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Title: natures amazing..... Post by taliban aka Cheekyboy2 on May 1st, 2008, 9:34pm there i am tidying up my flat on a sunny spring evening, windows open etc when i hear a bird squawking in panic/terror, i look round, there's only jessie in so i think, oh no, alfie's been out for a take away, but, the bird is still squawking? i look out the back window looking for alfie, no sign except the white cat (alfies most hated enemy) is sat there transfixed by something? i look around again and there it is just 10 feet from my window a beautiful bird of prey, hawk? falcon? dunno, it was mainly grey in colour and not really any bigger than a pidgeon and was looking at its catch which was pinned to the ground under one foot. it then plucked it and ate it. just a shame i couldnt capture it on camera, never seen that in real life, not bad for inner london. the only concern i have is the bird it caught; just lately i've noticed a pair of sparrows fluttering about which is good as they're the first i've seen in london for over a year (their numbers have declined by about 80% or more in london over 10 years), so i hope there is still a pair.... |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by gozz on May 1st, 2008, 11:02pm tali. It was almost certainly a sparrowhawk.We bog dwellers see them frequently.They usually just leave the wings,a bit tough I suppose. GOZZ. |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by jonnycab on May 2nd, 2008, 1:54am I'd agree with Gozz :) I'm no twitcher, but my younger brother used to be an avid bird watcher & would often inform me of his many urban sitings of Sparrow Hawks....yawn ::) http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/s/sparrowhawk/index.asp Nature is amazing though.... ....when I was a kid, we used to put nuts on the lawn for the squirrels. There was one particular squirrel that obviously realised a good source of food when he saw it & started coming up to the patio door in anticipation. When we opened the door he would just sit there & wait for his nuts. It got to the point that he would actually start scratching on the window of the patio door, & when we opened it he would take the nuts straight from our open hands. Come winter, he dissapeared, so we just assumed he'd hibernated for the winter & never expected to see him again.......but come the next Spring, he was back, scratching at the patio door again..... ......Friendly & clever little fellow he was :) |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by Snoopy on May 2nd, 2008, 7:59am If it was a GREY then they do not hibernate ... Rodents the lot of them and one of the biggest enviromental disasters ever inflicted on this country.. Typical ! Bring back the levy on the grey! Red squirrel is the natural one for this country and is protected by law as they have become so rare . |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by taliban aka Cheekyboy2 on May 2nd, 2008, 5:48pm yep, there are no greys on the isle of wight.... |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by taliban aka Cheekyboy2 on May 2nd, 2008, 5:54pm a sparrowhawk you say.....hmmm....looks likely....especially as i think it may have been eating a sparrow ::)...... |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by gozz on May 2nd, 2008, 10:34pm Quite right Snoopy they dont hibernate,vermin they are,we used to get a shilling from the powers that were,for every tail.They have all but ousted the reds of course ! GOZZ (one time rodent murderer) |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by DezertBLU on May 3rd, 2008, 2:28pm The past two years while we lived in Hartlepool we had a bird of prey living near us, since our garden was a haven for birds of every description it naturally took to hunting above our garden.The huge doves we had spent the spring watching dissappeared as did an entire population of sparrows , black birds, starlings ect....we were also having to keep a very close watch on our very tiny Yorkie puppies.This year just before we moved...I have noticed no birds other than the starling couple who seem to roost in our overhang from the roof.I think birds of prey are amazing to watch and hope the species that are in danger of dying out make a comeback. |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by gozz on May 3rd, 2008, 9:56pm DezertBLU. Come along now,you know you should'nt allow your bald eagle out of his quarantine cage ! :o GOZZ. |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by sab6024 on May 3rd, 2008, 10:30pm Grey Squirrels are just Rats with good PR ;D Once saw a Sparrow Hawk take a Sparrow from the tree in my back garden once, I was shocked yet amazed at the speed of the whole event :o |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by DezertBLU on May 4th, 2008, 1:11am Grey squirrels are something I miss...I know the reputation they got here and such, but back home they were not only cute, but quite entertaining to watch. I havn't seen any greys here where i am it's been 6 years now since I saw one ...unless you count the ones on T.V. And in my oppinion there is nothing wrong with RATS either, yes the city RATS are a problem and cause a real hazzard, but not ALL rats are a bad thing..but then that's just my own view having owned several in my lifetime. |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by jonnycab on May 4th, 2008, 1:20am The squirrel in my post was grey, & I didn't say it hibernated, only assumed it did. I do know that grey squirrels don't hibernate over winter, but I was about 8 years old at the time & wasn't aware of this fact. I won't bother posting anymore heart warming childhood recollections of nature again, if the only response is from a couple of grumpy old men ::)...... ;D The grey squirrel was introduced to this country in 1876....so it's not exactly a recent immigrant....& certainly not an illegal one :) ....& how anyone can compare a grey squirrel to a sewer rat ???....squirrels are gentile & elegant in their movements, whereas rats just scurry. Squirrels are shy but inqusitive creatures that know how to find food & are predominately vegetarian, whereas rats will eat practically anything ::) Rats brought bubonic plague to this country with the fleas & parasites that lived within their fur......Grey squirrels have never inflicted humans with any such disease..... .....So I don't see why anyone would class grey squirrels as vermin ??? |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by Snoopy on May 4th, 2008, 8:09am Well if you really understood the damage they actually do , Stripping the bark of our trees causing them to die along with other traits, you would understand . They carry a virus which infects our NATURAL reds and kills them. The greys are just a carrier of this virus and are immune from it . The whole of the population of the American Grey Squirrel in this country is you so rightly state the offspring from the two greys released way back in 1876 . Got go as there is another one in the tree at the back .. where's my gun ! BTW they taste quite good cooked ! |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by TiberiuS on May 4th, 2008, 12:58pm on 05/04/08 at 01:11:42, DezertBLU wrote:
Are you sure you meant RATS and not PATS? Both can be frustrating if you own a Scorp and live in the city ::) Nerdy joke I know, sorry :-/ We've got a grey squirrel in our garden, it's like watching the old advert that used to be on of the squirrel on the assault course with 'Mission Impossible' playing. d**n thing gets hoards of nuts from somewhere, every time you go to dig something you find a dozen peanuts buried there in their shells... Regards, Bruce :) |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by DezertBLU on May 4th, 2008, 1:01pm It was 229 years after the Great Plague dealt London such a terrible blow that the probable cause of the disease was discovered. In 1894, during an epidemic in Hong Kong, two rival research teams – one led by the Japanese scientist Shibasaburo Kitasato and the other by the Frenchman Alexandre Yersin, a former pupil of Louis Pasteur – isolated the bacillus Pasteurella pestis (now called Yersinia pestis) that is responsible for plague. Further research showed that this was a disease of black rats and other rodents, spread by their fleas. When all the rats died, the fleas would frantically look for new hosts: human beings. The plague bacillus is extremely virulent. Laboratory mice die after being infected with just three bacilli – and fleas can disgorge up to 24,000 in one bite. |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by TiberiuS on May 4th, 2008, 1:02pm on 05/01/08 at 23:02:37, gozz wrote:
GOZZ, You make them sound like a meal from the local Chinese takeaway, the wings are always a bit tough on the 'Number 32' from the Golden Dragon in town :-/ Maybe I've been a sparrowhawk all along and not realised ;D |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by taliban aka Cheekyboy2 on May 4th, 2008, 1:33pm tbh i cant really see the point of taking out vengence on an animal for something human so called kind has done; if greys are such a pest its not their fault, its ours, or rather our ancestors. if all the greys originate from one pair then i suggest they're here to stay, just like rabbits and hares after they were introduced. as for the 2 main plagues, there's still some debate as to whether they were bubonic or numonic (sp?), 2 different virus', maybe it was natures way of culling the human population, think what todays population would be if they hadnt happened.... |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by peteHull on May 9th, 2008, 10:25am Did anyone see the black squirrels on tv last night? Apparently they are a crossbreed between the greys and the reds, now that is a new one because it was always said that they wouldn't interbreed. These black ones have more Mellatonin in them so it gives the effect of being black.... As the title of this post says, Nature's amaizing.... :o Pete |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by Snoopy on May 9th, 2008, 4:37pm Sorry to correct you they are NOT a cross bertween reds and greys they are a grey which has undergone a bio change and as such they have as you so rightly state more mellatonin in them and possibly more testosterone which is why they are able to bredd so readily ..... Darwins evolution theory comes to mind ! |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by jonnycab on May 10th, 2008, 2:43am I read something about these black squirrels recently, & apparently, one of the reasons why the black squirrel population is expanding so rapidly is because female greys seem to prefer the black males to the grey males.........Don't know why this the case, but maybe the following scenarios about how squirrels mate might be the reason.... Grey male.... ;) grey female.... :) Black male.... ;) grey female.... :o........... :) :) :) :) }{ }{ |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by peteHull on May 10th, 2008, 1:10pm on 05/10/08 at 02:43:05, jonnycab wrote:
Bet the black ones have loads of money..... ;D |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by peteHull on May 10th, 2008, 1:18pm on 05/09/08 at 16:37:10, Snoopy wrote:
Hi Snoopy I have just re read this, as you can see I did say, (Apparently they are a crossbreed between the greys and the reds,) This is how they were described in the programme. Darwin?..... Interesting ;) Pete |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by DezertBLU on May 10th, 2008, 5:51pm Here is an article from North America regarding thier greys turning Black: The black squirrels being seen around town are really eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) with a genetic mutation that causes excessive pigmentation or “melanism”. Biologists estimate that nationwide about one of every 10,000 gray squirrels is the black mutant. Black-phase gray squirrels are by no means a genetic mistake. Gray squirrels in New England, Pennsylvania, Michigan and other northern states were almost all black before the days of early European settlers. The black fur more readily absorbs heat from the sun’s rays providing warmth during cold northern winters; equally important, the black coloration is a defense mechanism. Dr. Bill Hamilton, a biologist with Penn State New Kensington, explained; “early northern forests were very primeval. They were very shaded, very dense and dark. It’s said that they were so dense that a squirrel could go from one end of the state to the other without ever touching the ground. The undisturbed North American population of gray squirrels was, according to historical records from the 1600’s and early 1700’s, predominately made up of black-phase gray squirrels due to the effectiveness of the black coloration as an aid in hiding from avian predators such as hawks or owls”. As Europeans settled the New World, forests were cleared for farmland and squirrels were commonly hunted. Dr. Hamilton added, “as the continuous forests of Pennsylvania and on westward were broken up and the human hunting and bounty pressures on squirrels were increased, the black form of the gray squirrel, even though it is the genetically dominant variant, became less and less abundant. The black squirrel was very clearly outlined against the light colored sky when humans hunted squirrels from the forest floor. This human hunting pressure apparently favored the mixed, “gray” coloration that even today predominates in most North American populations”. Squirrels were not only a food source for early settlers; they were perceived as a serious threat to crops. Nearly all states in the northeast had bounties on squirrels. Dr. Hamilton further explained, “in 1749 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania put a 3-cent per skin bounty on gray squirrels to try to reduce the population. Over 640,000 pelts were turned in. In 1749 dollars, the outlay by Pennsylvania was huge, nearly bankrupting the state. In 1807 Ohio tried to reduce their squirrel population but also keep their state budget in tact by requiring each taxpayer to turn in squirrel pelts with their taxes in proportion to their tax bill. Each taxpayer had to turn in between 10 and 100 squirrel skins”. Intense hunting pressures in northern states caused the black-phase squirrel to mutate to the now common gray color in a relatively short period of time. Dr. Hamilton added, “the impact on gray squirrels was a classic example of natural selection that can take place over a period of only decades”. |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by DezertBLU on May 10th, 2008, 6:05pm I just wanted to add there are also Non Albino white squirrels, as well as golden and multicolour .There is a squirrel in North America known as Abert's squirrel, it has tassel ears and comes in black, white or grey variety.While living in Estes Park Colorado it was very common for me to see the black Abert squirrels. |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by gozz on May 10th, 2008, 7:24pm Blimey oriley,dont she bleedin go on ! ::) GOZZ(I think) |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by TiberiuS on May 10th, 2008, 9:02pm Crikey Jon, what were you drinking last night? I'd love some if that's what it does to your smileys ::) I'm no wildlife expert, I bow to the knowledge of you guys (and gals). But whether it was introduced by man or not, the grey squirrel proved stronger than the red and natural evolution, survival of the fittest etc.. I just think it's wrong to play God and go around culling a particular species to attempt to alter the wildlife population as man thinks it should be. I had the badger TB thing as a case study in my last course and I thought the whole idea of killing one species to protect another or prevent a disease epidemic was so bum upwards it was almost funny :( Or maybe I'm just short sighted? :-/ |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by taliban aka Cheekyboy2 on May 10th, 2008, 11:33pm i dont know what it is with mankind, century after century we interfere with nature and f**k it up, yet we havent the god given intelligence to stop interfering. i've given up believing that one day mankind will wake up and realise/accept that nature is more powerful and intelligent than the human race... |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by DezertBLU on May 21st, 2008, 1:21am I'm the North American version of the female human race, now relocated to UK......if it shows that we aren't as cute as the home grown variety do we get culled? |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by taliban aka Cheekyboy2 on May 21st, 2008, 1:57pm home grown variety cute!??? |
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Title: Re: natures amazing..... Post by TiberiuS on May 21st, 2008, 7:37pm Not sure about the cull, just don't chew the wiring (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/northamptonshire/7410553.stm) and you should be ok ;) We're now blaming the poor little blighters for everything :'( Is there no justice for squirrels? ;D EDIT: ROFL at the line 'The likelihood is that the animal died' Either that or it walked away with very hot lips ::) |
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