What sort of wildlife visits your garden?


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Another most enjoyable occurrence last night. During an advert break at 9.40 in the appalling 'I'm a Celebrity' programme, I'd made a cup of tea and got a mince pie. The outside security light came on, so I partially wound up the blind over the French Windows and there was a beautiful adult fox chomping on a few cat biscuits that the neighbours moggies had left. The fox stared at me, finished the snack and wandered off. I then put some dog biscuits out in the hope that it would return. 

Then a couple of hours later, at 11.40, I'd just logged off from browsing NS, and the light came on again. I jumped out of bed, pulled aside the curtain and unbelievably, there were not one, but two large badgers in the garden. One was eating the dog biscuits, and the other was at the base of the tree where the squirrels peanut box is situated, and clearing up the scraps the squirrels had dropped. 

They finished their supper, and scrambled up the garden and off into the night. 

It was wonderful to watch this happening barely a mile from the city centre, and I must visit Wilko's for more goodies for them.

Now I appreciate that some members detest foxes, as they have suffered heartbreaking carnage to lambs and poultry previously, as I have with losing ducks and hens in the past, but in my garden in the depths of Basford, it's a sight to behold.

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Well I had a marvellous surprise last night. I've had neighbours cats activate the outside security lights, as have foxes. I have seen hedgehogs and squirrels too, but last  night was exceptional. I o

Ian  When I first got married and first visited Ireland it was Holy Week and I would have to trapse around with my mother in law visiting relatives as many, as 4 different families a day for an e

Here you are Mary. They come to visit me every day. You have to creep up very quietly, if they spot you....they disappear into the undergrowth.  

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Maybe he was Jill, but he won't get any of those I can tell you ! 

He's a choosy beggar, as the other week, I'd put out some dog biscuits, and as I was washing the dinner plates, I'd scraped off madams leftovers of mashed potatoes and curly kale, and plopped it on top of the biscuits. I didn't notice the light come on over night, but the following morning, I noticed that the biscuits with the potato and kale on we're still there, although surrounding ones had vanished. I removed the remnants and put out the biscuits along with fresh ones the following night, and they all were consumed .

Obviousley he was unimpressed with my cooking !

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Just been pottering in the garden, and filling the bird feeders,p in between the showers, and I noticed that a couple of magpies have been up in one of my small trees, breaking off small twigs with their beaks. Why go to all this effort, when there's stacks of small twigs strewn over the garden ? Any ideas folks ? Interesting to watch though. Trouble is, I'm glued to the kitchen window with cups of tea and fig biscuits !

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No idea if this is even remotely close but maybe the twigs from the trees are more pilable than the dried twigs on the floor?

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When I was young Yes I was once my uncle Ernie used to tell me that Fairy’s always lived at bottom of your garden I’m still looking. If any members sees these fairy’s please let me know. 

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Ponds make a huge contribution to the range of wildlife that turns up in the garden. Still a lot of frogs mating this morning. The spawn is being piled up into wobbly mounds. There are Great crested newts but only see them occasionally when clearing excessive weed growths. Giant water beetles and lesser water beetles are seen regularly and in Summer we get two types of Dragonfly. The herons will be down when feeding their young. Only seen hedgehogs twice in the last year. They used to live here until the dog drove them off. We get a wide variety of birds, being close to fields and a hillside. The birds are all playing territorial and mating games at the moment. Amusing to watch :biggrin:

In France it is a very wild garden. Deer, wild boar, pine martens, fox, adders and salamanders and a wide variety of birds - even a parrot feeding on the Monkey puzzle tree last week!...must have been an escapee? 

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22 minutes ago, mary1947 said:

If any members sees these fairy’s please let me know. 

 Here you are Mary. They come to visit me every day. You have to creep up very quietly, if they spot you....they disappear into the undergrowth.:)

 

DSCN0615.jpg

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We have one at the bottom of our garden. It's called 'Nuff'....................  Yup it's fairynuff   ;)

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Lots of lizards, a few snakes (don't know what type but I'm told they're not venomous), various rodents (the dogs tend to keep those in check), an occasional wild pig (dogs deal with them as well). Very few birds around - perhaps because the locals tend to shoot them. Lots of insects, particularly fireflies, bees (loads and loads because of the lavender fields near here), wasps, moths, butterflies, crickets and (most unwelcome) hornets. I was stung on the hand by a hornet once. I ended up in the emergency department - it was intensely painful - my hand swelled up to about twice the normal size and was like that for several weeks.

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The pair of aggressive blackbirds are still terrorising our cats.  As soon as the birds see one of the cats they start 'shouting' at them and either run towards them or dive bomb them.  Now, as soon as the cats hear their loud voices they rush under the garden table and make whimpering noises.  I have to clap my hands at the birds to make them go away, but they don't go far.  The cats will only go into the back garden now if we go with them, although they don't mind when it's dark, of course.  Today, the blackbirds have been chasing off sparrows, starlings and trying to do the same with a wood pigeon and a jackdaw, when I put some scraps on the grass.  

I reckon they are being fed too well as I've been giving them left over cat food each morning!  

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I now live in a rural village and see less wildlife than when I lived in the heart of Radford. At the bottom of the Radford garden beyond my fence was a narrow strip of land and then the ground dropped away in a steep bank to level some 25 feet lower. The bank was very overgrown and vertually impossible to access and contained an active badger set. The Badgers, foxes and all manner of birds were frequent garden visitors. I saw a several fox Cubs and a cat playing very nicely together in the garden watched over by the vixen one day. Here in the sticks apart from the usual wild birds nothing much seems to visit the garden. Get the odd rabbit, squirrel and once several ducks and a peacock, escapees from the pub garden nearby. I the fields nearby we've seen foxes and hares and recently Deer. We hear an owl, cuckoo and woodpecker.

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Ian 

When I first got married and first visited Ireland it was Holy Week and I would have to trapse around with my mother in law visiting relatives as many, as 4 different families a day for an entire week. I would sit there drinking tea, most were teetotal, and eating tinned ham salad or tinned pink salmon sandwiches. 

I had to overcome - “the shame of it, she married an Englishman. - Weren’t those nice respectable Irish boy’s good enough for her. - She always thought she was a cut above etc.” and let me tell you it took the full Martyn charm. It was also calving time and one night after mass I escaped with a cousin to a Ceili and got fairly plastered on beer and Poteen chasers. When we got back to the farm just before dawn a cow was having problems calving and so i “helped” (stood around next to him doing what I was told) the cousin got the calve out which took forever, had breakfast and back to visits with the mother in law (if I had been sober i would not have had the courage to help). Anyway the story went round that I would make a natural farmer, that I could hold my booze and all was good. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

There's been some horrible big slimy cream coloured slugs around this springtime, but the recent hot weather has certainly had an effect on them ! What happened to the normal brown and black ones ? Anyone know ?

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On 6/16/2018 at 8:48 PM, LizzieM said:

Meet the family ......... must be attracted to the newly painted exterior of our abode

FA6_D68_EE-41_D2-409_D-8_BE3-579053172_B

 

Blimey Lizzie, I would run a mile !

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