ED Nature Watch

[TheePope]

I like this thread, it's good to know there's all this nature on our doorstep! So, more random observations from me...

This week I have mostly been spotting garden pests, had millions of blackfly covering the tips and flowers of a Guilder Rose, the Rosemary Beetles are back and something's nibbling at the Lilies but I've not yet spotted a Scarlet Lili Beetle. Best spot though was the magnificently named White Death Crab Spider - apparently it's a bit of a chameleon and will change colour to suit the flower it's sitting on....be afraid.

http://janies-rainy-day.blogspot.com/2007/04/white-death-spider.html

[Sue]

HEY! TheePope! That's the spider I saw the other day and posted about on this thread!

Is it really called a White Death Crab Spider?

[TheePope]

Sorry Sue - I didn't see that!

Yep it's really called a White Death Crab Spider or Misumena vatia to give it its Latin name. You can see were it gets the 'crab' name from in this photo - not for the squeamish!

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/pictures/showphoto.php/photo/4456

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

If anyone is into butterflies and moths, Camberwell Old Cemetery is teeming with them.

[Sue]

TheePope Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Sorry Sue - I didn't see that!

>

> Yep it's really called a White Death Crab Spider

> or Misumena vatia to give it its Latin name. You

> can see were it gets the 'crab' name from in this

> photo - not for the squeamish!

>

> http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/pictures/showpho

> to.php/photo/4456

xxxxxxxxx

Yeh it had very long front legs which it waved about in a horribly crab-like way.

I hope it's not breeding outside my front door.......

I don't usually mind spiders, but this one was really very spooky, particularly as it was white all over, body and legs .......

[SteveT]

Nature is gruesome in some ways Sue,

you have to kiss many horrible crab like creatures, before you discover the shining prince!

[spark67]

Have been watching the bats that shoot passed our french windows in the garden at dusk, they seem to be attracted by the flying insects that head for the security lights the foxes set off

[BQC]

We have a fox with 4 cubs in our back garden - the come out around 9-10am and again in the early evening for a feed from their mumma. This will prob strike up a war, but I've left a bit of food out for her - I know I shouldnt but she's feeding 4 cubs and they are quite big now (around the size of a house cat). Anyway, they are lovely to watch, bouncing around like 4 puppies, playing with the magpies (?!) - ahhh

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Target practice - foxes and magpies!

[SimonM]

Today the goslings are down to three, although the moorchicks seem to be thriving. As well as several on the lake there were three in the reeds of the Japanese garden. As I turned the corner by the side of the pond to go on to the small bridge I disturbed the heron sitting there, possibly after his lunch? The bridge seems to have had several stones taken from the top of the parapet...no idea why. The yellow and blue Irises ar enow blooming quite pslendidly everywhere, especially on the banks of the lake.

In Dulwich Park I saw a trio and a quartet of mallard ducklings...

[SteveT]

The great tits have stopped squeeking from the nest box today, so fledging took place when I was asleep.:-$

[Big Jim]

We've got a bunch of fox cubs who play in our garden most mornings. They're very cute, but in a month or two, they're going to really start freaking our cats out. Any suggestions for friendly fox removal?

[Eliza.D]

Your right Big Jim they are very cute.

I had foxes under the porta Cabin i worked in. I phoned the RSPCA and they suggested i buy this liquid,can't remeber the name of it but you can buy it at the Dulwich Garden Centre near East Dulwich train station.

You put the liquid on rags around the garden and it smells of another and more dominant fox and the existing foxes move on.

It worked for me.

Good luck.

[Lee B]

Two weekends ago we had a heron on top of our shed being attacked by a murde of crows. Sinister stuff.(6)

[PeckhamRose]

I live on the 3rd floor of a block of flats and a few years ago scaffolding went up so we dived out ourselves and attached a birdbox to our wall by the private balcony.

We now have baby blue tits and we are timing how long it takes for Mum/Dad to fly from box to trees and back again with caterpillars or grubs. Shortest time 20 seconds, longest time 1 minute. Absolutely fascinating! BUT we are having scaffolding put up again on the whole block, and the scaffolders and contractors were great and made sure they were as quick as possible and they have promised they're not going to put the netting up till I have informed them the chicks have flown. Seriously! Isn't that nice!

Meanwhile, poor cat can not understand why I won't let her out the balcony. She can dive around the scaffolding boards and it's comical to watch and hear the parent blue tits go crazy till she gets back. So she's banned.

And now we have new scaffolding we're going to put several more birdboxes up!

Life in the big city, eh!

[TarahC]

We have loads of Goldcrests in our garden, they're tiny and so cute! They love one bush by our back kitchen door so it's easy to watch them. We did hang RSPB bird cakes in the trees a few months ago but came out a few days later to see the string chewed through and they had gone - squirrels I imagine. I guess it's summer now so we shouldn't feed the birds anyway now.

[SteveT]

The thoughts are now to leave food out all year round I heard it on radio 4 so it must be right then.

[SimonM]

Looks like there are some new fluffy goslings on the island in Peckam Rye Park Lake.....

And on a topical note the Lake now has it very own collection of duck islands....wonder if they were donated by an MP???

Oh and the bridge in the Japanese garden is out of action - you cannot cross it at the moment.

[reetpetite]

The bridge has been out of action all week cos some moron decided it would be good to knock the walls down into the water

.The same has happened to the other bridge on the pathway to the main gate If I got hold of them....!!!(6)

I think the goslings are the 3 from the orignal 6 ,havent seen any new ones yet and I'm over there every day.Hope there will be some more they are so cute.

[SimonM]

Well you may be right...but my impression was they looked too small and fluffy to be the original three, although those 3 were not evident elsewhere.

I knew the top layer of the bridge had vanished...I thought it might be wear and tear not vandalism. It's such a pretty part of an already gorgeous park, it makes you just despair doesn't it?

[reetpetite]

Yes the top that was off was on the other wall of the bridge this one has had most of the wall knocked down ,certainly not wear and tear.Must have happened Sunday night cos we found it like it early Mon morning and strangely the gates were all open at 6am , seemed to me they hadnt been locked Sunday night !

[Eileen]

I have some bird feeders with sunflower seeds. I noticed the other day that the parent birds (probably tits of some kind) were taking a seed off to another smaller bird that had flown with them to the nearby tree or shed roof, presumably growing up baby, and feeding it. I hadn't ever noticed this before. Is this what they do after they have left the nest?

I know that baby blackbirds stay on the ground for several days after they have left the nest, and their parents feed them on the ground. The parents change their beautiful birdsong into a raucous grating clacking at that stage, for ever shouting alarms and warnings to keep away from the babies on the ground. Unfortunately the local cats take no notice and usually catch a number of the babies. It seems a perverse growing up process for Nature to inflict on the blackbirds. But somehow each year we always get our beautiful birdsong back during the breeding season. Maybe they would mushroom in numbers of they weren?t culled on the ground. But still not a pleasant experience for them or us!

PS I have heard that blackbirds have local accents, as their song slightly varies in different places as they learn it from the local adults! I have just googled and found confirmation for this! see and listen here: http://sounds.bl.uk/View.aspx?item=022M-W1CDR0001426-0900V0.xml# Having listened to this Devon song, I think our Bellenden blackbirds have a much more enchanting and beautiful song! They are in full voice at this time of year and it is a great pleasure to be serenaded by them from the tallest places they can find on the roofs!

[PeckhamRose]

Last night I put a saucer of bread crumbs out on the scaffolding for the bluetits, busy feeding their chicks in the birdbox (see my story 8 messages above!)

This morning, the bread had gone, the blue tits had done the fledgling thing, and I like to think the chicks tumbled out on to the scaffolding board, encouraged by mum they had my bread, then left as a thank you present tiny bits of baby blue tit poo on the board, before flying away. No "thank you" for housing them. Just poo.

Cat can go back out now and is delighted.

[SteveT]

I watched a few bumble bees fly into an unused birdbox in my garden,

does this mean I am now a bee-keeper?

[SteveT]

Do I need a licence for bumble-bee keeping?

I feel it's an honour to have birds and bees nesting in the garden.