Weekly Chat, Sunday March 27, 2011

It is playtime in Lily's den at the moment Hope and one of the cubs having a rough and tumble.

Mix of brightness and short showers today – mostly accompanied by strong breeze.  Having a lazy day so far – OH made the soup for lunch – spiced parsnip and apple (but I had to decide how much cumin as that isn’t in the original recipe!).  Couldn’t have a day out to celebrate birthday because it is Cleaner’s day, as was OH’s birthday before.  We decided we didn’t really want to celebrate on a different day instead because we get out and about quite a lot anyway.  OH wanted to take me out for dinner, but having eaten out a few times recently, and with a holiday mid-April, I asked to have an Indian takeaway instead – that way we can share one dish and a few bits on the side so we don’t overeat so badly!

Thanks for all the good wishes today.

Alicat – pleased your fish are doing so well.  We had a bit of a trauma in the tank after moving all the fish back into the lounge – think OH made up some water treatment too concentrated, and three died, including the very old one.  All okay now, so just letting everything go on normally for a while before getting some new stock.

Lynette – Lily, Hope, Faith and Jason seem to be doing so well, and providing all kinds of new evidence for the Bear Study.  Lovely to watch them enjoying the spring weather now.

AQ – pleased you are free of road works - and happy with your choice of paint colour.

Annette – so good to read of a young Mum breastfeeding – so few do over here these days.  I hope your GD will be able to get a good balanced diet for herself while trying to eat for Delilah’s intolerance.  I hope your wound-care duty today will go without anyone fainting!!!  Noticed you “sang” happy birthday!

Auntie – thanks for the twinkling card – hope that sunny nest will be what we see this summer!

Diane – joking apart, I think it is admirable that you take time to help your Dad’s friends with computer advice – I’m sure they are pleased that you decided not to move back to the City.  I see your “last post” this morning was followed by a few more short ones!!  By the way, have you been to bed at all in the last week or so - you seem to be popping in at all hours of the day and night – even Owls go to sleep, you know!  I hope you will have good time pet-sitting, and that your friend’s troubles will be resolved.

Joan – another lovely card, thank you – no carrot cake – explanation above.

Lindy - thanks – is that a Nerine among the leaves of another plant, or is it something I don’t recognise?  I did eat a bit of cake left (frozen) from OH’s birthday after my lunchtime soup!  Pleased about Buzz’s recovery.

Dibnlib – hope dentist was able to sort things fro you – and that you are having a good afternoon out.

Sheila – I too had Dillon in waterproofs when I first read it – then had to check who was getting rubbed down!!  Hope you are enjoying the Bird talk this afternoon – sounds good – Marsh Harriers magnificent.

Alan – thought I saw a footie result you might not enjoy, then wondered: are there two Dundee teams?  Hope Hamish will be okay and it’s just a “Doggy Thing”.

Just seen the length of this post, and still 3 pages to read!  Will post as  “first instalment” and then follow up with another!

Hope has worn Faith and Jason out they are both asleep cuddled up to one another.

Got to go now dinner calls again.  Back tomorrow as OH home this evening for a change so will keep him company.

Replies Part Two!

Margo – thanks for good wishes – not doing anything special, as explained in previous post.  I hope the rush of evening events will not tire you too much – do take care, as well as having  a good time – and enjoy Rhys on Monday, too.

Tiger – what a great card, thanks – maybe EJ would prefer snow to today’s wind!  I remember snow on my fourth birthday - went fro a walk with my Mum and Grannie, saw Primroses (and, sadly, a Rabbit dead from Mixymatosis) and then it snowed gently on our way home!

Alicat – pleased that you are thinking of getting another Westie.  Have you considered having two – or better one this year and a second one in a few years time – so that the loss of one would not be quite so traumatic next time?  I think June would be a good time in your grieving process to take this next step – you could talk it through with your OH when you are both relaxed on holiday.  I’m glad that Tigger is also getting more settled.

Lynette – thanks – that is one of the photos that I have put into the competition!

Alan – lovely photo of the Great Crested Grebe!  They are so difficult to photograph on the water because they dive under, so getting it on the nest is brilliant!

Lindy - I hope Buzz was satisfied with the rich tea rather than his usual digestive!!  Good to see a BoP flying, whatever it was!  We get loads of Buzzards, but never get tired of remarking on their beauty and grandeur.  Not out and about – see my previous post!

Margo – I remember Wendy brought back her youngest Daughter to stay a while, so maybe they are out and about enjoying themselves!  Have a good evening in with your OH at home.

Just remembered, I meant to post this from Mersehead showing the grazing Barnacles – just imagine this patch multiplied across several fields, and you can see how it soon adds up to the tens of thousands wintering there, at Caerlaverock and along the Solway flats!

This picture is very poor, but shows one of the two leucistic Barnacle Geese in the flock - it has just a few dark spots on its back:

I just looked at the Barn Owl Trust Diary and they have removed the cable that was over the camera lens. While there, the Head of Conservation managed to ring the two birds and weigh them . They are both significantly underweight and not yet in breeding condition.

http://www.barnowltrust.org.uk/infopage.html?Id=270

I hope Joan and everyone stays safe in the ferocious winds!!! Hang on, ospreys!

OG: Gorgeous geese! Love the leucistic fella. Alan: Also loved that grebe. Excellent photo!

Just looked in to check on the owl situation while I'm doing my packing. (Turns out I'm not leaving until tomorrow evening.)

Below is the latest diary update by the Barn Owl Trust. I thought those owls looked underweight. I think hunger may be the reason for the initially aggressive behavior and the intensity of their screeching this season. I so hope that prey increases for them. This was the first bird webcam I ever watched, and I'm crazy about those owls.

From the Barn Owl Trust:

"31st AM - A fallen cable seems to be obscuring Nestcam so one of the conservation team will be heading to the site later today. Both the male and female have been roosting in and around the nestbox on a regular basis.

PM - The issue with the cable has now been resolved. Whilst on site, our Head of Conservation weighed and then ringed the birds. We can now confirm that both of the birds are new to the site. They have also been colour ringed for easier identification; Male - Black ring on left leg, Female - Orange (appears grey on Nestcam) also on left leg. Unfortunately, they are both significantly underweight and so not yet in breeding condition. The female, in particular, is more than 15% lighter than would be expected if she was in breeding condition. With the recent mild weather, we're hoping that prey numbers will start to increase shortly."

Oh, very sorry Joan, I was typing while you were posting.

No problem Diane! It was also the first bird webcam I watched :-))

OG - hope the pic wins.

Margobird - just looked in on Lily's Den and Hope is doing a spot of babysitting with interactive playtime as well.

Its so nice to know that Hope has taken to these two cubs of Lily after she was abandoned for a short time last year whilst Lily went off to mate. Remarkable scenes and wonderful for the research team.