Wildlife in Stevenston

[Vivc113]

Birds never cease to amaze me either. My favourite 'Red' now sits on top of any biscuit then attempts to eat from that stance. I actually have to break bits off whilst it is sitting.

[Vivc113]

Bit concerned because 'Red' showed up with a bloodied beak yesterday and bits of feathers from the top of his head clearly ripped out. Who knows what has happened.

'Snowy' has been missing for 2+ weeks now. Sad times.

[5siamese7]

Bit concerned because 'Red' showed up with a bloodied beak yesterday and bits of feathers from the top of his head clearly ripped out. Who knows what has happened.

'Snowy' has been missing for 2+ weeks now. Sad times.

As I was a pigeon fancier from the age of twelve I can assure you racing pigeons are not rats on wings but beautiful athletes. However sometimes when they become feral they don't do so well. I think what has happened to red is he has been fighting with another pigeon probably over territory or a hen and as no human is there to break them up they can cause real damage to each other. I knew an old boy who would sort out the bullies in his loft with a cane.

[5siamese7]

Since the swans have left the White Wife the mallards have become tamer. The gulls are more adept at swooping down and getting the bread before the ducks or coots . However because the ducks know me they run up and get their bread at my feet and the ground plants help too . The gulls are scared of me and do not operate well in ground cover. The drakes are in eclipse but in full plumage they are so beautiful and do you know I believe they know they are. I once watched two drakes trying to hypnotise each other. They were facing each other on the water and swinging backwards and forwards looking at each other as if in a trance.

[Vivc113]

Bit concerned because 'Red' showed up with a bloodied beak yesterday and bits of feathers from the top of his head clearly ripped out. Who knows what has happened.

'Snowy' has been missing for 2+ weeks now. Sad times.

As I was a pigeon fancier from the age of twelve I can assure you racing pigeons are not rats on wings but beautiful athletes. However sometimes when they become feral they don't do so well. I think what has happened to red is he has been fighting with another pigeon probably over territory or a hen and as no human is there to break them up they can cause real damage to each other. I knew an old boy who would sort out the bullies in his loft with a cane.

I hate it when you get used to certain ones showing up day after day. Then .. One day they no longer appear.

[Meg]

A gentle reminder that this is a photo topic - great discussion but maybe start a new topic and continue with it. I can split this last conversation if you wish.

Meg

[Vivc113]

That would be good actually. Maybe called "Bird Habits" - There are always stories every so often !!

If we are curious about something, maybe Iain would have the answer too.

[Meg]

Great idea Viv - go for it.

Meg

[iain]

A Common Blue Damselfly at Ardeer Quarry Local Nature Reserve. It’s one of a several species of blue damselfly that look very similar and can only reliably be told apart by examining the black patterns on their bodies. Common Blue Damselfly and Azure Damselfly are common around several of Stevenston’s ponds. Another very similar species, Variable Damselfly, is present in Dumfries and Galloway and might be present in Ayrshire, but we don’t know because very few Ayrshire folk go around closely examining damselflies!

[iain]

A Sand Dart moth at Stevenston Beach Local Nature Reserve. As its name (and colouration!) suggests, it’s restricted to sandy, coastal habitats. At night, its caterpillars feed on strandline plants, such as Oraches; during the day, they hide buried in the sand. This is a ‘Nationally Scarce’ moth, with only a handful of records from western Scotland. Large numbers of beaches are mechanically cleaned by Councils and so have very few Oraches and other ‘weeds’ growing on them, which in turn increases the rarity of the Sand Dart.

The second photo shows in action the 400W bulb we used to attract the moths. Although it’s hard to tell from the photo, it’s sitting on Stevenston Beach, the vegetation it’s lighting-up being Orahces, Sea Radish, Sea Rocket and other beach plants.

[iain]

A Roe Deer on the Ardeer Peninsula. Deer are less common in Stevenston than they were 3 or 4 years ago owing to a large cull that took place at the edge of town (ostensibly to prevent traffic accidents on the A78 between Stevenston and Irvine). The population is recovering, but I’ve been surprised how slowly.

[5siamese7]

Although I do not have a photograph of the poor creature a vixen was run over in Moorpark West to-day. I found her lying by the side of the road with her eyes hanging out and it made me feel very sad. last year a coot was mown down next to the White Wife and I wonder if the motorists involved could have taken better care.