The Ranger's Blog http://naturenet.net/blogs/index.php The Virtual Ranger's blog en-UK http://backend.userland.com/rss 60 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/http://naturenet.net/blogshttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~fc/naturenet/ranger?bg=669966&fg=000000&anim=0The Ranger's BlogSubscribe with My Yahoo!Subscribe with NewsGatorSubscribe with My AOLSubscribe with BloglinesSubscribe with NetvibesSubscribe with GoogleSubscribe with PageflakesSubscribe with PlusmoSubscribe with The Free DictionarySubscribe with Bitty BrowserSubscribe with NewsAlloySubscribe with Live.comSubscribe with Excite MIXSubscribe with Yourminis.comSubscribe with Attensa for OutlookSubscribe with WebwagSubscribe with netomat HubSubscribe with Podcast ReadySubscribe with FlurrySubscribe with WikioSubscribe with Daily RotationThe Ranger's Blog is available to you via Feedburner. The Ranger hopes you find this service helpful - let him know if you have any problems with it. What the fox that? http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/naturenet/ranger/~3/L6cUNxvPGB8/what_the_fox_that Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:49:15 +0000 Musings 748@http://naturenet.net/blogs/ The Ranger received an intriguing email recently from Naturenet reader and amateur freelance nature photographer Russell Edwards. It contained the following image. Russell explains: I observe a badger sett in Suffolk and for this purpose use a "game" camera which is triggered by any movement in front of the camera. The camera works 24 hours a day and during the night takes pictures by infra red. It was while monitoring a fox family that this picture of a UFO appeared. I've been trying to work out what caused it apart from little green men from Mars. There are 10 wing beats. The shutter speed was a 1/10 of a second making it 100 beats per second. By measuring the dimensions of the tree I calculated the length of the track to be about 10 feet. That is 10 feet in a 1/10th of a second, 33 yards a second which is about 67mph. Intriguing! So, what could it be?[...] Read more! The Ranger received an intriguing email recently from Naturenet reader and amateur freelance nature photographer Russell Edwards. It contained the following image.

Flying object in woodland

Russell explains:

I observe a badger sett in Suffolk and for this purpose use a "game" camera which is triggered by any movement in front of the camera. The camera works 24 hours a day and during the night takes pictures by infra red.

It was while monitoring a fox family that this picture of a UFO appeared. I've been trying to work out what caused it apart from little green men from Mars.

There are 10 wing beats. The shutter speed was a 1/10 of a second making it 100 beats per second. By measuring the dimensions of the tree I calculated the length of the track to be about 10 feet. That is 10 feet in a 1/10th of a second, 33 yards a second which is about 67mph.

Intriguing! So, what could it be?

Read the rest...


]]> http://naturenet.net/blogs/index.php?p=748&c=1&tb=1&pb=1#comments http://naturenet.net/blogs/index.php/2009/07/05/what_the_fox_that The Clacton Bike Steps http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/naturenet/ranger/~3/FnKpLWTWQLY/the_clacton_bike_steps Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:37:53 +0000 Wildlife & countryside news and comment Isle of Wight 747@http://naturenet.net/blogs/ Now this is probably going to sound a bit nerdy. But here goes anyway. At a family wedding recently The Ranger had the pleasure of visiting the seaside town of Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. Needless to say, he took a professional and critical interest in the facilities - after all, he's supposed to look after various seaside areas on the Isle of Wight. When his aged mother was offered a stroll along the esplanade she readily agreed - but wasn't to know that she'd soon have to endure her son tutting at the state of the flowerbeds and poring over the bye-laws signs. Yes, friends, park-nerdery. When I should have been concentrating on wedding festivities, I was obsessing over the details of path surfacing and mowing regimes. Busman's holiday, really. A stark warning from Tendring District Council at Clacton West Beach It was actually quite pleasant - if you ignored the booming strains of Chuck Berry amplified from the pier, which - going on all weekend, even at 10 o'clock on a Sunday morning - seemed a little inappropriate. Still, families were already settling in for a day of beach fun, so obviously they didn't mind it. [...] Read more! Now this is probably going to sound a bit nerdy. But here goes anyway. At a family wedding recently The Ranger had the pleasure of visiting the seaside town of Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. Needless to say, he took a professional and critical interest in the facilities - after all, he's supposed to look after various seaside areas on the Isle of Wight. When his aged mother was offered a stroll along the esplanade she readily agreed - but wasn't to know that she'd soon have to endure her son tutting at the state of the flowerbeds and poring over the bye-laws signs. Yes, friends, park-nerdery. When I should have been concentrating on wedding festivities, I was obsessing over the details of path surfacing and mowing regimes. Busman's holiday, really.

You have been warned!
A stark warning from Tendring District Council at Clacton West Beach

It was actually quite pleasant - if you ignored the booming strains of Chuck Berry amplified from the pier, which - going on all weekend, even at 10 o'clock on a Sunday morning - seemed a little inappropriate. Still, families were already settling in for a day of beach fun, so obviously they didn't mind it.

Read the rest...


]]> http://naturenet.net/blogs/index.php?p=747&c=1&tb=1&pb=1#comments http://naturenet.net/blogs/index.php/2009/07/01/the_clacton_bike_steps Hen-mania Part 3: The first egg! http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/naturenet/ranger/~3/Iw6h0LOkZis/henmania3 Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:47:20 +0000 Birds Notes from a Wildlife Garden 745@http://naturenet.net/blogs/ By Ruth D'Alessandro, The Wildlife Gardener The Wildlife Gardener had a strange feeling that there might be something in the henhouse nestbox this morning. How right I was! Yes, the WG hens’ first egg! For just a second as I opened the hatch, I felt like Howard Carter peering through the hole in Tutankhamun’s tomb: a ‘wonderful thing’. [...] Read more! By Ruth D'Alessandro, The Wildlife Gardener

The Wildlife Gardener had a strange feeling that there might be something in the henhouse nestbox this morning. How right I was!

The first egg!

Yes, the WG hens’ first egg! For just a second as I opened the hatch, I felt like Howard Carter peering through the hole in Tutankhamun’s tomb: a ‘wonderful thing’.

Read the rest...


]]> http://naturenet.net/blogs/index.php?p=745&c=1&tb=1&pb=1#comments http://naturenet.net/blogs/index.php/2009/06/29/henmania3 Hen-mania Part 2: The chickens arrive! http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/naturenet/ranger/~3/pd07S8Zblic/henmania2 Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:49:20 +0000 Birds Notes from a Wildlife Garden 744@http://naturenet.net/blogs/ By Ruth D'Alessandro, The Wildlife Gardener In Henmania Part 1 the Wildlife Gardener told us about her plan to obtain some poultry for her garden, and how she got a ramshackle old ark - but no hens. Read on to see whether her new residents will at last take their places! The ark was mended. 20 kgs of chicken feed, 80m of wire netting, and 9 fencing stakes were purchased. Where were the chickens? At last, the local poultry farm had 18-week-old point-of-lay pullets available: “You’d better get here early, luv, we’ve had more enquiries than we have pullets.” I hastily dumped the JWGs at school and roared off to Turner’s Hill to join the queue at the farm gate. 08-reg BMWs with chino-ed ex-bankers lined up alongside travellers’ muddy pickups. A gnarled grandfather puffed on a roll-up as a blonde lady in white trousers tried to keep Blaise and Octavia out of the puddles. All walks of life united by one thing: chickens. [...] Read more! By Ruth D'Alessandro, The Wildlife Gardener

In Henmania Part 1 the Wildlife Gardener told us about her plan to obtain some poultry for her garden, and how she got a ramshackle old ark - but no hens. Read on to see whether her new residents will at last take their places!

Chicken ark before and after

The ark was mended. 20 kgs of chicken feed, 80m of wire netting, and 9 fencing stakes were purchased. Where were the chickens?

At last, the local poultry farm had 18-week-old point-of-lay pullets available: “You’d better get here early, luv, we’ve had more enquiries than we have pullets.” I hastily dumped the JWGs at school and roared off to Turner’s Hill to join the queue at the farm gate. 08-reg BMWs with chino-ed ex-bankers lined up alongside travellers’ muddy pickups. A gnarled grandfather puffed on a roll-up as a blonde lady in white trousers tried to keep Blaise and Octavia out of the puddles. All walks of life united by one thing: chickens.

Read the rest...


]]> http://naturenet.net/blogs/index.php?p=744&c=1&tb=1&pb=1#comments http://naturenet.net/blogs/index.php/2009/06/22/henmania2 Two mirrors, some mice, and some rather puzzled birds http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/naturenet/ranger/~3/IKhpu9kJaAo/larytta Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:47:29 +0000 Birds Videos 743@http://naturenet.net/blogs/ This one's beyond explanation - but that's never stopped us before. Probably worth watching through to the end. Did you notice the rabbit? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=306MUlh054Y

This one's beyond explanation - but that's never stopped us before.

Probably worth watching through to the end. Did you notice the rabbit?


]]> http://naturenet.net/blogs/index.php?p=743&c=1&tb=1&pb=1#comments http://naturenet.net/blogs/index.php/2009/06/21/larytta