This pair was found up to no good in the front garden. Apparently one of these can munch their way quite happily through one of these plants in a day. And to give you an idea of size, here is a photo with my daughters finger added for perspective.
Anyone remember Quatermass …… ???
My recent angling experiences are limited to salt water, mainly here in the UK and, to a lesser extent, in Western Australia.
Here in the UK, especially when fishing from a boat, if a fish is caught or perhaps old bait is thrown overboard seagulls will materialise out of thin air. Where none could be seen on a mirror flat surface or in the sky, suddenly they will appear to take ownership of the fishy scraps.
I have witnessed a wee, brightly coloured, bird land on a rod tip to watch as a string of feathers were dropped to the sea bed. Then, in a bright flash of colour, it has plunged into the sea to follow the feathers as they dropped to the sea floor. After a few seconds, when the bird didn’t pop back to the surface. the feathers were retrieved with the bird well and truly hooked. Thankfully it survived.
When fishing in Oz I have observed and experienced the fact that each and every shore based angler will have their own personal pelican. Usually sitting on a higher vantage point, but also just a few feet behind the angler at sand level where they are so brazen that they will sneak up behind the angler and steal bait from his hand.
Close up, that beak can be quite intimidating.
My own personal experience was when fishing from a breakwater, I was luck enough to catch a small silvery fish. Looked a bit like a British garfish. Anyway, as I triumphantly reeled my catch into shore, my personal pelican launched and tried to steal my catch from the water. He failed.
However, when all said and done, I have never experienced this …..
Fishing buddies, or a fish thief in waiting ?
Some more boring squirrel shots.
Entertaining animal acrobatics while I was having my brekky of tea and toast ….. lol
We put this bird box up last year, well after normal nesting season.
So you can imagine how chuffed we are that we have new tenants in the first year since we opened for business.
We have been watching them coming and going for quite a few days. The photo shows the removal of what must be the “wrong” type of feather.
Can’t wait to see the young when they emerge..
Eighth day of our vacation based at the La Porcherie gite. I think we are getting into the swing of this holiday lark.
Yet another nice day, weatherwise so we decided to go explore Landes Pierre du Mas.
Once again the pond impressed with its quiet beauty.
It’s refreshing to be able to visit such places and to have them to yourself.
Not just the tranquility of the pond and the paths around its perimeter but also the beauty of the heather illuminating the mound.
Just a few feet of elevation makes all the difference and changes your perspectives.
There were many brightly coloured lizards here, but they were much to fast for me to photograph, so you will just have to take my word for it.
Even the lichens and moss, covering the rocks, has an inherent beauty. Providing a subdued contrast to the vibrant floral display of the heather.
We had taken some stale bread to the pond, hoping to entice the fish to put in an appearance. We were out of luck, the suitably softened crusts floated across the pond, driven by the gentle afternoon breeze. Apparently of no interest to the fish. However, it did prove to be attractive to a large crow who performed some impressive aerobatics and a fair emulation of a fish eagle plucking soggy bread from the surface of the pond.
The fresh air and exercise set us up nicely for the BBQ planned for our evening meal. The only fly in that particular ointment was the bottle of wine that we opened to wash it down. It was so decidedly bad that I tipped it away, the only bad wine of the whole holiday.
These October morning are getting a little cool. Just blow on my fingers to get them warm again ….
All that stealing food from the bird feeder has made me thirsty…….
WrAnTz 