Wildlife and Gardens Thread

[jgtuk]

My small Rookery (5 nests)

 

[Spudulike]

30 minutes ago, jgtuk said:

The ChiffChaff are deafening at the moment 😂. 
I see Marsh Harrier around our coast on migration and they breed at Cors Ddyga, Anglesey which is the nearest to me. 
They are quite easy to see in the south of England on one of the reserves. 
I know of several Hen Harrier nesting sites and they are amazing to watch in the breeding season, if you’ve never seen it, google sky dance. 

I may have seen a Marsh Harrier but it was so fast overhead that I couldn't get a positive ID. The Merlin bird app was recording one close by though. Only seen a Hen Harrier on Springwatch 

 

Hoping to see some interesting wildlife on the North Cornish coast in May. Saw a Cuckoo last year, first one since I was a kid.

[PAULCFC]

We have Jackdaws nesting in our chimney pots.Going on a boat to Coquet island later in the week as the Puffins have just started coming in,only about a mile off the coast of where we live now!

[jgtuk]

29 minutes ago, PAULCFC said:

We have Jackdaws nesting in our chimney pots.Going on a boat to Coquet island later in the week as the Puffins have just started coming in,only about a mile off the coast of where we live now!

I hope your chimneys are sealed inside the house. Some sealed chimneys need ventilation through an air brick or vent. The chimney will be blocked by the nest and sometimes the young birds fall down and can’t escape so die behind a disused fireplace. 
 

I spent a week between Bardsey Island and South Stack once, counting seabirds and arriving migrants. Puffins are hilarious on land, you could walk up to within a few inches of them without them batting an eyelid. 😂
 

Coquet Island has about 30 to 40 thousand breeding seabirds! 
Report back with your sightings please 👍
 

[Heathrow fox]

Hope everybody’s making drinking water available.It’s getting incredibly dry out there

[jgtuk]

1 hour ago, Heathrow fox said:

Hope everybody’s making drinking water available.It’s getting incredibly dry out there

People feed birds but lots aren’t aware that they also need drinking and bathing water close by. 

[Spudulike]

3 hours ago, jgtuk said:

I hope your chimneys are sealed inside the house. Some sealed chimneys need ventilation through an air brick or vent. The chimney will be blocked by the nest and sometimes the young birds fall down and can’t escape so die behind a disused fireplace. 
 

I spent a week between Bardsey Island and South Stack once, counting seabirds and arriving migrants. Puffins are hilarious on land, you could walk up to within a few inches of them without them batting an eyelid. 😂
 

Coquet Island has about 30 to 40 thousand breeding seabirds! 
Report back with your sightings please 👍
 

Seems that Puffins have come to understand that humans are not a threat and actually keep away the gulls and skuas. 

 

Hopefully the UK ban on EU trawlers devastating sand eel stocks will help.

[Fox1970]

A couple of years ago, we converted part of our garden for a future woodland area.

 

Starting to see some really good green growth now 

[jgtuk]

2 hours ago, Spudulike said:

Seems that Puffins have come to understand that humans are not a threat and actually keep away the gulls and skuas. 

 

Hopefully the UK ban on EU trawlers devastating sand eel stocks will help.

Don’t hold your breath, I was involved in a campaign as far back as 1990 calling for an inquiry into trawling, sand eel losses were huge back then and I think they’ve made a slight recovery since. Still a massive problem though as they are the sole food source for puffin. 

[Trav Le Bleu]

20 hours ago, Spudulike said:

I may have seen a Marsh Harrier but it was so fast overhead that I couldn't get a positive ID. The Merlin bird app was recording one close by though. Only seen a Hen Harrier on Springwatch 

 

Hoping to see some interesting wildlife on the North Cornish coast in May. Saw a Cuckoo last year, first one since I was a kid.

If it was soaring, it does so with it's wings in a bit of a V. Other birds of prey have their wings out flat.

 

Often it's a case of knowing which birds will be found in which habitat. Is it marshland? Probably a Marsh Harrier. Is it heathland? Probably a Hen Harrier. Also whether they are common in the part of the country. E.G. Puffins are extremely unlikely in Leicestershire.

 

That said birds have wings and can end up where they don't habitually go, so it's not a hard and fast rule.

[Trav Le Bleu]

2 hours ago, Fox1970 said:

A couple of years ago, we converted part of our garden for a future woodland area.

 

Starting to see some really good green growth now 

Fess up, you just can't be bothered anymore.

[Trav Le Bleu]

6 hours ago, jgtuk said:

I hope your chimneys are sealed inside the house. Some sealed chimneys need ventilation through an air brick or vent. The chimney will be blocked by the nest and sometimes the young birds fall down and can’t escape so die behind a disused fireplace. 
 

I spent a week between Bardsey Island and South Stack once, counting seabirds and arriving migrants. Puffins are hilarious on land, you could walk up to within a few inches of them without them batting an eyelid. 😂
 

Coquet Island has about 30 to 40 thousand breeding seabirds! 
Report back with your sightings please 👍
 

Was able to get very close to a Puffin when we went Shetland last year 

[Bellend Sebastian]

I used to have a colleague that would do a brilliant puffin impersonation (of the sound they make anyway) which involved her concentrating VERY hard and going slightly boss eyed and it's a shame that we had both got ourselves life partners by that point as I really valued that

[Spudulike]

25 minutes ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

If it was soaring, it does so with it's wings in a bit of a V. Other birds of prey have their wings out flat.

 

Often it's a case of knowing which birds will be found in which habitat. Is it marshland? Probably a Marsh Harrier. Is it heathland? Probably a Hen Harrier. Also whether they are common in the part of the country. E.G. Puffins are extremely unlikely in Leicestershire.

 

That said birds have wings and can end up where they don't habitually go, so it's not a hard and fast rule.

It was just inland slightly off a salt marsh down the Bristol Channel. I'm sure that it was a Marsh Harrier as others have reported seeing one but I want a positive ID before claiming it. I'm in the area often so will see one eventually 

[PAULCFC]

On 06/04/2025 at 10:20, jgtuk said:

I hope your chimneys are sealed inside the house. Some sealed chimneys need ventilation through an air brick or vent. The chimney will be blocked by the nest and sometimes the young birds fall down and can’t escape so die behind a disused fireplace. 
 

I spent a week between Bardsey Island and South Stack once, counting seabirds and arriving migrants. Puffins are hilarious on land, you could walk up to within a few inches of them without them batting an eyelid. 😂
 

Coquet Island has about 30 to 40 thousand breeding seabirds! 
Report back with your sightings please 👍
 

Yes they have the cages on top......went for a walk on the rocks last evening at Hadstone Scaurs and saw something that looked like an old plane propeller......walked over and it was the back end of a Grey Seal pup......Amazing to be within a couple of feet from it!Should have taken my phone for pic's,but it'll be something i'll remember for ever!

[Spudulike]

Worrying....

 

"Fipronil is banned in the UK for agricultural use and imidacloprid has been banned for use in agriculture since 2018. However, all three pesticides are still widely used in tick and flea treatments for pets."

 

https://www.pan-uk.org/garden-birds-are-being-poisoned-by-pet-flea-treatments/

[Lako42]

On 05/04/2025 at 17:45, PAULCFC said:

Moved up to the North East and it's amazing the difference in wildlife up here compared to Leicester....see Pheasants every day while driving,Jackdaws(never seen one before moving up here....but their a pain in the arse)Great tit's,long tailed tit's,blue tit's,Robins in the garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get all of these in my Leicestershire garden and much more. 

 

Two deer stood outside the house barking last night, might move. 

[Bilsthorpe Blue]

Heard my first Cuckoo of the year yesterday

[Free Falling Foxes]

Blue Tits have nested in our birdbox and laid 8 eggs. Slightly worried though as the incubation period is usually 14/15 days and we are now on day 17.

We have a camera in the box and it appears even the female is concerned. Although she has been dutifully sitting on the nest, now she often fidgets and keeps looking at the eggs and nudging them slightly.

Mrs. FFF says I'm like a nervous expectant father, pacing up and down the maternity ward corridor.

Somethings wrong though, I can feel it.....

Edited Monday at 17:01 by Free Falling Foxes

[Spudulike]

1 hour ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

Blue Tits have nested in our birdbox and laid 8 eggs. Slightly worried though as the incubation period is usually 14/15 days and we are now on day 17.

We have a camera in the box and it appears even the female is concerned. Although she has been dutifully sitting on the nest, now she often fidgets and keeps looking at the eggs and nudging them slightly.

Mrs. FFF says I'm like a nervous expectant father, pacing up and down the maternity ward corridor.

Somethings wrong though, I can feel it.....

I would switch off the camera! No idea what's going on in mine but not seen any evidence of chick's being fed.

 

Have you counted from the day the last egg was laid?

[Free Falling Foxes]

2 hours ago, Spudulike said:

I would switch off the camera! No idea what's going on in mine but not seen any evidence of chick's being fed.

 

Have you counted from the day the last egg was laid?

I have, yes.

No idea if it is the same pair from last year but on that occasion, 7 eggs were laid and only two hatched.

Perhaps she has fertility problems?

 

You're right, perhaps I need to turn the camera off.

[FoyleFox]

4 hours ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

Blue Tits have nested in our birdbox and laid 8 eggs. Slightly worried though as the incubation period is usually 14/15 days and we are now on day 17.

We have a camera in the box and it appears even the female is concerned. Although she has been dutifully sitting on the nest, now she often fidgets and keeps looking at the eggs and nudging them slightly.

Mrs. FFF says I'm like a nervous expectant father, pacing up and down the maternity ward corridor.

Somethings wrong though, I can feel it.....

Perhaps, like human gestation, they can be early or late? Mother nature doesn't always follow a strict timetable. Hopefully, it's just that and not that anything is wrong.

We were only saying today that we haven't seen very much activity in either of our bird boxes the past couple of weeks and assumed they were in the incubation period.

[Spudulike]

11 hours ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

I have, yes.

No idea if it is the same pair from last year but on that occasion, 7 eggs were laid and only two hatched.

Perhaps she has fertility problems?

 

You're right, perhaps I need to turn the camera off.

I shared this further up the thread. Do you have a dog and use flea treatments?

 

https://www.pan-uk.org/garden-birds-are-being-poisoned-by-pet-flea-treatments/

[jgtuk]

Well, 11 nests in the garden have been predated so far. 
Heard the first Garden and Willow Warbler to arrive this week, saw Spotted Flycatcher and found a Great Spotted Woodpecker nest. 
The Swifts are back too, quite early for this area. It was the third week in May last year. 
I expect it’s the unseasonably warm weather we’ve had, bringing lots of insects out. 
If you’re doing any major building work, stick a Swift box or two up in the eaves, Swifts are struggling to find suitable nest sites due to modern building techniques and their numbers are dwindling. 
Probably my favourite bird and so evocative of summer in towns and villages. 
 

[brookfox]

 

This just landed in my garden, peregrine falcon if I’m not mistaken?