11 Tuesday May 2021
Tags
British birds, British mammals, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Ratty, Reed warbler, Sully Brook, Water vole
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.
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.
15 Monday Mar 2021
Tags
British mammals, brown rat, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, rat, rats eating bird seed, Rattus norvegicus
Three cheeky rats. Three cheeky rats.
See where they hide. See where they hide.
They poke out their noses to check all’s clear
Then rush out to grab seeds, showing no fear
Even when people like me are quite near.
Three cheeky rats.
11 Thursday Feb 2021
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.
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.
18 Tuesday Feb 2020
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.
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.
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.
16 Monday Dec 2019
One of the Cosmeston water voles was out and about today, munching on vegetation and also hauling in supplies, taking them under the dipping pond’s boardwalk and presumably stashing them somewhere.
Luckily, I was the only person around and, by staying quiet and still, I was able to watch it coming and going for quite some time. It was a delight!
30 Wednesday Oct 2019
It’s that time of year when the Grey squirrels prepare for the colder months both by stashing away as many non-perishable titbits of food as they can and by eating fit to burst, fattening themselves up to help cope with the cold months of winter. If only we could all use that excuse!
19 Thursday Sep 2019
It’s been a while since I’ve walked past the dipping pond at Cosmeston but I’m glad I did today as one of the resident water voles made an appearance.
It was quite well concealed amongst the reeds at the side of the pond – that brown fur really helps them to blend in.
In the past I’ve only seen them eating lily pads but today this little chap was munching on reed stems.
Eventually, it noticed me standing on the boardwalk but didn’t seem too bothered and carried on eating.
But it sure freaked out when one of the juvenile Moorhens came by to say hello!
03 Wednesday Apr 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, animals, mammal, nature
Today’s cute young things are not birds but mammals, a pair of cute little bunnies who were checking out the world from the safety of the entrance to their burrow, a very wise thing to do as a lot of dogs are exercised in this field.
23 Saturday Mar 2019
Before our visit to the Sussex Wildlife Trust’s Rye Harbour on 11 March, I’d only ever seen Hares at a distance, a long distance, so, although we saw lots of wonderful birds during our 8-mile exploration of the reserve that day, the highlight for me was getting reasonably close views of several Hares.
Admittedly, most of those views were of their rear ends as they skedaddled but, even then, we could see how big their ears and back legs were. And, although the photo below was also taken at quite a distance and has had to be heavily cropped, I do like how it shows the comparison between the Rabbit and the Hare.
And, luckily, very luckily, this one Hare decided to sit still for longer than the previous ones – at least, it sat still for about 30 seconds, which was just enough to get one decent photo. What magnificent creatures they are!
p.s. If you’ve not yet read Marianne Taylor’s wonderful book The Way of the Hare (Bloomsbury, London, 2017), you really should. It’s a treat!
17 Sunday Feb 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, animals, mammal, nature
Today has been another fabulous day out with my friends from the Glamorgan Bird Club, enjoying the magnificent Welsh countryside and marvelling at all its amazing birds – and I’ll report on that in tomorrow’s blog post – but, for me, the most exciting thing today was these prints in the mud under a bridge near Dryslwyn. I think these are the closest I’ve yet been to a live Otter!
earthstar 
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