To continue:
Spent 5 hours meandering around Northwich woods/River Weaver/Marbury C.Park/Budworth Mere today and although we didn't see anything out of the ordinary in species it was good to be outdoors despite the gloomy grey sky !
Here's a pic and mix selection of what we saw but with a WARNING that further down the list are photos of a very sick rabbit we found in Marbury C.P. which was in a very sorry state :( suffering from Myxomatosis
First up, a lovely Dunnock by Budworth Mere
some interesting Fungi
Great Crested Grebes were on the Mere
Long Tailed Tit
and the only shot of a Redwing I could get .....a flock of 50 flew over and a few landed in a tree and started to preen
Mallard drake having a bit of a splash around - as they do !
like ducks to water lol
G.S.Woodpecker and a Jay were at the Woodland Hide feeding station area
Tufted Ducks on the Mere
Stock Dove occupying the table feeder much to the disgust of the Jays waiting in the wings so to speak !
and sadly the downside of the day was being told by a dog-walker that there was a sick looking rabbit in a nearby field at the far end of Marbury C.P. After hearing her description and saying it was hunched and not moving, we decided to go and check on the poor creature. I found it straight away following this ladies excellent directions and what a sorry sight it was. I crept closer and realised it was in a very bad way with typical signs of the dreaded Myxomatosis, not only that but as it was now blind and couldn't move far (injured leg too by looks of it) it had also suffered attacks from either off-leash dogs or possibly a raptor with signs of cuts and open wound on the right side of its face. I stood there quite tearful gazing on for a moment and started handing my camera and binoculars to Mike so I could scoop the rabbit up in my arms, turning it over on its back to hopefully make it less stressful and to take the pressure of its injured leg. Our car was over 3 miles away so the only thing I could think of was to head in the direction of the Information office where the ranger often stops by. It was not too far, about 15 mins walk and once I got there they gave me a cardboard box to place it in and they put it in the back courtyard where no animals could inflict further attacks on this poor creature. It looked close to death really with laboured, snuffled breathing and in a way I hoped it would pass away quickly in peace and quiet as there was nothing further I could do without the car to take it to a vet for euthanasia. One of the staff in the info office told me there were many rabbits suffering from Myxomatosis in the park which I was shocked to hear - it has to be the most dreadful disease to affect rabbits; I was in two minds whether to include these photos which are distressing to see but on reflection I thought it better people know what signs to look for should they be unfortunate enough to find a rabbit suffering from this viral infection.
more information is HERE
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Regards, Hazel
I have no objection to culling certain over-populated species when absolutely necessary as long as it is done within the laws and as humanely as possible; can't believe that years after Myx was first introduced and since outlawed that we are still seeing cases today; as I carried the rabbit to the info centre I could feel the spine nodules on this poor emaciated animal which probably hadn't eaten for days even though it looked plump in its fur coat. :(
I believe that the original myxy virus mutates & infects next generation & so on, simplistic explanation I know but can't remember now where I read it, was after I saw the Stodmarsh rabbit! It seemed to me that it will never go away, I hope to be wrong!!
BTW, have PM'd you
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
Hi Wendy, yes you are right about this pox type virus mutating which makes if very difficult to eradicate; i believe that some rabbits have built up an immunity to Myx but with it affecting so many and spreading not just from the biting insects but then from rabbit to rabbit it is going to be impossible to see the end of this dreadful disease. At least pet rabbits can be vaccinated each year from what I understand. Guess all we can do is get a rabbit put out of its misery as quickly as possible if we find one so sick that we can capture it but by then it has already been suffering for days if not more than a week :( It's a lesson dating back to the 50's not to introduce/spread virus deliberately just so the wild rabbit population can be reduced; there are more humane ways, even if you have to trap and shoot them. Maybe if the wild Lynx and more foxes had been left around they would have restored the natural balance of rabbit numbers.
WendyBartter said:BTW, have PM'd you
Shame about the PM aitch ... It was to alert you of pics of LEO at Burton Mere posted on Twitter yesterday by one of the volunteers ... hope you find this out when you get there & manage to see it this time!
Thanks Wendy .............. did you mean this one lol
not a great pic as believe it or not the sun was shining too much today creating lots of shadows !!!
Sooo pleased you managed to see LEO aitch ... sun just creates an extremely natural pic though, great stuff!
Was wall to wall sunshine today and blue sky, even felt warm for 5 minutes lol Will try sort out a few pics shortly.
Oh good, look forward to them aitch!