Categories
webcams

Starting from number one there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number one there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

MALE BULLFINCH.

TREE SPARROW.

MALE AND FEMALE BULLFINCH.

GOLDFINCH.

GREAT TIT.

ALL TAKEN TODAY (MONDAY) AT OLD MOOR RSPB RESERVE NEAR DONCASTEr. LYNNE.

Pippa sent in a lot of capture spots of webcam one, wanting to know what the white ball was. It was as she guesses a small spider or some other bug that the infra-red made glow. Being on the glass front of the camera it was out of focus.

Sent in By Elsie and Lindsay

VERY IMPORTANT , PLEASE READ THIS

Anyone-using Internet mail such as Yahoo, Hotmail,
AOL and so on.

This information arrived this morning,
Direct from both Microsoft and Norton

Please send it to everybody you know who has
access to the Internet.

You may receive an apparently harmless e-mail titled ‘Mail Server Report’

If you open either file, a message will appear on your screen saying:
‘It is too late now, your life is no longer beautiful.’

Subsequently you will LOSE EVERYTHING IN YOUR PC,
And the person who sent it to you will gain access to your
name, e-mail and password.

This is a new virus which started to circulate on Saturday afternoon.
AOLhas already confirmed the severity, and the anti virus softwares are not capable of destroying it.

The virus has been created by a20hacker who calls himself
‘life owner’.

PLEASE SEND A COPY OF THIS E-MAIL
TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS, And ask them to
PASS IT ON IMMEDIATELY!

THIS HAS BEEN CONFIRMED BY SNOPES.

Categories
webcams

Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

Sunset was taken at my aunt

Categories
webcams

Starting from number six there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number six there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

Flower with bee. Merrilyn.

Canada Goose rushing for bread. Merrilyn

Squirrel in pot eating peanut. Merrilyn

Chester watching squirrel. All the cats that go through my garden just watch the squirrel. We have seen the squirrel batter one of the cats so I presume they have all had a battering. But we have a kitten coming in at the moment who hasn’t learned yet. Merrilyn.

I don

Categories
webcams

Starting from number one there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number one there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

Pics of my two Amaryllis flowers – one has a full head of 4 blooms, the other just two and two coming! Jill.

Blackpool in March past, not many people about, but luckily these fellows were around to clean up after them. Dirty beggers.
It was a case of first come first served!! And they all seemed to have a (?) dinner. Pam Cleveleys.

I counted five Roe Deer in the Valley on Friday night. I must admit I was pleased to see them. Since I changed the camera over last year we don’t have a lot of movement on the infra-red, lamps so chances are we are missing quite a few at far end of the Valley. We have some different lamps to put up but I cant seem to find the time to do the job.

The snow has done damage to an Oak Tree that is in the Horse Field. I only noticed it yesterday when I was breaking up last years Horse droppings with part of an old set of harrow dragging around the Field. The Oak must be many hundreds of years old and not looking its best with a hollow in the front and most of the inside gone, but it is alive. Two of its largest limbs have partially broken away and will need to be cut off and treated to stop any rot from getting in to the remaining parts of the limb. Once the work is done it should keep going for many more years. I have been saying to myself since we came to Denbury that I must see if I can find a sapling that it has produced. There is a good chance that there will be one in the Wood just a few yards behind the Oak. If I hurry up and find one before it start budding up I should be able to plant it close the the old Oak so that it will carry on.

Categories
webcams

Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

Had a few photographs sent in but it will only do tomorrow.

Sheep. Pam, Cleveleys.

The ‘twigs’ didn’t work. This deer was having a good feed from a bird feeder! Janice(Leeds)

Breakfast for two! 27/02/09 SWT. Janice(Leeds)

Deer on SWT 2.30a.m.28/2/09. Janice(Leeds)

My 25 year old Tortie called Jenny. Merrilyn.

Categories
webcams

Starting from number six there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number six there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

I am going to look again but I don’t think that there are any photographs for tomorrows Photo Page.

This is the Tree Creeper that seems to like peanuts.It has been coming everyday since we did the National Bird Survey.Before that we hadn’t seen one for years. Lindsay.

Waxwings taken near Nosterfield in North Yorkshire. Lindsay.

Skippool Creek about 2 miles from Cleveleys. This was the port of Poulton le Fylde, and was apparently a major port in the 18th century. Scenes show the roadway and creek during the high Spring tide. Adjoining land has been reclaimed and is now part of the Wyre Estuary Country Park. The Wyre Estuary Country Park includes the whole estuary from Fleetwood and Knott End up river as far as the Shard Bridge. Pam. Cleveleys.

Tide out- road leading to Yacht Club.Pam. Cleveleys.

Tide in – same road showing High Spring tide. Pam. Cleveleys.

View from roadway next to Yacht Club, showing Skippool Creek. with the River Wyre in background. Pam. Cleveleys.

Peter at the Lock is going to put a camera on a Otter Holt next week, that is of course if the Osprey doesn’t turn up.

The other good news is that we are going to host another webcam for SWT on a Peregrine Falcon nest, at their Falls of the Clyde Centre. We sent the camera to them this week and it is in the process of being installed. If all goes well it should be working by the latter part of this month. The camera is a pan, tilt and zoom and will be able to be used to watch other wildlife and interests at the centre.

The other good news, or I hope so is the underwater webcam on the US Virgin Islands. My initial contact on the Island, Michael emailed me on the 2nd of February asking if I would agree to the project being handed over to St. Croix Enviromental Assoc.(SEA) All the permission for the webcam are in hand, but since his email I have been unable to contact Michael. Earlier this week I made contact with the association and emailed their Managing Director Paul Chakroff who will be overseeing the project. I spoke to Paul at 5.pm this afternoon. Paul is very keen to get the camera installed and will attempt to make contact with Michael over the weekend to get the webcam equipment that I sent to him. Paul will get back to me early next week with an update. Here is the URL for the St. Croix Enviromental Assoc.(SEA) website. http://www.stxenvironmental.org/index.html Once this webcam is up and running we hope to do another webcam with them. Hopefully Turtles.

I emailed Libor in the Czech Republic today to see what they are going to do on their webcams. There are a few different project that they are hoping to do. Hopefully he will come back to me next week with a decision.

One webcam that I had hoped to do was a Starling roost. All of the places that had a roost did not have a nearby network connection. Two weeks ago it was reported in our local paper that there was a roost in the middle Taunton, about six miles from the Farm. I am sure that if I had of known earlier I could have got a webcam going. If you remember I told you of a large increase of Starling above the Farm last Autumn. I should think that they joined the Taunton roost.

Our relationship with WWT ended last week. As you have probably noticed the cameras have not been on for four months. The previous Manager Neil was moved sideways. Our agreement with WWT about the cameras was undermined by the new Manageress, to the degree that when I went to collect them last week the computer working them had been taken out four months ago. Both cameras were damaged as the heating inside them was off. Unfortunately Neil has been ill for four months and was unable make sure that all was in place to keep the camera working. It was getting to political for me.

We have not heard any news for over a couple of months of the Meerkat webcam. This was being arranged with a third party. I cant now see that one happening.

Categories
webcams

Starting from number one there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number one there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

1, A blue tit taken at Manifold Valley. Vicky.

2, A young deer (i think) taken at calke abbey. Vicky.

3, A waterfall at a local park. Vicky.

4, Snow drops in my garden. Vicky.

5, Robin red breast taken at Black Rocks. Vicky.

I thought that you may be interested in this article from the BBC Somerset website. You can also see a video clip on the site.

A little foot note. As well as Tom Done being a member of the diocese, with a little investigation I found out that he is a Farmer and member of the National Farmers Union. I was also told the the Bishop is not to pleased with Tom.

Church wants badger cull debate

Church leaders in Somerset have said the government’s decision not to cull badgers does not help farmers.

The Bath and Wells Diocese has called for talks to solve the problem of bovine TB after rural affairs secretary Hilary Benn refused to order a cull.

Tom Done, of the diocese, said: “Cattle farmers are facing bankruptcy, depression and some are even suicidal.”

Reported cases of TB were up by 40% in 2008 and 20,000 beasts were slaughtered on farms across the south west.

Mr Done, chairman of the Diocesan Rural Life Group, said: “We can have a positive debate between the badger groups, farmers and the department for environment, food and rural affairs – with all sides looking at the interests of one another so we can have healthy wildlife and cattle for the benefit of those of us who love our countryside.”

Pauline Kidner, from the Somerset animal sanctuary, Secret World Wildlife Rescue, which looks after 100 badgers a year, said: “My immediate response was perhaps they ought to stop reading the bible and read the report by the Independent Scientific Group.

“That is a research project done over a period of eight years costing the government

Categories
webcams

Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

We get some fabulous sunsets here.This was taken last week from our garden.Lindsay.

Winter Aconites in my garden.Lindsay.

Snowdrops in my garden.Lindsay.

This Moorhen looks quite at home!I hope it brings a friend.Lindsay.

This is the Moorhen that has found my new pond.Quite a surprise for this garden.It is approximately 3 feet from my conservatory windows.Lindsay.

For about six weeks Gypsy has been unwell. Most of the time she was alright, but some mornings we would go to feed the Horses and she would be laid out flat on the floor. Some times she would get up when she saw that her feed was on its way. On other occasions we would need to get her up. Once she was up she was fine, eating, drinking and moving as we would expect. The problem we had was that it was intermittent. The Veterinary looked at her when it first started and blood test showed nothing was wrong, so there really wasn’t any thing we could treat her for.

For the past two week Gypsy was getting worse. She was laying stretched out flat more often. At other times she was fine. She was also drinking and urinating more than normal. I started to have suspicion that it was a liver problem. If it were an infection it would be constant. It wasn’t, that indicated that there was probably liver damage.

With animals you really do agonise about what to do when they are ill. They are unable to tell you of pain. You need to watch if their routine alters, and see if their actions show if they are experiencing any pain. You must never consider their welfare against their value. At times you need to take action that you know is right. It is easy to allow a Veterinary to treat sick animals, but again are you allowing it for the animal benefit or your own. For it is easy to believe that prolonging an animals life is benefiting the animal, when it is making you feel good. I should think some of you have had that experience.

This morning when wee went to feed Gypsy was down again. We needed to make her get up. That was not easy for her and took three attempts. When she was up she was not interested in her food, just picking at it and taking small sips of water. I had to make a decision on if I get the Veterinary in or have her put to sleep. It wasn’t a hard decision. I knew that her illness was causing he pain and I was convinced that she had liver damage. I also knew that no Veterinary attention was going to make her well. All it would do was to cause Gypsy to suffer for longer. Gypsy was put to sleep this morning.

I asked for a report on Gypsy’s liver. That was normal, but one of her kidney was severely damaged. The cause being by a kick from Willow. In the Winter we keep youngsters stabled together in large gated areas in our main barn. Willow gets very excited at feed times, kicking her legs out and bucking. There is no malice in it, just sheer excitement. She must have accidentally kicked Gypsy.

Categories
webcams

Starting from number six there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number six there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

Clumps of snowdrops, Hothfield, Kent. Jill (Epping)

Konick ponies on Hothfield Heathland. Jill (Epping)

Nuthatch on bird feeder – sorry for poor quality, taken through window! Jill (Epping)

We have a Stream or you may call it a Brook that meanders its way from one end of the Farm to the other. It has for hundreds of year if not for ever. It was one of the criteria when we were looking for a Farm property. In the Summer other than when there is very heavy rain it gently meanders it way through the Farm. In the Winter it can become a raging torrent that on one occasion the two foot wide stream became a forty metre river that came down the Valley like a monster wall, flooding all in its way including the Holiday Cottages. Fortunately it is classed by the Environmental Agency as a one in a hundred year incident.

This Winter with the heavy rain and snow there was a lot more water coming through the Farm than when we had the Flood, so the Agency were probably right and we will never see the like again. At one point the Stream goes under a country lane than that splits the Farm in two, flowing into pleasant pastures that we planted Marsh Marigolds, Flag Iris and other Water Plant along the side of the Stream. It makes a pleasant Summer walk after the hay is made. This year the heavy rain and melting snow has caused a great amount of fast water, that has brought with it a lot of river bedding of stone and sandy soil. Eventually it has caused the tunnel under the Lane to block causing the Stream to flood the lane, although not particularly deep the flood did cover a large area of the lane.

Last week we had a visit from the Council asking if they could enter the Pasture Fields to clear the river bedding and sandy soil from the tunnel to stop the flood. We inspected and agreed on the work that would be required, with last Friday or Monday gone being the day that a digger would do the necessary work. The digger never arrived so I believed that I would be told of an alternative day.

As we pass through the Farms gates we can see into the Field where the digger would be working. Although it was right in my line of sight, I truthfully did not see it as my eyes were directed to what only be could called an unsightly carbuncle a hundred yards long on the side of the Stream. I could not believe what I was seeing, there was a bank of at least a hundred yards of river bedding and sandy soil eight feet from the side of the stream and nearly a foot deep that had covered all of the plants that were starting to come above the soil. On reaching the Stream it only got worse for the digger had dug into the side of the bank making the Stream to look like a land drain that you would expect to see on a flood plain. The Stream in that Field was now a small river.

To say that my language to the digger driver was blue would be an understatement, I wanted to hurt him for the damage he had done. He told me that is what he was told to do. Even an idiot would have known he was making an environmental mess. I told his Boss when he arrived what had to be done, but as I am writing the Diary I reckon that I could well have made a mistake. Part of the river bedding and sandy soil will be put back into the Stream with the remainder being flattened on both sides. I now realise that this will stop any rain water from draining from the Field into the Stream. I will need to look at it in the morning, but on thinking this is not going to solve any problems and the Council are going to be in for a costly job to put the damage right. If it can ever be put right.

Categories
webcams

Starting from number one there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number one there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

The Towers Cleveleys, large gardens of a mansion long gone, that has been turned into a secret haven for locals to enjoy. As a bonus it is just a minutes walk away from us, so armed with a packed lunch is a great place to spend an hour or two. Pam, Cleveleys.

Although it looks as if we are in for a cold spell for part of this week, spring is well on its way at Denbury.

On a walk around the Lake this afternoon I could see that the Flag Iris’s and Marsh Marigold are starting to show them selves above the ground and a few of the Tree are starting to bud. We are also seeing some rough grass starting to show through. The way that that a pair of Blackbirds are darting about instead of waiting around the animal feed bins I am sure that a pair of Blackbirds are building a nest. I will try to see where it is. If I am right and find it I will put a camera up.

Well Ladies and Gentlemen it is about time I told you about the so called Otter that you have been seeing. We do have Otters at Denbury as Karen and some of you saw in the Valley last year. But they are not Otters coming to feed at the Badgers feeding area. They are are or were rats. I have poisoned two areas to get rid of them and by the amount that I have seen over the past few nights most have gone.

Otters are much larger than what some have believed you have seen. The Otter in the Valley last year was very big. A rough guide to the size would be a large Cat plus the strong tail. With the amount of water around Denbury the Otters would be hunting Eels and Fish. If for any reason they were to be about the Badgers feeding area, they would have made a meal of the rats, as would Stoats and Weasels that we also see at Denbury quite often.

There are still a few rats about. I will need to find their holes in the bank that the Badgers Sett is in, to put the bait in. We have been baiting the areas for a long time, probably over a month if not more. We changed the bait we used from a product called Slaymore (just in case any of you have a vermin problem) to our normally excellent Farm Supplies own brand. Although the two bait was based around the same grain the rats would not take it. As soon as we changed back to Slaymore the bait started to be taken. For sure the rats had been to the bait as we put a plastic petrol can with holes at either end, this we put inside a cage. This is to stop Birds from getting to eat the bait. The rats ate half of the can and left the bait.