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There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from…

There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from number six, sent in by Vicky.

Baby Great Tit that had to be rescued after it flew into a neighbours window, after it had a drink and a rest it flew off to join his friends again. Vicky.

Red-Crested Pochard taken at Attenborough Nature Reserve in Nottinghamshire. Vicky.

Cornflower in my garden. Vicky.

Goose as the sun was going down taken at Attenborough Nature Reserve in Nottinghamshire. Vicky.

Moorhen was taken at a local park in derby. Vicky.

We have fitted a camera on a new Swallows nest that we found this morning in the same barn that we have shown previous Swallows nests. There are three eggs in the nest that are now being incubated.

Last Monday I received an email from a European Nature Conservation body asking if we would broadcast a Barn Owl Nest Cam for them. With the Owlets ready to leave the Barn Owl Trusts Nest over the coming weeks we emailed back accepting the invitation. Unfortunately since then I have not had a reply back. That is not to say that we wont, but being that the Owls are incubating the eggs it would be good to start from the beginning of the nesting. This is the second nesting this year of these Barn Owls. As soon as I hear back from the body I will let you know. UPDATE. We have received the reply and we will be broadcasting the new Barn Owl Nest Cam with sound by tomorrow. Watch out for the new Thumbnail.

The Nature Conservation Body have a close relationship with The Barn Owl Trust, who next year will also have sound and hopefully a day and night camera so that the Barn Owls Nest Cam can be seen in colour in the daylight hours.

A few weeks back I told you about the underwater webcam in the US Virgin Islands that we have been asked to do. All the equipment has been sent to the Island. Michael the person who has asked us to broadcast for them had a meeting with the Port Authority and Pier Manager at the site. They are going to recommend to the Board, full approval of the project at the August 6th meeting. The webcam will be sited at a different location than we first were told, and it will be under a different US department who have other sites that they would consider webcams including a beach that the Turtles nest at.

There has been mentioned that the quality of the Red Squirrel and Pine Martin Camera is not a clear as it might be. The Broadband connection at the Lock of the Lowe’s is quite low. To get a good picture from the Osprey nest it mean using a lot of the available bandwidth on that webcam causing the other webcams to use a very low bandwidth. When the Osprey nesting finishes the bandwidths will be adjusted so that both webcams at the Lock have good images.

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Sorry that there has not been any new photographs or…

Sorry that there has not been any new photographs or a Diary for the past couple of days. We have been extremely busy with finishing the kitchen and cottage, getting the hay in and getting ready for our holiday guests. We also have friends staying.

We will get back over the next couple of days when I will also tell you about our new photograph Galleries that some of you may want to be involved in.

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There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from…

There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from number six, sent in by Lynne that accompanies the photographs on the Photo page. There were a few more photographs sent in. I have chosen five that I hope tells the story.

Something really amazing happened in Downtown Spokane this week and I had to share the story with you.
Some of you may know that my brother, Joel, is a loan officer at Sterling Bank. He works downtown in a second story office building, overlooking busy Riverside Avenue.
Several weeks ago he watched a mother duck choose the cement awning outside his window as the uncanny place to build a nest above the sidewalk.
The mallard laid ten eggs in a nest in the corner of the planter that is perched over 10 feet in the air. She dutifully kept the eggs warm for weeks and Monday afternoon all of her ducklings hatched.
Joel worried all night how the mama duck was going to get those babies safely off their perch in a busy, downtown, urban environment to take to water, which typically happens in the first 48 hours of a duck hatching. Tuesday morning, Joel came to work and watched the mother duck encourage her babies to the edge of the perch with the intent to show them how to jump off!

The mother flew down below and started quacking to her babies above. In his disbelief Joel watched as the first fuzzy newborn toddled to the edge and astonishingly leapt into thin air, crashing onto the cement be low. My brother couldn’t watch how this might play out. He dashed out of his office and ran down the stairs the sidewalk where the first obedient duckling was stuporing near its mother from the near fatal fall. Joel looked up. The second duckling was getting ready to jump! He quickly dodged under the awning while then mother duck quacked at him and the babies above. As the second one took the plunge, Joel jumped forward and caught it with his bare hands before it hit the cement. Safe and sound, he set it by the mama and the other stunned sibling, still recovering from its painful leap. One by one the babies continued to jump to join their anxious family below. Each time Joel hid under the awning just to reach out in the nick of time as the duckling made its free fall. The downtown sidewalk came to a standstill. Time after time, Joel was able to catch the remaining 7 and set them by their approving mother.

At this point Joel realized the duck family had only made part of its dangerous journey. They had 2 full blocks to walk across traffic, crosswalks, curbs, and pedestrians to get to the closest open water, the Spokane River. The onlooking office secretaries then joined in, and hurriedly brought an empty copy paper box to collect the babies. They carefully corralled them, with the mother’s approval, and loaded them up into the white cardboard container. Joel held the box low enough for the mom to see her brood. He then slowly navigated through the downtown streets toward the Spokane River, as the mother waddled behind and kept her babies in sight. As they reached the river, the mother took over and passed him, jumping into the river and quacking loudly. At the water’s edge, the Sterling Bank office staff then tipped the box and helped shepherd the babies toward the water and to their mother after their adventurous ride.

All nine darling ducklings safely made it into the water and paddled up snugly to mama duck. Joel said the mom swam in circles, looking back toward the beaming bank workers, and proudly quacking as if to say……”See, we did it! Thanks for all the help!

Thankfully, one of the secretaries had a digital camera and was able to capture most of it(except the actual mid-air catching) in a series of attached photographs. Please join me in celebrating my brother– The Downtown Duck Hero!

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There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from…

There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from number one, sent in by Karen, Stoke.

These Photographs were not taken by me. My daughters Partner Steve ,took these for me and Emailed them for us to go on the Gallery. I hope you enjoy them. Some more Photos for the Gallery From Nicola and Steve, they live in Thongsbridge, Holmsfirth, I do not know what the Bird is does any one know what it is? Karen, Stoke.

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There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from…

There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from number eleven, sent in by Jill.

Norfolk Lavender – across the road from where my parents lived for many years

Autumn reflections – a pond in my forest

Swans preening on the river behind my office

Sunset on Skomer Island

Another pic of the field of marigolds in Kent with church in background and meadow cranesbill in foreground. Jill.

Cutting the grass to make the hay has definitely brought the Buzzard and Owls to the Valley. Last night the Owl was on the pole a couple of times, and the Buzzard on and off for most of the day. With the grass cut it makes it easier for the Voles to be seen by both the Owls and Buzzard. With a bit of luck both will start hunting the Valley for a lot of their food. There are also a lot of Rabbits in the Valley. The new cameras digital zoom makes it easier to get close up to the Birds and to get better images. I am still getting use to the new cameras control as you have probably noticed. I also will need to get some more infra red lamps placed so that most of the valley can be viewed. I will keep an eye out for the Buzzards soaring above the Valley, if I see any I will try to follow them on the camera.

The weather forecast seems to be letting us down again. It promised a lot warmer weather with a bit of cloud and wind. Lots of cloud, little wind and chilly. Tomorrows forecast is now a bit different from what they said last night. I can see that we are not going top make our hay before the rain that is promised for Friday. I know I keep on about it, but the Met Office is a sad excuse, in any other business there would be many heads rolling with the times that they get things wrong. A couple of weeks ago we were told that we would be able to get forecasts for months ahead. They are unable to get the next 24 hours correct, so how they will manage months ahead I really don’t know. Some years ago we had forecast for long periods ahead. It fizzled out very soon after it started.

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There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from…

There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from number six sent in by Karen.

These Photographs were not taken by me. My daughters Partner Steve ,took these for me and Emailed them for us to go on the Gallery. I hope you enjoy them. Karen. Stoke.

We started to make our hay today. Not quite as late as last year, but later than we would want. The grass seed would be ready to drop so when the gray is turned to let it dry evenly a lot of the seed will be left on the ground when it is baled. Early this morning the grass was cut and this evening it was turned for the first time. It will be turned again every day in the hope that we can bale it at the latest on Thursday evening as the forecast is for rain on Friday. We normally would like five days to make hay but for the past two years we have needed to take our chances as the hasn’t been many five days periods without rain. We managed to make thirty bales about five weeks ago. The forecast at the moment is giving us a chance, so with a bit of luck we can make our hay.

I had hoped with the new camera being able to look straight up into the sky that we may have been able to see the Buzzards hunting for food for their Chick in the Valley. There has not been one year in all of the time that we have lived here have they not hunted in the Valley except for this year when the are hunting in the small paddock that we kept Smuggler and Sonny. The three of the Buzzards can be seen in the trees most days. Unfortunately the nearest camera to the paddock is unable to look upwards very far. I am hoping now that we have cut the grass in the valley it will make it more open for the Buzzard to hunt. There are a lot of Rabbits for the Buzzards to catch there so we may be lucky. We have nearly finished the kitchen and cottage so next week I will be able to spend a little more time on the Diary and camera.

The sudden appearance of a strange light in the corner of the nestcam is, we think, a spider’s web/nest that is in front of the camera lens. The movement is the spider crawling across the lens. We are reluctant to go into the building at present as the two oldest owlets have not left the barn yet and we do not want to risk flushing them out. Again we will monitor the owlets’ activity and will review the situation if any circumstances change. Matt. BOT.

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There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from…

There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from number one sent in by Lynne.

WE WERE UP IN THE YORKSHIRE DALES LAST WEEK AND TOOK THESE

BOLTON ABBEY AND THE RIVER WHARFE LYNNE

THORNTON FORCE ON THE INGLETON WATERFALL TRAIL. WE HAD A LOT OF RAIN SO THE WATER WAS COMING OVER A LOT MORE THAN USUAL LYNNE

GOREDALE SCAR NEAR MALHAM COVE LYNNE

CANAL BOAT GOING THROUGH A LOCK AT GARGRAVE LYNNE

A VERY FRIENDLY YOUNG BULL IN THE FIELD ACROSS FROM OUR HOLIDAYCOTTAGE LYNNE

Some of you who have put links and suggestions for other websites would have noticed that they have not been approved. We have attempted in the past to have reciprocal links to other webcams, only to be refused. The RSPB being one of many. Because of the refusals we will not advertise other websites on the Forum. It would also be unfair to those represented on Wildlife TV to direct their viewer to other websites.

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There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from…

There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from number eleven sent in by Clive, CH.

Five pictures taken on a walk around the former US air-base at Greenham Common , home to the Cruise Missiles and Women

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There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from…

There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from number six.

I took this shot of the tree but i quite like the clouds on this one. The crop growing in the field is corn. Karen Stoke.

JANETS FOSS NEAR MALHAM COVE. LYNNE.

I’ve just returned from visiting my Brother with Mum today. It’s the first time I’ve been to his house and was amazed by his garden! He is VERY keen to encourage all types of wildlife into his garden, so has allowed parts of it to become fairly wild. He has a beautiful pond filled with lilies where there are frogs, newts and toads as well as the odd dragonfly and damselfly. So here are a few photos from today’s visit.
A shy little frog:
Two damselflies – they were flying around attached like this, so I’m not quite sure what they were doing!!
Lovely lilies. Julia.

Where the Sheep were kept housed through the Winter they did very little walking, that resulted in their hooves to be overgrown to the extent that they have needed for them to be trimmed. When you have as few Sheep as we have it is a back breaking job and one that I don’t relish. Although I had to stop doing the cottage and kitchen today it had to be done. The hooves did need a lot of trimming, but fortunately there were no problems with their feet other that them being overgrown.

Some breeds of Sheep that we have had in the past have had to be trimmed very often, others we have never needed to touch. The Sheep we have now are Texel and Texel Cross. Their feet needed trimming at least once a year, but they don’t tend to get foot rot that a lot of Sheep get. Again I have found that some breeds are prone to foot rot other are not. Mind you I am not a Shepherd. Shepherd would know best and they would tell you that as well as a Sheep breeding the ground that they graze on would also be a factor in foot rot. A few years back I let a Farmer have our fields for Sheep keep during the Winter. More of his Sheep were lame because of foot rot than were not. I regularly had to tell him to sort his Sheep feet out.

When I was showing our neighbours Sheep during the Winter a number of you commented that some of his Sheep were lame, If a lot of the Sheep are of the same breed it looks as if the Sheep have been lame for a long while, when it is normally a different Sheep that has only that day got a problem. It doesn’t pay for a Farmer not to sort out Sheep feet problems. If they are killing Sheep they will quickly loose condition and breeding Sheep with Lambs at foot will soon start to produce less milk for the Lambs. Our Sheep feet are now trimmed and tidy except for Ewy.

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There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from…

There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from number one, all from Sue O.

A view of Godrevy lighthouse from the beach
5 pictures all taken at or near Polly Joke, near Newquay, including 3 views and a wildlife shot.

Godrevy lighthouse.
Polly joke.
Wild iris near polly joke.
Caterpillar.
Coast path near polly joke. Sue O