Category Archives: mammal

Mole paws

02 Monday Aug 2021

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It’s always sad to find a dead creature (and this was only my second ever Mole sighting, both dead) but it was a chance to take a closer look at one, in this case at its amazing front paws.

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These are highly specialised digging tools, of course, but I’ve only just found out while researching this post that Moles have an extra thumb, called a prepollex, though it’s not really a thumb but rather an extended wrist bone. As the Live Science website explains:

the mole’s extra thumb sprouts from a bone in its wrist, with the thumb-bone growing parallel to the “normal” inner thumb; but that’s where the similarities stop. The outer thumb doesn’t have any moving joints, consisting of a single, sickle-shaped bone that develops later than the inner thumb and the rest of the mole’s fingers.

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As the extra bone is rigid and extends the width of the Mole’s palm, it is thought to help this little mammal dig its underground tunnels more efficiently. Amazing!

Baby bunny

26 Saturday Jun 2021

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It’s not only birds you can see from a bird hide. When I enjoyed my first (post-lockdown) wander in 18 months at Forest Farm Nature Reserve yesterday, I naturally visited both bird hides to see what was about. I didn’t venture inside the hides, thought it safer to peer through the slots in the tall fences on either side, and, though I did see one particularly beautiful bird, it was actually the family of young rabbits that held my attention. This little cutie was adorable. Those ears!

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Ratty and Reedy

11 Tuesday May 2021

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It was all happening in the reeds along Sully Brook at Cosmeston on Sunday afternoon. I spent 20 minutes watching this very cute and confiding Water vole munching on reeds, and all the while the Reed warbler was singing his funky tune.

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Times like these are what keep me sane and bring me happiness and joy. I hope you have a Ratty and Reedy (or their equivalents) in your life.

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Claws and nails

11 Thursday Feb 2021

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Despite the Grey squirrel being an invasive non-native pest, as a non-native myself I have some sympathy for these much-maligned beasties. Today, though, rather than get into a discussion about the presence of Grey squirrels in the environment, I’d like to focus on their claws and nails, if only because I hadn’t really noticed how long their nails can get until I took this photo.

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Of course, having long nails makes perfect sense for these furry acrobats. You only have to look at them leaping nimbly from branch to branch or running headfirst down a tree to realise that they need very strong powerful claws to help them perform these amazingly agile and gravity-defying feats. And, presumably, having strong long curved nails helps the Grey squirrel grip tree bark in the same way that a mountain climber uses crampons and an ice axe.

169/366 Fox

17 Wednesday Jun 2020

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This was a bonus on Monday’s long walk …
I first saw its red bottom and tail walking away from me and thought I wouldn’t see it again but then it turned and sat in the long grass, keeping an eye on me while I took several photos. After about 5 minutes it spotted something more interesting on the other side of the field and trotted off. A delight!

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132/366 A sanguine sight

11 Monday May 2020

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Warning: the photos in this post are a bit gory!
The highlight – if this can be called a highlight – of my early morning local walk was this Magpie, feeding on the grass in a local park.

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Although Magpies mostly eat fruit, seeds and small insects, they are also opportunists who will quite happily scavenge household food waste, eat the eggs and chicks of other birds, and graze on road kill and other carrion. This bird had found a dead rat and was happily pulling it apart for a bloody, but presumably nourishing breakfast.

At least, I hope it was nourishing – the rat could, I suppose, have been poisoned, and I’m not sure whether that would have an adverse effect on the bird. I hope not.

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66/366 Three Brown rats

06 Friday Mar 2020

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I found some kind soul had left a scattering of bird seed and peanuts, still in their shells, on the dirt by the side of the east lake at Cosmeston, when I walked there this afternoon. A Mute swan, a couple of Mallards and a few Tufted ducks were milling around at the water’s edge, presumably having just been fed, but they couldn’t reach these extra seeds. The food didn’t go to waste though. As I watched, first a set of twitching whiskers and then a pair of dark bulging eyes appeared over the edge of the bank … a Brown rat!

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And then another …

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And another … three Brown rats! One at a time, they ran out, grabbed a peanut shell, and scurried away to stash their finds somewhere safe. And on they went until all the peanuts had disappeared. They were so cute to watch.

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49/366 Pieces of hedgehog

18 Tuesday Feb 2020

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I almost didn’t notice these hedgehog quills during a recent woodland walk. It was grey, the path muddy, the portion of well squashed hog sitting among a drift of brown leaves so well camouflaged.

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I have no idea what befell the poor hedgehog. This spot was well away from any roads and I think the creature must have been long dead as there was no smell. Perhaps it had died in the woods somewhere, a dog had found the carcass, and brought it to the path to show its master.

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As I scanned the surrounding area for clues, I noticed these two pieces of jaw, one upper and one lower, which a quick internet search revealed must also once have belonged to the deceased hedgehog. It was a somewhat gory but quite educational find.

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