Weekly Chat, Sunday September 19,2010

Morning, Everyone.    Dull here again, and it rained a  lot last night   :-(

Lovely Cranes, Diane.  When I woke today I could see a whole flock of about 25 Geese floating over the fields in the distance, heading North (??)  There are a lot of meres here (small lakes) so I expect they have their favourite places to gather.  We have at last booked a holiday away,  not going just yet but will tell you later - now I have to book Dog into the kennels   :-(     - we hate doing it, but he is such a boisterous animal that we can't ask anyone to look after him for us.  He doesn't get on very well with young Meg the Puppy, who is just too excitable, so can't stay with OH's cousin as in the past.

You'll never guess in a million years where Friend & I are off to today!!!  -  a Hat Museum!!  tell you all about it tomorrow!

Have a good Thursday, All.

Morning all – dreich, damp and dreary here.  Tits are making an autumn appearance – a Blue Tit on the peanuts on Tuesday, and yesterday I spotted a Great Tit, which OH then saw catch a Butterfly on the hedge.  Regulars all continue, including large Goldfinch numbers.  There are several distinguishable Chaffinches – let me introduce Fatty.  He is visible most of the time.  He seems to feed as soon as OH fill the feeders, whenever other birds come– and when he is on his own!  He is quite tame, and in the short gaps between feeds he sits on one of the garden seats.  He was sitting in the centre yesterday and when he got up to move he hit his head on the table, but here he is after picking himself up again – and a later picture on the table.

Valc   Oh I grew up in the middle of nowhere. It is about 10 miles from Omagh. When I was back there just a year ago I saw the house I was born in and my first school. The school closed its doors a long time ago after having had pupils for 120 years. It is now a ruin.

The house is still standing although the stable beside it has collapsed. As far as I know no one has lived there in a very long time. As always everything has shunk. The long paths I used to run down seem ever so short now. I well remember the day before we left there. We all went around saying goodbye to everything we could think of! It brings a smile to the face.

I suppose everyone has similar memories?

Absolutely, Tiger:   when I returned to a childhood home, about 10 years ago,  it was just the strangest feeling...  everything was still there, thankfully, but just, well, so much smaller....  very odd.  I suppose it just shows how big everything seems when you are small yourself.

AQ  I love your picture of Jasper. Seems a lovely cat.

Diana   Thanks for the info on the Indiana Wild Turkey. Are they gentle or can they be a bit aggressive?

I love you equinox graphic.

Lindybird   Yes my accent is a bit mixed. People on the mainland think I speak with a thick Northern Ireland accent. People in Ireland think I speak with an English accent!

Cirrus   Love the mugs. They are made even more fascinating by your understanding. I feel like getting some and giving them as presents without mentioning the hidden secret!

I do not think my ancesters were marching with Bonnie Prince Charlie. Not that I know of anyway.

BTW I have take to opening this thread in two different windows. Then I read from one and answer in the other.

Hello to everyone else I have not mentioned so far.

Thanks for posts, overnight and morning people.

AQ – pleased your Dau#2 and her OH reached Europe – I hope baggage catches up with them, but I guess that could be difficult if they are touring!  Thanks for dictionary link – have saved it in my “Serendipity” favourites.

Annette – pleased you have a temporary solution while you save up for your light bulb – where is that Money Tree when it’s needed?!  Sounds like a great walk, meeting a nice person and getting to see the Kites.  Our Red Kites also do not migrate – although populations elsewhere in Europe do.

Diane – lovely pic of Sandhill Cranes.

Lindy – so pleased your holiday is planned and booked.  Enjoy the Hat Museum – I see it has a Café!

Tiger – it sounds as if your “home” visit brought back pleasant memories as well as sadness at the ruins.  I shall now “hear” you with an Irish accent when I read your posts!

Yesterday evenings outing was to Bird Club.  The speaker was one of the members, an old farmer with (an equally old?) slide projector, talking mostly about the effect on bids of changes in farming and other habitat management.  It was very interesting, with his photos going back to pre-tractor days on the family farm (I’m also interested in farming history), wartime species management (did you know House Sparrows had to be destroyed because they took much-needed corn from the farms stores?) and many of his wildlife photos.  He is a ringer, and remembers a count of Solway wintering Barnacles totalling about 800 – we now get 30,000 (although we await this year’s count following the observation of Svalbard Polar Bears decimating shore nests).  He also talked about various other threats to birds, such as predators, particularly Mink, which has still to be eradicated.  It was a lovely evening, listening to a life-long enthusiast.

Another member had Osprey news.  On Monday, a photographer spotted a juvenile Osprey, with darvic ring blue/white BK in Brittany.  He emailed his photo to Roy Dennis, who identified where he had sent the ring.  He forwarded the photo to our member, who was able to tell the person in Brittany that this was one of our Threave Castle Ospreys – I am able to name that site now, since I am seeing it more and more in magazines, and there are now public hides there.  The bird is one of three 2010 chicks, believed (by weight) to be all female.

Also re Ospreys, the Education Officer at WWT Caerlaverock has rounded off the Osprey season this week with a final blog confirming that the third chick there caught a flounder on 16^th September, took it away from the reserve and there has been no Osprey sighting since.  They are very pleased with the 2010 season, with three ringed chicks, and we may get online streaming from them next year!   http://www.wwt.org.uk/visit-us/caerlaverock/osprey-diary/last-osprey-sighting-at-caerlaverock   Now their big season begins, with the Barnacle Geese coming in - and an uncommon Ross's Goose with them.

Sorry I am hogging the thread this morning - I find this all very exciting!

Sorry, back again!

Just googled Ross's Goose - it breeds in the Arctic and normally winters in California!  The Cornell site says "it is now appearing further east" - yeah, like Caerlaverock UK!!

Good morning Lindybird althought I guess you have gone out now.  Just want to say thanks for another wonderful poem.  What a talent you have and wouldn't it be wonderful to help the world heal itself.

Hello again Lindybird.  Pleased to read you have a holiday booked and you really deserve it as you seem to have been so busy of late.   One of the reasons I won't have a house pet is because I could not bear to put it in kennels so know how hard it must be for you to do this.

Our Indian Summer broke in the early hours of this morning with some fairly heavy rain.  Stopped at the moment but warning given for heavy thundery showers so washing not on line today.  Still at least I had four good drying days.

Hope you have a good day at the Hat Museum today and managed to visit the Cafe which I hope will serve you up a treat.