The animals on the green.

For the past month or so I have been watching the animals on my local patch a little closer than usual.
Having recently set up a camera trap it has given me an insight in to the creatures that venture out after dark. Every day critters like the Rabbit are pretty common. There isn't a day goes by without seeing one, although numbers are reducing. They run around playing chase oblivious to who is watching, then scurry off quick when they realise your there.

Bird life is varied from the usual Chaffinches and Robins to the lesser seen Whitethroat. I have even had a Spotted Flycatcher take bugs from my front door frame, while the door was open and I was sitting just three feet away! The Buzzards are regular visitors, as are the Kestrels too. They hunt in the field surrounding the green and produce some beautiful aerial displays. I have also found the roost site of the local Tawny Owls and was delighted to discover that they had three chicks. They are a hoot! But my birding highlight has to be the Barn Owl. It comes out at dusk every evening and I stand in the half light and watch him fly within feet of my head. So close I can almost touch him. He then hunts on the borders until the light fades and I can no longer see it. A true natural gem.

My camera has recently revealed a Fox that is more of a regular visitor than I first thought. He has visited almost every night. Rarely seen during daylight hours. A true country Fox.

I am still waiting to see the elusive Roe Deer but local neighbours have seen them nearby. Now if I could just catch one on camera.

My latest addition to the animals on the green is the Stoat. While on my way to retrieve the camera I stumbled across the cheeky Stoat playing around. He was very aware of my presence yet he didn't seem to care. He carried on scurrying regardless. I stayed where I was to let him play until he finally ran in to the hedge.

I must not forget the Bats too. They are a constant companion during my evening Owl watch and fly around my head catching moths and going about their business. Their aerial acrobatics are stunning. I even have them living in my loft. Pipistrelles being the commonest, but my loft Bat is a Brandts. Rare for this region apparently.

The animals on the green have provided me with heartwarming amusement and are a real treat to watch. I am very lucky to have them so close to my home and I can watch them at any time. They are all a welcome distraction from the pressures of work and watching the wildlife has a calming effect and help me to wind down after a busy day. Take a closer look around you and you can see the wonders of nature right on your own doorstep.

Spring walk at Austerfield.

Time for a bit of a blog.

Finally been able to get to the Mosaic reserve at the Austerfield study centre and have a decent walk around. It's been a while what with winter taking it's time to give up and let spring have a go.
I went the long way round and explored every path possible, starting at the main road beside the study centre and walking clockwise around the perimeter, then zig-zagged through the centre past all the ponds. So glad i did. So many birds calling and busy with their nests. Really excited to find a Cuckoo egg shell. Not heard it yet but the shell means they are laying somewhere within the reserve.

Down by the main pond the Carp were so busy top feeding they were oblivious to me getting to within a few feet of them. Slurping away around the weeds and looking like torpedo's. Great to see them. Although very disheartened to see so much rubbish left behind by fisherman. Take it home eh.
Ducks were plenty and enjoying the floods. I was also really pleased to come across a three foot Grass Snake basking in the sun before it slithered off into the undergrowth.

Saw plenty of Rabbits around with a few young. Multiple small birds including Blackcaps. Green Woodpeckers laughing their way through the woods. Also Buzzards circling overhead and Kestrels hovering in the nearby fields. Nothing obvious using the nest boxes dotted around but i didn't get close enough to study them and I didn't hang around long enough to see anything in and out so they may have occupants. Fingers crossed. The big gnarly Oaks coming in to leaf and the abundance of Birch gives this place a real atmospheric ambience. A real gem of a nature reserve. One you should try and visit. Make sure you walk every trail and look in every pond. Look up, and listen out. Wildlife is all around you. But please, leave only footprints and take your litter home.

Thanks for the read.

An ode to nature.

Last night, for the entire night, a Robin was singing outside my bedroom window. This is a common phenomena for some birds to sing all night because they can be confused by the street lights. It's an odd sound to hear Robins and Owls calling at the same time. Fair play to the Robin for keeping up his singing for a full 11 hours plus. As i listened to his unrelenting song it reminded me of a poem I once heard many years ago. I thought I would share this with you. It goes like this........

  "As I awoke one morning, when all sweet things are born.
   A Robin perched upon my sill to sing all coming morn.
   He was fragile, sweet, gay and young and sweetly did he sing
   and thoughts of happiness and joy in to my heart did ring.
   I smiled sweetly at his song and paused beside my bed, 
   and gently closed the window, and squashed his bloody head!"

I look forward to a peaceful nights rest tonight.

Love nature. Love sleep!


P.S. No Robins were actually harmed in this anecdote.

Feathered friends

Since moving in to my little country cottage is South Yorkshire I have been making the acquaintance of the local wildlife. I put up bird feeders on my front room window, literally on the glass, to get the closest views I could. I now get regular daily visits from Robins, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits and Chaffinch. The food dropped by the latter is taken up by Blackbird, Dunnock, Pigeon, and most recently, Pheasant. I have also had recent visits from Voles. Despite my Cat sitting in the window watching with baited breath, the birds keep coming. I think they know that the Cat cannot get them. At night I have had a visit from a Barn Owl, and a Tawny Owl is a regular. I'm hoping that the Deer from the woods will one day wander up, but I somehow doubt it. I may be lucky to get a Fox, Badger or a Hedgehog. My next plan is to install a night vision camera so I can monitor night time visitors. (Of the wildlife kind I may add).

I have been working on some birds at my place of work too. So far I have had a Robin cast a shady eye on a handful of food but my best feathered buddy so far is actually a Pied Wagtail who follows me for a scrap of food in our South American exhibit. No mean feat when you have to compete against seven feisty Squirrel Monkeys. 

A sighting of a Leucistic Crow is common just of late, especially in the Polar Bear enclosure. A Kestrel is seen daily taking scraps from the Polar Bear leftovers. I have even seen it eating fish. Ever the opportunist. The wetlands area behind the Tiger enclosure is teaming with Lapwings, various Ducks and Geese a plenty. In the Summer a pair of Oystercatcher live and nest in our African enclosure. Goldcrest are plentiful as are Long Tailed Tit. 

Locally is Potteric Carr nature reserve with Bittern and Egret as regulars. As is the stunning Starling murmuration. I have a lot of bird watching to catch up on. New county, new wildlife. Nature is just the best and can lighten any dark heart. Get out and take a look around you. The countryside is a wonderful place. (Be quick before that Trump bloke ruins it all!) 

Here are my Pheasant friends outside my house. Crap pic from my phone but hey, I'm not a photographer! 

Love life. Love nature.

Return of the blog

So. I have been requested to resurrect my blog by popular demand. Okay, a demand of one, but hey, someone likes it so who am I to argue.

Lots have happened since my last blog. Far too much to write about in one go so I will condense it a bit so i don't bore you too much.

I now live in South Yorkshire. Ironically next door to the birth place and childhood home of William Bradford who was one of the Pilgrim Fathers and Governor of the Plymouth Colony who set sail on the Mayflower from Plymouth. Not only is there a geographical co-incidence but I have a family connection also. A close family member is a direct descendant of his. Small world eh.

I am now working at Yorkshire Wildlife Park and loving every minute. After eight years of ............ I won't go in to that. It is so nice to be working with a forward thinking progressive zoo that actually delivers. One of the fastest growing zoo's in the country. The staff are highly professional and generally great people to be around. Love it.


My home is situated in the country and I have set up some bird feeders which is frequented daily. Even have Tawny Owl at night and Pheasant in the day. Just feet from my door is open countryside and a small woodland that Roe Deer live in. On the other side of the road is a nature reserve and a study center with two large astronomical telescopes. I have yet to visit but will do one day. I have joined the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and found an excellent nature reserve nearby. Potteric Carr. Large waterways and reed beds with Bittern and Egrets and a large Starling murmuration most evenings. A few miles up the road is the Humberhead Peat Marsh which is a site of international importance and has Nightjars among it's wildlife visitors. 

I will be posting more blogs as and when I see some cool stuff. I will post pictures and video too if i can work it out. Please feel free to comment so i at least know people are reading this. Don't be rude though eh. If you don't like it, don't read it. 

Watch for wildlife, exotic animals, interesting trips and astronomy. 

Thanks to my fan.... You know you are :-) 

Here's an amusing Polar Bear picture to keep you going.

Tasmanian Tiger alive!

An interesting read that indicates the Thylacine, (Tasmanian Tiger), may actually still exist. If it's true then I for one would be ecstatic. Such a wonderful, strange beast. It even has a pouch!
Please be alive!!

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2003/06/18/879154.htm

Crow life.

Here's a short video of a friendly Crow enjoying a spot of lunch. She is very cool. Gotta love Corvids eh. She started by tearing off pieces and burying them then going back to eat the rest. A very interesting close study of Corvid behaviour.

Earth, Cyprus, and.....

So i'm off to Cyprus.
Binoculars at the ready I will be doing a bit of bird watching. An opportunity to see some new firsts for me. Looking forward to that. Not so keen on 100' temperatures though! It will be a great break away from the hassles at work. Look out for my new bird sightings list.

On a trip to Stover country park recently I saw a Hawfinch for the first time. Very cool. And I saw a host of Nightjars and many Glowworms. So good to see these. Finding them is tricky but if you know what your doing then they never disappoint. So far, every trip I have made I have seen and heard them all. So lucky.

In other news. Planet Earth 2.0 discovered. A new planet has been found with Earth like qualities. I have got my ticket. Bag's already packed. Where do I queue?

Spam. Love it. Discuss.

Catch up.

Not written anything for a while. Been very busy now spring has sprung.
New animals to sort out, idiots to deal with and garden to spruce up. Had help with all to make life easier.

The Swallows and Martins are back!! Brilliant.

Grass is growing fast now so need to try and keep on top of it. Had some great sunshine to help it on its way and now a little rain to motivate it. Planted some wild flowers and trimmed back the trees so gardens looking good. Thanks to the help on this too. :-)

Taking a day off is proving more difficult lately so looking forward to a good long break in July. Although not so keen on the apparent temperature in Cyprus in July being around 100+! I like warm weather but that's a bit hot for me.

There's been some good astronomical events lately. Another Dragon supply craft went over UK chasing down the ISS which made interesting live viewing and the Lyrid meteor shower gave a good show too. Venus and Jupiter been showing really well and the thinnest crescent moon a few evenings ago was spectacular.

My 4x4 training is all booked in so looking forward to that. A trip away is also coming which i am also really looking forward to. Get my car serviced and raring to go.

Stay well folks and i'll try and keep you updated more often. 

Solar Eclipse

So today i was lucky enough to have clear skies to see the Solar Eclipse. What a wonderful sight. Not 100% but around 85%. That'll do me. Had some great viewing options that worked really well. Even got some cool pictures which you can see below.

No dark skies but it went a little dusky. Nothing happened with the animals either. It didn't get dark enough. Hope you all had a great view if you had the opportunity. If you didn't, i hope you enjoy the pictures.

Thanks all.

Tapir swimming

Just for fun and interest. I filmed our Tapir having fun in their pool. Chana, (the dark faced one), and Mani, (paler face). Mother and son loving an evening swim. 

Our pool is shared by the Capybara and Tapir, (and a few Ducks and Geese). The pool is deep enough for them all to be able to dive and swim at full speed. Excellent exercise and important for natural behaviour. They do also poop in it but the pool is constantly refreshed with natural spring water flowing through it. A great feature of this large mixed exhibit enclosure.

We love to see them playing so i thought i'd share it with you.

Enjoy.

Click on the link below to see the video.

Tapir swimming fun.

Animal antics!

Wow. What a busy week!

Had important meetings and animal movements. Big news is i collected four Common Marmosets from Longleat Safari Park. They are being released in to their new enclosure today so come and see them. They are awesome. 

We have been re-vamping a few enclosures this week too. One of our animal staff has been teaching college students the art of enclosure management. The enclosure in question was the European Eagle Owl. To do this safely we had to remove the birds so they would not be stressed and workers would not get hurt. I filmed the capture which, although is stressful at the time, only took a few seconds and ultimately was better for the birds to be away from the commotion. An hour or so later they were safely returned to their re-vamped home. Good job by all involved. See video at the link below.

Some more enclosure sprucing is planned for the spring including a sand pit for our Ostrich which we hope will encourage breeding and sand bathing. 

Spring is definitely in the air as all the birds are busy nest building and mating. Exciting times.

Lots more to do but if i told you all of it you wouldn't need to come and see it. See for yourself and make a visit.

Catching a Europan Eagle Owl

Show time

Just went and got myself some tickets to see Reeve's and Mortimer 25 year anniversary show. Can't wait. When I started my career with animals 'The smell of Reeves and Mortimer' was new to our telly boxes. Very surreal comedy and definitely marmite telly. For me and my friends and colleagues we loved it. We would spend our days quoting and messing around in a Reeves and Mortimer fashion. Getting these tickets is rekindling memories of my early Safari Park days with some of the greatest people around. Some of whom I am still in contact with. Love you guys. The show is going to be amazing!

I also have tickets to see Bill Bailey. Different kind of comedy but still as funny. Saw him live last year and he was brilliant. We had the privilege of meeting him after the show and he was so nice and friendly. He has an open invite to visit us at the zoo and he is keen to do so when his schedule allows. Can't wait.

More exciting news very soon. This week in fact. Keep viewing the blogs. 

A quick thanks for viewing and to those who have shared. Please feel free to share my blogs. 

Cheers an that.

Till next blog. LLAP

Chortle.

International stuff.

Items noticed from around the world. 
In Canada, Star Trek fans have been defacing five dollar notes by drawing on the head and making it look like 'Spock' in tribute to the passing of Leonard Nimoy. The resemblance is brilliant, and a lovely tribute. LLAP.

My Zazu story has been seen all over the world. It was seen in USA and Malaysia. Very cool. Did another interview yesterday for another paper. That should be out on 11th or 18th March. Watch this space.

The incredible Woodpecker with a Weasel on it's back picture has also gone global. What a stunning picture.

So everything is very international this week,....... which is nice.

Just got dark and Venus, Mars and Jupiter are all up shining brightly, as is the Moon looking resplendent in the early evening sky. Orion is as stunning as ever. Making the most of it while we still have it in our winter sky. Don't forget the Solar eclipse coming to your sky very soon.  

Saw some Cock soup in the shop today. Not for me thanks!!

Tribbles.

Press story

Sorry for the absence recently.

Remember i told you about the press coming to do a story about Zazu the Rhea. Well, it finally came about and here it is. Hope you enjoy it. It was great fun doing it. Please feel free to comment and share it too. Click on the link below.

Enjoy.

Bringing up the Rhea.

A tribute to 'Spock'

It was with sadness to hear the news that Leonard Nimoy, who immortalized the Star Trek character 'Spock' died today. I grew up watching Star Trek and have been a big fan since it's first airing. He created the role brilliantly and he will be very hard to top. Although his singing left something to be desired! Kids and adults around the world will be saluting him with his famous hand gesture. He may be gone in body but his spirit will 'live long and prosper' Goodbye Leonard Nimoy. 

Ironically i was given a 'Spock' collectors figure just a few days ago.

Not much more to be said today. Was very busy at work, and as usual, ran out of time to get everything done. Have a good evening and be cool. 

LLAP  \\//,

Time.

Basically there is never enough of it! Trying to relax at home and have some time off yet i am constantly checking work emails and doing things work related. 
Damn you technology. For this means you are never too far away from work and able to relax and unwind. One day i will learn to turn computers off and chill out!

Took the dog to get a hair cut today. She looks so odd with short silver hair. A different dog! Or maybe i came home with a different dog! She looks cool anyway.

Watched 'The Equalizer' this afternoon. Very good. Very different to the original starring Edward Woodward. Now about to watch 'Alien'. Retro telly today then.

Egg and Bacon rolls....... They do if you push them hard enough!

Are you looking out for the Solar Eclipse. I definitely will be. Let me know what you think. Scopes at the ready and eclipse filters on stand-by. Cant wait :-)

New Avatar looks good doesn't it. 

Ripley.

Lechwe tagging video.

The other day we had a Lechwe calf born at the zoo. Just like agricultural animals, all zoo animals need to identifiable, especially from a distance. One method of identifier is a brightly coloured ear tag. Like wearing earrings, this does not hurt the animal. It is a very quick and painless procedure and also gives us an opportunity to give the calf a health check during the process. 

In the video you will see that the calf makes no attempt to avoid capture. This is because they have an in build sense to lay very low and not move so as not to draw attention to itself in the hope that any potential predator will not spot it and move on. They are often left for many hours by the parent lying in undergrowth hidden from predators. If they were out in the open following their mother they would be extremely vulnerable. It is not until they are around 10 days old when they will start to stay with the herd in the open.

The tagging procedure itself is relatively simple. It consists of a two sided soft disc with a unique number on it that can be read from a distance. It has a pin on one piece and a catch hole on the other designed to click shut when the two come together and will not fall out. The tag looks quite large on the calf but as it grows older it will be less out of proportion for the animal. The ear itself has three main veins running the full length of it. Being careful to avoid the veins you then squeeze the applicator together quickly and firmly so as to push the pin through the skin and into the opposite connector, clamping it tightly together. As the animal is so young it does not feel this. We place two tags, one in each ear, as a back up in case, during it's life, the animal loses one.

Once tagging is complete we sex it and give it a quick check over to see it is OK and then release it. During this process you will hear the calf calling for it's mum. For the safety of the staff the parent is shut outside the pen. The whole process lasts around three minutes and the calf is released immediately afterwards where he joined his mum. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAYspAbq23Q 

Thank you for watching.

Saving babies

A very mixed day for our latest addition to the Lechwe herd. We had a new calf born and so I went to see it was fit and healthy. Turns out it's a male. Gave him a health check and all is good. One hour later I take a call saying that there is a commotion in the corner of the field. I race down there to discover our little Lechwe calf tangled up in some branches and lying in deep slurry mud caused by the recent rain. Mum was desperately trying to help it but unable to get to it for the branches. I pushed my way through and pulled him from the mud and took him up to the shelter. I dried him off. Covered him in straw and made him warm and comfy. Mum close to hand watching intently. A few hours later I went back to see if he was OK and I am pleased to say he was walking around the enclosure with his mum looking fit and well. A good outcome for a rocky start.

In other news. Top Gear is frickin awesome. Maltesers are frickin yummy. Camels are things. Chairs are things too. Things are good, as are good things, although some things are bad. If you haven't guessed i have nothing else to update you with today so sorry to have wasted the last one minute of your life! 

Eiffel Tower.

Weather, or not!

So how did that come about?

Today we had a hail storm, rain, another hail storm, sunshine, then more hail, that turned to snow which then stopped and became sunshine again. Then it hailed, and paused for a bit and hailed again, oh, then it hailed again which turned to snow. Then sunshine. then rain and sun and rain and... you get the idea!

So the weather didn't know what to do today. Funny that. In the middle of it all we had a great rainbow showing. Not as windy as predicted so that was a bonus.

Had a second chinese meal today too. That is all.

Watching a show where they are flinging people from the tops of trees 21 metres up! Nice work if you can get it! 

417kg in 40 minutes. New PB. Job done for CN & TS.

Veloceraptor