Let’s see your pictures of spring.

[rarefish383]

On 14/05/2021 at 16:34, Mull said:

The good..


The bad..


and the ugly.

Do you have natural predators that will attack your sheep? I live on the East Coast about 25 miles from Washington D.C. to the South East, and 25 miles from Baltimore to the North East. I have friends that live 125 miles West, in West Virginia. They have a sheep farm. Every year they come to a Sheep and Wool Festival a few miles from me. She said it was 29 years in a row, and would be the last year they came. It got cancelled last year and this year. She said the Coyotes were so bad they were attacking the lambs birthing. Killed several lambs and almost all of the newborns. I was visiting them a month or so ago and she was all excited about her sheep, and was mad the Festival got canceled. So, I asked about the last Festival, being her last. She said the Department of Natural Resources gave them one "Damage Permit" to shoot one bear, which they did not do. Deer hunting season before last, local hunters shot 7 Coyotes. Coyotes can be shot year round. Anyway, her herd is doing well this year. Until fairly recent years, we only had Coyotes out West of the Mississippi River. To come East they migrated up into Canada where they cross bred with Wolves. The Western Coyotes may weigh 25-30 pounds, now the Eastern Coyotes can go 40 pounds and are a threat to house pets in urban neighborhoods.

[doobin]

40lb coyotes and a thermal riflescope sounds like fun. Wish I lived Stateside sometimes!

Edited May 18, 2021 by doobin

[gary112]

Top picture was taken 12mths ago today,and bottom picture taken just now,bit of a difference 

[nepia]

A big difference but can you put it all down to the winter and spring we've just had?  The flower buds set late last summer; could it be that if that process wasn't spot on late flowering this year is the result?

Not arguing, just raising a point.  Obviously the winter and spring have had a huge effect; I'm 12 miles from the south coast and the first ponticum only showed its flowers at the end of last week

[gary112]

24 minutes ago, nepia said:

A big difference but can you put it all down to the winter and spring we've just had?  The flower buds set late last summer; could it be that if that process wasn't spot on late flowering this year is the result?

Not arguing, just raising a point.  Obviously the winter and spring have had a huge effect; I'm 12 miles from the south coast and the first ponticum only showed its flowers at the end of last week

You could well be right

[nepia]

Pushing 'pictures of spring' a bit here but you wouldn't get this in December.

 

Not from here - from the cliffs a few miles shy of John O'Groats; taken this morning

[Mull]

Do you have natural predators that will attack your sheep? I live on the East Coast about 25 miles from Washington D.C. to the South East, and 25 miles from Baltimore to the North East. I have friends that live 125 miles West, in West Virginia. They have a sheep farm. Every year they come to a Sheep and Wool Festival a few miles from me. She said it was 29 years in a row, and would be the last year they came. It got cancelled last year and this year. She said the Coyotes were so bad they were attacking the lambs birthing. Killed several lambs and almost all of the newborns. I was visiting them a month or so ago and she was all excited about her sheep, and was mad the Festival got canceled. So, I asked about the last Festival, being her last. She said the Department of Natural Resources gave them one "Damage Permit" to shoot one bear, which they did not do. Deer hunting season before last, local hunters shot 7 Coyotes. Coyotes can be shot year round. Anyway, her herd is doing well this year. Until fairly recent years, we only had Coyotes out West of the Mississippi River. To come East they migrated up into Canada where they cross bred with Wolves. The Western Coyotes may weigh 25-30 pounds, now the Eastern Coyotes can go 40 pounds and are a threat to house pets in urban neighborhoods.

Not much predation on the islands here, we don’t have foxes on Mull thankfully, there is a bit of bother with white tailed sea eagles that have been reintroduced in the past 20 yrs or so, they are taking live lambs off the ground and also the odd household pet. I think there are too many now, they are killing everything, lambs, goat kids, mountain hares and the iconic Golden eagle, rewilding has a lot to learn.

[Stere]

White tail eagle are killing golden eagles?

 

 

[Mull]

White tail eagle are killing golden eagles?

 

 

 

 

Apparently so.

 

I’m sure it’s disputed, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised, they are absolute brutes of birds, reintroduction of WTE has been a runaway success, resulting in very many birds in the area now, so competition for food is only getting more fierce.

[Stere]

Interesting thanks

 

Surely both theese top predators lived for 100,000's of yrs though along side each other  in the past even if they were killing each other sometimes, so I don't  reckon they will harm golden eagle numbers compared to other man made factors?

 

Maybe I'm wrong though as less wild habitat around now so both competing over less resources?

 

 

 

 

 

Quote

White-tailed eagles became extinct in the UK as a result of extensive habitat change combined, particularly in the 19th century, with persecution. Before their recent re-introduction, the birds last bred in England and Wales in the 1830s, in Ireland in 1898 and in Scotland in 1916.  

 

 

 

Suppose numbers were kept low by humans killing them  for yrs prior before there final extinction limiting predation on domestic animals..