Wildlife Corner

[Tripps]

Off topic - but relevant I think.

A benefit (to the poster) of using an attachment to add a photo to a post rather than via the gallery, is that if you hover the pointer over the picture the number of views is revealed.

This is not the case with gallery. I suppose there is a way to see the number of views, but none quite so simple. I've used the gallery, and printed out Ian's good instructions many times, but struggled to remember the method for some reason, and finally gave up entirely. I find attachment intuitive, and have used it a few times.

[Stanley]

Thanks Tiz, they are the ones I couldn't find.
Everyone to their own David. I find posting pics in the gallery easy but I'll be damned if I can get my Smart TV to talk to this new router! We all have blind spots.

[Cathy]

How lovely is this Possum? A volunteer (pictured) said she found it in the hospital car park this morning.

WP_20190916_08_23_18_Pro.jpg

[Stanley]

I like them Cathy. At Perth Zoo they had some and you could go down a tunnel to see them asleep in the den during the day and they were all laid on their backs like that. One of them scratched his belly with a back foot.....

[Stanley]

There was a very fancy pigeon in the back street yesterday, very tame and I got a good look at it. It had rings on both legs so it looked like a homer that was ether resting or not homing. No race winner!

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC account of a report in two studies published in the journals Science and Biological Conservation. Bird populations in Asia and the US are "in crisis", according to the two major studies.It's one more brick in the wall of change that we are seeing. Very disturbing.

[Stanley]

Here's some good news. We have noted how well butterflies and moths have fared this year and this morning THIS came to my attention, thought to have been extinct in UK for 50 years the Clifden Non Pareil moth has been widely seen again.
Good news about wildlife is thin on the ground.

[StoneRoad]

Talking about the amounts of food "our" wild birds are eating in the bad weather recently. we decided to have a count of the species we see (or hear) - after some discussion we made the total at least two dozen certain ids and four or five possible ones ie seen in uncertain light so not properly id'ed.

[Stanley]

More than we have. You are lucky.

[StoneRoad]

Thanks, Stanley.

The total has been built up over he years by all of additional feeding and plenty of nest boxes as well as habitat conservation.
Living in a rural area is a major bonus, although the fairly fast B road along one side of my patch doesn't help.

[Stanley]

[StoneRoad]

Talking about the amounts of food "our" wild birds are eating in the bad weather recently. we decided to have a count of the species we see (or hear) - after some discussion we made the total at least two dozen certain ids and four or five possible ones ie seen in uncertain light so not properly id'ed.

At lunchtime today we had a bit of a wait, the Pub (one we hadn't patronised previously) was busy ...

so I got a notebook out and wrote down the house's 2019 bird list (including birds heard or seen from the house), after some cogitation and discussion we made it 30 certain species and about another six we couldn't agree on, for various reasons.

[Tizer]

You could get a job as a cricket commentator!

[Stanley]

See THIS story about the exploitation of animals that has been around for a long time but is getting new legs. It is legal in S Africa to rear lion cubs in captivity. They are called orphans but in many cases aren't, they have been taken from their mothers. The first part of the scam is that young volunteers are encouraged to take the opportunity to live with the cubs (for a price). Next they are exploited by being available to tourists to 'walk with lions' until they get to an age where they can be unpredictable and dangerous. The next part of the exploitation is that wealthy 'big game hunters' pay for the privilege of shooting them in small enclosures. They either take the trophy skin home with them or it is sold, together with the body parts into the lucrative trade in ingredients for obscure medicines, mainly in the Far East. All told, a terrible trade.
New efforts are being made to persuade the S African government to outlaw the practice but it hasn't reached the web yet.

[Cathy]

I feel sick

I would love to be there when these ferals have their life review, and see how the powers that be react. Oh yeah!!

[Stanley]

We share the same reaction Cathy. It's the shooting in a confined space for a 'trophy' that is worst for me.

[StoneRoad]

I really, really hate "trophy hunting" ...

now if the hunter was armed only with an assegai and cowhide shield and not allowed any modern clothes. maybe that would be a bit fairer ?

[Stanley]

And let loose in the savannah!

[Tizer]

The people who do the trophy hunting are only one step removed from those who go off to shoot humans in Syria and then graduate to beheading and other atrocities.

[Stanley]

The curse of humanity, the fact that we are the only species who routinely slaughter our own and so can easily justify killing wild animals.

[plaques]

we are the only species who routinely slaughter our own

People killing people is usually motivated by greed of material things or to create fear so they gain power over people. Why people kill animals for pleasure and call them trophies are moving towards being psychopaths and should be treated as such.

[Gloria]

Took this in summer with my phone. It's looking at me.

image.png

[Stanley]

I agree P, I think that in that respect I am a Buddhist at heart.
Gloria, spooky when you consider that insects are the dominant species on the planet!

[Tizer]

Dragonflies are good at that, Gloria. If you can get up close to a big hawker at rest it will turn its head and glare at you. Like something out of War of the Worlds!

[Gloria]

Dragonflies are good at that, Gloria. If you can get up close to a big hawker at rest it will turn its head and glare at you. Like something out of War of the Worlds!

If you blow it up it really does look menacing.