# We have babies



## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

At least 2 in the nest and parent looks on.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Lovely Jan. Sadly I had to deter the swallows from nesting above my car in the car port. They can nest anywhere else in the car port and barn but not over the car.
We must also have a dozen or more houses with sparrows and tits in them, some multi occupation.

Ray.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

we also have other babies shouting all day for food, but the swallows are always extra special to us, they may be related to our little lucky who we saved a few years back, their lovely little clown faces are the best


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Unfortunately so have we 

Baby rats 

But I refuse to poison them catching and releasing them is slow 

Never known this in the past 

Sandra


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

aldra said:


> Unfortunately so have we
> 
> Baby rats
> 
> ...


Would you like to borrow Manny, she's been bringing home mice since they cut the grass field across the road from us, but she's also good at small rats.:smile2:


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Jan I’m hopeless 

I can’t sanction death

Strangely enough there is a dearth of cats in the area 

I’m wondering if they too were poisoned via the rats 

Once we had visiting cats , a regular feature , kept I imagine the rats at bay 

We will sort them over time 

Sandra


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

And I’ve just read that if you move a rat more than 100 mtres more from where it was born

They suffer , and are likely to be killed by those in residence 

We either poison them! A cruel death 

Set killing traps 

Or what?

This is the first year we have had more than the odd rat 

So we willcontinue with humane traps 

Release them far from human habitation 

And hope for the best , let nature take its course 

If they were lions, small ones :wink2:

Well Winston could sort them 

A South African cross Ridgeback :grin2:

Sandra


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

*The day they left the nest*

But returned in the evening


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## HurricaneSmith (Jul 13, 2007)

When we lived in Cambs, house margins returned each year and nested under the eaves above our bedroom. Each year's young were successfully reared and were encouraged to fly by a swooping and calling of all the others in the area.

It was well worth the mess to hear each year's young calling to their parents, and I cheerfully cleared up about once a week. 

When we moved, the new owners took out the nest and prevented further broods because of the mess created. 

The good news (for us...... but not everyone) is that our garden in East Sussex now has badgers and foxes. We don't tell our daughter in law because she comes from a farm in North Wales. 

.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

I’d love that 

Well I wouldn’t because our garden is too small 

I’ve stopped feeding the birds so I’m not feeding the rats

But I worry that they are not getting enough to eat 

I fed the fish a couple of slices of brown bread

They love it 

And the rat came out across the pond hoping it would float to the edge which it didn’t 

So don’t tell anyone 

I threw him half a crust 

I know I’m a hopeless case 

In more ways than one

Sandra


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

When our shed door is open during the day we have a pair of swallows having a look around probably for a nesting place, so --- a panel has been removed above the door to allow them in and out when the door is shut. Should they build a nest Hans will fix a poo catcher under it :grin2:
They´re not a bit afraid when any of us go in that includes Motley. Not sure what they will do if Manny sticks her head in, they are very good at bombing cats.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

I’m getting desperate 

Now a few babies

They are so cute 

I won’t sanction poison 

And by the way your video did nothing to help, friends are supposed to help , not show a kid cuddled up to a rat 

So I might put you on my x friend list 

Prob will 

Bloody perfect dogs 

And your rats would prob be trainable 

Sandra :frown2::grin2::wink2:


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

Now that was one of the best posts you have ever written, it really made us both laugh.
Akshirley, Caesar our first GSD used to find rats in an orchard near where we lived, he would toss them in the air just for the fun of it they would be dead with a broken neck. He was a gun dog, rat catcher, shepherd and a perfect companion. He would also kill clay pigeons:grin2:
Shade was the only one that came almost perfect after Caesar, the others all had a little trait or two that had to be corrected.
Poison we would never use, we have set a humane trap for a pinemarten but can't catch the little blighted, it is taking the insulation from car and Navajo for its nest, we now have a special spray to keep him out of both bonnets, but we find his poo everywhere in the garden even next to the trap which has an egg, salami, Apple and Merobellas in. We caught a cat once, not ours, it was released quickly and never caught again.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Theses buggers are not attracted to the trap

And me I have fingers crossed 

That the little ones aren’t 

I don’t want to release a little one alone 

Away from his family

So I guess we’ve got rats 

But then again, I don’t want to release any of my little ones away from their family 

The older ones, well they won’t go far from us

Although sometimes I wish they would :grin2:

Sandra


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

We now have swallows in the car port. I 'deterred' them for the past 4 years but back they come. So far so good as they are not making a mess all over the car but keeping to the side. But they are messy builders.

Also I have been busy entombing some enormous Hornets in their nest within our garden wall with expansible polyurethane mousse foam. It keeps expending until it fills the void within the block wall and solidifies the colony. Half dozen were outside at the time but soon despatched them with the electric bat.

Ray.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

We are all messy builders Ray 
Just how lucky are you

I’d love swallows

But I’ve got sparrows and rats 

Seem a bit short on frogs this year 

But my hostas are magnificent

The slugs ain’t eating then this year

Sandra


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

But what we do love is the Storks nesting nearby. We have two pair that come back year after year and rear two young. One pair on an old crumbling tower of the local Chateaux and another pair precariously balanced on an electric pylon just outside friends back door.
We see the parents gliding across our fields and along the river.

Ray.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

I think there is a lot of trial and error when they build, When they built on our house there were 9 attempts, the last attempt was OK until the babies hatched and got a bit heavy, thats when the nest fell down and we managed to rescue 1 that was only just alive by putting it in a basket with an abandoned sparrows nest and a bit of the swallows nest in it. When I saw the parents come to feed him Hans and I danced around the garden with delight, we really are a barmy pair you know. :grin2:


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

We clashed there Ray, how we wish we had a storks nest, we did think about having a wooden one built, but thats all it was, a thought. 
They´re are getting less and less of them in this area. :crying:


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

They are releasing Pine Martens in some areas over here, Jan. They are considered to be good predators for Grey Squirrels. This gives the Red Squirrels a chance to colonise an area. They are less likely to be caught by Pine Martens as they inhabit the tree canopy more than the ground.

Sandra, rats do carry serious diseases  Dogs can catch Leptospirosis as can humans. Keep Shadow's vaccinations up to date. We, too, had baby rats and they are very cute but they had to to dealt with.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Im doing my best to catch them Pat 
Caught one this morning 
Don’t know what else to do 
Poison is out , unless they develope a humane one 
Even then I can’t risk Shadow or Winston getting it 

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

It is a dilemma as the poison is as bad as the diseases they carry. Trapping and releasing means they are free to go on breeding


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Possibally 

But we release them on open land away from any residential property 

There they have natural predators and nature to contend with 

In the garden they have no natural enemies other than us 

Sandra


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Well one adult and two young ones caught and transported to fields by the river today 

Caught by Vanilla Brioche 

Surrounded by fields , not a residential home in sight 

Hey no one is paying us for the petrol 

It’s turning into a charity >

Sandra:grin2:


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

*I bet not many of you´ve had one of these in your hand.*

It crashed against the window next to my computer, made me jump out of my skin.
Little thing was absolutely dazed with wings spread out, I picked it up and held it for 5 minutes, feeling it recover in my hand, it was clinging on to my finger so I knew it would recover, then the wing muscles started to move, I waited a minute opened my hand and away it flew. Happy, happy, both Hans and me.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

No Jan. But we do get them come in the front door from time to time. Sometimes they go straight out a window and sometimes bump and flutter down and out again.
They have made a right scruffy nest up in our car port late this year. As they are not messing the car up too much I have not bothered them. Pics later.
And this...……….

Ray.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

No Jan. I did, once however, have a Tawny Owl in my hands. I even took a picture of my daughter holding it but it did not come out. I got up one morning and kept hearing clicking noises from our lounge. I went to investigate and found a Tawny Owl behind the TV. It had come down the chimney (with very little soot) and was making a distressed clicking noise. I covered it with a towel, checked its wings for damage, and carried it outside to release it. 

Not in my hands, but we once had a bat fly into our house, navigate through the rooms of the cottage and end up in the lounge. We could not get it to leave via the lounge window so had to re open all the doors, we had closed, so that it could take the exact route out of the house that it navigated coming in! Reverse echo location I suppose?!


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

We had gechos that lived on our ceilings , ate mossies 

Always a bit nervous one would fall on the bed

Only once did that happen 

I’m abit more squeamish now 

Fascinating things with their little sucker feet 

Had a bat in the bedroom once in the middle of the night

Now that is scary

Total silence but an awareness something was flying around

The bat tunnel at Chester zoo is great, bats flying past you and landing on you

Sandra


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

And back to the rats

The are sleek and shiny , a picture of health

The little ones are delightful as any baby animals are 

We will move them on but we are not afraid of them 

Dogs carry many diseases in their faeces , but we are not trying to kill them 

I’d prefer they weren’t in such close proximity to my home 

Well more that they were not in such visible proximity 

The little ones gamble like lambs at certain times of the day 

They haven’t learnt fear 

I’d kill nothing

But those fruit flies that keep falling into my wine glass even when I drink it are beginning to **** me off 

We need priorites >

Sandra :grin2:


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

Put a beer mat over your glass between sips (or mouthful depending how you drink it) :grin2:

Best way to get rid of them is to hoover them up, plus an empty jam jar with holes in the lid, Wine or vinegar mixed with fairy liquid in the jar they love that.
Otherwise Hans says your not drinking it quick enough.:laugh:


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

I’ll go with Hans 

Sandra :grin2::grin2:


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

JanHank said:


> Put a beer mat over your glass between sips (or mouthful depending how you drink it) /images/MotorhomeFacts_2014/smilies/tango_face_grin.png


Apparently that's how Tapas came about. One of the hostellers in Madrid used an edible cover for the King of Spain's glass for that very reason.

I guess all the guides in all the Spanish towns say the same.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

You'll have to explain that Jean, what Tapas? I can't be bothered to look it up.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Tapas 

Brilliant

Little snacks you eat with your drink 

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Glad the rats are relocated Sandra. You should put a dab of nail varnish on them to see if they return to where they were born


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Would be a long walk to get back Pat


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

How about swatting flies, wasps, horse flies, mossies, and hornets then.? It's still killing.

Ray.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

I rarely come into contact with most of those Ray 

Flies I offer every opportunity to exit the van, before I zap them in desperation 

Never swat wasps , guide them out of the home and van 

Use repellent for mossies 

Although I’m currently guilty of drowning tiny fruit flies in my wine 

I guess they die happy though

Maybe I’m a Buddhist at heart 

Ok I know I’m strange in more ways than one 

But those young rats cavorting in the sunshine , just babies doing their thing 

No way am I going to kill them 

Transport them to the middle of miles of open fields , yes 

Where they can join the circle of life and take their chance 

Only sadness is I’ve had to stop feeding the birds 

But it’s a good summer so they will be fine

Come winter we will feed them again , and no doubt the rats will return 

And we will transport them to the open fields

And the cycle of life will continue 

Sandra


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Heard some commotion behind my office curtains that are closed due to the heat this morning. Just peeped in and a frightened swift/swallow was trying to get out. Quickly cupped it in my hand and let it out the door so didn't have time to take a pic. But it was very small.
Then noticed a durn great Hornet behind the glass in the insert fire. Luckily it was already dead but perfectly preserved and almost 2" long. 

Ray.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Our finches (both green and gold) seem to have this disease that they get. I have sterillised the bird feeder a couple of times so hope it is not that


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Well we have three tiny rats running around the back garden

Not exactly running just a quick dart

They live at the back of the pond and their mum is presumabally the one we didn’t catch 

So we will leave it a while before we trap them 

I know , but no way am I releasing a lone baby into the wild 

We no longer feed the birds so they must be feeding on wild berries and plants 

Almost nature watch 

Sandra


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

Have you counted the coy carp lately, rats eat anything.:frown2:


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

They are not eating our fish 

We once had swimming babies , two of them 

Who ate the fish food 

But never since 

They may have eaten the frogspawn 

And yes they are a pain 

But 

I go for wildlife 

The butterflies are amazing 

The bees are all about 

The birds well we no longer feed

Hopefully the will forgiveand return

We’ve left the Ivy’s 

So they can fed on them as we travel

Sandra


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

Our bird feeder is full of sunflower seeds, but nobody is visiting other than the odd sparrow, they have plenty to eat in the fields at the moment until it's all ploughed up then they may return.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

The three rats are about the size of a big mouse 
And I know I’m weird 

But I’m also getting closer to leaving this world 

And nature is delightful, and watching those three doesn’t repel me 

They are cute babies 

And I guess we are privileged in a way to watch them 

They are not afraid as they play 

We’ve closed the trap ,they are too young to release to nature with a fighting chance 

Well it’s open so too is an escape hatch so they become used to it 

Another week we will catch and transport them 

Hopefully their mum to 

But they say when you remove the existing rat another one can take its place 

So I guess when we return from France another Rat will have taken up residence 

And our garden is spotless , pressure hosed regularly 

But the pond is there for water 

The adult rat we rarely see , she lives across the water 

The little ones are more adventurous

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

I agree that they are cute, Sandra. We had a little family of them once and they were a delight to watch. Come winter, though, they ha d to go as we could not risk them getting into the house or sheds.

Our bird feeder is full of birds. Mostly Goldfinches which seem to be breeding nearby. A few blue tits and great tits and one or two green finches who are very aggressive feeders. We, too, feed sunflower hearts.

The other day we saw the most amazing spectacle as we returned from our dog walk. We park in a quiet road and walk to a track that crosses the fields. As we turned the car around in the road we spotted a Sparrow Hawk or Kestrel on the ground with a pigeon in its talons! It was not worried by the car turning so we got quite close.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Yep winter is another problem

We usually have our grandson fill the bird feeders when we are away

This year we will leave them empty 

Although I’m still mulling over allowing my son and his “new family “ to live here whilst we are away 

As his house is in a mess of renovation 

But I don’t know his partner or her two kids that well 

And we’ve just had downstairs completely redecorated 

I’d be upset to come back to damaged paintwork 

And there is something else that I haven’t revealed yet 

But I once gave up everything and believed I’d never put material Things to the fore

So will I ?

Sandra


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