Mammal Shortage Here

[Paddy1000111]

Slightly unrelated but having a nightmare with bees. Usually peak around 35 hives but having a mare this year with the weather. Some hives even went cannibal style and we're having to feed them with pollen and sugar which is ridiculous this time of year. Usually looking to take off the rapeseed crop soon... Might not have much honey at all this year! 

[Steven P]

1 hour ago, openspaceman said:

Both our neighbours have cats.

I got a sonic cat scarer (Catwatch from the RPSB) and from 3 or 4 cat poos in the garden a week, 0 since November... so I guess it works well enough.

 

As for mamals, seen a few badger, deers and foxes 'sleeping' om the roads round here - about the usual number, but the localdeer herd has gone from 4 or 5 to 2. I normally see the hare once a year and saw that the other week

[Billhook]

11 hours ago, Khriss said:

Our goldfinches are thick as shit. Proper niger feeders up and they just ignore them 🙁 K

Yes Goldfinches all over the Niger feeder, but they seem to drop most of the seeds on the ground as there is a carpet of black under the feeder.  Do they just nibble the heart and leave the husk?

We used to have six or seven Roe Deer regularly but only one or two now, Munties were everywhere but rare now.

Bees well down and most insects too.  I see that the Swallows have gone away again having started their nest building collecting mud in the yard and I suppose that they are driven away by lack of insects.  I don't know how far they might go to find some.

 

But I always look forward to taking the memory card out of the Trailcam every fortnight and looking through the 10 second video clips.   There would generally be 40 or 50 clips to look through,  Badgers and Foxes regular, Deer drifting through,  Otters the old dog Otter was on most times and the mum if she had some pups. Now hardly anything apart from the Canada Geese  Even Squirrels are rare now and we have not seen one on the bird feeder when they used to be regular.

[nepia]

8 hours ago, openspaceman said:

Both our neighbours have cats.

We have cats! But they barely hunt and when they do it's easy prey - the odd shrew and they will take weakened/sick birds but they don't bother with actively seeking birds.  The birds all but laugh in their faces.  Mini's idea of bird stalking is to sit at the bottom of the feeder pole.

[nepia]

Mammals; a couple of rabbits living underground on the edge of the garden, no foxes or badgers, two bats one evening in March and thankfully no deer in the garden but roe aren't far away.  There's a ?70 acre field of wheat nearby with a public footpath across it: one day in March we walked that way and there was a herd of at least 40 roe grazing the bottom end of it.

Last week I turned off the A22 close by and within yards there was a group of 15 or so on a field boundary by the lane; they're brazen

[Bob_z_l]

Been living in an area between 4 farms for the last 20 odd years. 

In that time the rabbit population has declined to zero. In fact I can't remember the last time I saw one. Even then it was myxied to heck. 
Definite increase in Crows, magpies and jays.  Buzzards in the last 12 years and Red Kites in the last 7-5 years. 

 

On the plus we have a health population of swallows, greater spotted woodpeckers and all manner of finches and tit's.

 

Plenty of Roe 11 in the fields early this year in broad daylight. Now down to 6 or so due to roadkill.

 

Foxes are only seen when they are released by rescue charities and don't last long as there isn't any fast food outlets for miles. 

 

Badgers are around but since I haven't done my 5am commute for ages I've not seen one for a year.

 

Owls up and down. There were 4 Barn Owls but I haven't seen ne this year. There are a coupe of tawny and little owls that use nearby oak to announce themselves.

Rodents, are always around as the cats will prove. Not had a wood mouse or timber mouse for a year or so. But plenty of shrews and voles when seasonal.

All in all some's up....some's down but there is still plenty out there. 

[Khriss]

9 hours ago, Paddy1000111 said:

Slightly unrelated but having a nightmare with bees. Usually peak around 35 hives but having a mare this year with the weather. Some hives even went cannibal style and we're having to feed them with pollen and sugar which is ridiculous this time of year. Usually looking to take off the rapeseed crop soon... Might not have much honey at all this year! 

Miss beekeeping 🙁 k

[Baldbloke]

Slightly unrelated but having a nightmare with bees. Usually peak around 35 hives but having a mare this year with the weather. Some hives even went cannibal style and we're having to feed them with pollen and sugar which is ridiculous this time of year. Usually looking to take off the rapeseed crop soon... Might not have much honey at all this year! 

Still bloody cold up here in the NE of Scotland yet the bees are busy on the Sycamore pollen.

[Tippin Alaybye]

Worse year for rabbits up here in Durham. I think they have drowned. Can’t wait to see red kites locally

[Stubby]

2 minutes ago, Tippin Alaybye said:

Worse year for rabbits up here in Durham. I think they have drowned. Can’t wait to see red kites locally

I said earlier I have not seen any rabbits lately and then today there was one solitary healthy looking rabbit grazing on the verge as I drove home .