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I spy with my eagle eye...

deptfordmarmosetdeptfordmarmoset Posts: 3,118
edited September 2009 in The bottom bracket
One of the best things about getting on a bike for me, even in London, is the amount of wildlife you get to see - I saw a heron swallowing an eel the other day and watched it wriggling down the whole length of its neck (boy, was that heron thirsty afterwards!), there are kingfishers in the River Ravensbourne, just yards from the Thames, cormorants are an everyday sight by the river when just 10 years ago they were nowhere to be seen. Seeing things like that make my journey special.

I'd love to know which animals you see and which ones make your journey special
Looking for a cycling buddy?

Posts

  • Stewie GriffinStewie Griffin Posts: 4,330
    Rats, foxes and ring necked parafeckingkeets, not too exciting. Someone on here took a photo of a bear in Canada :shock: . Am quite glad I dont see animals that could quite easily decide that Im going to be their lunch.
  • disgruntledgoatdisgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    I live in the lakes and am fortunate enough to see Red Squirrels, Buzzards, Stoats, Herons, Rabbits, the odd dead Badger and Barn Owls on winter nights. I have, on occasion, seen a deer and once even a golden eagle!

    If you ride on the bridleway past Trotters World of Animals you can see Ring Tail Lemurs, Bison, Capuchins and Gibbons. But that's cheating.
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • heavymentalheavymental Posts: 2,025
    I saw a barn owl heading my way over a field the other day, it came over the hedge and took evasive action when it saw me so I had a great view of it banking away. Pretty special little event that made me think how nice it is to have these little encounters out on the bike. See plenty of buzzards and red kites and always crane my neck to look up at the buzzards on top of the telegraph poles here in West Wales. A friend saw a load of deep claw marks on a tree stump in the woods at Brechfa mtb trails. No sign of the culprit though luckily :shock:
  • fto-sifto-si Posts: 402
    Possibly Sea Eagles soon

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/8271528.stm
    exercise.png
  • pottsstevepottssteve Posts: 4,043
    So far this year:

    Snakes (various)
    Bats (big and small)
    Egrets (hundreds)
    Dragonflies (huge, assorted colours)
    Black kites (soaring)
    Dogs (semi wild, possibly rabid, occasionally dead)
    Cats (squashed, two) :(
    Cattle (huge, with horns, on the road)
    Butterflies (numerous)
    White pointers

    One of these is a lie :wink:
    Head Hands Heart Lungs Legs
  • UncleFredUncleFred Posts: 227
    I was riding around the bike paths of Calgary in August and saw a Beaver in the river.

    Over here I regularly see:

    Snakes
    Flamingos
    Herons
    Egrets
    Red Tale kites (several times they've swooped and grabbed lizards from in front of me)
    Various big flying bugs that tend to fly into my helmet vents
    Tarantulas
    Mongoose
    Sheep
    Chickens
    Goats (all of the last 3 are feral)


    I've got a mountain bike route that goes along a cliff about 300feet. I regularly see big stuff on the surface, including turtles, big fish and sharks.
  • STEFANOS4784STEFANOS4784 Posts: 4,109
    A couple of months ago, whilst cycling from Bath to Radstock, i spotted a dead deer, badger, hedgehog and rabbit :shock: The badger absolutely stunk but anyway i couldn't help thinking of the animals of farthing wood for some reason :lol:
    winter beast: http://i497.photobucket.com/albums/rr34 ... uff016.jpg
    Summer beast; http://i497.photobucket.com/albums/rr34 ... uff015.jpg
  • fast as fuppfast as fupp Posts: 2,277
    plenty of FAT COWS round here :evil:
    'dont forget lads, one evertonian is worth twenty kopites'
  • deptfordmarmosetdeptfordmarmoset Posts: 3,118
    fast as fupp, do you work at ASDA then?
    Looking for a cycling buddy?
  • all show no goall show no go Posts: 542
    There's a Sparrowhawk that circles overhead seemingly every time I leave my house to go for a ride. Unnerving yet beautiful at the same time.
    Let's close our eyes and see what happens
  • fto-sifto-si Posts: 402
    One of my routes takes me past some Ostrichs ... strange thing to see in the middle of Suffolk
    exercise.png
  • freehubfreehub Posts: 4,257
    I see quite abit of wildlife in the city center, surprised they aint roadkill.
  • AnonymousAnonymous Posts: 79,667
    Went past Ann Summers shop, saw a rabbit.......groan.
  • the ferrythe ferry Posts: 258
    ...quite impressed with all the spots, no 'big cats' which is another reason why i am doubtful of their existence.
  • disgruntledgoatdisgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    If you go for a long ride from myt house to Barrow, you can see Rhinos, Giraffes and Lions too...
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • antflyantfly Posts: 3,276
    I saw a dead peregrine in the road the other day right next to a dead pigeon. We see a lot of live peregrines too and woodpeckers, very nearly hit a deer once cycling in the lakes, saw a lizard recently.
    I haven`t seen a beaver in a while though. :?
    Smarter than the average bear.
  • pottsstevepottssteve Posts: 4,043
    all show no go wrote:
    There's a Sparrowhawk that circles overhead seemingly every time I leave my house to go for a ride. Unnerving yet beautiful at the same time.

    Why? Are you a sparrow?
    Head Hands Heart Lungs Legs
  • pottsstevepottssteve Posts: 4,043
    the ferry wrote:
    ...quite impressed with all the spots, no 'big cats' which is another reason why i am doubtful of their existence.

    I saw a big cat from the top of Ditchling Beacon about 8 years ago. Looked like a panther. We were up on the hillside, it was below down by one of the farms. It walked along a hedge for a bit and then disappeared into some trees. It was daytime, nice clear weather, and I was sober. :)
    Head Hands Heart Lungs Legs
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