Wildlife Top Trumps

[shirlthegirl43]

We don't get many unusual critters in our garden as we are mid-terrace and near busy roads and we have a dog and a cat. However, I was delighted to see a pair of bullfinches in the garden just a few weeks ago - the most unusual birds I have seen here in 11 years.

Wildest thing ever in our garden has to be me yesterday when I found a nettle the nasty way while netting the newly planted shallots! and for some reason there are no dock leaves growing in the whole garden

[Grandpadragon]

In early summer 2006 I had just planted a scabious and was sitting back on my kneeler when a hummingbird hawk moth settled on it, and I was able to watch it close up for several minutes resting and feeding. Wonderful. this winter we have had a small flock of Bull finches and to my delight on Big Garden Birdwatch day I had all seven at the same time. We also get visits from a wood mouse during the day, it nicks the bird food from our low bird table.

[muckdiva]

Ring Necks a PEST !!!!. .I would love to see them at my lottie, you are so lucky, Minty

We have them in the garden from time to time. Did a double take first time I noticed them.

[Two_Sheds]

At my Brighton allotment I had loads of slow worms in my compost heap and under any bits of black plastic I left laying around. Lizards too, but the neighbourhood cats used to kill a lot.

Up here in Norfolk we get nothing more exotic than robins, wrens and sparrowhawks.

[wayne]

i see this fox almost everyday he's very confident, i like him allot! hope this attachment thing works so you can see the photo i took?....he's benefitial to my plot cos he makes me smile...(there are no chickens there haha)

[Speed Gardener]

We have a green woodpecker in the trees aurrounding our site as well as loads of those wretched ring necked parakeets. Last year, they stripped two plum trees clean just as the plums were approaching ripeness, and piled the stones up in a neat little pyramid! noisy beasts they are, and it's not a very pleasant squawk. I've had my corn eaten by what I presume is a badger, it ate more of it than I did!

[Pumpkin Becki]

An Eagle Owl escaped from a local collection and caused havoc in the small village my allotment is in. It swooped on a woman out jogging and knocked her to the ground!! i am glad to say I never saw it near the allotment, but we kept our eyes peeled just in case!!

Not really wildlife, but a neighbour keeps 3 sheep at the back of our allotment, and one evening last summer they tried to help us eat our fish and chips!!

[Shortie]

i see this fox almost everyday he's very confident, i like him allot!

I was chuffed to see a fox lying under my lottie gooseberry bush. I think I rather startled it! I've loved foxes since I was tiny and often stop and stare when I see them around. They've got a bad name I know, but hey everyone's got different likes/dislikes.

Opposite our house is a massive alley/strip of land owned by the railways which is very neglected. Makes for fab blackberry picking though and 2 years ago I realised just how many butterflies there are over there. I didn't get out much last year as I was heavily pregnant in early summer blah, blah, blah but this year will be going armed with our camera to get some piccies of the butterflies and foxes that live there.

[FoxHillGardener]

We've got a flock of ring-necked parakeets in our garden nearly all the time. I didn't realise they could be pests - we only moved here in November and at the last house we just had the occasional visit from a pair. Curses. That means I need to think about protecting my fruit crop, have never bothered before and got away with it.

On the good side though, I've found loads of toads here when digging and clearing up. All sizes, too so they must be happily breeding. Also a few frogs, GS woodpecker, various tits, foxes. Nothing in my hedgehog box but I live in hope.

I bought some self-seeded red valerians with me from the old house as that got hawk moths on it several times. Fingers crossed

[kernowyon]

We've got a flock of ring-necked parakeets in our garden nearly all the time. I didn't realise they could be pests - we only moved here in November and at the last house we just had the occasional visit from a pair. Curses. That means I need to think about protecting my fruit crop, have never bothered before and got away with it.

the parakeets are stunning to look at, you definately know when they are around with their squawking, but they can strip buds from trees with unenviable precision, i dont think that they go for fruit only the buds and young growth at the tips, they are thought to be a pest to farmers/growers but we only get upto ten at a time here, some people complain about flocks of 100+.

i think that the benefits of such vividly coloured characters far outweighs the 'pest' tag. just off the M25 junction 13 at Wraysbury, around the gravel pits there is a huge roost of them which you can see from the slip road. the traditional roost at Esher rugby club where there was estimated to be more than 3000 has now been abandoned by them and they have appeared to split into smaller groups.

would hate to lose them from our area, on a dull day they really are an uplifting sight. i will try to get a pikkie if they let me get close enough.

[Flummery]

We get fly-pasts from the local sparrowhawk, coal tits in one of our nest boxes, a spotted woodpecker on the nut feeder and have had up to 4 pheasants in the garden at once. I can sometimes smell a fox but haven't yet seen it. Loads of frogs and toads. Also have seen buzzards circling above.

[JennieAtkinson]

For us the best was an Osprey tearing away at a trout between its claws which it had caught in the loch. It was just over the fence and although it knew I was there it was more interested in getting its fill of the trout.

I might add that Osprey's in Shetland are pretty rare.

[Snadger]

I know grey squirells are classed as vermin but I still like to watch them in the oak trees at the bottom of the plots! Often hear the woodpecker as well but I aint seen him yet!

[Sue]

SBP - Thankyou
As soon as I'm finished on the forum I'll be on to ebay for some vb, anything to get more butterflies and bees.
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

[blackkitty]

We have a largish pond at the bottom of the garden so have loads and loads of frogs and toads and my favourite, common newts
We have been visited a few times by a heron which lunched on my koi. A really magnificent bird but I'd rather it stayed away.