Billhook
-
Posts
3,259 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
13
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Classifieds
Tip Site Directory
Blogs
Articles
News
Arborist Reviews
Arbtalk Knot Guide
Gallery
Store
Calendar
Freelancers directory
Everything posted by Billhook
-
Been walking around New York since Wednesday and have not seen a single butterfly or moth! Also no pigeons or any birds really but going into Central Park today and then Coney Island so May at least see a rabbit there!
-
I am also a very good butterfly photographer, but only when they are all dead and pinned to a box!
-
You really are a fantastic photographer AJ!
-
Are they good to eat?
-
Also we came across this big boy, a Signal Crayfish, again not that welcome but perhaps the Mink was after them That one was more than the width of my outstretched hand at about 9 inches. Would one that big be able to fend off a Mink with its huge pincers or are Mink too fearless and strong?
-
Since we stopped people and their dogs coming down to the lake , the wildlife seems to have returned. Some welcome others less so. I was walking quietly around the lake when I saw this movement in the pool where the water exits the lake and enters the chalk stream. The wind was blowing in his direction (sorry if I misgendered him!) but he did not seem that bothered by me. https://youtu.be/qVn13qunuwQ
-
What is really great for us here is that they are very friendly and in the Spring dive at us and fly very close just to tell us they are pleased to be back and just now as they sit on the roof and the barn they do not move when I go near them. I wish them safe passage and to avoid Malta where they may be eaten!
-
Following on from the previous video there was a large gathering of Swallows and House Martins in the yard. A bit earlier than normal. I have not seen any Martins around the House or yard and there seem to be far more Swallows than I would normally see so I expect they have come from neighbouring sites
-
I can easily understand the fascination with collecting beautiful butterflies, but I never could become excited by my father's obsession with collecting brown moths, small flies, gnats and midges. He sent a lot of hid stuff to the Norwich museum, but I am glad he left these items as it is good to be able to show people them, especially children who often ask to see them again. Museums can be wonderful but there are often too many distractions to appreciate one collection.
-
Balls! Naphthalene! Also the boxes seem to have an airtight seal
-
Bit different here. My father was a keen amateur lepidopterist as well as inheriting a large collection of butterflies brought back from South America in the 1800s . Not sure how he came to inherit them as it was not from a member of the family. I think it was from a bachelor doctor in the village who saw father as a child and his interests in moths and butterflies They have been kept in boxes in his library here and it is amazing how vibrant the colours are maybe after 150 years and no signs of body decomposition.
-
Don't stand behind it when you feed the thicknesser Andy, but you probably know that
-
And I am wearing an overcoat when I go out
-
WE have just lit the log burner here on the East Coast of Lincolnshire!
-
A few years later
-
Never quite sure what became of Taylor Wilson, probably taken out by oil companies!
-
The idea is good, but I feel that it needs to be grown and harvested and burnt on a local basis. A small town or large village should have its own anaerobic digester, straw burning plant both for heat and electric, every house with solar panels and tubes, ground and air source heat pumps, local wind machines. There are so many inefficiencies with transporting all this straw with HGVs, and electrical losses in long distance electric lines.
-
Because the government thought that it was a great idea to pay us to harvest it, bale it and sell it to firms that burn it and convert it into electricity
-
We had to clear some bulrush from the lake, which was taking over and the Reed Warblers seem to have found that the Miscanthus next door is ok
-
Found this on the web first site comes up with three species second says six Unionidae - Freshwater mussels Anodonta anatina. Duck Mussel. Anodonta cygnea. Swan Mussel. Unio pictorum. Painter's Mussel. How many types of freshwater mussels are there in the UK? six species There are six species of freshwater mussel that are native to the UK, two of which (depressed river mussel Pseudanodonta complanata and pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera) have experienced large declines during the 20th century (University of Cambridge, 2011).1 Feb 2018
-
We have a lovely chalk stream going through the farm and it feeds the lake and exits back into the stream. There is a small bay where the roots of various trees and plants have formed a dense mat and it was while clearing weed around them that we came across many fresh water mussels So are these rare in the UK and are they a good indicator of the health of the water. Do Otters and Mink feed on them?
-
Whilst on the subject of wood, I am pleased that the Poplar logs have held out well for twenty three years and the Copper Beech floor also. This was cut from a large log with the Lucas Mill into planks that were then taken to the local wood yard and tongued and grooved and planed. I think I then used deck varnish. However , as many of you know, Billhook’s wood work is often not perfect and I know you all like to have a laugh when something goes wrong The photo shows that I should have taken Arbtalk’s advice on leaving an adequate gap between the boards to allow for expansion. It all looked so good……… until the recent rains!!!
-
Just been down to the log cabin where Pipistrelle bats have taken up residence in between the Poplar logs where there is a pencil width gap on the top log due to drying out over time Inside the cabin I saw a load of debris on the floor which turned out to be the remains of a lot of Yellow Underwing Moths and I suspect that the bats have bee hanging upside down in the rafters and enjoying their meal
- 1 reply
-
- 11
-
-
We have had a good breeding season for the Swallows both at our home and in the yard and here are the young ones having a bit of flying practice before resting on the observatory roof Not a single House Martin this year and have not seen a Swift either https://youtu.be/b8Jo-V4ikA4
-
We have had a good breeding session with our swallows here, at least three nests in the outbuildings. Here they seem to be resting on the roof of our observatory and not disturbed by me making a noise
- 6 replies
-
- 10
-
