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Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16790

Posted: Sat Oct 18, 25 1:33 pm Post subject:

Have been out dormouse wrangling again this morning and a very productive day. The box we have been monitoring had a nest, but nobody at home, and hadn't been for a little while as the nest was cool. Another box had a partly built nest, and in another we found 4 extremely lively juveniles; 3 females and 1 male. We had a large plastic bag with us to put the box in that must have been 3feet or more hight and some of them tried to climb out. All weighed and sexed and returned to their home. Another had 2 in that got away, and another had some in as well. The final box we looked at had a female and some very small young. We didn't find out how many as they had fur but their eyes weren't open, so perhaps 8 days old. One got out of the nest and fell into the bag on its back and couldn't get up again, so got quickly popped back in the nest just as another got out, but both returned safe. Mother was weighed and returned to her babies.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16790

Posted: Wed Oct 29, 25 7:54 am Post subject:
Son went to see if there was any sign of activity in the dormouse box we have the camera on. Although there was nobody home when we looked a couple of weeks ago, there is still at least one dormouse there as it showed up on the camera. We think there are now dormice in at least 4 or possibly 5 of the boxes.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16790

Posted: Tue Nov 04, 25 2:55 pm Post subject:

Not exactly wildlife, but countryside. We drove into the woods yesterday and the beech leaves on either side of the track were amazing; gold, green and yellow. The trunks were wet so they were almost black, which enhanced the colour of the leaves. The track at that point has grass either side, so another contrast. The light was just right to make it a most superb spectacle.

The leaves are coming off the beech trees fast now, and it has been quite windy here, so having to remove leaves from everything, including ourselves. The light level in the wood is increasing a lot, even in dull weather. Once we have cleared the fallen leaves off the solar panel, it should start to produce more electricity again.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16790

Posted: Sun Nov 16, 25 8:35 am Post subject:

Plenty of wildlife today. We found a dormouse nest in a box at the bottom of the woods, but unfortunately the lid had been knocked off, probably by debris from flailing the other side of the hedge. First evidence we have of dormice in that part of the wood though.

Going up the wood, we found a magpied inkcap fungus which is the first we have seen in that part. We moved three empty dormouse boxes as they were in a coppice coup we want to cut this winter, then carrying on up we found a total of 10 dormice and 1 woodmouse. Both son and I were bitten by dormice, but they don't give a bad bite as they are quite small.

The woodmouse was very active and did about 10 circuits of the bag it was in before being caught by our surveyor. She showed us how to handle them; catch them by the scruff of the neck so they can't bite, but she still got bitten. It had put in plenty of stores as the box had quite a lot of nuts in it; mainly hazel.

Getting a bit better at handling, tuening dormice so they can be sexed, and putting them in bags and back in their boxes. Some of them have got up to a good weight; mainly the males, but some of the females were still quite small.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16790

Posted: Tue Nov 25, 25 9:42 am Post subject:
Son and I went back to the birch today to do the first cut. The stuff we cut last year has come back beautifully. It is large enough to cut, but think we might leave it another year if we can so that we don't weaken the root.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 44737
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Dec 10, 25 2:45 pm Post subject:
2 hours ago i mentioned i had seen grin, 5 mins ago 2 grins noticed the wire fence at the last mo and did not stop the pigeon my hand feeder did not even notice

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 44737
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Dec 10, 25 2:45 pm Post subject:
2 hours ago i mentioned i had seen grin, 5 mins ago 2 grins noticed the wire fence at the last mo and did not stop the pigeon my hand feeder did not even notice

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16790

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 25 9:12 am Post subject:

Did the pigeon notice the wire fence? I assume they skimmed the bird feeder then.

Our only wildlife lately seems to have been squirrels along the bedroom window sill, but haven't seen so much of them over the last few days. Sadly, I found a very deceased hedgehog on the patio yesterday. Not sure if a corvid had brought it in from the road as it was rather flat, or it had died in the garden and all I had was the skin and spines. Put it in a closed compost heap I have. Saw a lot of bluetits on the buddleia yesterday, so no idea what they were after as I don't think they are seed eaters.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 44737
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Dec 12, 25 2:00 pm Post subject:
not my snaps but some are rather nice

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 44737
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Dec 12, 25 2:25 pm Post subject:
the pigeons had a few accidents but have adjusted flight paths one of the adult grins tried it a while ago and had a bit of a bump the sammisons have been rebuilding the mouse castle , about a bucket full of good soil every month since september it will be pushed in between the bricks and stones to start the growing in the " kernow bank " that holds the good soil in place

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 44737
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Dec 12, 25 2:34 pm Post subject:
chooks can empty a tiggy, as can a fox, if tiggy is deceased when they find it, live and balled up prickly is too much bother

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16790

Posted: Sat Dec 13, 25 9:50 am Post subject:

Seeing that alligator picture reminded me of an incident not far away from us last weekend. Two wild boars halted traffic on a rural road because they were fighting. An unusual reason for a road traffic warning.

Sadly I found a very dead hedgehog on our patio the other day. I don't know if a corvid had brought it in from the road, or if it had died from natural causes and been eaten by something like a fox, but it was very flat. I put the remains in the closed compost heap.

What did the pigeons fly into Dpack? Good to hear the mice are going strong.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 44737
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Dec 15, 25 10:36 am Post subject:

we have an open plan parlour and kitchen combo (from the original 1896 pattern, the kitchen is now in the original scullery) as the middle wall is now engineering brick and an RSJ

window at the back, window at the front
they mistake it for air

the thump can be rather disturbing and i have picked one or two up for basic care, they were ok but a bit concussed and surprised

when i was about twelve a sparrow hit the window, my araldite and matchstick beak splint and nursing for a few weeks worked out for it, it lasted several years in the wild even with a slightly wonky beak. it did come back to say hello

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 44737
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Dec 15, 25 10:50 am Post subject:
truck = bacon? WB are delicious

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16790

Posted: Tue Dec 16, 25 8:43 am Post subject:

Well done with the broken beaked sparrow Dpack even if it was a long time ago. I don't think the birds that fly into our bedroom window can see the window at the front of the house, but they might see light from it. Luckily so far none have been more than stunned, and we have wisteria under the windowsill, so they usually end up on their backs on that, so come to themselves after a short while.

From the pictures I have seen there were only cars on the road, so no bacon.

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