The Nature News Thread.

[foo]

PieEye's right. it's a Kingfisher.

and yes, it's blue.

(and kind of green too when it shines)

 

[Pieface]

depends on the light - that's all aquamarine. Really pretty...

 

[foo]

beeeeautiful!

 

[Orang Utan]

I know.

Can you think of a small green river bird?

She's thinking of a kingfisher I reckon.

A green sandpiper? A woodpecker?

 

[foo]

erm....read up OU.

we established it's a Kingfisher.

 

[Pieface]

A green sandpiper? A woodpecker?

since when was a woodpecker a river bird? Weirdo. They peck of the trees - they don't eat of the fish.

 

[Orang Utan]

since when was a woodpecker a river bird? Weirdo. They peck of the trees - they don't eat of the fish.

You see them on the river - you see a lot of woodland birds on rivers

 

[Pieface]

Stop being difficult

 

[foo]

you see a lot of moorhens (Moor Hens?) on the river too.

they are the kings and queens of bird comedy.

 

[maya]

(ahum... )

 

[geminisnake]

What gorgeous photos Gemini

I googled them sparkling, it was too wet to stop and take photos
I haven't eaten lamb since I was a teenager. I just see them jumping about in my mind if someone suggests it And it's a bit greasy imo.

For some reason I can see cute little piglets and still eat chops and bacon though

 

[Calva dosser]

Hmmm. I eat lamb, and also pork.

But pork gives me far more anthropomorphic guilt than lamb;

Claude bought little Cécile into the pub the other night, she's jet black, snuffly, about 40 cms long, and she tried to eat a mates Alsation. Not in a bad way, just thought a big slobbery dog tongue was supper.

Pigs, as I believe the common parlance has it, "rock?".

 

[vipper]

Saw this top sign at the Purbeck Marine Wildlife Reserve, Kimmeridge, Dorset.

 

[Callie]

Goldfinches keep perching on the TV aerial outside my window and twittering in their oh so cute way recently


Although its very nice, its mildly annoying when they wake me up before I need to be awake in the morning!

Havent noticed my nature stuff today - must keep my eyes open a bit more I usually spot loads of stuff (Whilst looking for animals to stroke)

 

[Calva dosser]

Oops forgot, big hare on the drive.

I wondered whether the Frogs would take to 'jugged hare' I mean, can't be any more dysenterogenic than daube de palombe.- 'Salopard de palombe'- in local.

Sorry, didn't meant to de-rail onto cooking, it's just that 'cos it was windy today, the snakes stayed undercover, and the lizards were all shagging.

 

[Callie]

i dont know what a daube a saloparde or a palombe is do they fly and twitter?

 

[geminisnake]

I wondered whether the Frogs would take to 'jugged hare' .

Please don't mention jugged hare here again, without at least warning me

 

[madamv]

Saw this top sign at the Purbeck Marine Wildlife Reserve, Kimmeridge, Dorset.

What sign? I only get DWT home page

 

[Callie]

madamv

Love the Limpets - Enjoy not destroy!

 

[Calva dosser]

The Slipper Limpet.

Crepidula fornicata.

The Big girl lives on the rock, and then they alternate male/female/male female, etc until it gets too precarious and 40 kilo rat-boy has to park his amphibious Vauxhall Chavette in the next rock pool.

I love meeting old friends on a family bulletin board.

 

[Calva dosser]

Apologies for late reply. A Palombe is a wood pigeon. They fly, but they don't twitter.

They have 3 main calls-

"Your body stinks, your body stinks, your body stinks'

"You're a bastard, you're a bastard, you're a bastard"

"Your breath stinks, your breath stinks your breath stinks"

And if you try to cook them they make you ill.

I REALLY like wood pigeons. And their cuntish cousins collared doves.


Oh further apols to Callie. Salopard de palombe is "Fucking cunt" of wood pigeon. As opposed to daube, which is casserole.

 

[grubby local]

saw my first red admiral butterfly of the season today. couple of new spiders, one smallish i rescued from the bath, and a standard long-legged number. Lots of fire ants in the garden and the odd bimbling bumblebee.

had a great conversation at 1am the other day with a neighbour who was outside smoking his crack pipe. I commented on the night-time bird singing round here and he said "ahh, that'll be your black robin. He's got gold speckles on his breast." and I went back in.

I know its weird but i just spent the last two years living in the rainforest a few hours outside Rio in Brazil and made a film about it which I've just put up on youtube if anyone fancies an idle naturewatch. its sort of low-fi discovery channel on dub. i like the sequence of birds which comes in after about 4 minutes.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NjrJ9fG39rk

As an urban beast i'd never been so immersed in nature and now i'm a confirmed freak. anyone been to london wetlands centre?

 

[eme]

Hello GL - haven't seen you about in ages
Urban wetlands centre - on my list of places to go, but haven't got around to yet; workshy visit potential perhaps?

 

[vipper]

What sign? I only get DWT home page

I get a nice shiny chalkboard sign.

 

[Pieface]

I can't understand how anyone could be bothered with the effort required to fuck up a limpet

Let alone a colony of them.....

 

[foo]

I can't understand how anyone could be bothered with the effort required to fuck up a limpet

Let alone a colony of them.....

lol, i don't even want to see what this post is referring too. it's ace on it's own.

PieEye - there are no baby ducklings left. not one.

the river gypsy told me that apparently, the last one was desperately trying to scrabble up the veranda on the rickety old floating house - and the mum just left him/her!

is this normal??

 

[Pieface]

that's rubbish parenting, foo I'm shocked.

 

[foo]

innit PieEye

Swans. they're bloody scary aren't they?

recently, unix and i were pootling down the river in our friend's little scaffie on a nice sunny afternoon, sipping wine and chatting delicately.

a fuckin great swan chased our boat! it was a couple of inches behind us and just the noise from it's wings was enough to make us scarper!

we escaped unharmed.

edit: actually. this isn't nature news is it? it's unix and foo news. sorry PieEye.

 

[Pieface]

recently, unix and i were pootling down the river in our friend's little scaffie on a nice sunny afternoon, sipping wine and chatting delicately.
.

no - I like this bit especially.....

what's a scaffie? That sounds like a lush afternoon out

And it's a well known government health warning that "a swan can break your arm with its wing". You learn that by osmosis when you're a kid don't you?

Nature News Thread Question:
Does anyone actually know anyone who's had their arm broken by an irate swan?

 

[foo]

a scaffie is a little sailing boat (but we were using an outboard motor).

it's so cute and dinky - but it doesn't belong to me.

i want one for my very own self.