Big Cat Sighting

[EDDIE B 3,120]

39 minutes ago, foxdropper said:

In the states otter and mink are found on the same stretches so why not here .Too many old wives tails from old fish wives I’m afraid

Back to cats then .Do they displace any carnivores here as I’m told the fox population is at an all time high .Badgers not so but that’s man made .Did see one last night out in the frost and sort of felt a bit sorry it as it snuffled for anything near a chicken shed .Surprised he hasn’t tried a break in tbh .

 

That is spot on lad

[paulus 26]

38 minutes ago, Greyman said:

 

There's a marina near the local town. Boats moor up before and after it as there's a Pub and shop,  on the opposite bank is an industrial estate, This estate has a KFC that is the other side of a hedge from the towpath, People off the boats were feeding the Water Voles on the bank, It was a colony of f***ing rats i kid you not,  Just to make clear the pictures are water voles 

[EDDIE B 3,120]

18 minutes ago, Greyman said:

It’s a slow process but I’ve had a boat here for 13 years and we’re i used to see mink regularly and otters very rarely it’s now very rare I don’t see a few otters and lots of sign but have not seen a mink in years so be patient also if your out early there are voles everywhere the balance has been restored

Difference is, we've always had big numbers of otters in Ireland compared to the UK. Mink have been living along side them for the last sixty years or more, with little drop in numbers.

 Admittedly mink numbers do seem to be down the last two or three years here, but don't think that couldn't be because of otters. 

 

[EDDIE B 3,120]

Interesting read on the subject

 

Just a moment...

ONLINELIBRARY.WILEY.COM

 

[Greyman 25,275]

7 minutes ago, EDDIE B said:

Interesting read on the subject

 

Just a moment...

ONLINELIBRARY.WILEY.COM

 

Interesting read maybe it is a coincidence living on the water I can only see what’s going on outside and as otters have returned the mink have vanished but maybe there are other contributing factors that I don’t notice

[EDDIE B 3,120]

1 minute ago, Greyman said:

Interesting read maybe it is a coincidence living on the water I can only see what’s going on outside and as otters have returned the mink have vanished but maybe there are other contributing factors that I don’t notice

Nothings black and white when it comes to nature lad. Maybe there are several factors including the rise in Otter numbers, in your part of the world. 

[Greyman 25,275]

22 minutes ago, paulus said:

There's a marina near the local town. Boats moor up before and after it as there's a Pub and shop,  on the opposite bank is an industrial estate, This estate has a KFC that is the other side of a hedge from the towpath, People off the boats were feeding the Water Voles on the bank, It was a colony of f***ing rats i kid you not,  Just to make clear the pictures are water voles 

That’s some carpy looking spots

[foxdropper 17,092]

28 minutes ago, Arry said:

I have shot mink bolted them with the ferrets JR's nailed a few and bugger do they stink afterwards the JR's that is. Even followed mink hounds on a tributary of the Dart the Harbourne where they caught within an hour. Don't see them at all no more now there are otters about. So imo there is some connection with otters coming back.

Cheers Arry

Had a few with the dogs over the years and shot one with an airgun while ratting ,big bugger too .Be a poorer place without them Id say despite the water bird loses .Just need to control them that’s all .

Years ago few of us had a bobbery pack that used to do the marden and parts of the Avon .No hounds just mixed pack of terriers ,whippets and anything else that came along .I was the whip and got to see some truly cunning stunts by mink .Up trees ,heel line aplenty and waterfalls .

[paulus 26]

12 minutes ago, Greyman said:

That’s some carpy looking spots

Was once until the canal and river trust decided to employ a subcontractor to electro fish annually for the Zander, Strangly enough all the big carp have vanished over the years! maybe its the mink 

[Greyman 25,275]

24 minutes ago, paulus said:

Was once until the canal and river trust decided to employ a subcontractor to electro fish annually for the Zander, Strangly enough all the big carp have vanished over the years! maybe its the mink 

What’s your views on the zander, I think we should leave them be they seem to fit in ok not what was advertised when they first came on the scene being told they would decimate waters, we have pike to mid 30s here alongside 20+ zander and 4lb perch so obviously enough prey species for all, they cancelled a zander match here a while back because the ea popped up and demanded everything caught was killed

[paulus 26]

9 minutes ago, Greyman said:

What’s your views on the zander, I think we should leave them be they seem to fit in ok not what was advertised when they first came on the scene being told they would decimate waters, we have pike to mid 30s here alongside 20+ zander and 4lb perch so obviously enough prey species for all, they cancelled a zander match here a while back because the ea popped up and demanded everything caught was killed

Zander appeared around here since the late 1970`s that i know off.  Electro fishing, as its done here annually, tends to remove the mid to large sized fish leaving the smaller zander, These smaller zander will feed on the smaller silvers and consequently will have an effect on future silver fish stocks, If they had left them alone then the population will/had controlled itself. This electro fishing is funded by Natural England, This money is paid to the CRT to protect an SSSI, But the thing is this SSSI is for flaora and Fauna along one 1/4 stretch of the Ashby canal yet they electro fish the whole canal, The company that does the electro fishing on behalf of the CRT were found to be selling the zander they removed at Billingsgate Fish Market, Makes you wonder doesn't it.

[Nicepix 5,650]

There are zander in virtually every water over here in France and always has been. Still plenty of silvers around. They seem to fit in with perch and pike. Virtually every one caught gets eaten though. Same with perch and pike. 

[paulus 26]

The thing that has changed fish stocks in the canal system is boats, When i was a kid the canals were pretty run down, Eroded tow paths that were impassable in places, Weed covered both the near and far margins, However they were dredged regularly usually by means of a sludge pump that would spray the silt onto bordering fields, Tench were seen rolling after spawning in the weeds and i mean a lot of them. The water was very clear. you could watch the shoals of perch from off the top of bridges. Then It started to change, Boating got more popular. The tow paths were improved and more moorings added. Fast forward to today and there's a massive increase in people both living full time on boats and those who use them purely for pleasure. all this added boat traffic has changed the canals, weeds are no longer able to grow, the banks have had to be strengthened, The tow path itself is now used by Joggers, Walkers ,Cyclist, dog walkers and  every Tom Dick and Harry, The water has that much suspended silt in it now it sometimes resembles hot chocolate. This silt never has a chance to settle due to the amount of boat traffic, Now whilst this has had a detrimental effect on some fish species others have flourished, The bream is one example, 

I suppose what i am trying to say is, Nature evolves to suit its situation, 

[Greyman 25,275]

1 hour ago, paulus said:

The thing that has changed fish stocks in the canal system is boats, When i was a kid the canals were pretty run down, Eroded tow paths that were impassable in places, Weed covered both the near and far margins, However they were dredged regularly usually by means of a sludge pump that would spray the silt onto bordering fields, Tench were seen rolling after spawning in the weeds and i mean a lot of them. The water was very clear. you could watch the shoals of perch from off the top of bridges. Then It started to change, Boating got more popular. The tow paths were improved and more moorings added. Fast forward to today and there's a massive increase in people both living full time on boats and those who use them purely for pleasure. all this added boat traffic has changed the canals, weeds are no longer able to grow, the banks have had to be strengthened, The tow path itself is now used by Joggers, Walkers ,Cyclist, dog walkers and  every Tom Dick and Harry, The water has that much suspended silt in it now it sometimes resembles hot chocolate. This silt never has a chance to settle due to the amount of boat traffic, Now whilst this has had a detrimental effect on some fish species others have flourished, The bream is one example, 

I suppose what i am trying to say is, Nature evolves to suit its situation, 

So it’s my fault then

[paulus 26]

1 minute ago, Greyman said:

So it’s my fault then

obviously