Wildlife and Gardens Thread

[rachhere]

It's all happening in our garden at the moment. I have been putting out my wildlife cam each night and finally got some decent footage of our resident badger. We have had a family of foxes visiting regularly with one cub (guessing they might have lost a cub or two as don't they normally have multiple?), and finally the other day I saw my first hedgehog in the garden. We also have two wood mice who are living under our decking who are a bit nuts and just seem to run round in circles all night, apart from when they are dodging the foxes. 

 

Unfortunately one of the foxes has hurt its leg and is avoiding putting pressure on it. Apparently it's a good to feed them when like that as they may struggle to find their own food when recovering, so I will put out some food over the next few days and keep an eye on his recovery. 

 

Anyhow, not a bad effort for an urban garden! 

Edited 29 April 2022 by rachhere

[LVFox]

Any advice on dealing with a lawn full of dandelions? 

Tempted to just rip it up and re-turf

[Bellend Sebastian]

1 hour ago, LVocey said:

Any advice on dealing with a lawn full of dandelions? 

Tempted to just rip it up and re-turf

Do you have much time on your hands?  Best way in my experience is to go round and spray each one with Resolva Lawn although you'll need to do this twice as it's not especially potent.

 

Those 3-in-1 weed and feed things can work ok but can stress the grass in the short term and make the lawn look rubbish. It's not that easy to spread evenly and be sure the weeds are taken out anyway.

[Foxdiamond]

1 hour ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

Do you have much time on your hands?  Best way in my experience is to go round and spray each one with Resolva Lawn although you'll need to do this twice as it's not especially potent.

 

Those 3-in-1 weed and feed things can work ok but can stress the grass in the short term and make the lawn look rubbish. It's not that easy to spread evenly and be sure the weeds are taken out anyway.

Don't get too wound up about fighting nature. The bees will thank you. 

[Bellend Sebastian]

12 minutes ago, Foxdiamond said:

Don't get too wound up about fighting nature. The bees will thank you. 

Ha! Ridiculously I'm determined to have a weed free lawn while actively looking to plant stuff to attract insects in the rest of the garden

[Foxdiamond]

13 minutes ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

Ha! Ridiculously I'm determined to have a weed free lawn while actively looking to plant stuff to attract insects in the rest of the garden

Fair enough. Perhaps you want your own version of the KP pitch. 

[Parafox]

6 hours ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

Ha! Ridiculously I'm determined to have a weed free lawn while actively looking to plant stuff to attract insects in the rest of the garden

 

6 hours ago, Foxdiamond said:

Fair enough. Perhaps you want your own version of the KP pitch. 

In which case you'd need to weave in fake grass and remove the worn/weedy patches on pallets with fresh grass brought in on pallets. That's how pitches are kept so perfect. The pitch is basically sections which can be lifted out and replaced.

Edited 6 May 2022 by Parafox

[SecretPro]

10 hours ago, LVocey said:

Any advice on dealing with a lawn full of dandelions? 

Tempted to just rip it up and re-turf

Just leave it as is. Dandelions are one of the most important nectar sources is in this country as one of the earliest spring flowers. Dandelions are basically a vital tool in the fight to halt bee and insect declines, which we learnt just yesterday have declined by 60% since 2004. Without insects the human race literally cannot survive. (Should also mention that insects were already in massive decline by 2004, so taking into account shifting baseline syndrome we have probably lost far more than 60% of our insects from a point in time when the ecosystem wasn't already on its arse)

 

At the end of the day, it's just a dandelion. They are actually excellent at enriching and aerating the soil aswell. Far more interesting to look at than the desert that is a turf lawn. A grass only lawn literally serves no purpose other than to be a waste of space.

Edited 6 May 2022 by SecretPro

[Parafox]

Just now, SecretPro said:

Just leave it as is. Dandelions are one of the most important nectar sources is in this country as one of the earliest spring flowers. Dandelions are basically a vital tool in the fight to halt bee and insect declines, which we learnt just yesterday have declined by 60% since 2004. Without insects the human race literally cannot survive. 

Thank you. **** the mower off and admire the rest of nature. 

 

I do like a tidy lawn, though.

[SecretPro]

2 minutes ago, Parafox said:

Thank you. **** the mower off and admire the rest of nature. 

 

I do like a tidy lawn, though.

I've let both my lawns go to meadow, my tip would be to mow in paths and mow the edges, that way it looks deliberate and even fairly formal whilst preserving the best bit for nature.

Edited 6 May 2022 by SecretPro

[SecretPro]

4 minutes ago, SecretPro said:

I've let both my lawns go to meadow, my tip would be to mow in paths and mow the edges, that way it looks deliberate and even fairly formal whilst preserving the best bit for nature.

Also you can still mow it flat from the end of August through to the end of autumn and it will look like any other flat lawn through the winter, looking tidier and no doubt more acceptable to the neighbours. 

[Dahnsouff]

I do feel a bit of neighbourly shame for not mowing the front and back lawns, but I am on board with No Mow May for now…

[Foxdiamond]

2 hours ago, Parafox said:

 

In which case you'd need to weave in fake grass and remove the worn/weedy patches on pallets with fresh grass brought in on pallets. That's how pitches are kept so perfect. The pitch is basically sections which can be lifted out and replaced.

Just fantastic how it's done . Bit different from Filbert Street from about October

[Foxdiamond]

I do like to concentrate on plants that attract bees, butterflies and other pollinators. So rewarding to see them on the flowers rather than some sterile desert. 

 

 

On 03/05/2022 at 12:02, kushiro said:

Been waiting for this. Uploaded this morning, it seems.  Leicester v Arsenal from February 9th 1963, unseen for almost 60 years. 

 

It's our first League game of the year thanks to the big freeze. We start the day in 4th, six behind Spurs with two games in hand.

 

Leicester City v Arsenal 1962-3 - YouTube

 

 

 

 

 

On 03/05/2022 at 16:12, Raj said:

No havent watched that.

worth a go yeah?

Will check it out on Netflix. Thanks

 

2 hours ago, Parafox said:

 

In which case you'd need to weave in fake grass and remove the worn/weedy patches on pallets with fresh grass brought in on pallets. That's how pitches are kept so perfect. The pitch is basically sections which can be lifted out and replaced.

Just fantastic how it's done . Bit different from Filbert Street from about October

[Clever Fox]

13 hours ago, LVocey said:

Any on dealing with a lawn full of dandelions? 

Tempted to just rip it up and re-turf

I have the same problem. I have a golf buddy who used to sell all these type of chemicals and he said 2,4-D is the best chemical for Dandalions.

It's hard to get hold off now and you need a farm number to buy it as it's also quite dangerous if not handled properly.

Regular cutting won't get rid of them as once there's a piece of root left underground theyll just come back.

Roundup might work but you cant get it on the grass. You may also have to repeat the process after 2 weeks to make sure they are dead.

[Bilsthorpe Blue]

Heard the cuckoo for the first time this morning, a bit later than previous years normally beginning of May 

[rico]

White squirrel in the garden at the weekend

[Houdini Logic]

Anyone got any ideas how to prevent Squirrels getting to/eating food from bird feeders?

 

My 'squirrel-proof' nut feeders are hanging 6 feet from the branch on piano wire covered in vaseline and the nuts themselves are covered in cayanne pepper but EVEN STILL the little sh*ts dive bomb from the tree and manage to grip onto the feeder, open it and happily eat the nuts

[Countryfox]

1 hour ago, Houdini Logic said:

Anyone got any ideas how to prevent Squirrels getting to/eating food from bird feeders?

 

My 'squirrel-proof' nut feeders are hanging 6 feet from the branch on piano wire covered in vaseline and the nuts themselves are covered in cayanne pepper but EVEN STILL the little sh*ts dive bomb from the tree and manage to grip onto the feeder, open it and happily eat the nuts

They’ll eat the birds nuts whatever you do ..  they’ll eat the birds eggs ..  and they’ll eat young chicks alive as well ..  

 

Only one answer ..  and it involves a short blast of air and a small lead pellet ..

[Countryfox]

New today !  ..  hope these 10 fare better than the first clutch ..  out of 12 only one is still around ..  and Ducky (as I have cleverly called him !) ..  is still going strong ! 
 

 

[rachhere]

3 hours ago, Countryfox said:

New today !  ..  hope these 10 fare better than the first clutch ..  out of 12 only one is still around ..  and Ducky (as I have cleverly called him !) ..  is still going strong ! 
 

 

Awww! I saw our first ducklings today at one of our local parks. Such low numbers of new life this year compared to other years - I am guessing as a result of bird flu? We do have some baby coots and moor hen though who are coming along nicely. However, poor mummy goose has been sitting on some eggs for ages now - I am sure they can't be viable as it's been so long. Mr Goose (aka Mr Hissy) used to do his best to warn people off who got nearby (even though the nest is actually on a little island), but he seems to have given up on it all now. 

 

In positive news in our own garden we have one new fox cub and also two badger cubs. The badgers are all huge now - its crazy to think they have dug out a set big enough to accommodate them all. 

Edited 7 June 2022 by rachhere

[Parafox]

Got fvcking pigeons nesting under our solar panels on the roof. Their shite is all over our path and drive and wheelie bins and they're churning up our borders looking for food. 

They're absolute pests but I can't seem to get rid of them.

I've thought about getting a roofer in to put wire around the sides of the panels. Cost prohibitive.

Anyone got a simple, practical solution? Is there a way of getting them to go and never come back short of killing them? If that was the only way, how could I do it humanely?

[Countryfox]

22 minutes ago, rachhere said:

Awww! I saw our first ducklings today at one of our local parks. Such low numbers of new life this year compared to other years - I am guessing as a result of bird flu? We do have some baby coots and moor hen though who are coming along nicely. However, poor mummy goose has been sitting on some eggs for ages now - I am sure they can't be viable as it's been so long. Mr Goose (aka Mr Hissy) used to do his best to warn people off who got nearby (even though the nest is actually on a little island), but he seems to have given up on it all now. 

 

In positive news in our own garden we have one new fox cub and also two badger cubs. The badgers are all huge now - its crazy to think they have dug out a set big enough to accommodate them all. 

Blimey how big is your garden ! ..  foxes and badgers don’t normally get on btw ..

[rachhere]

20 minutes ago, Countryfox said:

Blimey how big is your garden ! ..  foxes and badgers don’t normally get on btw ..

It's pretty long! But we benefit from having allotments and some undeveloped green space to the back of us, so that's where they primarily live.

 

These guys seem to happily tolerate each other. We have a wildlife cam out most evenings and they are often about at the same time, and I have never seen them react negatively to one another. A bit of a blurred shot, but you can see mum badger running by with the two little ones behind in the distance. 

 

 

[Fazzer 7]

1 hour ago, rachhere said:

It's pretty long! But we benefit from having allotments and some undeveloped green space to the back of us, so that's where they primarily live.

 

These guys seem to happily tolerate each other. We have a wildlife cam out most evenings and they are often about at the same time, and I have never seen them react negatively to one another. A bit of a blurred shot, but you can see mum badger running by with the two little ones behind in the distance. 

 

 

Fantastic.