Poor buggers will do well to survive being born so early. The parents are usually very protective though so they may make it. The six above hatched at the end of October and five of them are still going.
Poor buggers will do well to survive being born so early. The parents are usually very protective though so they may make it. The six above hatched at the end of October and five of them are still going.
They're my favourite animal, they got me through the first 2 lockdowns when I lived in blackheath.
They also strange when it comes to breeding times, and are often seen as far north as Denmark, so can do well in low temperatures, although the weather we have been having has really worried me as it seems a bit extreme.
There is a video of several Egyptian Geese fighting in At James' Park and it's one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
There's also another video of a leopard trying to catch one, which was looking after the babies. The other adults kept getting close to the leopard and hobbling so they looked injured, and then they would fly away just when it got close, to lure it away from the goslings while they got to water. It worked and they all survived. The best bit is how excited they all were that it worked.
Poor buggers will do well to survive being born so early. The parents are usually very protective though so they may make it. The six above hatched at the end of October and five of them are still going.
Oh and on this... On blackheath I keep seeing the dad flying round and attacking the Canada geese, which are much bigger, sometimes he goes for a few at once. They don't want a fight generally so walk off but often they are a good 50 metres away from the goslings! A few times he's gone for them and they've snapped back and he's gone running off!
Like I said, I absolutely love them. Seeing them makes my day.
Yeah Egyptian geese are very bold. This time last year there were parents plus 2 babies I used to see each day, usually at different sides of a busy road & roundabout. A couple of times I found them holding up cars, not giving a F, so I had to play traffic warden. I lost track of them though when working from home started.
Other animals have benefitted from home working though:
Envious of this as I think foxes are beautiful animals. I see them occasionally on my drive to work, usually as they run across the fields, never get to see them close up like this. Will never understand how some people get their jollies from chasing them down and watching them get torn to bits by a pack of dogs.
I have a garden swing that seats 3. It is covered by a yawning. A bloody fox decided to use it as a bed , dug holes in the soft fabric , picked and shat on the soft seating etc. I had to fold up in big plastic bags and take it to the council tip. It will cost £69 to replace the cover and £30 for the soft cushioning. It had been there 5 years no problem until last month. Proxy foxes.
They look so cute though!
Oh no it wasn't...it was mangy to boot, really mangy.. Bloody woman across the road puts food out for them. Then they use my garden as a route from the woods to her garden...and use my gardens a toilet. Pests.
Classic selfishness......people feed them which proliferates the increase in the local population way beyond normal sustainable levels. In doing so they shit on and cause damage to OTHER residents properties. Cute cuddly cubs very soon become over populated ugly destructive adults.......that’s a reality. Don’t feed the dirty little buggers......in fact, there should be an immediate mass culling and hefty fines for those who feed them..........IMHO!🦊💣🧨
Classic selfishness......people feed them which proliferates the increase in the local population way beyond normal sustainable levels. In doing so they shit on and cause damage to OTHER residents properties. Cute cuddly cubs very soon become over populated ugly destructive adults.......that’s a reality. Don’t feed the dirty little buggers......in fact, there should be an immediate mass culling and hefty fines for those who feed them..........IMHO!🦊💣🧨
Took this in SE7 last month, after seeing it while I was outside.
Google revealed it was a female sparrowhawk - a great sight, but not so much so for the pigeon it had just knocked out of the sky...
It waited in the tree for a few minutes, presumably to track if the pigeon tried to escape, then swooped down to finish it off (which I chose not to watch while my wife gave a running commentary on).
Heard a real commotion among the local parakeets last week and she seemed to be back in another tree nearby, so it now seems to be a bit of a hunting ground.
Took this in SE7 last month, after seeing it while I was outside.
Google revealed it was a female sparrowhawk - a great sight, but not so much so for the pigeon it had just knocked out of the sky...
It waited in the tree for a few minutes, presumably to track if the pigeon tried to escape, then swooped down to finish it off (which I chose not to watch while my wife gave a running commentary on).
Heard a real commotion among the local parakeets last week and she seemed to be back in another tree nearby, so it now seems to be a bit of a hunting ground.
No wonder there’s a sparse population of sparrows. Mind you it’s a majestic bird.
Saw a Kingfisher in Beckenham yesterday, don't think I have ever seen one before. Sadly only had the phone camera with me so a crap photo..
Kingfishers are surprisingly unfussy, I've seen them next to ugly concrete urban streams in North London, the sort where you'd expect to find more shopping trolleys than fish...
My mum saw a heron in the garden this morning, this is in New Eltham. No more goldfish in the pond now though
They will prob be hiding mate. We had a Heron keep visiting last year, quite a site in the garden, bigger than my dog and wouldn't bet against it having a bash at it.
All my fish were still there.
I'm not getting involved in the Foxes debate, I'm seething at the little..
Quite interesting to compare a cuckoo with a Sparrowhawk. It seems Cuckoos use this similarity to their own advantage, but when it comes to it they are all squawk and feathers.
Saw a Kingfisher in Beckenham yesterday, don't think I have ever seen one before. Sadly only had the phone camera with me so a crap photo..
Kingfishers are surprisingly unfussy, I've seen them next to ugly concrete urban streams in North London, the sort where you'd expect to find more shopping trolleys than fish...
The one I saw was by a stream very close to Kangley Bridge Road in Lower Sydenham. The stream has allsorts of junk in and around it as Kangley Bridge Road is full of industrial sheds. Certainly not the place I expected to see such a lovely little bird.
Saw a Kingfisher in Beckenham yesterday, don't think I have ever seen one before. Sadly only had the phone camera with me so a crap photo..
Kingfishers are surprisingly unfussy, I've seen them next to ugly concrete urban streams in North London, the sort where you'd expect to find more shopping trolleys than fish...
The one I saw was by a stream very close to Kangley Bridge Road in Lower Sydenham. The stream has allsorts of junk in and around it as Kangley Bridge Road is full of industrial sheds. Certainly not the place I expected to see such a lovely little bird.
There's a lot of parakeets down Kangley Bridge Road lately.
Saw a Kingfisher in Beckenham yesterday, don't think I have ever seen one before. Sadly only had the phone camera with me so a crap photo..
Kingfishers are surprisingly unfussy, I've seen them next to ugly concrete urban streams in North London, the sort where you'd expect to find more shopping trolleys than fish...
The one I saw was by a stream very close to Kangley Bridge Road in Lower Sydenham. The stream has allsorts of junk in and around it as Kangley Bridge Road is full of industrial sheds. Certainly not the place I expected to see such a lovely little bird.
Was walking along the Pool River on Saturday afternoon. Sadly didn’t see anything as exciting as a kingfisher. A couple of moorhens but that’s about it!
Saw a Kingfisher in Beckenham yesterday, don't think I have ever seen one before. Sadly only had the phone camera with me so a crap photo..
Kingfishers are surprisingly unfussy, I've seen them next to ugly concrete urban streams in North London, the sort where you'd expect to find more shopping trolleys than fish...
The one I saw was by a stream very close to Kangley Bridge Road in Lower Sydenham. The stream has allsorts of junk in and around it as Kangley Bridge Road is full of industrial sheds. Certainly not the place I expected to see such a lovely little bird.
Was walking along the Pool River on Saturday afternoon. Sadly didn’t see anything as exciting as a kingfisher. A couple of moorhens but that’s about it!
Go down the river walk towards where the path leads to Wicks. I've seen kingfishers there by the bridge
I found these two little beauties in a rotting log in our garden. I believe they are both lesser stag beetles. The larvae was larger than the adult. Apparently these beetles can often be found in the same wood as their young.
My mum saw a heron in the garden this morning, this is in New Eltham. No more goldfish in the pond now though
We had one that cleared our pond a couple of years ago. The only fish it didn’t get were the mirror carp and the koi that must have been too big for it. Have netting over the pond now and haven’t seen the heron for a while.
Comments
Egyptian Geese.
They also strange when it comes to breeding times, and are often seen as far north as Denmark, so can do well in low temperatures, although the weather we have been having has really worried me as it seems a bit extreme.
There is a video of several Egyptian Geese fighting in At James' Park and it's one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
There's also another video of a leopard trying to catch one, which was looking after the babies. The other adults kept getting close to the leopard and hobbling so they looked injured, and then they would fly away just when it got close, to lure it away from the goslings while they got to water. It worked and they all survived. The best bit is how excited they all were that it worked.
Like I said, I absolutely love them. Seeing them makes my day.
Other animals have benefitted from home working though:
In doing so they shit on and cause damage to OTHER residents properties.
Cute cuddly cubs very soon become over populated ugly destructive adults.......that’s a reality.
Don’t feed the dirty little buggers......in fact, there should be an immediate mass culling and hefty fines for those who feed them..........IMHO!🦊💣🧨
Google revealed it was a female sparrowhawk - a great sight, but not so much so for the pigeon it had just knocked out of the sky...
It waited in the tree for a few minutes, presumably to track if the pigeon tried to escape, then swooped down to finish it off (which I chose not to watch while my wife gave a running commentary on).
Heard a real commotion among the local parakeets last week and she seemed to be back in another tree nearby, so it now seems to be a bit of a hunting ground.
We had a Heron keep visiting last year, quite a site in the garden, bigger than my dog and wouldn't bet against it having a bash at it.
All my fish were still there.
I'm not getting involved in the Foxes debate, I'm seething at the little..
I found these two little beauties in a rotting log in our garden. I believe they are both lesser stag beetles. The larvae was larger than the adult. Apparently these beetles can often be found in the same wood as their young.