Various animals interfering with astronomy gear!

[Paz]

I went to get some astronomy bits and found this hiding between my scopes. One of my meddling cats brought this in and it has been pooing everywhere but luckily just missing my scopes. Also sometimes the cats curl up in there and drop hairs on my stuff! !

I have caught the bird and let it go but the cats on the other hand are about to incur a restriction of privileges!

[teoria_del_big_bang]

Not had that but bad enough in middle of a moonless night with my scope when the cat comes and brushes against my legs. Doesn't half make me jump in the pitch blackness. One day I will put my torch on to find out it's not my cat at all ?

 

Steve

[Mr niall]

2 minutes ago, teoria_del_big_bang said:

Not had that but bad enough in middle of a moonless night with my scope when the cat comes and brushes against my legs. Doesn't half make me jump in the pitch blackness. One day I will put my torch on to find out it's not my cat at all ?

 

Steve

I was out in France last summer chasing jupiter with my travelscope on the patio. Was just in bare feet sitting at the patio table, kept feeling an annoying itch on my foot. Really really glad I looked down before brushing it off - was a praying mantis the size of a cricket ball using my foot as some sort of elevated hunting platform! ?

[kev]

Had a grass snake in the observatory once at letchworth. Boy did i move when i saw it at first! 

[Davey-T]

Left the obs'y doors open on a hot spring day and found a Ring Dove building a nest on the shelf also had the occasionally frog hop in to join me.

Dave

[Paz]

14 hours ago, Davey-T said:

Left the obs'y doors open on a hot spring day and found a Ring Dove building a nest on the shelf also had the occasionally frog hop in to join me.

Dave

One thing I worry about is things getting inside my vx14 and nesting or crawling (or hopping!) on the mirror so it is carefully stored such that there are no ways in unless you are determined and ant-sized.

[Davey-T]

6 minutes ago, Paz said:

One thing I worry about is things getting inside my vx14 and nesting or crawling (or hopping!) on the mirror so it is carefully stored such that there are no ways in unless you are determined and ant-sized.

I have to check the dew shield on the SCT for cobwebs before use 

Dave

[Hawksmoor]

A wild boar put the wind up me whilst I was taking widefield snaps of the sky in the early hours of the morning. I can cope with the odd passing hedgehog grunting the night away but a large amorous porker on a moonless night is not to be taken lightly by an old amateur astronomer bending over a tripod.

George 'shuddering at the thought' and currently not in Lowestoft