Pedestrians crossing

So, there I am this morning beetling around a large industrial estate in my white van when suddenly i am forced to pull up hard behind a Porche that has apparently stopped without warning and is showing hazard warning lights.

At first there was no obvious reason for this slightly odd behaviour and I was marginally miffed as to what he was up too.... but a few moments later all became apparent as mum and her offspring appeared from in front of the vehicle, apparently all en-route for someplace else.

Her choice of crossing was perhaps not her wisest move but all made it to the other side of the road intact :)


(Apologies for image quality, click to enlarge, photography by phone whilst trying to manoeuvre is not the best way to get a decent shot!)

Saved from certain death!

This morning, my second call in the white van was immediately peculiar in that as I drew up in front of the large building there were something in the region of forty employees lined up in the first floor window, and another twenty or so lined up outside, all looking intently at something! Ok, so I know my arrival is heralded but not usually in such an enthusiastic manner!

It transpired that what they were watching was a small fluffy ball of baby seagull that had somehow found itself on the ground, way before it had any chance of flying and which was being 'buzzed' viciously and mercilessly by a flock of adult gulls. They had been trying too keep the adults from continually pecking at it for hours apparently but to not much avail.

How it got to be there no-one had any idea but various attempts at catching it had resulted in it being too quick for capture and in those trying to capture it being buzzed by the adults too. Having become alarmed they had given up and had seemingly resigned themselves to it's demise.

I think not!

There is of course the question as to whether nature should be allowed to take it's course but I just couldn't do nothing and stand by and watch it be killed, so sandwich van abandoned I set about trying to gather the terrified little creature up......and I managed it! I'm not sure how much of it was luck but I got hold of it on the third attempt, to a round of applause, and despite a fair number of the flock trying to do me damage and making physical contact with me more often than I would have liked....those big beaks hurt, I tell you!

So, with this delightful little creature safely in my hands but pecking at me and squawking for all it was worth, I ran for cover into the factory where the lady who had originally been trying to rescue it took it from me with a promise to get it to the RSPCA, or some similar organisation.

Trying to get back to the van subsequently also had an element of interest, adult gulls are mean buggers it seems.... and now more angry they really gave me hassle, so much so that one of the onlookers to this carry on was fending them off with a big stick as I ran to where I had parked and jumped back into my van pronto!

Maybe I will get to hear what happened after I left. I'm not big into seagull husbandry and consequently I'm not entirely sure I shouldn't have left it to it's sad fate but with only a second to make a decision I did what I thought best and hope that ultimately it was the right decision.

*Image is not of the actual gull, I didn't have time for cameras but 'mine' was just the same and just as cute.

Tiny turtle!

I want me one of these!

Spring has sprung!

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Foxy fail!

How do people get these shots? Love it! :)

Sneezing baby panda!

Something smiley for a change :o)

Caught in a web!

I hasten to add, I checked thoroughly that there was no one 'at home' before I even considered taking these!



(You may need to click and enlarge to see the catch!)

'My' cygnets

At last I got to take a few pictures of 'my' cygnets' the ones I have watched from their early days as eggs, through to now when they are three weeks old.

There were six, in the last week one has 'disappeared' but the remaining five thus far seem safe and well :o)




(Clickable) More HERE.

Another family

This time Canada Geese, thus far all four have survived herons and the like!

(Ok....I promise I'll stop with the baby bird thing soon!)



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Growing up!

From this in just five weeks!




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The rest are HERE.

Black beauty

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Hatched!

Well, 'my' swan it seems is a little slow in her hatching activites but I did find one that who's eggs have now proceeded to cygnet stage!

There are three but two remained firmly hidden under mums wing for the duration of my visit.



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Dissension in the ranks!

My parents garden is fabulous, not necessarily in the traditional, manicured to perfection way, in fact parts of it have more in common with a small jungle than a suburban garden (though they wouldn't thank me for saying so) but from the point of view that the jungle-ness, and it's location on the edge of countryside, provide for a relative plethora of small critter action. For those of you in doubt, I consider this a good thing! Anything with fur and four legs (refer profile) and all that and I'm happy!

We have birds by the scores of wide variety, everything from sparrows and goldfinches to red kites and the occasional kestrel, foxes, badgers, hedgehogs, cats of course though that's not quite the same and now yesterday a new inhabitant...and this is where the dissension lies!

We have a baby rat, he or she is ultimate cute, only about four inches long and rushing around the patio as fast as his little legs can carry him, gathering bit's of food the birds have dropped and scurrying back under the shed, backwards and forwards until anything vaguely edible has been cleared up and taken into 'safe storage'.

The problem here is obvious, I think he's fab and sit out there enjoying watching his carrying-ons...my parents however think he's very un-fab and want to 'dispatch' him as soon as possible! Oh no! There will of course, where there is baby rat, be mummy and daddy rat and sibling rats but the thought of his imminent demise is not a happy one.

But I have a plan! My parents go to bed way before me and as a result I feel a few late night garden forays might be in order.... during which some sneaky trap sabotaging activities may well be taking place! ;o)

Another brood

I know....I need to 'get a life' as they say and I'm working on it, but in the meantime, things to fill my days and distract my messed up mind with on a very limited budget are relatively few and far between! As a result walking this small patch of the earth with a camera in hand and finding little things to make me smile seems to be what I do most days and it seems to be turning this blog into a photoblog more than usual....hey, you don't want to know what's in my head, photos, albeit not very varied, are the better option for now!

Yesterdays find;


Oh....and mother swan is confirmed as having six eggs, though father swan was something less than happy at my being at close proximity, causing something of a momentary panic and rapid exit on my part...much to the amusement of onlookers!

A half dozen fresh eggs

Hell...it's all birds here recently, I promise you I am not turning into a complete with anorak fully blown twitcher!

If you are one of the loyal souls who has been visiting these parts for some time you may remember, in the days of the white van from hell, that I regularly 'visited' a lady swan who spent weeks sitting on a nest that sadly contained no eggs.

Well, with my current lack of things to do I decided a few days ago to drive over to her spot in the knowledge that she has used the same place to nest for a number of years, just to see if she was there again....and sure enough she was. Her magnificent nest in precisely the same place and with her sitting atop it.

Were there eggs this year I wondered?

I sat it out, I stayed with her for well over an hour and eventually she felt the need to shuffle about and stand up momentarily, allowing me a sight of five or six beautiful, big white eggs!!! This year it seems her endeavours will not be in vain and her patience will be rewarded with a rather large family :o)

I will of course update here as things progress.


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Getting foxy!

Sunday morning as I bowled out the back door for a cigarette I was stopped in my tracks by the sight of a fox, lying as bold as brass in the middle of the lawn, apparently making the most of the sunshine!
My surprise was further piqued when said fox barely moved with my blundering approach, it just stayed right where it was a opposed to running off, the usual response one would expect. I retreated back indoors to watch what he/she was up to and it all too soon became apparent that foxy was not at all well. One paw was badly damaged, most of his tail was missing, his coat was a mess and any attempt he made at getting up and walking was abortive, his legs just didn't seem to be able to support him.

I had visions of having to soon find a fox sized black bag and transporting him in a deceased state to be disposed of by a vet. :o(

After about an half hour and it being apparent he wasn't in good shape and not having moved I called the RSPCA who duly agreed to come out and see if they could catch him but as sods law would dictate, before they managed to get here he suddenly found the strength to wander off in a very wobbly fashion and despite much searching through shrubbery and undergrowth couldn't relocate him. My assumption, he had gone away to die. There was nothing more either myself or the RSPCA could do.

That was the end of that so it seemed...until at about 8 in the evening when I was watching TV he suddenly came wandering up the pavement as large as life, trotted down the steps to the back of the house and began feasting on the food we had put out for him in case he returned!

He was still far from looking in tip top condition but he had regained a certain degree of spring in his step and certainly hadn't lost his capacity for eating! I suspect he is pretty old by his general appearance and had suffered some injury early in the day but had somehow managed to recover enough to go about his usual foxy business, he's popped back once or twice for some food but never long enough for us to get the professionals here to capture him.

Hopefully his wounds will heal naturally and he will then potter along in normal fox life for a little longer until a usual aged demise takes him over but for now we keep putting food out in the hope that he keeps returning and we can keep an eye on him in case he needs help at some time in the future.

Goose-lets!

One of the ways I have been trying to occupy myself these last few weeks is by walking, I walk and I walk a-n-d I w-a-l-k, for no other reason than if I sit still I think.... and I don't want to think. As a result I have pounded something in the region of a hundred miles of pavements since my life disintegrated around me. It's not my idea of fun but to some small degree it works, it's a distraction and if nothing else I must be getting fitter.

The last few days the weather has been kind and so instead of scuttling about under an umbrella, I have walked to the local park and spent some time sitting watching the world go by, in fact two days ago, I didn't just sit, without much apparent concern for my personal safety I fell fast asleep there and woke up with a start and a very pink face and no earthly idea where I was for a moment or two! However, sitting in the park in the sun is not necessarily a good thing right now, it has memories of 'us', of romantic picnics and lovely moments etc. etc. but today there was a diversion, a happy sight which took my mind off to a better place for a short while......

(Click for the big ones)