"I am an animal" - Nature Notes

[Deleted member 29227]

Thanks Mozmar. Breath-taking footage. I drove under an owl on a tree today!

I'm just pleased you didn't drive OVER it...
We get owls (Tawny) roosting in the big sycamore next to our house. Never see them of course as it's night, but they're damned noisy at times. Beautiful creatures.

 

[cat on a train]

2023 will mark the 7th year of the peregrine falcon nesting box's installation in the church steeple. Since then, the adult peregrines have returned every year. In the third year, for the first time, we had one fledgling that made it out of the nesting box onto the church roof. Unfortunately, he disappeared over night, and i remember that that night in my dreams i heard an eagle owl flying over the roofs of the neighborhood and calling out loud. Last year, an amazing FOUR chicks were able to fly off. One of them landed in front of the church door though and couldn't lift herself back up into the air again. Fortunately, there was one brave guy who brought the bird into the church where we later picked it up and carried it up on the roof again. The frantic mother bird was flying over our heads like a war plane screeching like mad, so we left the bird alone to pacify its mum and closed the doors to the roof behind us. A few minutes later the bird was gone. The whereabouts are always subject to speculation.

Two years ago, i removed the camera. to me it seemed as if the birds felt uncomfortable with it, even though it was nicely hidden in a side pocket, but these peregrines can see everything.

The most exciting but also stressful part is the time when they leave the nesting box, often in June, and start strengthening their wings on the edge of the roof, fluttering and sliding along. That's the phase when most of them die prematurely, which turns June into one of the saddest months of the year.

 

[goinghome]

View attachment 89244

2023 will mark the 7th year of the peregrine falcon nesting box's installation in the church steeple. Since then, the adult peregrines have returned every year. In the third year, for the first time, we had one fledgling that made it out of the nesting box onto the church roof. Unfortunately, he disappeared over night, and i remember that that night in my dreams i heard an eagle owl flying over the roofs of the neighborhood and calling out loud. Last year, an amazing FOUR chicks were able to fly off. One of them landed in front of the church door though and couldn't lift herself back up into the air again. Fortunately, there was one brave guy who brought the bird into the church where we later picked it up and carried it up on the roof again. The frantic mother bird was flying over our heads like a war plane screeching like mad, so we left the bird alone to pacify its mum and closed the doors to the roof behind us. A few minutes later the bird was gone. The whereabouts are always subject to speculation.
View attachment 89245

Two years ago, i removed the camera. to me it seemed as if the birds felt uncomfortable with it, even though it was nicely hidden in a side pocket, but these peregrines can see everything.

View attachment 89246

The most exciting but also stressful part is the time when they leave the nesting box, often in June, and start strengthening their wings on the edge of the roof, fluttering and sliding along. That's the phase when most of them die prematurely, which turns June into one of the saddest months of the year.

Wow! That's a great story, c.o.a.t.! Amazing photos too, and admirable kind interventions by you and your group. I saw three buzzards in separate locations yesterday. The birds of prey are not doing too badly at the moment, it seems, like the humans of prey...
Thanks

 

[cat on a train]

I know that I shouldn't feed the pigeons (they breed where they feed), but i feel sorry for them. We can't just let them starve. It's their genetic predispostion which is a product of human breeding intervention. Their genes tell them to look for a human being with food and an empty room close to an attic. That's why I am not an advocate of pigeon "pest control" measures, because the problem is definetely man-made, a result of carelessness, thoughtlessness, exploitation and neglect.

Usually they get a few sunflower seeds and breadcrumbs from me every morning on the outside window sill... I have to be careful though that nobody sees me feeding them. They are always looking for digestible food of any kind.

You just leave the window open for a few minutes to get some fresh air, and in hops the first one. Now that the cats are gone, they feel more courageous.

They march into your home, ready to live with you for the rest of your life. So, I either have to stop feeding them or close the windows. Both doesn't feel right.

 

[cat on a train]

Now that it's back to snow and ice, unfortunately, i have finally found out where the marten walks around at night before he or she enters the attic through a hole in the shindles.

Sounds like a herd of dancing elephants once s/he is inside the attic, every night around 2 or 3 am. Anyways, I prefer them up at the attic rather than in the garage. But it's great to see, how far they can go.

 

[goinghome]

Now that it's back to snow and ice, unfortunately, i have finally found out where the marten walks around at night before he or she enters the attic through a hole in the shindles.
View attachment 89517
Sounds like a herd of dancing elephants once s/he is inside the attic, every night around 2 or 3 am. Anyways, I prefer them up at the attic rather than in the garage. But it's great to see, how far they can go.

You're at the heart of all the wildlife action, c.o.a.t! I saw a pheasant today but he got away from me before I could take a photo.

I liked this interview with someone who rescues animals in conflict areas; Tom from Breaking the Chains, a group of army veterans who save animals from war zones and natural disaster areas. Breaking the Chains International: https://breakingthechainsinternationa...


I also recommend the film Kes about a boy and a hawk: "
"Billy Casper finds that training a kestrel takes his mind off his troubled home life and the bullies at school. Set in the Northern English town of Barnsley, the film is a gritty slice of working-class life in the '60s."

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kes

 

[cat on a train]

You're at the heart of all the wildlife action, c.o.a.t! I saw a pheasant today but he got away from me before I could take a photo.

I liked this interview with someone who rescues animals in conflict areas; Tom from Breaking the Chains, a group of army veterans who save animals from war zones and natural disaster areas. Breaking the Chains International: https://breakingthechainsinternationa...


I also recommend the film Kes about a boy and a hawk: "
"Billy Casper finds that training a kestrel takes his mind off his troubled home life and the bullies at school. Set in the Northern English town of Barnsley, the film is a gritty slice of working-class life in the '60s."

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kes

very lovely, gh, thank you. And of course, you are right about me sitting at the heart of all wildlife action. I was just about writing to you about the first ladybugs scurrying on the window frames...

The vids look quiet interesting, gh. I've put them on my to-watch-list. I'm happy to see that there are more stories produced that deal with the human-animal bond. in a world filled with narcissists, these stories remind us of the true origins of our civilization. Without the animals, we would still live in trees and in caves, physically and metaphorically. They taught us responsibility, trust and companionship. The original sin accompanying all human progress, unfortunately, was the killing of the animals who had trustfully sought protection in their human companions. They were slaughtered and eaten, hunger being the reason. And this experience blazed the trail for the neolithic revolution, with all its domestication and imprisonment of animals as walking meat supplies. The shame and love towards the animals had to be suppressed, so that mankind could prosper, or, from an evolutionary point of view, those who could suppress these feelings best, were the one's who procreated more successfully. We as human beings have to go back to this original point of betrayal and then begin the journey again.
Stories like the ones above in the videos tell us about how this could be done.

You have probably heard about Helen MacDonald's book "H is for Hawk"?


I am planning to write something similar about the holy roman emperor Frederick II, who, i very unmodestly believe, is one of my ancestors. but i don't want to get into detail here.

 

[Deleted member 29227]

You're at the heart of all the wildlife action, c.o.a.t! I saw a pheasant today but he got away from me before I could take a photo.

I liked this interview with someone who rescues animals in conflict areas; Tom from Breaking the Chains, a group of army veterans who save animals from war zones and natural disaster areas. Breaking the Chains International: https://breakingthechainsinternationa...


I also recommend the film Kes about a boy and a hawk: "
"Billy Casper finds that training a kestrel takes his mind off his troubled home life and the bullies at school. Set in the Northern English town of Barnsley, the film is a gritty slice of working-class life in the '60s."

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kes

I recall seeing the film, Kes. It was part of a double film billing; Kes and another.
Kes broke my heart, & remember leaving the cinema in absolute floods of tears. Never stayed to watch the second film.

As an aside, the film featured actress Lynne Perrie, better known to most as Ivy Tilsley in Coronation Street, & who sadly departed in 2006.

 

[goinghome]

very lovely, gh, thank you. And of course, you are right about me sitting at the heart of all wildlife action. I was just about writing to you about the first ladybugs scurrying on the window frames...

The vids look quiet interesting, gh. I've put them on my to-watch-list. I'm happy to see that there are more stories produced that deal with the human-animal bond. in a world filled with narcissists, these stories remind us of the true origins of our civilization. Without the animals, we would still live in trees and in caves, physically and metaphorically. They taught us responsibility, trust and companionship. The original sin accompanying all human progress, unfortunately, was the killing of the animals who had trustfully sought protection in their human companions. They were slaughtered and eaten, hunger being the reason. And this experience blazed the trail for the neolithic revolution, with all its domestication and imprisonment of animals as walking meat supplies. The shame and love towards the animals had to be suppressed, so that mankind could prosper, or, from an evolutionary point of view, those who could suppress these feelings best, were the one's who procreated more successfully. We as human beings have to go back to this original point of betrayal and then begin the journey again.
Stories like the ones above in the videos tell us about how this could be done.

You have probably heard about Helen MacDonald's book "H is for Hawk"?


I am planning to write something similar about the holy roman emperor Frederick II, who, i very unmodestly believe, is one of my ancestors. but i don't want to get into detail here.

An attitude too rarely heard if probably the only one that could see us all pull through.

I hadn't heard of H is for Hawk. Thanks for the tip, and the interview taster. Were any of the falcons on the wall playful towards you?

What an exceptional character your ancestor was! Unusually for even the leaders of that era, it seems you will have plenty of material to work with. An absorbing project : )
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor

 

[cat on a train]

An attitude too rarely heard if probably the only one that could see us all pull through.

I hadn't heard of H is for Hawk. Thanks for the tip, and the interview taster. Were any of the falcons on the wall playful towards you?

What an exceptional character your ancestor was! Unusually for even the leaders of that era, it seems you will have plenty of material to work with. An absorbing project : )
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor

We observe each other from a distance. They are part of my unconsciousness that has materialized itself on the church spire. They come and go, they live and die. Where there is life, there is death. I can accept that now. I only intervene when they fall off the roof.
sometimes i find a slain pigeon on the door step in the morning, or they leave the church spire to fly a few circles over my head, screeching, before they settle down again. I find this gratifying. We communicate mentally. I don't want them to subordinate themselves for "playful" reasons. That wouldn't be natural.
Once a year i clean the nesting box to remove all the pigeon bones and feathers and unhatched eggs. That's probably how i leave my smell in their territory, and that's how they recognize me. So, I am their charwoman. At the beginning though, i was really obsessed with these birds. I literally took thousands of pictures, especially after i was told by some local ornithologists that they were the first peregrines observed in this region since the early 1970s.

So much about the peregrines. but what happened to your pheasant, gh? have you seen him again?
Do you know that there is some message to be detected when you encounter a pheasant?
Pheasants in Dreams
Pheasant Symbolism

 

[Lucifer Sam]

I took a walk down to the railway tracks to see if I could get pictures of feral cats or some other animal activity, but nothing was doing. Not even a bird's egg fallen from a nest (or knocked out by an ovavore, more likely). It could be the fact that we've been having unseasonably cold weather for March, after having an unseasonably warm February. All I found in terms of life were some fire ants (bottom left, mostly).

I was followed on my walk by this animal, my familiar for six months now. The colony is full of her siblings and cousins, going by colors and coat, but none of them emerged to greet her, probably because of the human presence.

Though these tracks and their environs are her original habitat, these days she is more often found inside.

 

[goinghome]

Thanks Aubrey M. Ants pic is pretty, but that cat is prettier and knows a friend!

Cat on a Train's find of the falcons and care of them is impressive and probably something many people would enjoy learning about.
Someone I know had a piece of writing about nature just under 1,000 words published in Orian Magazine https://orionmagazine.org/
If a local publication with space for features wouldn't take it, or you, c.o.a.t, would prefer not to make it known where they are.
So many photos to accompany it too!

The pheasant I saw recently was in a field in a neighbouring small rural town, across the road from which is a hidden park, where a while back I encountered these muscovy ducks obliviously idling at the riverside.

 

[Lucifer Sam]

Ants pic is pretty, but that cat is prettier and knows a friend!

And those are nice ducks. The ants were an easy find. Along with mosquitos, they're probably the most ubiquitous animal we have here. Solenopsis invicta—a hardy invasive species that has mounds all over. They're highly aggressive when disturbed. Some years ago, after a hurricane, my nephew and I walked down to the estuary shore to look at the remnant pilings of a pier that the hurricane had destroyed. Our legs began burning with bites: we were both standing on fire ant mounds. Stupidly, we waded into the water thinking to get rid of them, and then we shared a look of recognition and doom: the ants were retreating from the water up our legs and toward our genitals, biting as they went. My nephew screamed and plunged into the river, which was still full of disgusting murk churned up by the storm. I had no choice but to do the same. We walked home with our clothes soaked, minus some shoes claimed by the muddy grip of the riverbed, and flipped a coin for who would get the shower first. I'm not fond of fire ants.

 

[cat on a train]

Thanks Aubrey M. Ants pic is pretty, but that cat is prettier and knows a friend!

Cat on a Train's find of the falcons and care of them is impressive and probably something many people would enjoy learning about.
Someone I know had a piece of writing about nature just under 1,000 words published in Orian Magazine https://orionmagazine.org/
If a local publication with space for features wouldn't take it, or you, c.o.a.t, would prefer not to make it known where they are.
So many photos to accompany it too!

The pheasant I saw recently was in a field in a neighbouring small rural town, across the road from which is a hidden park, where a while back I encountered these muscovy ducks obliviously idling at the riverside.

View attachment 89702​

i haven't seen muscovy ducks in the wild before, only in captivity like in allotment gardens. These three specimen look quite impressive.
Where i live, they are often accompanied by runner ducks,
like these guys here:

they eat snails, that's why they have become quite popular with gardeners. Among ducks, they are defo the sweetest ones.

Back then, we decided to keep the location of the peregine's nesting box a secret mostly bc of a rise of crime related to birds of prey. There are stories of people entering buildings and stealing the eggs from the nesting boxes. Others, mostly pigeon breeders, lay out toxic baits, e.g. dead pigeons that were coated with poison.
There was a sad case filmed in Zuerich with a female peregrine dying in the nest next to her young ones.


So, yes, I think it was a good decision not to make it public.

 

[goinghome]

And those are nice ducks. The ants were an easy find. Along with mosquitos, they're probably the most ubiquitous animal we have here. Solenopsis invicta—a hardy invasive species that has mounds all over. They're highly aggressive when disturbed. Some years ago, after a hurricane, my nephew and I walked down to the estuary shore to look at the remnant pilings of a pier that the hurricane had destroyed. Our legs began burning with bites: we were both standing on fire ant mounds. Stupidly, we waded into the water thinking to get rid of them, and then we shared a look of recognition and doom: the ants were retreating from the water up our legs and toward our genitals, biting as they went. My nephew screamed and plunged into the river, which was still full of disgusting murk churned up by the storm. I had no choice but to do the same. We walked home with our clothes soaked, minus some shoes claimed by the muddy grip of the riverbed, and flipped a coin for who would get the shower first. I'm not fond of fire ants.

Tbh, I had to zoom in on the photo just now to properly see the ants. Your story sends chills down my spine. It sounds traumatic.

A few years ago I was gardening in a polytunnel with my sister and my nephew, about 9 at the time, when we disturbed a nest of ants, and he thoughtfully commented that for them, our interference must seem like a major catastrophe to their systems.

I've got a book by Thomas Schelling as well about crowd behaviours which explains that ant organisation is often used by economists as a good comparator for humans, where individuals go about their business mostly without concern for the whole but the result is the whole ticking over fine. Although looking at where we are now, you'd rightly wonder. The book was written in 1978. Thanks for sharing!

 

[goinghome]

i haven't seen muscovy ducks in the wild before, only in captivity like in allotment gardens. These three specimen look quite impressive.
Where i live, they are often accompanied by runner ducks,
like these guys here:

they eat snails, that's why they have become quite popular with gardeners. Among ducks, they are defo the sweetest ones.

Back then, we decided to keep the location of the peregine's nesting box a secret mostly bc of a rise of crime related to birds of prey. There are stories of people entering buildings and stealing the eggs from the nesting boxes. Others, mostly pigeon breeders, lay out toxic baits, e.g. dead pigeons that were coated with poison.
There was a sad case filmed in Zuerich with a female peregrine dying in the nest next to her young ones.


So, yes, I think it was a good decision not to make it public.

That is sad news about the mother falcon, and justifies your decision.

The park is cultivated around a pond area with shelter for the birds, which do include some runner ducks, and geese and a few more.
Not introduced but native, I'm sure, was this chap I spotted just off a main through path:

Since it was the middle of the day and he seemed exposed, slowly nosing around there, I took off my coat, knelt down beside him, and despite him curling up and sticking out his spikes, I picked him up and put him down near the hedge behind him. I like hedgehogs. I feel an affinity for them. I have the same impulse from time to time, to close in and warn the world to stay away, or else

​

 

[cat on a train]

That is sad news about the mother falcon, and justifies your decision.

The park is cultivated around a pond area with shelter for the birds, which do include some runner ducks, and geese and a few more.
Not introduced but native, I'm sure, was this chap I spotted just off a main through path:

View attachment 89729​

Since it was the middle of the day and he seemed exposed, slowly nosing around there, I took off my coat, knelt down beside him, and despite him curling up and sticking out his spikes, I picked him up and put him down near the hedge behind him. I like hedgehogs. I feel an affinity for them. I have the same impulse from time to time, to close in and warn the world to stay away, or else

​

oh my, that's a cutie with a daisy in front of his nose, and yes, it's surprising that he has already come out of hibernation.
don't forget to unroll again, gh, winter is almost over, hopefully.

 

[Born to Harangue]

I captured from my window the sound of the birds singing at 6 o'clock this morning. I was enjoying their song but then of course a crow had to come along and disrupt the peacefulness with his foghorn blare at about the 40 second mark

Spoiler

Some little birds should be seen and not heard!

 

[goinghome]

Sadly, murder -
"...shocking scenes captured on covert cameras by the pressure group Animal Justice Project at a megafarm that supplies pork sausages, hams and other meats to supermarkets including Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury’s. The supplier, Cranswick Country Foods, has assured the supermarkets that the farm has been suspended pending further investigation.

The Animal Justice Project claims that it has been able to gather evidence of potential breaches of the Animal Welfare Act, 2006, the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations, 2007 and the Red Tractor standards which that animal welfare must be at the core of farming practices..." - https://theecologist.org/2023/mar/18/farm-epitome-squalor

 

[goinghome]

To return to something Cat on a Train asked:
" So much about the peregrines. but what happened to your pheasant, gh? have you seen him again?
Do you know that there is some message to be detected when you encounter a pheasant?"

And supplied these interesting links -
Pheasants in Dreams
Pheasant Symbolism

Like Native American spirit animals, or beliefs of animistic religions, once universal, which perceived and respected essences in nature, and wove them into daily life as presences.

When my mother died, I broke a cross-country drive with a walk in an area by a river. I saw something moving in the water and took this photo. Moments later, I felt something brush against my foot on the path and gasped to see the otter pause next to me, just briefly, before slinking away into the water again and disappearing.

I read later that as creatures that can unusually live equally well on land and in water, they symbolise easy transition between the worlds of the living and the dead. Which was quite reassuring at the time : )