Gardening for Wildlife and Wildlife in the Garden

[Cerise]

Four this morning, Rebs!

[Rebel Pebble]

Yay!

[Duophonic]

The guy that founded the company I work for lives on a massive area of land and took a slow mo video of an osprey pinching one of his koi. He calls it a pond but it's more a lake. I'll see if I can link the video.

In other more down to earth news I have a solitary bee who has laid an egg in the hotel and plugged it up.

[Bat Macdui]

Bees! We've had a white bottomed one flirting around recently. And some orange tip butterflies in the last few days. I was lecturing Mum about leaving her nettles for the butterflies the other day but I don't know if she can get over her generation's NEED for neat.

You could *possibly* have a suburban buzzard, smal. More likely a sparrowhawk, but you'd know it was a sparrowhawk on grounds of it being really small.

[Rebel Pebble]

That's great Duop!

Bees! We've had a white bottomed one flirting around recently. And some orange tip butterflies in the last few days. I was lecturing Mum about leaving her nettles for the butterflies the other day but I don't know if she can get over her generation's NEED for neat.

Ooh, yes, thanks to BTO I know know I've seen painted ladies, orange tip and Holly blue so far this year! We have loads of nettles in the lowest part of our garden down by the road.

It would seem I have a cockchafer. I can't say I was exactly effusive in my welcome. More like "for fucks sake it's only April and it's daytime, it can't be a fucking stag beetle" I know they're a GOOD thing but I will never be a mad fan of flying beetles.

[Bat Macdui]

Aww, I quite like a cockchafer. You wouldn't mess. We have a load of shield bugs this year again, too. We have basically just let the dandelions have at the lawn though.

[Duophonic]

I can't get a decent photo. There are two plugs and a more activity

I've never seen a cockchafer. I thought they'd been wiped out.

[Ella77]

Oh, I saw one a week or two ago, and didn’t know that’s what it was (I mean, I think it was, based on Googling).

That’s great news about your bees, Duo.

[H1ppychick]

There aren’t any leaf plugs in mine yet, despite the fact that I’ve put it on the decking right by the ceonothus which the bees are all going crazy for. It has only been there a few days though, I need to give the poor sods more of a chance.

[kiwi]

We've spent the weekend watching the robins feed their fledgling chicks in the garden. It's a relief as we thought next door's cat had got one or both of them. If I can get close enough to get a photo of them I will post, one of the chicks already seems fairly tame and is happy bobbing around nearish to us.

[Cerise]

I saved this chap’s life* today and look how grateful he is. Arsehole.

*He was in a dustbin of water about 70cm deep with no way out.

[Rebel Pebble]

He is marvellous! Grumpy toad. Well done for saving him.

[Mountain Goat]

I love how they look like angry old boys. The amphibians have woken up here, and I am now carrying ones back into the garden a couple of times a day.

[Duophonic]

I can feel the disdain radiating from the screen.

[Bat Macdui]

That FACE. He is so cross about being saved.

As my tits have not been obliging, please try Wildlife Kate's instead.

Blue tit nest box cam.

[H1ppychick]

Oh, for the quote thread, Bats.

[Rebel Pebble]

Had a great spotted woodpecker show up today and have a good drink from one of the birdbaths.

The blue tits nesting in the roof apex are to and fro all the time. And a pair of robins have been super territorial and constantly buzzing us when we sit around the patio. Like flying past within a few inches and then bellowing from the nearest branch. They are so pugnacious, it's lovely. Sure enough, now there's a juvenile robin, too small for his beak and without a red breast yet, hopping around, confident as can be.

And then there's this chap

IMG_20200511_105007.jpg

[Cerise]

Cute news about the robin! I also have a squirrel visitor.

Thank you to TMT for making me buy a birdbath. It gets so much use!

[Cerise]

We have two mallard families that we’re monitoring but they’re in opposite directions. This is the larger family that is not threatened by piles. The other family is on the canal and has lost several chicks.

And here’s the town peregrines having some breakfast yesterday.

[Rebel Pebble]

Too much cuteness! There was some footage the other day of them being fed ring necked parakeet. I've not seen those around here but I guess they must be about!

That's sad about the other ducklings. Is "piles" an autocorrect special though?