Fox Detective

Sonja knocked on the door cursing and swearing this afternoon. Finbar had dog poo all over his shoes and had been sitting in the car, so smearing it all over the car too. I was duly given the task of taking my sons shoes off at the door and taking them to the sink for a good clean. Whilst Sonja went off to the car with a disinfectant spray and some kitchen towling, cursing careless dog owners, I got a whiff of the offending excretia and realised some mis-identification had been going on. This was not domestic dog poo – this was wild dog poo – fox poo to be precise.

Being January, it’s mating time for foxes, and they like to go around their territory pooing in important places, so marking out their patch from any intruders. It just so happens that next to where we park our car is an old grit container behind which Maureen, our next door neighbour, puts meaty scraps out for the fox. A habitat that has spread down the road so that now several households, including mine, all put out foxy food when they have it. The local fox population has obviously got to know this spot well and I guess somebody in his furry wisdom last night decided it was in his patch and he wanted the local ladies and challengers to know. So he did a big poo right by the grit bin and hence right by our car – it was an unwitting three and half year old getting in that car a few hours later that stood in it, thus bringing the foxes seasonal behaviour to my attention. Well done Fin, Fox Detective.

The Darkling Thrush
by Thomas Hardy
 
I leant upon a coppice gate
    When Frost was spectre-gray,
And Winter’s dregs made desolate
    The weakening eye of day.
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
    Like strings of broken lyres,
And all mankind that haunted nigh
    Had sought their household fires. 
 
The land’s sharp features seemed to be
    The Century’s corpse outleant,
His crypt the cloudy canopy,
    The wind his death-lament.
The ancient pulse of germ and birth
    Was shrunken hard and dry,
And every spirit upon earth
    Seemed fervourless as I. 
 
At once a voice arose among
    The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted evensong
    Of joy illimited ;
An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,
    In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
    Upon the growing gloom. 
 
So little cause for carolings
    Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
    Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
    His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
    And I was unaware.

 

Nature, Red in Tooth and Claw
 
If there is one little bit of nature I am seeing everyday at the moment during a bit of office based work then it's the robin in my garden.

There are few birds in Britain that have created such a strong connection with the inhabitants of our islands as the Robin has. As Christmas approaches one feels this more keenly than ever. I’ve seen the birds popping up every where from greetings cards, to adverts and even in the script of the short film I’m writing for the One Show. Also, there was a fascinating interview today on Radio 4 about the birds revealing some of the myth and mystery surrounding them. It attempted to explain why they have worked their way into our affections. Have a listen if you have the time.
 
I’ve photographed robins on a few occasions including in my own garden, but undoubtedly the most memorable occasion was for the BBC. They wanted an image of a bird showing how aggressive these family favourites can actually be when defending their turf from rivals. The idea for the shot was to capture how aggressively a wild bird would react to a stuffed one, would it be enough to get the bird going?

So, a stuffed robin was set up in a wild birds territory. The bird immediately flew down to face his rival and, within seconds, it practically pecked the poor inanimate object to pieces. It was quite a site watching what is probably Britain’s favourite bird behaving like a crazed serial killer. I was mightly impressed by his plucky performance and got some magnificent shots. I wish I could find those photos but they elude me at present. Instead the cute looking shot from the garden must suffice.

 
So, when you see that lovely little red breasted fellow feeding on your bird table or beaming out of your latest Christmas card – just remember all those warm cute and cuddly feelings are entirely a human concept. You’re staring at a bird who will fight to the death to help further his lineage. Its nature, red in bill and chest.

The Local Patch

From the excitement of the Eagle Owl during the last few days its back to my local patch at home, Stapleton on the outskirts of Bristol.

I think the picture here is a fairly good representation of the area, a mixture of houses, gardens and a wooded river valley. And do note the person walking down the alley. People are never far away here. There must be hundreds, if not thousands, of places like this in Britain and I would imagine they'll all be bursting with wildlife. Obviously the river Frome helps bump up the biodiversity figures of this particular spot, bringing in the likes of otters, pike and kingfishers to the list, which is wonderful.

It's believed by some that ancient Britain would have been covered in dense wildwood, but other theories, which I subscribe too, suggest a more mosaic landscape, such as that found in ancient parts of the New Forest, where woods mix seemlessly with open grassy glades brimming with flowering plants and shrubs. This landscape was perfect for biodiversity and I think it's easy to draw parallels to my local patch. We've got the woods here and as for the glades well, the gardens make a great substitute, even if they are a little more manicured. Its really not hard to draw comparisons with our distant past with a bit of imagination. The only real difference is the volume of people and the control and disruption they bring. Its by no means insignificant with regards to animals like otters, as I've mentioned in earlier posts, but its not all negative either. 

For starters, I am sure bird feeders will he having an effect and the bumble bees love the lavender in the window boxes. Garden ponds create breeding grounds for frogs and newts and I know most summers the roof of the 1970's house opposite plays home to over 150 pipistrelle bats. Humans are not all bad where nature is concerned.

This habitat of ancient woodland, river filled valley, back gardens and suburban housing is the back drop to my nature notes and I will attempt to describe them all in greater detail as the year progresses.

I got an Oscar

Oh. My. Word. What a wonderful evening I've just had. If Wilderness City is a blog that's not only about wildlife, but is also a place to consider how the boundaries between nature and mankind are completely entwined and interlocked - then filming Bristol's Eagle Owl has hit the spot. 

The bird put on a tremendous display. Firstly he sat nicely in his tree opposite Bristol University's Biological Science building, asleep to begin with and then throwing a few fierce glances here and there at passing gulls. Then, as night fell, he began to get going. 

First off, he coughed up a pellet. A pellet will contain all those bits of an animal a birds eaten but can't digest - like the fur and bones. It was a nice moment to catch on film. Then, once he had had a stretch, he flew to a nearby chimney pot, where he proceeded to perform a full mating display! This consisted of cocking his tail, arching his back, sticking his wings and neck out and then calling incredibly loudly for several minutes. As he called he bared a white throat patch, advertising to any nearby females that he has a prime bit of real estate and the ability to defend it. It was an amazing thing to watch in Britain, let alone in a city.

So, what do we have here? A wild bird blown over from the continent that's set up shop in a city? A captive bird that has been released? A young bird from Britain's tiny breeding population that has fledged and decided to set up home in the middle of Bristol? Well, we are unlikely to ever know the answer. But, what we do know, after tonight, is this bird, wherever he is from, is behaving like a wild bird, very at ease in his new environment. Wilderness coming to the city. Wilderness created in the city. Who knows.

Chris Sperring, one of the UK's premier owl experts, joined us on the shoot and is not in the least bit surprised at the owls success. With all the food outlets, rubbish bins and therefor rats, its hardly surprising the bird is eating well and flourishing. He believes the owl may well stay for some time. It has, apparently, already been in the city for three months. Whilst its incredibly unlikely for the bird to find a mate Chris felt you should never say never, after all, no one ever expected a male owl to turn up in Bristol so why not a female? 

The students at the University seem to have become very proud of their new friend and named him Oscar. They say people have started coming from all over Bristol to look at him and he is galvanising a real common interest in wildlife in the city. Whilst some conservationists worry about this species invading and upsetting our native fauna, having witnessed Oscar in action, I can't help but believe this particuar magnificent bird is an embasador for natural history in the city. He's helping create a connection to nature for people who find it hard to find the time to experience it elsewhere. Tonight was a real highlight of my wildlife year and I sense I wont be the only one to feel the same. Oscar may struggle in his mission to find a mate, but, unwittingly, he is a huge success in the quest to bring wilderness and city closer together. 

N.B. The film will be broadcast on the evening of Jan 14th on BBC 1's Inside Out. As soon as I can I will put a copy of the film on the blog.

A short note..... I would just like to say thank you to Vicki Van Slyke for becoming my very first follower. I had no idea if anyone would be interested in what I had to say and I am amazed that the first person to do so is all the way from America. Brilliant!

An Owl about Town

Whilst I've been sitting at home getting prepared to go and hunt down my local tawny owls, a very different owl all together has turned up in the heart of Bristol. An Eagle Owl. 

This in itself, is very exciting, I believe I am right in saying these birds are the biggest owls in the world, but what's more, I've been asked to film it tomorrow night for the local BBC Inside Out team, with naturalist Mike Dilger. Excellent news. A wild Eagle Owl on the lose in a British City - this will be a filming first.

Whilst there is now a tiny breeding population of this species in Britain, it is still an incredibly rare sight and the owl is certainly not considered a native species. It's believed the population has arisen from multiple releases of unwanted captive individuals, used in falconry, not from wild birds arriving from over seas. Once again we human influencing the world around us.

There is no reason why the owls shouldn't do well here as they're found breeding from Spain to Russia and with a 6ft wingspan, if size matters, they'll certainly be out-competing our smaller British owl species for territory and food. This is a worry for some conservationists who fear they will cause problems for much of our native flora and fauna. Certainly conservation organisations like the RSPB and BTO have no intention or encouraging the owls already here, because of the disruption they may cause. However, many birders are welcoming a new addition to their UK list.

I'll be using the very latest infra red filming kit from the BBC Natural History Unit so expect to get some great images of this particular individual. Hopefully once the film is cut by the director I'll be able to put a copy onto the blog. I just hope it's there tomorrow night. Tomorrow's blog - if there is one - will be a late addition.