searching this site/

[CHJ]

10 yellow hammers on feeders today, obviously they have started migrating into our area in larger numbers as the weather warms, they are ground feeders so will only visit regularly if you have ground feeding trays, extremely rare to see one on a bird table off the ground.

The most exotic we have had visiting is a whydah, obviously an escape, stayed around several days.

 

[sunnybob]

I need to find out what bird is most active at night.
Theres one that sounds like its strutting up and down outside my house like a marching band for hours every night, but its pitch black out there so window watching doesnt work, and if I go out with a torch it shuts up. Loud call, only a couple of notes.

I know its not a barn owl because that one has been around for years and know its call. I know it isnt neighbours mucking about because I havent got any nearby. :roll:

Saw a Bonnellis eagle yesterday, they live in the mountains about 30 miles away (as the eagle flies) but dont see them very often as the are really, really high in the sky and you have to be looking almost vertical at the right time to notice them. 8)

 

[MikeG.]

....... extremely rare to see one on a bird table off the ground.......

Blimey, Chas, if we put a bird feeder on the ground it would be over-run by rats within hours. How do you get away with it?

 

[MikeG.]

I need to find out what bird is most active at night.......

Nightjar? It is found in Cyprus.

One of my lifetime favourite bird sightings was of pennant winged nightjars in north east Zambia. Utterly incredible birds.

 

[CHJ]

...
Blimey, Chas, if we put a bird feeder on the ground it would be over-run by rats within hours. How do you get away with it?

Obviously being rural with horse stables, and other livestock being close vermin control is a norm by everybody, even to the point of a semi neighbourhood watch. Perhaps once or twice a year rat evidence is spotted, Foxes & Badgers help with the night time patrols, for me it's pro-active vigilance around big compost heaps.

Ground feeders are not on ground overnight if any seed in them, mainly because foxes and badgers empty them, so any vermin around only has very limited spilt stuff to find.

Field mice are a constant problem in greenhouse and garden sheds as soon as weather cools down in autumn. Grass snakes and local cats seem to have their measure during the summer.

And we keep bulk seed stores well monitored and protected, never had a problem with them.

Reminds me need to sort this lot out, 120+ kilos of mixed seed and peanuts.

 

[sunnybob]

I need to find out what bird is most active at night.......

Nightjar? It is found in Cyprus.

One of my lifetime favourite bird sightings was of pennant winged nightjars in north east Zambia. Utterly incredible birds.

I've just utubed a nightjar call, sounds like a high pitched machine gun. Definitely not what I am hearing.
This is closer to a barn owl, but is almost doing the ozzie bit and raising the end of the call as if its asking a question.

 

[Suffolkboy]

It's likely another species of Owl. Tawny, long eared, little owl. Could even still be a Barn owl. They have a massive range of calls, some of them you wouldn't believe came from an animal.

 

[Suffolkboy]

worth a shot lol. 8)

Are you seriously looking for a job in deer management/conservation?

 

[sunnybob]

he'd have no problems sitting up a tree all day. =D> =D> =D>
Might have more stress convincing plod to give him a ticket though. :roll: :roll:

The night time caller.... The big barn owl which I have seen several times, calls on the wing.
Although the noise is similar enough to be the same family of birds, this one appears to stationary on the ground, or at most walking along. Would a barn owl do that?

 

[Suffolkboy]

I haven't observed that behaviour from Barn Owls. But that's not to say they wouldn't do it. I habe pretty minimal knowledge of owls and birds of prey. Tawny and Little owls I have seen on the ground.

 

[MikeG.]

Barn owls are obviously on the ground at a kill, but they then fly off to a safe perch to eat. Other than that, (and injured birds) I've never seen a barn owl on the ground. Little owls seem to be on the ground all the time!

Here's your list of candidates. There are 6 owls listed for Cyprus, including the little owl. There's also an endemic (found nowhere else) owl, the Cyprus scops owl.

 

[Trainee neophyte]

If it has been raining you may have earthworms above ground, which will be food for some birds of prey. I don't know about owls, though. Scops owls can make all sorts of racket - the other option could be a fox, if you weren't expecting it. They are calling a lot around me at the moment, but i assume you know what a fox sounds like when looking for love.

Do you have jackals? They make odd noises, too.
[youtube]4c6PEEHXYXs[/youtube]

 

[sunnybob]

I can rule out fox. over 30 years in somerset and I've heard a few of them.
No jackals at all.
No rain, and the soil here is almost completely sand, its a very rare day that an earthworm is seen.

Its definitely a bird, and when it does its war dance its definitely on the ground, so it must be an owl of some type.
I'm not a bird watcher as such, I wouldnt go out of my way to find them, but I do have a passing interest in identifying them.
The lakes are full of flamingos for a little while longer, and there is one bird watching station about 20 miles away with many wet lands birds, but thats as far as my interest goes.

 

[Stevem]

Heres a puzzle for you; a loaded gun sits on a kitchen table, at what time does it become dangerous?
:lol: :lol: :lol:

When it's Summat to eight ? (Brummie accent reqd) :?:

 

[Bm101]

worth a shot lol. 8)

Are you seriously looking for a job in deer management/conservation?

Not sure. I'm looking for an out from rope access work. I don't want to work in London. Never did really but it paid the rent and fed the babies for years.

I've heard (reliably) that stone wallers are well needed down Sommerset Devon way. It's been a few years but I learnt to wall in North Wales with round field stone. Devon Lego would be a breeze. But that's going backwards.
I think I'd fit right into your industry. I pretty much feel like I should have being doing it since birth if that makes sense. Always have done. Whether I can convince the mrs to move is the crucial point. As the song goes: I don't mind the working hard. Its who I'm working for.'
If you don't mind could I pm you and discuss this further? No pressure of course.
Thanks
Chris

 

[Suffolkboy]

Yes. Feel free to PM me.

 

[John15]

Sunnybob,
Contact your local Birdwatching Club for info on your mystery bird.

John

 

[gregmcateer]

I'm a professional deerstalker. I use rifles most days of the week and shotguns most weekends. Guess what? None of those guns have ever gone off of their own volition. They are tools. Inanimate objects. They deserve respect and should be handled responsibly but no more so than a chainsaw or a planer thicknesser.

If I bludgeoned someone to death with a claw hammer would it be the hammer's fault?

Absolutely fair point. However, a chainsaw or planer/ thicknesser cannot be thrown very far, (and stop running pretty soon after being thrown). A hammer can be thrown further, but still not quite as far as a bullet or pellets.

 

[sunnybob]

completely illogical argument.

But thats what all "firearms discussions" turn into.
Has anybody from either side EVER changed their minds after discussions?
:roll: :roll: :roll: