OneGuyFromBarlick

I think they're normally there but only briefly before they turn into adult shield bugs, so the chance of seeing one is low.

I forgot to say that Mrs Tiz had suggested they were shield bug nymphs but we hadn't been able to track down an image. And when I told her I'd mentioned the holes in her bean plant leaves I was quickly corrected - the holes are in her Morning Glory climber (my excuse is that the Morning Glory pot is near the beans, they're both climbers and are winding up bamboo stakes!)

Fancy not knowing your Morning Glory from your beans....

If I'm awake in the night I sometimes check the cctv to see if there is anything interesting out there. In the early hours of this morning there was a hedgehog on the front lawn and this owl on the power line into the house at the back. It was there for about 10 minutes, enjoying the view!

Do you get Little Owls? We had them nesting behind our house in the village and they always looked like teddy bears when sitting at the top of power line poles!

We used to see little owls regularly, but since the neighbours converted their barn they are a rare sight. This one looks like a tawny owl I think. The hedgehog sighting is a first in all the years we have been here, the hedge we planted about 15 years ago has finally proved tempting! I went back to sleep happy.

I had an encounter with a large owl during a night shift at the Radio Station. We heard a bell tinkling and went to investigate to find a large owl flying around the compound. It landed near me and was unafraid when I approached it. Guessed it must have escaped from captivity. That was as near as I could get to it though, and not sure what I'd have done if I'd picked it up.

Mentioned the story at a Raptor rescue stall at a fete years later, and they said it probably starved as the bell would alert its prey. That's sad.

That is sad David. I never agreed with belling cats to stop them killing birds because if they went feral that would kill them just like the owl. I know that killing is upsetting but that's Nature. You can't have only the pleasant bits.

Did anyone see Countryfile this last week? They covered a project in Scotland of re-wilding heathland that was once commercially forested. Because of the previous coverage of trees the ground is effectively dead or in very bad condition. They have discovered a huge patch of peat land as well that is all dried out so are regenerating that by diverting streams and removing the drainage trenches that were put in for the forestry over the last 100 years. The peat is over 2m deep and covers a huge area, they are discovering more as they expand the survey. It has the potential to hold the equivalent of all the carbon generated in Scotland during the industrial revolution. Long term plan and they are looking to re-introduce Beavers, Wild Boar, Elk and Wildcats maybe Lynx at a later phase.

Reports from Australia that unless the trend can be reversed, Koala bears will be extinct in NSW within twenty years.

This little creature came to visit this evening, a praying mantis. According to Bing they are good for the garden and eats lots of insects. The female eats her partner after mating.

Have a look at THIS Guardian report of a surprising incident in which a giant Seychelles Tortoise, previously thought to be strictly vegetarian was filmed chasing and eating a Noddy Tern chick.
Nature has a habit of surprising us!

See THIS news about Wally the Wandering Walrus who, after an absence, has been spotted near Iceland. He has been identified by scars on his flippers.

Good on ya Wally!
He probably enjoys swimming as much as we enjoy walking.

I wonder what it's like to be a celebrity walrus? Will his old mates shun him now - or will they want to be seen with him?

Look what I found this morning. Blue Tongues can have 1 to 15 babies at a time.
This one is already 6-7 inches long.
They prefer to live alone, so it might be the only one that stays. Bit concerned because I haven’t seen it’s parent yet this Spring, which would easily be 20yrs old or over.

I see you put water out for them!

Black snake in the garage this afternoon. Totally harmless but try convincing my wife

Impressive!

Have a look at THIS Guardian report about an elk that has been wandering the hills of Colorado for two years with a car tyre round its neck.

Lucky Elk, sad that it took 2 years tho.

Yes but from the look of it Cathy it didn't take much harm from it. I thought the rangers were a bit slow. It didn't take a genius to realise they needed a specialised cutter for the tyre bead.... Instead they had to cut its antlers off. But of course I think they'll grow again won't they?

Had a visit from an Ibis today. The local birds don’t like them and stay well clear.

Remember the invasion of Signal crayfish - the big bullying disease carrying creatures that were driving out our good old small yet staunch native crayfish? Of course you do - well it's about to get even worse. Marbled crayfish. They sound quite tasty though and breed like - well crayfish.

What happened to the army of crabs that were marching across the North Sea to take over our seas, Mitten crabsand why is the news full of the Thames having fish species in it that haven't been seen for years, even sea horses - then we're told last week, it's regularly used as an open sewer?


Show me as 'puzzled'.

That's exotic Cathy....
I saw Canada Geese yesterday evening, first sighting for a while.
The Crayfish are a bit like the Red Squirrel David, they tell us they are doomed but they seem to be hanging in there.
The 'Tweet of the day' a couple of days ago was the bar-tailed Godwit and they mentioned it setting THIS record, flying 7,500 miles non stop from Alaska to New Zealand. They mentioned something in the tweet that isn't in the article. The let one half of their brain sleep while the other half keeps them going, than they swap sides. Quite amazing

Open water swimming seems to have taken off in Pendle, if that's the correct word. Its all part of the Triathlon craze that is running. (oh dear) where the entry qualification appears to be a tattoo on the back of their leg. At every opportunity I tell them they are wrong in their heads. With perfectly good swimming pools where every effort is made to ensure their safety they chose some stagnant pond where they can go through the motions.