Nature watch.

[How I Wrote Elastic Man 1,189]

1 hour ago, Herman said:

 

The little mountain that looks like a piece of toblerone is called Keilir. The eruption is actually behind it

[How I Wrote Elastic Man 1,189]

I took a crap photo from south of Hafnarfjörður on my way home from work. I was going to climb up the hill on the right, but it was full of fissures and I don't fancy a broken leg 

[How I Wrote Elastic Man 1,189]

Apparently, some jokers have been trying to climb up the new volcano 

I hope the photo in that article is misleading, and that the eruption is a couple of hundred metres behind the crater.

Otherwise, competition for The Darwin awards could be strong this year 

[Herman 9,797]

My resident wren is currently feeding a nestfull. The nest is in an old greenhouse monitor box. Last year it was in a sodium lamp.

[The Raptor 1,223]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-66245010#product-navigation-menu

First white-tailed eagle in 240 years born in south of England

I hope it isn't just lost!

Edited July 19, 2023 by The Raptor

[Wings of a Sparrow 1,423]

2 hours ago, The Raptor said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-66245010#product-navigation-menu

First white-tailed eagle in 240 years born in south of England

I hope it isn't just lost!

Some twitchers wouldn't count a sighting of these white tailed sea eagles as they were a reintroduced species.

This'll put the cat amongst the pigeons now that there'll be British fledged birds going about!

[Herman 9,797]

One for you Swift lovers.

 

[dylanisabaddog 4,953]

https://www.bargainbirdfood.co.uk/

For anyone who buys large amounts of bird food. These people are very cheap but quality is fine. You do have to buy 12kg but I share with a neighbour. 

Sunflower hearts work out at £1.60 a kilo including delivery 

[Herman 9,797]

Loads of Red Admirals at work today. Rather nice to see.

[TheGunnShow 5,957]

On 30/01/2023 at 08:11, dylanisabaddog said:

How exciting! Do keep us informed of progress 

 

On 30/01/2023 at 18:16, sonyc said:

Knowing you TGS, this is going to be a marathon and not a sprint😅...no bad thing either.

Brief update. Met in Prague (April), Riga (May) and Torshavn (June). Decided after Torshavn that the stop-start nature of things was a bit irritating and a longer period together was needed. Decided to book flights to Germany and spent nearly four weeks there living with her, coming back four days ago.

We definitely think something's there. It makes far more sense for me to move over to Germany than for her to come over here (especially as she's going to be working on a locum basis) but we both still kind of want our own places as we've both been single for that long. It means I'll have to save up a fair bit to get a move to Germany to stick but in terms of working there as a freelancer I should be fine.

There's an easy, short-termist way of financing it and a tough, more sustainable long-term approach. I would prefer the latter, but we will see.

[dylanisabaddog 4,953]

On 27/07/2023 at 09:12, TheGunnShow said:

 

Brief update. Met in Prague (April), Riga (May) and Torshavn (June). Decided after Torshavn that the stop-start nature of things was a bit irritating and a longer period together was needed. Decided to book flights to Germany and spent nearly four weeks there living with her, coming back four days ago.

We definitely think something's there. It makes far more sense for me to move over to Germany than for her to come over here (especially as she's going to be working on a locum basis) but we both still kind of want our own places as we've both been single for that long. It means I'll have to save up a fair bit to get a move to Germany to stick but in terms of working there as a freelancer I should be fine.

There's an easy, short-termist way of financing it and a tough, more sustainable long-term approach. I would prefer the latter, but we will see.

Good luck! For what it's worth I think Germany would be a great place to live at the moment. 

[Pockthorpe 533]

Got baby Swifts. One fledged today , one still not so sure ! 

Edited July 29, 2023 by Pockthorpe

[Wings of a Sparrow 1,423]

10 hours ago, Pockthorpe said:

Got baby Swifts. One fledged today , one still not so sure ! 

That's awesome 👍

[wcorkcanary 4,334]

Had a Bee nest in a shed wall for the last couple of years, yesterday they swarmed on to a nearby fig tree. Called a man ( Steve Redmond, renowned open water swimmer....and Beekeeper) ... all safely moved to their new home by 7-30 am. 

[wcorkcanary 4,334]

Was out early this morning after Bass, arrived  just after high tide, there was little wind but the previous  24 hrs had been pretty stormy . The tidal rock pools were full of  dead  Horse Mackerel (aka Scad).  Have only seen anything similar once before after Storm Ophelia... and yesterday  was nowhere near that bad. Often see whitebait etc  that are chased up and there were some  here too , maybe chased into the rocks by the Scad who then weren't equipped to deal with stormy seas among heavy Rocky  ground , unlike bass that thrive there. One small Bass caught... too small to have eaten the 8-12 " Scad..... which is what the bigger fellas were gorged on,I reckon. 

Scad top , whitebait below. 

[benchwarmer 625]

My regular trips to Yarmouth for a stroll along the tideline are seldom uneventful, and today was no exception.  The North Beach was sparsely populated as usual, although the town was packed.

Walked out to the point, then on the way back I found a seal pup which had probably been stranded at high tide. I began to shoo it towards the sea, but when it realised I was harmless it yawned and rolled on its back but otherwise ignored me.  I hung around for a bit as I'd seen some large dogs of uncertain breed and temperament further up the beach, until a man came along with a small dog on a lead who enthusiastically completed the job.  When it reached the water, the seal turned a somersault in the shallows then disappeared.

I walked on another quarter mile or so, then on impulse turned round just in time to see it appear briefly above the waves about 50 yards out before vanishing for good.

Edited August 11, 2023 by benchwarmer

[dylanisabaddog 4,953]

A nature story with a difference 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66446697

[How I Wrote Elastic Man 1,189]

Thousands of dead Penguins in the  Antarctic 😔

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66492767

[Richard Richard 186]

Lovely 0500 walk this morning (I'm sure the dog is waking up earlier and earlier).

Down the usual track close to a wooded area near one of the broads. Ever-present deer skipping around, rabbits everywhere and a beautiful barn owl sailing silently over my head.

As we continue the dog suddenly goes mental and dives into the long grass. GROUSE! Bloody grouse everywhere! As I spy a roofed feeder newly-placed at the edge of the woods, my uncertainty over whether this is private or public land evaporates and I realise I've probably been trespassing for my half-hour morning walks for the last six months!

Grouse clearly been bred and now released for shooting season. Better watch out for shotguns and leave the giant feathered birdsuit at home for awhile.

Anyone do the beating/shooting thing out of interest? Not my thing to be honest although the dog was in her element flushing them out of the long grass for a few moments!

 

[Wings of a Sparrow 1,423]

No, definitely not for me. I can't abide the whole 'business' that surrounds blasting living things out of the air in the name of sport.

Edited August 27, 2023 by Wings of a Sparrow

[The Raptor 1,223]

My nephew spent ages earlier telling me that the world's most famous penguin got a promotion.

The main reason I want to go to Edinburgh. And if they didn't didn't have cool eagles probably Scotland as a whole

 

https://www.bbc.com/newsround/66580190

 

[dylanisabaddog 4,953]

20 hours ago, Wings of a Sparrow said:

No, definitely not for me. I can't abide the whole 'business' that surrounds blasting living things out of the air in the name of sport.

It's a rather strange thing to do. I don't understand it either. 

[How I Wrote Elastic Man 1,189]

On 01/04/2023 at 18:17, How I Wrote Elastic Man said:

Anti Whaling ship coming to Iceland from Hull

I totally support their sentiments, and ordinarily would support this action, but I have reservations.

Whaling is on its last legs here. Only one guy left doing it. No money in it. Biggest market is Japan, who I believe have strict import regulations. Two thirds of locals think it harms the country's image, and virtually nobody eats whale on a regular basis. Permits run out next year, and the government have suggested that they may not be renewed.

Disruptive action may just annoy the locals, who don't like being told what to do by foreigners, and set back the anti whaling campaign.

Personally, I  would have left it until a decision was made about renewal of permits. If the government would choose to issue a new permit next year then fine, disrupt.

Hopefully whaling will die a natural death. "Meet us, don't eat us"

Whaling was suspended a few weeks ago, the day before the "season" was due to start

That ban expires in a couple of days

It will be interesting to see what happens.

The problem that the food & fisheries minister Svandís, of the left-green party, has is that Kristján, the whaler, has lots of money and powerful friends in one of her coalition partners, The Independence party. And they outnumber the left-greens in the government.

There is talk of a vote of no confidence in  Svandís if the current ban can be shown to be illegal.

A report showing that the whales were taking too long to die was published a while back. A new report has recently been published that shows whaling adds nothing to the economy, which we all knew anyway.

It also showed that it had little effect on the tourism industry. If whaling resumes, perhaps ways need to be found to ensure it does have an affect. Or we need to get sea shepherd back up here.

A survey carried out recently showed an outright majority now oppose whaling. It now comes down to a battle between public will and world wide image against money & power.

Sadly, I think money and power might hold out until the permits are up for renewal next year. I hope I'm wrong....

Edited August 29, 2023 by How I Wrote Elastic Man

[TheGunnShow 5,957]

I think I might have lobbed this picture up in a thread somewhere, but you can never have enough puffins (photo taken by Miss TGS on the island of Mykines, Faroe Islands, June 2023).

[How I Wrote Elastic Man 1,189]

Whaling permitted with strict conditions

Búgger ☹

Hopefully so strict that he won't bother, but I doubt it.

Only one month of the season to go anyway, thankfully 

[How I Wrote Elastic Man 1,189]

On 31/08/2023 at 12:06, How I Wrote Elastic Man said:

Whaling permitted with strict conditions

Búgger ☹

Hopefully so strict that he won't bother, but I doubt it.

Only one month of the season to go anyway, thankfully 

Well that's a fùcking shame!

Storm prevents whaling

karma 😁

A month of storms would go down a treat 😃

If a permit is issued next year then unfortunately it's time for sanctions and trade barriers 

[PurpleCanary 5,573]

Normal for Nebraska!

 

Police in Norfolk, Nebraska, responding to calls of a man driving with a “cow” in his car were stunned to discover a local man with a huge Watusi bull riding shotgun in his vehicle.

“The officers received a call referencing a car driving into town that had a cow in it,” Capt Chad Reiman told News Channel North-East Nebraska. “They thought that it was going to be a calf, something small or something that would actually fit inside the vehicle.” In fact, the animal was a Watusi bull – a breed of cattle famous in Africa with gigantic horns.

 

[How I Wrote Elastic Man 1,189]

Protestors on the whaling boats

Boats have been in harbour all weekend due to bad weather 

Maybe they won't be going out today either 😃

[How I Wrote Elastic Man 1,189]

I've just been down to the harbour to see the girls on the boats. 🙂

[How I Wrote Elastic Man 1,189]

The protest is over

One of the girls had her rucksack removed by the police yesterday morning, so she had been up there for 30 hours or so with no food, water or medication 😔