Your best 'recent' wildlife experience?

[Simpo Two]

Bull1t said:

People here will probably think I'm wierd but my recent one was a squirrel in the grounds of St Pauls when I was in London a couple of months ago. We dont have them here (NZ) so it was something different (and the only one I saw when I was there)

I went to NZ but never saw a possum - apart from lots of flat ones in tourist shops!

[simer553]

Last week was held up by thirty camels crossing the road. We also saw what looked like an eagle (but suspect is was an escaped arabian hunting hawk).

This weekend - wild flamingos in the golf club pond and wild green parakeets in the trees at our stables.

[y2blade]

simer553 said:

Last week was held up by thirty camels crossing the road. We also saw what looked like an eagle (but suspect is was an escaped arabian hunting hawk).

This weekend - wild flamingos in the golf club pond and wild green parakeets in the trees at our stables.

fantastic

[simer553]

y2blade said:

simer553 said:

Last week was held up by thirty camels crossing the road. We also saw what looked like an eagle (but suspect is was an escaped arabian hunting hawk).

This weekend - wild flamingos in the golf club pond and wild green parakeets in the trees at our stables.

fantastic

Well - obviously not in Luton though 'Blade.

[CharlieHotel]

Living in a big city I don't see much.
Often see an urban fox when on a run at midnight or going to work early hours.
Never seen an owl in the wild

[kVA]

CharlieHotel said:

Living in a big city I don't see much.
...Never seen an owl in the wild

To be honest, even being a keen wildlife watcher, living in rural Buckinghamshire and literally hearing them every single night - I can't remember ever getting a good sighting of one here (certainly not good enough for a photo, anyway)! They are the most elusive of creatures - almost silent on the wing and fly below the hedge / tree tops, so you can't even see them silhouetted against the sky.

It is really frustrating to hear one, that you know is in a tree about 10 metres away, (I even have 'hooting' chats with them, occasionally - AND they respond) but you can't see the bloody thing!

[Hugo a Gogo]

I only learned recently (from the bloody sickening 'Green Balloon Club' on CBeebies) that when you hear "T-wit T-wooo" that's two owls, one goes 'T-wit' and the other replies 'T-woo'

[y2blade]

simer553 said:

y2blade said:

simer553 said:

Last week was held up by thirty camels crossing the road. We also saw what looked like an eagle (but suspect is was an escaped arabian hunting hawk).

This weekend - wild flamingos in the golf club pond and wild green parakeets in the trees at our stables.

fantastic

Well - obviously not in Luton though 'Blade.

I thought you were UAE?

[dabofoppo]

A few years ago I was driving down some previously unexplored back roads when I stopped for a pee. When I was done I looked up at the tree I was nearest too and there was this massive brown owl staring back at me. I stayed there for about 10 minutes just looking at it before it flew off.

[omgus]

I'm very lucky that there have been little owls living in front of my house for years, beautiful creatures but I have only ever seen them from inside the house, the moment someone moves outside they are off. We also used to get a few Greater Spotted woodpeckers but I have only seen Green Woodpeckers for the last few years. They are amazing in flight, very distinctive even if you can't make out the colour.

[kVA]

Well, not 30 mins ago, there I was trying to get a photo of a Jay that I had just spotted fly into one of my old oak trees and I must have almost stood on a hare!!! It was totally disguised and neither myself or any of my 3 dogs had seen (or smelled) it - until I took one more step and it took off into the bushes... It was so close that I couldn't get a focus on it with my camera, as the long lens was set on 5 metre minimum focus distance!

As for Great Spotted Woodpeckers, I see them reasonably often and have a few good pictures of both them and the green variety. But still no decent pictures of a Jay after the hare incident, as when I looked back at the tree, he had gone!

[thinfourth2]

y2blade said:

simer553 said:

y2blade said:

simer553 said:

Last week was held up by thirty camels crossing the road. We also saw what looked like an eagle (but suspect is was an escaped arabian hunting hawk).

This weekend - wild flamingos in the golf club pond and wild green parakeets in the trees at our stables.

fantastic

Well - obviously not in Luton though 'Blade.

I thought you were UAE?

No he is in Luton

Just does alot of drugs

[simer553]

thinfourth2 said:

y2blade said:

simer553 said:

y2blade said:

simer553 said:

Last week was held up by thirty camels crossing the road. We also saw what looked like an eagle (but suspect is was an escaped arabian hunting hawk).

This weekend - wild flamingos in the golf club pond and wild green parakeets in the trees at our stables.

fantastic

Well - obviously not in Luton though 'Blade.

I thought you were UAE?

No he is in Luton

Just does alot of drugs

Chance would be a fine thing living here

(UAE - NOT Luton) Sorry 'Blade, was maybe being a bit too facetious

[jeff m2]

November is Deer dodging month.
6,000 dead ones cleared from state roads in 09, probably double that if you add county and township roads.

So I see deer nearly everyday.

Never really worked out why they prefer death by automobile over coitos.

We have sqirrells and rabbits in quantities capable of feeding Ethiopia along with Possums, Skunks, racoons and chipmonks.
I've only seen one bear.

Neatest thing we get in the summer are humming birds, I didn't realise how small they are, they do not appear to be scared of humans as they fly within a couple of feet to feed on a flower.

[karona]

We have a resident Barn owl in one of the outbuildings, an eagle recently killed a neighbours chicken, and flew off with the corpse. Most evenings we sit and watch Pipistrel (sp) bats flying round the garden, and the other night a kestrel was doing its damnedest to catch one. The frosty nights bring the Jackals right into the village to raid the bins, but the best so far was the Brown Bear lumbering across the road at dusk, less than a mile from the house.

[Mobile Chicane]

I just went out to the wood-shed.

It's locked and the key is wedged in the space between the external rafters and the roof lining. Reaching up for this, two pipistrelle bats flew out!

I hope I hadn't disturbed... you know ... sexy time.

[Turn7]

Plenty of birds of prey round by work.

We have a family of Kestrels in an old oak tree every year.

Currently though, apart from the regular flybys of Red Kites, we have a pair of Buzzards that regularly get mobbed by crows.Its odd seeing a big old bird being harrassed by a smaller birds.

Also see plenty of Muntjac and foxes daily.

[shirt]

was lucky enough to have a few during a trip to sri lanka the other week, including:

wild elephants playing in the lake behind our hotel whilst quaffing wine on the veranda.

palm squirrels joining us for breakfast.

being woken up by a giant grizzled squirrel wandering around our cabana by the beach. pic [not mine] for the squirrel haters! was quite a friendly little chap.



flying squirrels whizzing over the car when driving up to the mountain. also saw a purple faced langur on this drive - quite a rare spot.

monkeys every-bleeding-where. one tried to nick the OH's bag and got pretty aggresive when i told it to fk off. took to carrying a monkey bashing stick when we encountered them at tourist spots thereafter.

several types of mongoose in the woods and at breakfast one morning.

but by far the best was the frog in the bog - literally down the toilet of our hotel. whenever we flushed he just came right back, i reckon he was some type of deviant who got off by me pissing on his head.

Edited by shirt on Thursday 22 December 07:12

[warch]

I found a nest of slow worms whilst I was relocating my fish pond, one mother and six or seven young. Luckily it was still whilst the weather was mild so I was able to relocate them.

[ehonda]

shirt said:

That looks like the squirrel equavalent to a honey badger, Scary mofo!

Bat sexy time and telling monkeys to fk off are both tickling me this morning.