Another surprise

The egyptian geese that I spotted a few weeks ago reappeared yesterday with a family of six in tow. Rarely seen in Sussex it was a nice surprise but to see them with a family was something special. This was a life-time tick for me.

Perigrine meal time

 Where's my dinner woman, I've been out hunting all day and I'm starving.

 Give the photographer a nice smile dear and I will get your dinner for you.

 Turn round dear and smile, your dinner's here somewhere.

Oh! I've had enough, I'm off down the pub.

BADGER V THE STUPIDITY OF MAN

It was recently published an article on the failure of the badger cull. The following figures were announced:- Year 2014 -       615 badgers were killed in the cull.
                             2017 -   19274      "          "       "         "      
No figures are available for the number of badgers killed that had BTB.
During this period cows that died because of BTB rose from 27474 to over 42,000.
Why has nobody admitted this gross mistake. Badgers do get BTB but so do many other animals including deer, household pets including cats and dogs. Badgers are the cleanest wild animal that I know of. BTB is spread through body fluids, urine, sweat and blood. Badgers have latrines away from the sett and even bury their dead in remote spots (this I have witnessed). Cattle feed on the grass that their colleagues have fouled. Have you ever been in a cow shed or strolled down a country lane where a herd of cows have been driven.

Tonight on TV they are now blaming the demise of the hedgehog on the badger saying that they kill and eat them. This may happen but not in the numbers that would be noticable. More hedgehogs are killed on the road than eaten by Mr. Brock. Hedgehogs as their name implies live in hedgerows and thick undergrowth. Have you noticed farmers fields over the past 20 years they are getting bigger as the hedges disappear. This loss of hedging is also affecting wildlife in other ways such as the loss of small mammals which are the main food of kestrels, owls and foxes.
WE ARE MAKING A BIG HOLE IN THE FOOD CHAIN.
I have hedgehogs in my garden, regular visits from foxes and on a good night a badger.
I am going to make sure it stays that way.