Wildlife and Gardens Thread

[Countryfox]

...   and a couple usually survive which keeps things ticking along as a species ..  but always sad for me when I see so many and know most will fall foul of predators ...  

[Jon the Hat]

We drove from Oxford to Henley-on-Thames about 6 weeks ago and I swear there were a pair of Red Kites every few hundred metres for about half an hour;  Never seen so many Raptors in one outing.  

[joachim1965]

27 minutes ago, Countryfox said:

They shag a lot ..    

 

 

 

 

Absolutely, it's the peak time now, living on a boat we are up close and personal as they thrash about .

[Dahnsouff]

2 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said:

We drove from Oxford to Henley-on-Thames about 6 weeks ago and I swear there were a pair of Red Kites every few hundred metres for about half an hour;  Never seen so many Raptors in one outing.  

100% this - It is pretty common to see 10+ Kites just soaring high over our house (That is not hyperbole, they are that common), there really are a lot in The Chilterns.

Think near Henley was actually the reintroduction site if I recall correctly 

[Jon the Hat]

5 minutes ago, Dahnsouff said:

100% this - It is pretty common to see 10+ Kites just soaring high over our house (That is not hyperbole, they are that common), there really are a lot in The Chilterns.

Think near Henley was actually the reintroduction site if I recall correctly 

It wouldn't surprise me.  Chilterns was the word I was looking for!  A bit tied this morning.

Down in West Sussex we have several pairs of Buzzards close by, one pair over the garden a lot, a Kestrel we see sitting around and hovering over the A24 junction just up the hill, and best of all a pair of Barn Owls living in the top of a barn conversation just down the lane. Nothing more ethereal or lovely than a hunting Barn Owl in the mist as dusk.  I spend about an hour watching their fledglings flying from tree to tree just near their nest early last year.  Amazing.

[Dahnsouff]

6 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said:

It wouldn't surprise me.  Chilterns was the word I was looking for!  A bit tied this morning.

Down in West Sussex we have several pairs of Buzzards close by, one pair over the garden a lot, a Kestrel we see sitting around and hovering over the A24 junction just up the hill, and best of all a pair of Barn Owls living in the top of a barn conversation just down the lane. Nothing more ethereal or lovely than a hunting Barn Owl in the mist as dusk.  I spend about an hour watching their fledglings flying from tree to tree just near their nest early last year.  Amazing.

That sounds amazing. Said elsewhere and I confess to being unaware if actually we would expect it, but I do wonder if the success of the kites has been to the detriment of other species, specifically raptors.

We are now seeing plenty of Jay's and hearing lots of Wood Peckers. Nature is fab.

[Costock_Fox]

I was walking the dogs near Blaby last week and the farmer was ploughing his field. Above him were two huge birds that had orange/ginger stripes on their wings. Any ideas?

[joachim1965]

26 minutes ago, Costock_Fox said:

I was walking the dogs near Blaby last week and the farmer was ploughing his field. Above him were two huge birds that had orange/ginger stripes on their wings. Any ideas?

Probably red kite, these have a forked tail a bit like swifts.

[joachim1965]

[Costock_Fox]

1 minute ago, joachim1965 said:

Yeah just googled and that’s the one, bloody huge.

[Wymsey]

Outside my Mother's house.

[Countryfox]

Tulips really stand out in the sun ...

 

 

[The Fox Covert]

A near neighbour used to keep geese, ducks and chickens. The number of times I have had to round up a stray chicken, gently pick it up, walk through the gate to their field and gently put it back over the right side of the fence.

I am taking advantage of this fine weather to turn the wilderness behind my workshop back into a garden. This morning there were several badger scats on the fresh pile of earth I had heaped up only yesterday

[Spudulike]

On 07/04/2020 at 08:40, Bayfox said:

We've had a bird box on our fence for exactly 2 years, our 1st guests have moved in, during this time, nature seems to be loving lockdown, we have a pair of Hreat tits, who have clearly been making a nest in there. My boy is loving it.

 

Only problem is, just 1 day after they discovered it, the wife looked out to see a Bird of Prey sat on the fence next to it

 

So far they have survived, but despite having plenty of fields around the area, I don't think in 5 years I've seen a Bird of Prey in the Garden. So it's interesting to see what effect this period has on nature when we come out the other side.

The biggest threat will be to the chicks when they fledge from domestic moggies. I've currently got Blue Tits nesting and a neighbours cat is paying close attention. I've witnessed so many nests being destroyed by these horrible pets from Blackbirds, Robins and Dunnocks. So upsetting when the owners just shrug their shoulders. 

 

Cats should not be out at this time of year. 

[rachhere]

4 hours ago, Spudulike said:

The biggest threat will be to the chicks when they fledge from domestic moggies. I've currently got Blue Tits nesting and a neighbours cat is paying close attention. I've witnessed so many nests being destroyed by these horrible pets from Blackbirds, Robins and Dunnocks. So upsetting when the owners just shrug their shoulders. 

 

Cats should not be out at this time of year. 

My cat is literally incapable of catching anything. The other day a robin hadn’t seen her and literally landed in front of where she was sitting in our fruit bed. Cat completely froze, not a clue of how to respond to the situation, just watched it fly off.

[joachim1965]

Took this outside DMU last year with phone.

[notnow john]

Saw two swallows on the TV aerial this evening. Any other sightings?

[Webbo]

I've got some big clumps of primulas that need splitting up but they're still flowering well. Whens the best time to divide them?

[Nicolo Barella]

11 hours ago, Spudulike said:

The biggest threat will be to the chicks when they fledge from domestic moggies. I've currently got Blue Tits nesting and a neighbours cat is paying close attention. I've witnessed so many nests being destroyed by these horrible pets from Blackbirds, Robins and Dunnocks. So upsetting when the owners just shrug their shoulders. 

 

Cats should not be out at this time of year. 

I have an Australian friend whose grandfather would shoot his neighbours cats if they didn't keep them indoors... He was a bit of a psycho, but if I had a birdbath or bird box and the neighbour's cat kept killing my visitors I'd start to get itchy trigger fingers as well.

 

If you want an easy way to keep cats out of your garden, try leaving coffee rinds out all around the borders of your garden, they dislike it. Usually that method is to discourage them from pooping in a certain area but it can't hurt if you go large-scale with it, you'd just need a lot of coffee rinds.

[Nicolo Barella]

On 07/04/2020 at 19:01, Countryfox said:

...   and a couple usually survive which keeps things ticking along as a species ..  but always sad for me when I see so many and know most will fall foul of predators ...  

If it makes you feel any better, a lot of those predators are cool animals like foxes that need ducklings as a food source... Although lets be real, they do probably fall foul to cats mostly. Now that is upsetting.

[Spudulike]

7 hours ago, Nicolo Barella said:

I have an Australian friend whose grandfather would shoot his neighbours cats if they didn't keep them indoors... He was a bit of a psycho, but if I had a birdbath or bird box and the neighbour's cat kept killing my visitors I'd start to get itchy trigger fingers as well.

 

If you want an easy way to keep cats out of your garden, try leaving coffee rinds out all around the borders of your garden, they dislike it. Usually that method is to discourage them from pooping in a certain area but it can't hurt if you go large-scale with it, you'd just need a lot of coffee rinds.

Shame that I only drink instant! I've heard that Lion dung is effective but don't have access to that. 

 

I'd never hurt a cat (or any animal) so can only shooo them off when I see them hunting/stalking birds. I'd hope that cat owners would be more responsible and make more of an effort to prevent their pets from causing damage. 

 

Perhaps a super-soaker might work. 

[Nicolo Barella]

35 minutes ago, Spudulike said:

Shame that I only drink instant! I've heard that Lion dung is effective but don't have access to that. 

 

I'd never hurt a cat (or any animal) so can only shooo them off when I see them hunting/stalking birds. I'd hope that cat owners would be more responsible and make more of an effort to prevent their pets from causing damage. 

 

Perhaps a super-soaker might work. 

Some water balloons even (lol)

[pSinatra]

10 hours ago, Webbo said:

I've got some big clumps of primulas that need splitting up but they're still flowering well. Whens the best time to divide them?

 

When they've finished flowering, would be the best time - towards the end of summer.  They're pretty robust & you could probably split them now in all fairness.

 

They have a long, stringy root system.  If you grab the root system in your fist, cut any roots protruding from the bottom of your hand.  This should encourage root growth.

[Countryfox]

11 hours ago, Webbo said:

I've got some big clumps of primulas that need splitting up but they're still flowering well. Whens the best time to divide them?

 

9 minutes ago, pSinatra said:

 

When they've finished flowering, would be the best time - towards the end of summer.  They're pretty robust & you could probably split them now in all fairness.

 

They have a long, stringy root system.  If you grab the root system in your fist, cut any roots protruding from the bottom of your hand.  This should encourage root growth.

I concur with mi learned friend ..   best time is probably autumn but can do now as soon as they’ve finished flowering ...   if you do them now you must keep them watered.

[Countryfox]

On 07/04/2020 at 07:28, Countryfox said:

9 little ducklings ! ..  good luck !

And then there were two ...   hang on in there lads !!