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[Joyce]

We have got quite a lot of squished rabbits & hedgehogs near us. Never seen so many. Maybe it's the heat. Trees losing leaves due to ground being so dry.

[Taz2]

They don't live long once they are flying around Meggie - once they have mated - maybe it was attracted to any lights you had around the garden or in the house itself.  It always seems a shame to me that they spend five years or so underground and then have such a brief time in the outside world!

Taz x

[Meggie]

Gosh Taz, just shows how little I know about Stag beetles - 5 years in the dark, a quick "you know what" and then NO MORE !

Strange looking beasts

Meggie

[Taz2]

You may enjoy this Meggie http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Stag_beetle#p00gms29

Taz x

[Limpy]

Saw a young Hare yesterday, running along a lane close to us.
Makes a nice change from rabbits

[Cazikins]

You may enjoy this Meggie http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Stag_beetle#p00gms29

Taz x

Well I didn't Taz  , especially with that bloke presenting it (Packman?, he gets on my nerves for some reason).

But to be honest Taz, you have shown me another side to the stag beetle - maybe not a pretty one but I have learnt things about them from you. 

[Meggie]

You may enjoy this Meggie http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Stag_beetle#p00gms29

Taz x

Very interesting - we have oak trees at the bottom of the garden so that's probably where the beetle came from and it has been in the high 30° range for the past 3 weeks so it all falls into place

Thanks for the information

Meggie

[Taz2]

We had a mass flying of them a few weeks ago and looking back through some photos we worked out that it is five years since the last time it happened. There is really old, rotting log pile at the bottom of the garden which is bordered by old oak trees so it seems to be an ideal environment for them. All that wood munching!

Taz x

[CLKD]

3 hogs this evening  - 2 snuffling side by side, one with hackles up ......... I read the link Taz but they want to send me bumph through the post  - it won't let me record the hogs on the web-site 

[Taz2]

I recorded mine ok. Did you access this part http://www.hedgehogstreet.org/pages/hibernation-survey.html

Taz x

[CLKD]

When I go to that page it wants every detail and some ....... in order to send me a pack by post 

[Taz2]

When I completed this screen http://www.hedgehogstreet.org/register.php'survey=1  there was a section where you could record but not have anything sent by post.

Taz x

[CLKD]

It won't work for me 

[Taz2]

I was just starting  my meal last night around 8ish when the phone rang and a woman asked if I could help with two baby birds which her daughter had knocked out of the nest while tree climbing. She felt they were birds of prey but I gently told her that they were probably wood pigeons which look very un-wood pigeon-like when young. She had done all the right things first checking that the parent birds weren't around and also that the nest couldn't be put back in the tree. She had them in a dark secure box too which was excellent. She still felt that these could be birds of prey and had sent her youngest out to look for some worms!! I persuaded her that this really wouldn't be a good idea and she agreed to drop them off at my house so I could take them into the Wildlife hospital today.

They arrived. They were wood pigeons. She still didn't really believe me and thought they were Red Kite. I explained that the nest these two were in wouldn't have been big enough to hold a Red Kite egg let alone two chicks. 

I delivered them today. Every time I went past their pet carrier last night they hissed and beak-clacked at me - they were not amused at being turfed out of their nest. Feeding young wood pigeons is specialised as they are fed a mixture from the parents crops so they were hungry too. When I put the carrier in the car this morning, to my horror, a flat fly emerged and flew around the car. Flat flies are horrible. They seek out mucky animal and bird bottoms and wounds and lay their eggs there so the maggots will feed on the flesh and in a lot of cases they travel up inside the animal/bird and eat them from the inside. I drove the 25 miles to the centre and told them about the flat fly. Looks of horror crossed their faces. They have spent many hours in recent weeks painstakingly picking eggs and maggots out of infected animals. Out came the spray. Out came the baby hissing, clacking wood pigeons and we set to. Some eggs found which were immediately got rid of but, hopefully, no maggots. The pigeons are now residing in their heated box with full crops/tummies.

Yes, I know they are only Wood Pigeons but they are still orphans 

Taz x

[Chesh]

We had an amazing treat last week when we were out on the canal. We went on board a friends boat for coffee and just as we were leaving my hubby spotted a group of weasels. It would appear there was a parent (I presume "mum") and three young. They spent a good half hour playing and exploring right outside the boat window. two of the juniors were glued to mum's side the whole time so when she moved they all moved, almost as if they still had umbilical cords attached. The other one which was slightly smaller was up to no good! A proper mishief running this way and that exploring. He kept jumping onto the deck of the boat moored in front. It was a massive leap for him and when he got up there he would look down at the others as if willing them to join him. Then he would jump back down and be greeted like the prodigal son that had been away for years! He went in the canal once, he was back out in no time. I am unsure if he scrambled out himself or if his mum grabbed him and dragged him out but he kept leaning right over the edge as if he was going back in again and each time Mum would grab his tail and drag him back. She certainly had her work cut out with that one!
What a privelidge to watch them. We got some great photo's too