Wildlife Top Trumps

[lainey lou]

We get slow worms every year in the garden and a few year back a little hummingbird tiger moth was a regular visitor to our geraniums.

[Pumpkin Becki]

SBP - Thankyou
and Pumpkin Becki, I used to know a bloke who rescued Birds of Prey and he had an Eagle Owl that had been injured, while it was recuperating it used to sit on a perch in the garden and you had to edge past it to get to and from the house, was never sure how long the tether was, so a bit unnerving, Pretty large creature so not surprised at a woman being knocked over.
Sue

I believe it gored her shoulder! Maybe she had a bunny rabbit back-pack on (sorry, thats not very funny).

We did also see a green woodpecker this weekend at the lottie.

[shirlthegirl43]

Younger son was collecting some soil for me from the back of the garden yesterday afternoon, he looked up and came face to face with a fox coming through from our neighbour's garden. fox decided my son was too fierce and shot off again. Glad I know it is about as we know to take extra precautions when we get our chooks.

[everdream78]

Alas, the closest encounter I've had was a drowning rabbit from the fields at the back - my neighbours are possibly the untidiest, muckiest people on earth and their kids (spawn of satan I'm sure) tipped over their council garden bin to use as a den - consequently, it rained and started to fill up with water. I was taking some veg peelings down to the compost when I heard a scratching sound and took a peek in the bin, only to find a poor bunny up to his ears in water, absolutely frozen and unable to get out.

I went a got loads of towels and wrapped him up and sat rubbing him for about 20 minutes, then emptied the paper box and popped him in there next to the radiator.

Sadly, the little fella only survived an hour or so before he went to the great warren in the sky. I was furious with next door and gave her a right telling off the nect time I saw her - guess what....kids did exactly the same the next week so I spend a lot of time now putting their bin the right way up!

Oh, and there's a hedgehog that mooches past the back door every night too

[Headfry]

I loved the 3 little ginger mice I found at weekend.
Spotted woodpecker lovely- until he gets to know about my bee hive :-(
skylarks.
cinnabar moths!

[Paul Wagland]

Everdream - can you puncture the bottom of the bin so it drains?

[HeyWayne]

Yay! I saw a common lizard on the patio - sorry no picture.

Was watching a wildlife programme where they were trying to get footage of the "common" lizard. They said it was strange that something so difficult to spot should be called common.

Not really seen much on the allotment - but I was washing up or making breakfast - something that required I stood in front of the kitchen window anyway, and I spotted what I thought was a blackbird on the lawn having a forage. It looked strange, so I studied it a bit more and noticed it was in fact green-ish in colour and had a dappled/spotted front. I think it was a woodpecker, but having never seen one before, can't be too sure.

I'd like to know what kind of bug bit my foot last year! Bladdy thing!

[smallblueplanet]

- something that required I stood in front of the kitchen window anyway, and I spotted what I thought was a blackbird on the lawn having a forage. It looked strange, so I studied it a bit more and noticed it was in fact green-ish in colour and had a dappled/spotted front. I think it was a woodpecker, but having never seen one before, can't be too sure.

One of these?

[HeyWayne]

Yeah, thanks for that spb, it looked pretty much identical to this photo in fact: http://www.english-country-garden.co...dpecker-19.jpg

Kind of scurried about on the lawn.

[smallblueplanet]

Bit of a baby, maybe, probably eating your ants. Woodpeckers have an odd 'hop' when the move don't they.

[sewer rat]

I know it's not really an allotment that the following list represents but in the past year, visitors to my site have included (in the air or on the land)
Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Osprey (just passing overhead), Carrion Crow, Hooded Crow, Lapwing, Curlew, Pheasant, Red Legged Partridge, Grey Partridge, Fieldfare, Wren (nesting in my compost heap), Song Thrush, Blackbird, Robin, 20,000 Geese (thankfully overhead), Wood Pigeon (Unfortunately not overhead)
Rabbits, Hares, Field Mouse, Stoat, Rats (and I don't mean the family LOL) Foxes.

[SueA]

We don't get anything exotic in the garden but I have had bats, grey squirrels, hummingbird hawkmoths,magpie moths grasshoppers,frogs, hedgehogs, shrews, mice,leopard slugs, long tail tits & lots of other birds, butterflies & moths. Here's some pics.

[Headfry]

oooh please miss..... Leopard slugs!
went over to my plot one damp morning, jumped out of my skin- thought it was a .....a... I don't know what but talk about make me jump....it was a SLUG! yes, a leopard slug and it was huge! really really huge. How can a slug make you jump...but it did!

[SueA]

They are huge & creepy looking aren't they but they're supposed to be less harmful than 'ordinary' slugs as they live off fungus & decaying matter, don't think they've told that to the ones in my garden though, I'm sure they nibble the plants. They are quite attractive though I suppose in their own way!

[SMS6]

Not actually seen but we do know we had a badger in our garden once. Which is quite unusual because we live on an estate.

We are very sure it was a badger because of the size of the hole that had been dug in the top of the wall. We think it was after a bees nest.