Spring is nearly here!

Advice on Koi,Ponds and Equipment
roselanekoi
Posts: 307
Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2008 7:38 pm

Re: Spring is nearly here!

Post by roselanekoi »

Walking the dog a few mornings ago I saw what I thought was a ferret scurrying across the bridle path in front of me. I was later told by a friend who lives nearby that it was a polecat as he'd seen it carrying a rabbit a few days earlier. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me.

Apparently the polecats are now protected and are making a big comeback, they have also been known to cross breed with ferrets so perhaps I wasn't entirely wrong.
pollygog
Posts: 617
Joined: Mon Jan 19, 2009 6:26 pm

Re: Spring is nearly here!

Post by pollygog »

Wales has been a stronghold for some time for the sub species of European Polecat the unique Welsh Polecat, I saw a dead one recently a road kill at Chirk near the castle entrance.
I know to my cost that ferrets cross breed with polecats as I bought a polecat cross many years ago from a guy in Wisbech who claimed (in the Shooting Times) they were bigger, bolder and better at stopping bolting rabbits when you are netting a warren. What he didn't tell me is they are more nervous and aggressive and bite much more readily than ferrets. Despite handling it as much as my other dog ferret it never did stop biting me. This was it's eventual downfall as it sank its teeth into my Labradors nose as it exited a burrow, Dougal the yellow lab was just sniffing it but he howled then chomped that polecat. I wasn't sorry he killed the polecat as the ferocious little beggar had given him a really nasty bite.
A year or so before I was with two of my elder brothers netting a warren on the embankment of the Northern Line at a place called Waddicar in West Lanc's and found another bad trait of polecats, they're prone to killing and eating rabbits in the warren then sleeping it off over several days. After several fruitless hours trying to dig it out we eventually gave up and reported the loss to our local police station
A fortnight later a policeman on a bicycle called to the house and said somebody had handed in a live animal that fitted the description of my 'ferret' and could I collect it immediately as there was some urgency!
Riding our bikes to the police station the bobby told me of the 'urgency', a young man on his way to work had found the polecat x and put it in a cardboard box and handed it in to police station whereupon it had promptly escaped and was now roaming free. When we got to the police station, an old stone cottage, there were three very anxious policemen stood outside including a sergeant, they were afraid to go back in as the polecat ferret had bitten them several times when they had tried to pick it up so they shut all the windows and doors and vacated police station so the polecat had the station to itself.
Yes, four grown men afraid of a furry little animal the size of a rabbit!
but oh boy it could bite, I still have the scars on my fingers.
Fortunately I'd taken some pieces of liver with me as I suspected it would be hungry, That was an understatement! it was very thin so it had obviously eaten the rabbit in the warren then pretty much starved after.
The policemen were very grateful to get their station back and as one policemen pointed out they had all missed their 10, o.clock brew time thanks to the polecat and that's bordering on a criminal act!
pollygog
Posts: 617
Joined: Mon Jan 19, 2009 6:26 pm

Re: Spring is nearly here!

Post by pollygog »

I took this photo a week ago today (along with many more) at the Western Rocks, Isles of Scilly, it shows a Razorbill and a Puffin moving away from boat.
They are still feeding young so there was plenty of birds about the nesting sites on these rocky bird sanctuary islands. Cormorant, Shag, Puffin, Guillemot, Razorbill, Petrel, etc. We also saw Manx Shearwater, Fulmar, various Terns and Gannet feeding around the islands on the abundant sand eels to be found there that makes it such a successful breeding site.
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pollygog
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Re: Spring is nearly here!

Post by pollygog »

Took this sylvan lunar scene on a lovely calm clear moonlit night two weeks ago this Saturday gone at 11.00pm. Its about 12 to 15 miles offshore looking East toward Morfa Nefyn and the two humps of Yr Eifel on the Llyn Peninsula. There are 3 fairly big coasters and a large trawler plying their trade and all heading south with us and about 6 miles inshore of our position, you can just make them out by their lights under the moonlight.
It was so peaceful and calm on a beautiful warm summer evening sailing south, certainly one to remember.
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roselanekoi
Posts: 307
Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2008 7:38 pm

Re: Spring is nearly here!

Post by roselanekoi »

I do quite a lot of walking along the nearby Clwydian range of hills and recently decided to upgrade my local ordinance survey map, the copy I have is probably 40 years old. When purchasing the map from Amazon I noted that you could also download a digital version of the map from the Ordinance Survey at https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk

Visiting the OS website I discovered that for around £20 per annum I could access the full range of OS maps for the UK and download a digital copy to my iPhone. The free OS app allows me to plot a route and gives you the length of the route and also the approx time it will take you. Your smart phone or tablet will show you your location, so in theory you should never get lost. That is as long as you can get a signal on your phone. If you want to visit a mobile phone free pub go to the The Miners Arms in Maeshafn near Mold, there's no mobile phone signal in the village. I'm told the food they serve is quite good.

You can get a 7 day free trial if you're interested but one word of warning, the app is very heavy on the phone battery.
pollygog
Posts: 617
Joined: Mon Jan 19, 2009 6:26 pm

Re: Spring is nearly here!

Post by pollygog »

The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley.
Robert Burns


Most places we go fly fishing at has no phone signal, one surprisingly is Wal Goch at Nannerch, about the worst is Chirk, or Llyn Derwen.
Have you tried using your phone (with or without the OS app) on the tops of the Clwyd's Colin?
I know there's no signal in the Clwyd's at Moel Arthur Iron Age hill fort, Phil Robinson the hill farmer at Nannerch who keeps sheep up there told me.
So, as you say, you know exactly where you are, provided, there's a signal on your phone, your battery is still charged up and of course it's not foggy up there!
roselanekoi
Posts: 307
Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2008 7:38 pm

Re: Spring is nearly here!

Post by roselanekoi »

I'll have to check the next time I go for a walk, I'm pretty certain I can get a signal on Moel Famau.
pollygog
Posts: 617
Joined: Mon Jan 19, 2009 6:26 pm

Re: Spring is nearly here!

Post by pollygog »

This week has seen a fair share of events offset by flashes of good fortune but certainly a week to remember.
Last weekend we were host to our great niece up from Kent with her fiancé. Walking the dogs by the Elwy Monday morning Cyn stopped at the viewing platform on the opposite bank at the back of the Dr's surgery on The Roe to show Sam our great niece the information board. the board describes just what lives in and around the Elwy then as if on cue a Kingfisher flashed down the river in the morning sunshine then flew back past them upriver toward the stone road bridge. Another lady dog walker who we knew had stopped at the platform to chat when she suddenly exclaimed in an excited whisper, "just look at that"! Across the river from them, four baby Otters seemingly oblivious to all around them were moving along upriver on the opposite bank to them, what a rare and privileged sight.
I was fly fishing at Wal Goch with Sam's fiancé and so missed it all.
Last Friday afternoon came the downside as my Nexus suddenly ceased to flow effectively, upon investigation I discovered that the 4" feed pipe from pond bottom drain had furred up with algae until it was less than 50% flow. I pushed a 2m long Back Knight brush up, that usually clears it but to no effect, I then pushed a length of 2" flexible black waste pipe down behind a wire bottle brush the kind chimney sweeps use. I heaved it out quickly and brought a 4" rubber grommet seal with it from the 4" Ventura slide valve. It immediately leaked like a sieve.
I've spent the last four days topping the pond up to compensate for leak. The new slide valve arrived this morning so tomorrow morning Nigel and I will replace the leaky valve. I just have to empty pond overnight down to 15" or so.
Yesterday, because of the predicted hot day, we got out early to walk the dogs and stopped as usual at the viewing platform for the dogs to have their paddle and drink. A Kingfisher flew out from an Alder on our side of the bank and landed just across from us on a limb of a Sycamore tree jutting out from the bank and about 8 feet above a deeper piece of the river.
We quietly watched and waited as the dogs finished their paddle and came back up to us on viewing platform. After about ten minutes suddenly there was an azure flash in the bright sunshine as the Kingfisher dropped like a stone into the river and emerged with quite a large fish. It struggled to fly up onto the bank to kill the fish then swallow it before disappearing downriver. Then a bonus viewing, the female Goosander appeared slowly drifting downriver with its head constantly dipping under the gin clear water looking for fish, a Dipper flew past upstream then a Grey Wagtail flitted onto a rock opposite us and had 5 minutes of curtseying and darting out after passing Mayflies as they fluttered past. No Otters sighted though, just the 5 foot carved wooden otter next to the viewing platform (that someone explained to their child recently was a Merecat)!!!!!!!!!!!!
pollygog
Posts: 617
Joined: Mon Jan 19, 2009 6:26 pm

Re: Spring is nearly here!

Post by pollygog »

Tuesday 15th August was dry and bright as I prepared my pond for major repairs, that is, replacing my 4" slide valve that was installed in April 2007 when pond was built.
What a job it turned out! The company who supplied the new 4" slide valve for some inexplicable (and very annoying reason) failed to include the tube of Gold Seal sealant that was ordered at the same time. The result was I had to rush out and purchase another tube of sealant before we could start. I never realised just how much water was drained out of pond until I refilled it! 13,284 litres, this from a total of 15,470 litres.
I use a flow meter so no guesswork involved, it also took a total of 31 hours to spray this amount of water back in but I also treated the tap water with Sodium Thiosulphate as a standard precaution against chloramine. As an extra precaution I kept my air stones full on during refill.
The pond drained down also gave me a golden opportunity to do some much needed cleaning out of bottom drain and pipework and some strange objects appeared as a result.
A twenty pence piece, a well rusted up tape measure, two large rusty screws, a stainless steel nut and bolt, a metal tent peg, a very small plastic measuring jug and a fair quantity of small stones and grit. The air stones certainly moved a lot of disturbed muck out and through into the filter so something achieved there toward a much cleaner pond.

I also did my bit again for a favourite local charity last Friday and at the same time acquired two new additions to my pond, a Gin Matsuba and a Purachina, they are re-housed after a fellow club member and myself emptied the pond and sold the fish for them, St Kentegern's Hospice in St Asaph, a worthy cause.
Unfortunately the pond had to go as they need additional bedrooms built on so sadly the pond was in the way of an extension. Seven koi between 12" and 16" and approximately 180 goldfish are now rehomed.
pollygog
Posts: 617
Joined: Mon Jan 19, 2009 6:26 pm

Re: Spring is nearly here!

Post by pollygog »

Been a good week for spotting wildlife again this last week, saw this young Goosander, one of a pair of young along with the two adults on the river several times recently. I saw this one, a young male by the looks of it catch a trout of about 5" just prior to this pic. the parent birds were fishing the other side of the metal Pont Begard bridge but this one was by the viewing platform with a young female who had just dived. Extremely difficult trying to photograph them on the surface they are so quick and active in the fast flowing river.
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