright spot of this weather is the number of species of birds visiting the back garden.  We have regular Yellowhammers, and a Brambling turned up 20 minutes ago.  As the weather is above freezing on the coast, more birds are being pushed from inland.  Yesterday we were watching locally, a Black Redstart, Water Pipit and a Dark Bellied Brent Goose.  In the west, we have not had such low temperatures as the North and East so the birds are heading our way.

[annew]

While I was out of action, my husband took a turn at feeding the birds this morning. It was snowing fast so he had a different idea for a 'bird table' to keep the ground underneath clear! For 3 hours a fieldfare defended the food from all comers, so I put more food on top of the table for the others. The garden isn't on a slope, by the way, I was trying to sneak a photo round the edge of the window so they didn't see me.