ABtrees

Update : Why do things never quite turn out as planned ?!!! The caterpillars went on their hols as suggested and boy do they like plantain ! So 'my friend' put them in the aquarium kept them fed and watered and made a nice gauze lid for it - everyone happy. Then the weather failed to keep it's side of the bargain. It just stayed cold, wet and horrible and actually still is - tomorrow is full cloud, drizzle and a high of 10 degrees. Anyway long story short about 4 days in one of the blighters pupated, followed by pretty much all his mates (mainly stuck to the roof and glass). Sadly looks like I'm going to miss the show (back in the UK - quarantining). Yesterday - one very excited daughter on the phone - we have our first butterfly hatched. Today we have 18 ! They're currently residing in the greenhouse out of the wind and rain - I reckon Monday is the big release day (16 degrees and sunshine). I'll try to get some video taken of it but in the meantime hope you enjoy the pic - doesn't really do them justice.

Finally spring is here and they're all waking up and preparing for the sunnier days ahead. This is Lucky !

Morning all. Had a few 'not so common' turn up in the last few days so here's a quick selection (of variable quality !) along with a couple of 'old reliables'. Haven't yet got the one I want -but who knows maybe today ?!!!

Moi aussi. I have seen these birds every year for the last 10 yrs. You rarely see more than one at a time and the male stands out like a sore thumb - I am definitely seeing them more often (or maybe that should read noticing them). The Marsh is significantly bigger and Male has a lot of brown on (female almost entirely brown with a white head). For me the Hen could be mistaken for a Montagu's Harrier but in all honesty I don't think I have ever seen one - the key for me is the black bar along the wings - not just the tips. Mick - I totally agree almost unique in colour AND flight - amazing to watch (must make the effort and get some pics). 3 weeks ago nearly had an accident - driving along and suddenly there's one along side me flying parallel to me in the field, not 20 metres away. Literally couldn't take my eyes off it - wouldn't have looked good on the insurance claim form !

That is exactly why this forum is so good - the level of knowledge on here is so useful. Thank you Paul for the heads up on this - I think your ID is spot on Autumnalis it is. I stand corrected. But from what I have just read these little critters aren't a barrel of laughs either ! Or rather their larvae aren't. I've never seen (noticed) them before - ever been ''bitten' ? Definitely another one to 'look out for'. Ticks here (France) have a 'season' starting about now and going through till October - have always put it down to temperature and we are always that bit colder than the UK in the winter. My daughters have already taken 3 or 4 off our 2 cats so we're back into our daily 'bug-check' routine now (that's on us not the cats). Reckon I found 6 or 7 on me throughout last year - get them removed early - that's the key. So many deer around atm - that's the problem. Thanks again Paul

Saw quite a few of these guys in the last few days - all heading upstream !

TICK ALERT ! Be warned - think Lyme's - always do a bug check after a day in the woods - and use a proper tool to remove them when found. Anyone ever seen a scarlet coloured tick ? If so please tell me what this is. I know there are normally black and black and red ones but I've never seen one like this - any ideas or info pls. ?

Thanks for all the positive feed back. The 'mouse' in question was actually one of those Garden Dormice (as fully protected under EU law - I think to the tune of 5000 Euro fine for disturbance !!!). However valued it may be - they're not blessed with much intelligence and are extremely curious. There are several positioning holes in the front axle to adjust the width of the track. I reckon it had put it's head into the hole, lost it's balance and panicked. I put on both my gloves (they have needle sharp teeth) lifted it so it was upside down and eased its head back out of the hole. As soon as it was free I just let it fall to the floor and the rest is history. Good on the 3 of you (and I'm sure plenty of others on here) for your respective rescues. Not sure I would tackle a fully tooled up Roe buck though ! And yes Doug I too have had to do the (pleased to say) occasional humane despatch - last one (sorry to say) was a Great Tit attacked by one of our chickens - broken wing and leg - not good.

On the Iggly thread the question came up on intervening (a bit) to help wildlife out. I generally believe not to do so unless the animal is truly at risk. There's an old abandoned DB selectamatic in a field near me. On Saturday I was walking past and saw this tail flapping about on the front axle stub. This little fella was completely stuck - so should you intervene or not ? Needless to say ……….. he did look a bit dazed once freed though - he just sat there for a bit. Came back that way 20 mins later and he was gone.

Forecast now showing 'only' minus 6 for mon and tues night then back to 18 this time next week - I think they'll be going 'on their holidays' this afternoon for a couple of days - back by the weekend ! As I said this particular butterfly is one of my favourites so anything I can do to help will probably get done - not too fussed about 'other people's rules' !!!

Yeah that was my main concern. Mind you there's only so much one can (should) do - it's just I do like to see these and I'm trying to nurture as many different species as possible. I am quietly convinced that last year we had two broods one v. early (April) and the other Sept ish. But I can't find any records of this happening - even locally. My daughter has been spotting loads of newts in the last few days as well (see pic below.). They're pretty cool - but nothing on Mick's from last year !

Oh and we are incredibly lucky to have found ourselves in fritilliary central : Silver -washed, Queen of Spain, Marbled, Lesser Marbled, Violet, Heath, Dark Green, Knapweed and Small Pearl Bordered to name (quite) a few !

Absolutely bang on Paul - saw a few more than usual last year (see the Local Wildlife thread that I'm sorry to say I hijacked last year) so left maybe 50m2 of lawn uncut all summer long and found these 3 days ago. Chuffed. However I'm in a bit of a quandary : I believe in generally leaving things be and letting nature take it's course BUT today was 23 degrees - next Weds forecast is for 4 inches of snow followed by minus 8 !!! I'm not sure they'll make it so thinking of kidnapping the whole lot for a few days and putting them back afterwards - what do you reckon ?

You're definitely heading in the right direction with that - and no more in the middle (of France !). Go on, name names then ?

Quite pleased with these little fellas (if they are what I think they are) - anyone want to have a guess ?

Here's a bit of an odd one - any ideas ?

Hi Gary It is a nice pic but I think with the slightly shorter beak and that black chin this may well be a Willow (or possibly Marsh) tit rather than a male Blackcap. Always ready to be corrected !

For my twopenneth, pretty sure these are entirely genuine - old but genuine. They are the 'file kit' Stihl used to send out with their new saws (about 20 years ago !) along with a little orange screwdriver for the carb. I have the exact self same thing - came with a MS250 from a Stihl dealer - kit is unused if anyone is interested !!!!!!!!

Thanks to all of you for your advice and encouraging comments (apart from Mr Stubby, of course !!!). You guys have much more experience than me and the little ideas, when combined, maybe make a big difference to the outcome. As I said, this one had a reasonable result and I do spend a lot of time thinking about safety issues. My dilemma is that I obviously need the 'practice' to expand my knowledge and understanding of the issues in play, but equally I don't (generally speaking) cut down trees for the sake of it. I felt this one was dangerous (lean increasing, v. top heavy, next to public road and likely to fall into/across the river) so it had to go. (Pic below of it standing - its the one in the middle ! ). Thought about climbing it and removing some limbs to redistribute the weight a bit but caution/safety combined with a lack of understanding of the extent of the rot issue kept my feet on the ground (OK - bottled it and took the easier option !!!). Maybe what I need to do is go through some 'theoretical fells' on those in the field (and leave them for the next storm!) - try to improve my 'tree body language' skills at the same time. Or maybe ….. it might be time to invest in a proper winch.

Thanks for this Lux. Safety is always top of my list. Can you (or anyone else) suggest some reading on the rot and their effects (or is it Google search - again !)? My v. limited knowledge is 'dry' and 'wet' rot but I'm sure there is more to it than that. I'm fortunate to live surrounded by trees (maybe 70% Oak) of all different ages and states of decay (in most of the older ones). I generally just leave them be if they're out of the way as I really enjoy the whole nature/habitat/ecosystem bit, so I'm certainly not complaining. It really is a case of trying to deal with those that I have to competently (which I view as being less reliant on a tractor to determine the direction of fall !!!!!). So as ever any guidance much appreciated.

Morning Moose. Perhaps I should have said, in the rural middle of France. We are due south of Paris and due East of La Rochelle, in the Indre. The nearest town of any significance is La Chatre. Someone asked me on the phone the other day if I was self-isolating to which my response was yes since 2006 !

Was trying not to get involved in the derail (as I'm genuinely keen to learn) but …….. Stubby, if you're going to be the fashion police I feel it's important you know your wellies before you start flinging them ! So those are NOT B&Q's - they are Noras (here we go !) - the staple footwear of any self respecting dairy farmer (not that I am one!) - they're plastic not rubber, very hard wearing and as, wellies go I highly recommend them ( but not for chainsawing !). For the record, I also have a pair of bright orange ones (yes, you know the make) and a pair of Chameau - both of which I find uncomfortable after a couple of hours - I have odd feet ! So as not to offend I'll try and keep my footwear out of future pics but I had to get up there to illustrate my point !!!!!

Thanks for the reply Drinksloe. They're usually old Oaks. I take on board the point you make about toes and buttresses and I'm always glancing up the tree as I cut (maybe I should get one of those new back protectors !). Generally I can take my time doing my assessment / investigative bits. I took one down on Sunday which has been troubling me for a while - rotten 'pixie door' at the base, rot extended at least 1.2m up inside so I cut above tis point. I got the throw line where I wanted it (about 15m up and over the best looking junction - tree was 25m + very top heavy and back leaning a bit) and rope on the tractor and a couple of ratchet straps on to try to contain any barber chair action (or at least to give me another 1/2 a second head start !). All went fine and it ended up landing on my target stick!!! - so I can't complain. But when I inspected the stump I was more than a bit surprised by how little wood (hinge) I had had. See pic below. I'm really just trying to do things correctly and in a way that gives me more confidence before I start so all suggestions (theory or practical are always welcome. Thanks.

Help ! Looking for some guidance (probably more theoretical than practical). I find myself coming across quite a few rotten or hollow trees some (out of harms way), I just leave for the next big storm and tidy up afterwards ! Others I can't ignore - danger to my family or the general public - and as such they need to be taken down. I usually try to get a handle on how much sound wood I'm dealing with (bore cut and see what comes out !) but I have been massively wrong on a couple of occasions which is slightly worrying. So (as yet another example of my ignorance), my question is this: Is there an approved method of evaluating the extent of the sound wood (to create a decent hinge) or do I just carry on working on what feels right as I cut ? And/or is there a special felling cut for hollow/rotten trees that anyone on here can suggest or can you share with me how you deal with them in practice pls. ? Go easy on me guys - I need something fairly simple - I'm in the middle of rural France and don't have access to too many (enough!) fancy toys and gizmos !

As I keep telling everyone, I'm just an (enthusiastic) poorly educated amateur. I rely on the likes of David. AJS. yourself and many others on here to enlighten me. Thanks.