Acrobatic Squirrel

My bird seed station is very popular, with birds as well as squirrels. The first picture is particularly funny. See how it holds on to the frame with its back claws. Click to enlarge. Cute!

Animal evolution - Smart black bird

When we first moved into our rented accommodation 18 months ago, the black bird(s) in our back garden would stand underneath the bird feeder waiting for the goldfinches and other small birds to drop seeds on the ground to eat them. After a few months, the black bird had learned to fly up to the seed tray to feed but the supply would often run out.
Only recently has the black bird worked out how to get seeds from the seed station. It is quite tricky for him because the station is designed for small birds and black birds are simply too large to stand on the little perches.
And he is loving his new acrobatic achievements. Look how he opens up his legs. Quite impressive! Have a look at the video too!

Doesn't that look sore and uncomfortable to you? He is a smart cookie though.




To appreciate how hard this is for him, you need to compare his behaviour with his mate, another black bird, desperately trying to copy him....unsuccessfully.....

Red Kite eating in Mid Flight

As we were walking near Aston Clinton, we saw a red kyte flying over the houses. So, I started filming using my HD camcorder. When viewing the clip, I realised that the kyte was actually eating, a little mouse or something. Have a look at the clip below, a bit pixelated unfortunately.

Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Sneaky dog

I love this picture! Click on it to enlarge it.

We went on holidays with my in-laws. Trudy, our dog, thought that Murphy's bed looked really inviting so she had to try it. But as she knew it was not hers, she was a bit hesitant expecting to get told off or growled at. As for Murphy, he just looked at his owner with very sad eyes as to say "Look, Mummy! She is lying on MY bed! Please do something....".
But, they quickly got used to one another.

Mag pies love bacon

Did you know that mag pies love bacon? Next time you cut out the fat out of your grilled bacon, leave it out for the birds. Here are a few pictures of a very happy mag pie:

Horse attack on a dog

My dog got attacked by horses!!
Hubby and I were walking along the fields following our usual trail along the public foot paths with our dog Trudy. We went over a stile into a field with horses. They are usually very friendly and I alway have a couple of them coming to me for a little "scratch".
Last Sunday, things went weird.
Trudy is 16. and arthritic. She cannot run like she used to and she usually stays near us when walking. Somehow she got separated from us being scared away by one of the horses and ended up on the other side of the field, behind the fencing. The horse would just wait for her on the other side and every time she tried to come back to us the horse would go after her again.
Eventually, the horse walked away so Trudy tried to cross the field. The horse galopped towards her and caught up with her very quickly. Trudy could not run fast because of her age.
Anyway, the horse got to her level and hoofed the top of her bottom with its left foot.  Trudy's back legs gave away and she yelped.
I thought the horse had just broken my dog's pelvic bones. Here she was in the middle of the field not moving with her bum still on the ground. As all the other horses starting to circle her, I just went under the wooden fence and ran towards her moving my arms in the air trying to get the horses to move away and shouting at them. I picked my dog up and carried her away. Then, hubby said. "Hurry up the horses are following you." So, I did a couple of  back-kicks hoping this would make them keep some distance. Apparently, that startled one of the horses and it moved away.
Once safe, I put the dog down and luckily she managed to walk. She got really stiff the next day so we gave her some Ibuprofene with her breakfast the ease the pain away.
She had a big lump where the horse hit her for a few days but she was back to normal after a couple of days.
We have not gone back to the field yet. I think next time you do, we will have to put her on a lead to keep her safe.
I am quite confortable with horses as I used to ride them when I was young. I have never seen such a behaviour before. Trudy never bothered them. She never ran after them or even barked at them. This was an unprovoked attack.
All I can think of is that they must have had a bad encounter with another dog...

Dog Cleaning Time

As you can see, my dog does not like getting washed much. I don't know why because we always use warm water, except in hot summer days when we just use the hose. Once we have finished with her, she runs around the garden like a lunatic for about 5 minutes.

Canal Boating with my Dog

My dog, Trudy, did not like her boating experience last summer. There was no reason not to though. It was cloudy so she could not have been hot and there are no waves on a canal so she could not have felt "sea sick". She looked so miserable that I had to take a couple of pictures. Cruel me! She does not look happy, does she?

She tried to give her Dad the "eyes" but it did not work. So, she just resigned herself to the fact that she just had to wait...

Sleeping dog

Here is a very confortable, sleeping dog.

My dog is really old....she is 16... but she still looks cute, particularly in this picture.

Silly Sheep

Early January, we spent a few days in the Lake district, taking advantages of the local B&S special offers.
Anyway, we walked  passed a strange sight! Can you guess what is strange in this picture? Don't look at the second picture yet!

No, can't guess? Well, have a look below at a close-up picture.

Yep, somehow, a sheep manage to get inside its feed trailer. There are bars all around the trailer. So, we had no idea who it managed to get in there. It probably had to wait for the farmer to come back. At least, it looked confortable :-)