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On just about the one occasion I was doing this on a Summers dawn in Wales I saw a something like a type of Mink or Polecat. What about you regular drivers and truckers who see dawn on the roads on a regular basis?
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Saw an otter with her young near Peebles one morning. Unusual in that neck of the woods. Same road was alive with rabbits hurling themselves under vehicles to the extent that you got used to the regular thunk from underneath. Can't say I've seen any "visitors" though.
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Last year while driving near Gdansk early one morning I did an emergency stop to avoid hitting a big fat hog that scarpered out of the bushes and into the road - tusks and everything.
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I saw something like that one morning a long time ago too Dave but fortunately I hadn't given her my phone number.
Edited by Shoespy on 18/06/2008 at 22:47
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I once saw a Wallaby near The Strines Inn in Derbyshire. Far too early for opening time so I think he was going to be disappointed.
Kevin...
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Was overtaken one morning still in darkness by a fully grown stag, whilst climbing a steep hill in a very old truck, frightened the living daylights out of me, became aware that something was looking at me through the window (cue every feeling known to man, mainly total fear), and it gradually appeared out of the gloom and crossed at an angle across the front of the truck and vanished.
Seen probably every native animal and bird, but nothing exotic or escaped comes to mind.
See too many magpies these days though, they really are getting to epidemic numbers...horrid birds.
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once worked on a farm where they hatched chickens and ducklings for the "one-day old" suppliers, and for a few weeks there was something getting into the ducklings and killing loads of them. One morning a tanker driver came into the yard to pick up the milk, and said he'd hit something in the lane, when we went to look, we identified it as a "duck-filled flattypuss".
okay=okay! i'm going!.................
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Driving along Princes Street in Edinburgh - two foxes popping out into the street from the gardens. (Obviously they were taking the opportunity to set up a "hungry & homeless" site before the bagpipers appeared!)
Saw a weasel at work too - but he's always in early.........
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I'm going back a few years now, I used to work in the paper trade, delivering, well, paper basically ... and I was coming from Beak St in W. London and heading back to the Old Kent Rd ... quite early it was ... I saw 2 pigs in Bow St ... !
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Saw two ladies with longer legs than elle macpherson and skirts shorter than my finger nails in Guildford once. Definitely not native to the city or Surrey.
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Pelican, flying parallel to the B6243 in Lancashire. Middle of day though, so doesn't count:)
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Pelican, flying parallel to ...
Looking for a pelican crossing, obviously?
The direct route between the nesting place and the feeding places takes the local pelicans STRAIGHT down a road called 'Parkway', where my kids' school is.
What a delight this time of year to see huge Vs of these graceful creatures wafting overhead.
The local pub, by the way, is called the Pint and Pelican, because they fly directly overhead.
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Not seen one myself, but about 20 years ago dad saw a Wallaby on the A38 (near Axbridge IIRC). Turns out had escaped from nearby exotic farm. Even made the news on radio Bristol (must have been a slow news day).
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i saw a large group of wallabys in matlock a few years ago and we have mink in the local river and of course signal cray fish from America. there's an ostrich farm down the road and a buffalo herd a few miles away as well
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i saw a tiger standing in the middle of the road once in germany, but thinking back it may have been the fact we had been on exercise for 3 days without sleep and the hypnotic hum of the trucks engine i was driving at the time that may have been playing tricks on me
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There's an albino stag in the area of West Sussex where I go at some weekends, known to my wife's cousins as 'the golden hind'. I think I've seen it once. I also thought I saw a red deer once - not native to the area - but I might have been mistaken. Ordinary roe and fallow animals, and the occasional muntjac, are quite common, have to be kept out of the vegetable garden and congregate like hoodies in the orchard on autumn evenings, scoffing windfall apples. They also nibble the bark of newly planted trees, which renders them vermin :o}. But shooting one I find is a bit of an enterprise, although they taste good if properly cooked. Quite difficult to get a safe shot at them in woodland, and a bit emotionally draining too what with all the gralloching and so forth.
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Wafting: very apt!
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non-native wildlife?
er the ladies who have been out allnight going home with no or next to no clothes on
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Not exactly non-native, but I saw a hare last night. Slightly unusual as it was in the middle of a housing estate in an urban part of Sheffield.
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Ian,
does the guy who owns the petrol station at Vioolsdrif/Noordoewer still keep Llamas?
Kevin...
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>>Vioolsdrif/Noordoewer still keep Llamas?
Do you mean those giant sheep people keep as pets in the home counties to vomit green stuff all over their visitors?
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>Do you mean those giant sheep people keep as pets in the home counties to vomit green stuff..
Nope, totally different animal.
The ones in Namibia/Northern Cape wear desert camouflage. Wouldn't be seen dead in Burberry.
Kevin...
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Chinese water deer on Cannock Chase (regularly).
Lots of grey squirrels, normally flat.
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Lots of grey squirrels normally flat.
The only good grey squirrel IS a flat grey squirrel!
........From a fully paid up member of The Tufty Club.
We still have a few native red squirrels in our part of the country, but for how much longer I don't know, as the 'foreign import' continues to make its way North.
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Saw a fully grown flamingo happily standing in the shallows of the River Medway at Rochester one morning about 20 years ago. For those of you who know the area it was near the old Short Brothers slipway used to launch the flying boats. Came as bit of a shock to us as we travelled to work! A report in the local paper confirmed it was an escapee from a wildlife park.
We've a few local farmers breeding alpacas and llamas round Wiltshire way too.
JS
Edited by John S on 20/06/2008 at 12:17
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Over the years I have seen:
Epping Forest - Eagle Owl - obviously escaped. Big? Just a bit...
You see something as big as that moving (almost totally silent too) you certailnly look twice **Eeeek!**
I was more worried for my Jack Russel Terrier cross than anyone else though :) He was certainly on the menu with a bird that size flapping around!
Also seen a few Harris Hawks in the same area over the years.
Osprey on Rutland water whilst fishing there.
Red Kite (Harrogate area) before it was announced they had been re introduced as breeders. Had never seen one before - had to look that one up to ID it.
St James Park one very lost Pelican outside the passport office! Just stood there, looking 'glum' and most confused!
Edited by Tron on 20/06/2008 at 13:30
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