birds

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The Stockport Iniesta said:
Think they are called St Marks Fly.
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nice one!!!

went straight to google images
these are they
stmarksflyR.jpg

and called st marks, that's a lovely name.

it seems their posh name is bibio marci.

they just fly into your head when you are walking along,
they're like drones.
look at the size of the fuckers
Bibio_marci__samitsya_%282%29_2.jpg


no wonder all the birds are up here filling their bellies
 
KS55 said:
Seriously worried at the lack of martins, swifts, and swallows in our area. I have seen just three martins and nowt else. Usually plenty by now.
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I had a " Where have all the Insects gone? " thread about a year ago
Not many sensible replies tbh I put forward the suggestion that the spread of wifi interferes with insects internal sat nav systems ..and prob causes harm to their tiny body components in general....

The bird species which migrate to these shores and feed entirely on insects are well down in numbers. .im talking the swift ,Martin's swallows and The cuckoo....very worrying,imo

I look, round at humans glued,head down, to their phones and have reached the conclusion nobody seems to notice or care about natural history generally or specifically the dearth of insect numbers ...quite sad imo.
 
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dennishasdoneit said:
I had a " Where have all the Insects gone? " thread about a year ago
Not many sensible replies tbh I put forward the suggestion that the spread of wifi interferes with insects internal sat nav systens ..and prob causes harm to their tiny body components in general....

The bird species which migrate to these shores and feed entirely on insects are well down in numbers. .im talking the swift ,Martin's swallows and The cuckoo....very worrying,imo

I look, round at humans glued,head down, to their phones and have reached the conclusion nobody seems to notice or care about natural history generally or specifically the dearth of insect numbers ...quite sad imo.
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perhaps you are right about wi-fi interfering with their internals.
maybe the noise and hassle of conurbations is doing their heads in
and they are moving to less-populated areas like where i live.

where are you getting your "well down in numbers" info from?

i can assure you there are more swallows, swifts and that up here than i've ever seen before.

or maybe it's just the st marks flies bringing them this way.

nature is constantly changing and evolving.
nowt stays the same.

they're making quite the journey from africa to here.
if each year, year on year, they end up a few miles different than last year makes no odds.

who knows.

added to which,
people actively try to dissuade them from nesting,
to the extent of tying placky bags or old cd's under their rooves.

at the end of the day people are the problem.
 
calum down said:
perhaps you are right about wi-fi interfering with their internals.
maybe the noise and hassle of conurbations is doing their heads in
and they are moving to less-populated areas like where i live.

where are you getting your "well down in numbers" info from?

i can assure you there are more swallows, swifts and that up here than i've ever seen before.

or maybe it's just the st marks flies bringing them this way.

nature is constantly changing and evolving.
nowt stays the same.

they're making quite the journey from africa to here.
if each year, year on year, they end up a few miles different than last year makes no odds.

who knows.

added to which,
people actively try to dissuade them from nesting,
to the extent of tying placky bags or old cd's under their rooves.

at the end of the day people are the problem.
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I agree people are the problem

I've been watching birds for over 50 years and have my eyes peeled at all times,so my own views are exactly that... however I'd disagree that migrating birds like swallows and Martin's go different areas when they return,it's well known they often return to the same areas..

Just In relation to The Cuckoo,I've been fortunate enough to see this bird on 4 or 5 occasions...it's been 10 years since I've seen one,and around 6 years since I've heard one..I've lived in both rural and City areas during that time..

I,m aware nature is constantly changing,I get that...The House sparrow was the most common bird in Britain when I was a lad,and Song thrushes were in every garden it seems hammering snails to death on their fav Anvil/ garden path...now a rare sight

Starlings appeared to take over the House sparrow as the most common bird sometime in the 90s while the HS numbers went into serious decline...I've no idea what causes such population fluctuations .

All I know is that insects,all insects, are not as abundant as they were in the 70s/ 80s,when on hot balmy days they covered car windscreen with their dead bodies....something isn't quite right and only knowledge of the magnetic fields which all birds and insects have an Inherent and instinctive understanding of...together with the growth of wifi in every house with its effect on the surrounding area outside leads me to think(un- scientifically) that the two are linked.

Man presses ahead with the latest technology and 5G has already proved to be a killer..where will it all end?

Not well for nature.and that saddens me,greatly.

And while were on the subject the recent,selfish ,greedy , multiple murdering of The Hen Harriers,for fiscal reasons near Grouse moors
Is another example of Mans incredible disdain for rare beautiful raptors
Trying to raise families....all in the name of commercial gain

Just how important are these Grouse shoots.?
 
dennishasdoneit said:
I had a " Where have all the Insects gone? " thread about a year ago
Not many sensible replies tbh I put forward the suggestion that the spread of wifi interferes with insects internal sat nav systems ..and prob causes harm to their tiny body components in general....

The bird species which migrate to these shores and feed entirely on insects are well down in numbers. .im talking the swift ,Martin's swallows and The cuckoo....very worrying,imo

I look, round at humans glued,head down, to their phones and have reached the conclusion nobody seems to notice or care about natural history generally or specifically the dearth of insect numbers ...quite sad imo.
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If that is true then yes, it's quite sad. I've not seen many butterflies this year so far, maybe a bit early but there are loads of swift/martens/swallow types flying around, loads of Kites and Buzzards, Herons by the score,Gossanders and ducks, Geese on the esturay. I heard a cuckoo last week whilst out fishing a local pond and saw and heard a woodpecker the other day at the same place. In the pond I fish I've never seen so many tadpoles....thousands, so it should be a good year for the frogs / toads. I've got both in my pond plus about 2 dozen newts at least.I have a large American pitcher plant ( insectivorous plant ) in the pond that seems a bit late this year so maybe Mother Nature is up to something....
 
Tuearts right boot said:
If that is true then yes, it's quite sad. I've not seen many butterflies this year so far, maybe a bit early but there are loads of swift/martens/swallow types flying around, loads of Kites and Buzzards, Herons by the score,Gossanders and ducks, Geese on the esturay. I heard a cuckoo last week whilst out fishing a local pond and saw and heard a woodpecker the other day at the same place. In the pond I fish I've never seen so many tadpoles....thousands, so it should be a good year for the frogs / toads. I've got both in my pond plus about 2 dozen newts at least.I have a large American pitcher plant ( insectivorous plant ) in the pond that seems a bit late this year so maybe Mother Nature is up to something....
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Great to hear
I presume your living out in rural areas..

. Buzzards are fairly common all over the Britain now,Inc City centres.
I watched a Lesser Black Backed Gull hunting on a weir in Yorkshire the other day.fascinatimg..it got hold of something right at the top of the weir( crayfish maybe ?) And was repeatedly pecking at the food subject,devouring bit by bit.

The next day I observed the same Gull, in the same location, swimming on the surface spot something in the shallow water and dive like a Cormorant,in a flash,emergimg with anothed of the same looking prey item,again picking at it bit by bit,until a Carrion Crown arrived on the scene,getting close,but not too close...The Gull wasn't unduly intimidated.but decided to alter its feeding habit and started to swallow the crustacea? whole in two .gulps ..it still managed to leave a tiny morsel behind which the Crow gobbled up.result!
 
In Florida this spring there was a local couple walking along the cart path as we were playing golf. We were sat waiting to hit so watched this couple as they got right up to us and were looking up in the trees. We got chatting and they told us there was a Golden Eagles nest with a couple of babies in it. Managed to catch this one watching over the huge nest. It's mate was there feeding the young but couldn't get a good pic.


20230316_171045.jpg
 
Banshee said:
In Florida this spring there was a local couple walking along the cart path as we were playing golf. We were sat waiting to hit so watched this couple as they got right up to us and were looking up in the trees. We got chatting and they told us there was a Golden Eagles nest with a couple of babies in it. Managed to catch this one watching over the huge nest. It's mate was there feeding the young but couldn't get a good pic.


View attachment 82198
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Difficult to judge but the nest/ eyriee doesn't look very big for a Golden Eagle tbh..and they usually nest on cliffs ledges or some other difficult to locate inhabitable spot..

Maybe the Golden Eagle is a " different bird" in Florida,but all Golden Eagles are extremely wary of Man and avoid human developments like the plague.

Additionally the bird in the photo seems to have a Hawks resting posture,and a bit of research states the the GE is in fact quite rare in Florida..

Would be interesting to hear from amy Florida residents for some additional info..
 
We've got various bird feeder around the garden and watching them makes me wonder how thick and stupid the average sparrow is. One in question has 2 chicks both fledged and capable of flying and they are perched about 6 inches away from the bird feeder, mum goes to feeder, picks up seed, hops to chick, feeds said chick and starts all over again....talk about youngsters taking the piss.
 
dennishasdoneit said:
Difficult to judge but the nest/ eyriee doesn't look very big for a Golden Eagle tbh..and they usually nest on cliffs ledges or some other difficult to locate inhabitable spot..

Maybe the Golden Eagle is a " different bird" in Florida,but all Golden Eagles are extremely wary of Man and avoid human developments like the plague.

Additionally the bird in the photo seems to have a Hawks resting posture,and a bit of research states the the GE is in fact quite rare in Florida..

Would be interesting to hear from amy Florida residents for some additional info..
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It’s either a huge tree and I mean EFFING HUGE or that’s never a Golden Eagle

I read above about the rise in buzzards. That’s very much down to the high rise in road kill and buzzards moving in where Kestrels hunted

I was at Loch of Lowes last weekend watching the Osprey. Even those not interested in Birds can’t help but be amazed by these magnificent birds.
 
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