# Today in nature I saw **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 20, 2020, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854 "2020-07-20T18:22:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 88
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1742 "2022-08-16T16:36:06Z")
The night before last there was some mighty screeching in the street outside - fox cubs fighting. The lighting’s poor, so while I know there were 3 foxes - two cubs fighting and one other watching - I couldn’t make out if the third was another cub or an adult. It all looked pretty ferocious - started me wondering if it was still play or it was time for cubs to disperse. Last night the motion sensitive security lights out back lit up, and there were two cubs playing out there - so I guess it’s still play fighting for the moment. But these sightings reminded me: > [@Treppenwitz](#): > > …there’s an old earth behind our garden shed which might be back in use. I may take a peek over the next day or so, see if I can spot any evidence. I took a peek. There has been a lot of new digging. So I guess we have _resident_ cubs. j ETA - yeah, @Tamerlane, that really is awesome! ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1743 "2022-08-16T18:33:24Z")
Wild turkey hens & assorted chicks (different sizes, so they’d clearly banded together a communal “kindergarten”) in my front yard, a few days ago. One hen went into the street, clucked a bit, then the others all followed, with one hen bringing up the caboose and making sure the littles were all safely herded across. [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/PRxMX7t.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/WvM7D5Y) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1744 "2022-08-16T18:37:03Z")
Awww, that’s sweet! ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1745 "2022-08-16T23:50:39Z")
It was clear that the adult females were cooperating. It’s hard to see in the pic, but the bebbies were obviously from different clutches, and the moms were herding all of them together indiscriminately. The one pulling up the caboose kept looking around, looking behind - it was plain that she took her job very seriously. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1746 "2022-08-16T23:51:43Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > one hen bringing up the caboose and making sure the littles were all safely herded across. Adorable! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1747 "2022-08-17T11:05:06Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > the bebbies were obviously from different clutches, and the moms were herding all of them together indiscriminately. We have a flock of turkeys that visit our house and eat corn we put out. The behavior you saw is typical. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1748 "2022-08-21T20:15:14Z")
Time to move this thread back to the top of the page. I got no critter or plant news, but back in post #1309 the precedent was established that chalk cliffs count, which is just as well because this was flat-out gorgeous. This is the view, from Seaford Head, of The Seven Sisters [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ABLVV85SjMkXcu3zm071qu_-8Un3HBjvJhfR0tOkucUMwh_XP5uqOlPcCYHmkJGAuMUdyEwhO72BNH1jdMGcIv1rnLXSkUnPLgOzJrwQ4lToHk7EEflc984=w600-h315-p-k "New item by j") ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/BhbLDn8NVwhhzuLy9) Seven Sisters - geddit? If your eyes are good you may just make out a building on the seventh sister - that is [Belle Tout Lighthouse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Tout_Lighthouse). It’s a guesthouse now, so you can book a room there for your next trip over. However, a note of caution: > By 1999 the erosion of the cliffs was threatening the foundations of the building and drastic steps had to be taken to stop it from falling into the sea. On 17 March 1999 in a remarkable feat of engineering work the Belle Tout was [moved](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structure_relocation) 17 metres (56 ft) away from the cliff face. Aside: This (today) was our first time for that view - we had never walked the path before. But - incredibly - it turns out that Google Maps have sent their car up there (!) (Well, quad bike, but even so…). Here’s their version of the view: https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=%213m2%212sen%214v0%216m8%211m7%211sAF1QipMLMt4I1s6heRtUNU%212m2%211d50.7570266%212d0.1323778%213f69.81%214f10.135%215f0.75 j ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2022, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1749 "2022-08-21T22:10:47Z")
I’ve wondered how the chalk cliffs are doing with the drought you are experiencing in England and Europe, in general. Where I live, we are in light drought, so not experiencing drastic problems. I worry where things are so dry that any rain can produce flooding and ground collapse. It’s been a fairly quiet summer here. I can’t get used to the lack of crows due to bird flu. The pollinating bugs are having a good time of it, but really nothing much to report. We’ve had our usually mid-August nighttime temperature drop. It is now tomato ripening season. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2022, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1750 "2022-08-22T14:07:52Z")
Yeah, the collapses tend to happen in periods of heavy rain - aside from anything else, that must make the porous chalk heavier - but a period of drought must stress the rock, I would have thought. I guess we’ll get an idea of what damage has been done to the cliff structure when the winter rains kick in (if they do!) As a postscript, as fabulous as that view is, the view back the other way (from the first sister towards Seaford Head) is even better. No photo will ever do it justice, but in the summer evening sun, the meanders as the Cuckmere River wends its way to the sea are breathtaking. Here’s what Google Streetview has: https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=%213m2%212sen%214v0%216m8%211m7%211sSkOWR6fmcUbKh_UZfnM2pw%212m2%211d50.7741829%212d0.1571063%213f227.45%214f8.392%215f0.75 https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=%213m2%212sen%214v0%216m8%211m7%211sAF1QipOg-RMLKM6xC8fi8u%212m2%211d50.7710373%212d0.1567464%213f261.0%214f8.696%215f0.75 j ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2022, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1751 "2022-08-22T22:29:29Z")
Gorgeous and peaceful. That’s a lovely big sky. Regarding the stress, yes. the dirt and stone can shrink and crack as it dries up. A sudden deluge of water on super-dry ground adds weight but isn’t absorbed as quickly as if the ground were slightly damp. It can do a lot of damage while trying to find a way to reach it’s own level. ---
**Author:** ![dummygladhands71](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c0e974/32.png) [@dummygladhands71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dummygladhands71)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1752 "2022-08-23T04:01:09Z")
A fat coyote just moseying up our mountain in the middle of the street. Not a care in the world. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1753 "2022-08-23T21:54:18Z")
A couple days ago I saw a duck that I don’t think has ever been recorded in my area (Albuquerque NM). It’s the Fulvous Whistling Duck and is usually seen in Florida or the Gulf. There are two of them along with a mallard. [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52301428911_995f890e63_b.jpg "Fulvous Whistling Ducks with Mallard") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/153498892@N04/52301428911/in/album-72177720301125442/) ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1754 "2022-08-23T22:58:09Z")
Beautiful ducks. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1755 "2022-08-23T23:01:25Z")
I saw a crow and a hawk sitting next to each other on a fence. They were both facing forward, about a foot apart. I’ve seen crows mobbing hawks before, but never anything like this. After about a minute the hawk flew away and the crow flew off in a different direction. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1756 "2022-08-23T23:04:12Z")
Did you happen to notice whether a little, tiny briefcase was exchanged? ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1757 "2022-08-23T23:12:26Z")
Thread trophy 🏆 ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1758 "2022-08-23T23:25:54Z")
Agree. @Mollie_Magill posted a winner. ---
**Author:** ![rippingtons\_fan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rippingtons_fan/32/11767_2.png) [@rippingtons\_fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rippingtons_fan)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1759 "2022-08-23T23:30:00Z")
I saw a slug and a moth next to each other at the edge of one of my birdbaths. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2022, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1760 "2022-08-26T21:31:02Z")
I was waiting for a bus and happened to look down to see what appeared to be a tiny ant fighting with a used staple. I have no idea what the ant wanted with the staple but it appeared to be losing. I would have taken a picture but I only had my phone with me and don’t know how to use that for taking pictures. The bus was also due any minute. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/1761 "2022-08-27T01:04:50Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > I have no idea what the ant wanted with the staple Yeah, food for thought… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854.md?page=87) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854.md?page=89)