Wildlife and Gardens Thread

[rachhere]

17 minutes ago, Costock_Fox said:

Saw an owl on my walk tonight, pretty cool.

 

Also, I suspected I had a hedgehog living under my decking so I kept putting dog food out and it kept going. I then decided to put my CCTV camera under the decking... just been feeding a little mouse haven’t I.

Awww but mice are cute too! 
 

what type of owl? We had a munkjac deer in the park by me the other day. I didn’t get to see it myself though sadly.

[VLC86]

17 minutes ago, rachhere said:

Awww but mice are cute too! 
 

what type of owl? We had a munkjac deer in the park by me the other day. I didn’t get to see it myself though sadly.

They are, I’ve left it there but I’m not feeding it as I don’t want loads of them.

 

I think it was a barn owl as it was white.

[Countryfox]

14 hours ago, pds said:

I'm contemplating digging a small pond in the garden. Got a decent sized flat area with nothing in it and lockdown boredom has got to me. Anyone got any tips?

Yep ...  dig a big hole ...   always a good starting point but not as easy as you think ..  unless you are used to digging wear some gloves or you’ll get a blister or two ! ..   

 

Here’s a very recent lockdown pond ...  he’s going the full nine yards and having a bit of decking going over the edge of the pond, a path round the side and a few planters dotted here and there ...  he’s nicked a few of my cobbles but I’ve nicked 3 ton of his hardcore !! ..  he’s levelled everything off first and dug out 2 skips worth ..   all by hand and all on his own.  The pond is 2 ft deep.   Fook knows when he will finish it now though as he’s just gone back to work ! ...   

 

 

[Ric Flair]

2 minutes ago, Countryfox said:

Yep ...  dig a big hole ...   always a good starting point but not as easy as you think ..  unless you are used to digging wear some gloves or you’ll get a blister or two ! ..   

 

Here’s a very recent lockdown pond ...  he’s going the full nine yards and having a bit of decking going over the edge of the pond, a path round the side and a few planters dotted here and there ...  he’s nicked a few of my cobbles but I’ve nicked 3 ton of his hardcore !! ..  he’s levelled everything off first and dug out 2 skips worth ..   all by hand and all on his own.  The pond is 2 ft deep.   Fook knows when he will finish it now though as he’s just gone back to work ! ...   

 

 

Thank god i'm not the only one who started a bit of landscaping and ended up digging 6 hours a day for the last 5 days of pure concrete underneath. I have no idea how i'm going to get rid of it all as I live in a middle terrace with minimal access and not many options to have a skip anywhere close by. I wonder if I can build a furnace and incinerate it hahahaa

[Countryfox]

6 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

Thank god i'm not the only one who started a bit of landscaping and ended up digging 6 hours a day for the last 5 days of pure concrete underneath. I have no idea how i'm going to get rid of it all as I live in a middle terrace with minimal access and not many options to have a skip anywhere close by. I wonder if I can build a furnace and incinerate it hahahaa

Hmmmm ...  sounds like you’re buggered ! ...   I borrowed a digger and took his stuff away and put it in a hollow of a nearby farmer’s field ...  smoothed it over with the bucket and bunged a few grass seeds on top ...  farmer pleased and everyone happy ..  can’t say where the seeds came from but the grass will look magnificent ...   good enough for footballers to train on ! ..   

 

Spose the only thing for you to do is get a skip as near as possible and barrow it out ...   hard graft but it’ll keep you fit ! ..   

[cambridgefox]

On 03/05/2020 at 16:16, pds said:

Realise this is an absolutely terrible photo, zoomed in on my Mrs' phone, but any idea what this bird is? (It's not Orville)

Seems quite thick set and fluffy head. Keeps landing on an aerial across the road 

 

 

 

Colour?

size?

magpie maybe.

[Guest Electric Yetis]

Just now, cambridgefox said:

Colour?

size?

magpie maybe.

😂 I've given up trying to identify it. Was all dark, wasn't a magpie though. A lot thicker set

[oakman]

Bit of a weird question but can I move birds nests a few metres without impacting the birds? Got a mass of Ivy and other stuff (not sure what it is) that’s been growing against a trellis attached to a fence for years. The weight of the foliage has started to tear down the the trellis and damage the fence that I need to fix - started to cut everything back a couple of weeks ago and found 5 nests, one had chicks that have now fledged and now all the others that looked empty seem to have a lot of activity. Blackbirds going into all of them. Can I move the nests by hand to another hedge in the garden, would that work?

[rachhere]

3 minutes ago, oakman said:

Bit of a weird question but can I move birds nests a few metres without impacting the birds? Got a mass of Ivy and other stuff (not sure what it is) that’s been growing against a trellis attached to a fence for years. The weight of the foliage has started to tear down the the trellis and damage the fence that I need to fix - started to cut everything back a couple of weeks ago and found 5 nests, one had chicks that have now fledged and now all the others that looked empty seem to have a lot of activity. Blackbirds going into all of them. Can I move the nests by hand to another hedge in the garden, would that work?

Nope, and I believe it’s actually illegal?

[oakman]

9 minutes ago, rachhere said:

Nope, and I believe it’s actually illegal?

Don’t get me wrong, love having the birds in my garden but really had no idea what to do. 

[rachhere]

9 minutes ago, oakman said:

Don’t get me wrong, love having the birds in my garden but really had no idea what to do. 

Yeah it’s tricky isn’t it. My husband accidentally disturbed a nest the other day and the blackbirds abandoned it as a result sadly, so I think it’s just too risky. Is there anyway you can support the structure in the meantime? Silly birds!

[oakman]

10 minutes ago, rachhere said:

Yeah it’s tricky isn’t it. My husband accidentally disturbed a nest the other day and the blackbirds abandoned it as a result sadly, so I think it’s just too risky. Is there anyway you can support the structure in the meantime? Silly birds!

Can jury-rig something for the time being but will have to cut a lot of it back relatively soon. Feel really bad about it as I don’t want to disturb the nests.

[cambridgefox]

9 hours ago, oakman said:

Bit of a weird question but can I move birds nests a few metres without impacting the birds? Got a mass of Ivy and other stuff (not sure what it is) that’s been growing against a trellis attached to a fence for years. The weight of the foliage has started to tear down the the trellis and damage the fence that I need to fix - started to cut everything back a couple of weeks ago and found 5 nests, one had chicks that have now fledged and now all the others that looked empty seem to have a lot of activity. Blackbirds going into all of them. Can I move the nests by hand to another hedge in the garden, would that work?

I’m afraid not.

Between March and August is the breeding season,I have a Blackbird nesting in some ivy in the patio and they are on their 2nd brood.

We are in my mums old house for another 6 months or so,but she said they have been in the same nest/area for years.

[cambridgefox]

Whilst going for a walk last weekend a Red Legged Partridge flew out right next to me on the path,knowing they are ground nesting birds looked down and there must have been about 10-15  eggs.Didnt take a picture as I didn’t want to disturb it too much.

Dont think it will last too long about a foot from the path and within 6 feet from the entrance gate to the reservoir.

No wonder they lay so many!

[Sydney_Blue]

On 04/05/2020 at 01:16, pds said:

Realise this is an absolutely terrible photo, zoomed in on my Mrs' phone, but any idea what this bird is? (It's not Orville)

Seems quite thick set and fluffy head. Keeps landing on an aerial across the road 

 

 

 

Looks more like Nookie the bear than Orville!

[Will1981]

Grass snake in my compost heap

[rachhere]

36 minutes ago, Will1981 said:

Grass snake in my compost heap

That would have made me jump!

[Countryfox]

36 minutes ago, Will1981 said:

Grass snake in my compost heap

Sounds sort of rude ...  

 

Impressive pic though ! ...   

[rico]

Came across these at Grove Park lake

[deejdeej]

2 hours ago, Will1981 said:

Grass snake in my compost heap

 

[cambridgefox]

2 hours ago, Will1981 said:

Grass snake in my compost heap

Fantastic 

[Parafox]

9 hours ago, Will1981 said:

Grass snake in my compost heap

I wish I had one of those.

 

A compost heap, I mean.

[Jattdogg]

16 hours ago, Will1981 said:

Grass snake in my compost heap

Fookin hate snakes . Reminds me of a few years back had a garter snake (common small snakes up to around 4 feet or so long) in my garage.  Totally freaked me out but my wife told me about it. Come home from work that day and had to look for it. Found it trying to hide in a box.  Im terrified of snakes (doesnt matter the size) and so was trying to get the coont out with a shovel. Got him out the box and he wouldnt get out of my garage. Kept trying to lead him (or her) out but  kept turning back.   Stupid tosser!

[Dahnsouff]

5 hours ago, Jattdogg said:

Fookin hate snakes . Reminds me of a few years back had a garter snake (common small snakes up to around 4 feet or so long) in my garage.  Totally freaked me out but my wife told me about it. Come home from work that day and had to look for it. Found it trying to hide in a box.  Im terrified of snakes (doesnt matter the size) and so was trying to get the coont out with a shovel. Got him out the box and he wouldnt get out of my garage. Kept trying to lead him (or her) out but  kept turning back.   Stupid tosser!

So, he/she is still there then?

[Jattdogg]

4 hours ago, Dahnsouff said:

So, he/she is still there then?

Nahhhhhh eventually got the he/ssssssssssssshe out