The Cattle Herd. Soft focus applied….. I love seeing farmers letting animals behave naturally, this herd have the bull doing what he does best, lying down and dozing. his harem around him. A few yards away is a proud new mother…………
And a smashing little calf it is too…………………………….
This is animal husbandry at it’s best……………..This is it at it’s worst………..Trophy hunting?….In this day and age I’m dumb struck by such insensitivity.
These moles who do no harm that I can see on pasture land have been hung up presumably as a warning to other moles. Daft sod, moles are blind.
Anyway, enough, we went out at first light to find the Deer which my dear companion found to great effect yesterday. Not a sight nor sound of them but we did find the Oyster Catchers this side of the river.
Us hiding in a bush……………Oyster Catchers. We tried to creep closer and got one shot before they fled.
These images would crop but I’ve plenty of these on file…….Hark at me being the smartarse!
After a quick drop back to the truck for a flask of coffee, we set out again on the quest for Wagtails and Dippers.
This is where they are………………………….they are here as well……………………..
A pleasant enough place to pass an hour. We had several sightings but no proof. Perhaps this tyro birder is losing his touch.
New birds around the feeders today are a Wren on the ground, Siskin, Greenfinch and one brief call by the Woodpecker. The Nuthatches are dominating the area and are very aggressive to all the finches and tits.
Should I be blessed with a really good shot of the Greater Spotted Woodpecker then I’ll post again.
If life carries on like this I can see me starting another Blog…………’Birds wot the Old Age Traveller has met’. Suggestions are welcome…..Polite ones!
The bull is a Charolais, its offspring are bred purely for beef, the mixed herd of cows the mothers, are only there to give milk to the offspring, once they dry up, they will cycle and the bull will serve ready for the next generation of beef chops for the barbie,
ReplyDeletenice set of other photos, did you not think molly may have chased the herd of deer to the next county, go a long way in half an hour even with her tiny legs.
how about bluetitsandcoldweather. that will get the pervies looking in,
or lookwhatishot. that would get the activists looking in.
They are really good images, the one with the waterfall, the baby cow and all of them. I also agree with you, those hunters, don't they know that 2010 is not the 1600, the middle ages.
ReplyDeleteTalking of looking in, amybunny.co.uk was on ginger Evans bbc radio 2 this morning. and she got a quick word in . so I looked in thinking i was going to see this ginourmus bunny rabbit. well it was big but not as well displayed as her roll as hugh hefners bunny. and now I suppose you will go there. trust me its not worth it.
ReplyDeleteBob, I can understand the instinct to hunt. Sometimes I see something desirable like a Green Woodpecker and am so excited I press the shutter prior to switching the camera on.
ReplyDeleteTony, I understand I'm going to eat it. At least they have there mothers milk, we used to call it beastings and milked them and fed it to calves that were a day old and separated from their mothers. Likewise the bull was kept in a loose box and was always bad tempered, not surprisingly. I like Lookwhatishot.
ReplyDeleteI really like that first shot Adrian. A cracker.
ReplyDeleteWhat a ......(insert own expletive).....who ever hung up those moles. Like you say, what possible harm on pasture land?
Nice group of Oystercatchers too.
Once you have seen the Dipper Adrian....he will not go far..so concentrate on the area of the sighting...say say 50-100yards each way.
ReplyDeleteTake care with Molly around the new born calf.
Adrian, love your cattle. I have them constantly on my doorstep and rarely bother with them. I must change that, thanks for reminding me.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you get bored with everyone telling you what great photos you take and how enjoyable your commentary is. So I won't bother to bore you on this occasion.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that when I were a lad the common view in the country was that moles did a great deal of damage to pasture land and I think that view is still held today. However I am very surprised indeed that the rather odd (and repulsive) habit of hanging dead moles and rooks on fences persists.
Keith, had a bit of seeing to thw cows have.
ReplyDeleteTrevor, Ta I know they don't move far but they are very quick. It was also settling under a bridge. Too dark for my lens in there. I won't let the dog within a hundred yards.
Pauline, They are photogenic, would be better if they weren't ear tagged, Any more regulation they will have to start cross breeding for bigger ears,
Gb, never bored, it gets a bit costly having to regularly purchase bigger hats.
Can't see what damage, they could do. Be a bit of a blow to Trent Bridge or a Croquet Lawn. Will see what DEFRA have to say on the matter.
Moles
ReplyDeleteAlthough often not seen, the results of a mole’s tunnelling can cause a lot of damage in gardens, amenity areas and in agriculture.
For farmers, contamination of grass by soil from molehills can affect the quality of silage being produced, and there is a risk of damaging grass-cutting machinery. Mole runs may also disturb roots and adversely affect plant growth.
Natural England produces a general guidance leaflet for controlling moles. Where control measures can be justified, it is best carried out between October and April. There are two main methods:
poisoning with aluminium phosphide
trapping
There we have it......Doesn't seem such a big deal to flatten a few mole hills prior to harvesting. DEFRA say nothing about hanging them on fences, it was common practise ( should that be a 'C') when I was young along with most corvus and any raptors that were shot.