Off Topic Vote for a National Bird (feathered variety)

The office I'm currently working in overlooks the Grand Union canal, and you wouldn't expect this to be a great habitat for wildlife, but it provides views of a surprising amount of waterfowl - Swans, Canada Geese and Moorhens are regularly seen and a Heron can be spotted now and then.

 

The Grey Heron is a wonderful bird. Looks like a Pterodactyl in flight.

 

I'll investigate the feeding option, though our (very nice) neighbours have an extremely arrogant cat which likes to parade about in our garden winding the dog up into a state of frenzy when he's locked inside, so the birds may be at risk. I let the dog out once and he chased like a nutter, leaping over the wall into the neighbours garden, not realising that a 3 foot 6 jump on our side was matched by a 6 foot drop on the other. Undamaged, but very funny watching him with a 'what the **** just happened?' look on his face.

That fossa is an unattractive beast.

 

Never spotted one from the office but seen them fishing on the Severn before. I keep an eye out for them in the spring, I'm a bit of a bird of prey fan too.

You ever been to Spain or Gibraltar in the spring col? Well worth a trip.

 

No I haven't mate.

Are you talking about Kingfishers or Ospreys that you've seen fishing on the Severn?

 

My mate wobbly Bill from Hereford had to cull Coromants because of the impact on the fish in the beautiful Wye. Not their fault because of the low sea stocks of fish but that's a long way inland .

I have caught chub and barbel with dreadful wounds

Bill ended up in court but won the test case some 15 years back to be allowed to send these bastards onto the next life

Mrs Bishop at Fownhope used to turn up with a boot full of bread each day for the swans ... At one point there was over 40 birds who over time turned on themselves ... Never seen chaos like it and again man had to redress the balance for the stupidity of one crazy woman who liked swans

My point is we shouldn't **** with nature it has its own rules and I think sometimes the RSPB has its actions wrong who were involved in the cases above

 

Ospreys on the Severn ?
Good grief

 

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That's why I asked!

 

I presume you mean Cormorants?
These have been on the Thames in Oxfordshire for years. They are excellent predators and do take a lot of fish. However, the Cormorants are fishing to stay alive and your mate the Angler is presumably doing it for sport. As you say, we shouldn't mess with nature as the Cormorants are just doing what they do naturally.

 

Griffons

Gibraltar is superb for seeing migratory birds....been there a lot. My old man had a place there. England in the sun!!!!

 

As a small boy I would often watch the marsh warblers swooping in my mother's under croft, and I remember thinking would man ever dare do the same....

 

Ospreys, a few migrate up the river each year. They sometimes stick around a few days before carrying on their journey.

 

Many years ago when my adult children were young, my wife and I took them the Movieworld on the Gold Coast.
It was a very hot day and the place was packed. The kids had just gone onto a ride when low and behold, I could see a park bench about 100 metres away become vacant.

Call it an act of God or whatever but with thousands of people between me and the bench, no one sat down on it.
Like a swimming pool in the middle of the desert, I had struck gold and sat proudly on my new throne, wearing a smug look of arrogance and contentment.

Before I could stop thumbing my nose at those walking past, a bird had decided to crap itself ............... on my head to be precise.
There were 10,000 guest in the park that day my friends and that magnificent magpie decended on me, to have a diarrhoea attack.
I can't tell you how privileged I felt. We left the park not long after.

Sorry, but this is the only bird story I can pass on.
Aussie

 

Brilliant.

There's a reservoir in Oxfordshire where they do this too.

 

Oh, you want to join the Royal Flying Corps?

 

Now there's a thought...could I?

 

No, you couldn't! Goodbye!

 

This is a great thread, loving it.

If it wasn't for the small matter of an event in 1976, I feel Col and I could truly bond over this!

 

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