Mystery visitor.......

[Notafettler]

Get a cat 🙀

They live underground and don't make a habit of coming up. There are cats passing through my garden who can't be bothered catching it. My dog loves to play with cats they don't love to playing with her. Although they were more than happy to when she was a puppy.

 

[Notafettler]

Great news about the Otter, any chance you could remove the fish for a few weeks/months so the Otter thinks they're all gone and stops visiting, then return them to the pond ? It's just an idea that might work.

We have Beaver here in the forest on our small river, 2 families this year that are about 3km apart, we assume the 2nd family are offspring from the ones higher upstream. The youngsters (as we think they are) have been very active early in the year and made walking the dog challenging at times with trees all across the paths but they seem to have slowed down their industrial activity at the moment.

Beavers are not natural to the UK and destroying trees in a country short of trees is not a good thing.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

I do sympathise. I have two fairly unusual regular daily / nighly garden visitors, but they're not that destructive. Good luck with your otter problem, I have no idea how you would deal with it.

 

[mudsticks]

They live underground and don't make a habit of coming up. There are cats passing through my garden who can't be bothered catching it. My dog loves to play with cats they don't love to playing with her. Although they were more than happy to when she was a puppy.

Clearly it's a cat of differing tastes.

My cat catches plenty, of voles.

She spends a lot of time in the root beds hunting. It reduces the carrot damage but doesn't stop it altogether.

But no if you've got a dog it's not a good idea.

 

[Mugshot]

We’re talking in terms of rehoming the remaining fish and filling the pond in. We had a heron episode which decimated the fish a few years ago. Now this event. If I have to make the pond resemble Stalag 13 it’s not exactly an attractive look.
it’s gut wrenching to see the fish which we have looked after and watched grow come to a gory end.

Don't fill it in, as said upthread, let it become a wildlife pond 👍

 

[mudsticks]

Beavers are not natural to the UK and destroying trees in a country short of trees is not a good thing.

Beavers were native in the UK, until they were hunted to extinction several hundred years back.

They only take down riverside saplings that have self seeded, they're generally considered very good for improving riverine habitats improving diversity, and reducing severity of floods downstream.

All the wildlife and conservation boffs seem happy enough with them being around

 

[mudsticks]

Don't fill it in, as said upthread, let it become a wildlife pond 👍

Yes, let it become a haven for frogs, and dragon flies instead, establish a few shallow rooting lilies, or similar, for all the beauty with none of the worry

 

[Mugshot]

Yes, let it become a haven for frogs, and dragon flies instead, establish a few shallow rooting lilies, or similar, for all the beauty with none of the worry

That's it, I did mine a couple of years ago, it was never going to have fish. Its got a bit of a waterfall and stuff, chucked the plants in, and left everything to it. Spend some time looking in there at night with the torch and the thing is seething with bugs of various varieties. Newts have moved in, the birds use it as a bath, the skaters and the whirly gigs spend their days whizzing around, and on and on...its fantastic

 

[mudsticks]

That's it, I did mine a couple of years ago, it was never going to have fish. Its got a bit of a waterfall and stuff, chucked the plants in, and left everything to it. Spend some time looking in there at night with the torch and the thing is seething with bugs of various varieties. Newts have moved in, the birds use it as a bath, the skaters and the whirly gigs spend their days whizzing around, and on and on...its fantastic

Excellent

Have you spotted dragon fly larvae in there ?

Evilly scarey looking critters, but don't pick them up though.. they will bite you

 

[Mugshot]

Excellent

Have you spotted dragon fly larvae in there ?

Evilly scarey looking critters, but don't pick them up though.. they will bite you

Oh yes, plenty of those, like little bug eyed scorpions.

 

[Oldfentiger]

Well, Tarka didn’t show up last night. Only things that triggered the camera was a rat, our cat and wind blowing leaves. Last night I switched the pumps off to avoid the water triggering the camera. I’ll switch the pumps back on to see if running water noise is the attraction.
I can turn down the motion sensor sensitivity to avoid false triggers.

 

[mudsticks]

Oh yes, plenty of those, like little bug eyed scorpions.

I imagine them as being the inspiration for 'Alien'

 

[Poacher]

Excellent

Have you spotted dragon fly larvae in there ?

Evilly scarey looking critters, but don't pick them up though.. they will bite you

If you think they're scary, try waggling a twig near a great diving beetle larva!
Makes dragon fly larvae look tame.

 

[mudsticks]

If you think they're scary, try waggling a twig near a great diving beetle larva!
Makes dragon fly larvae look tame.

Yes, I remember them from fish farming days too...

Another scary creature of the deep

 

[Notafettler]

Beavers were native in the UK, until they were hunted to extinction several hundred years back.

They only take down riverside saplings that have self seeded, they're generally considered very good for improving riverine habitats improving diversity, and reducing severity of floods downstream.

All the wildlife and conservation boffs seem happy enough with them being around

Thats was then not now. The environment has moved on. They do not reduce the severity of flood down stream. Once the dams are full any extra water flows over them, so there is no benefit down stream. Flooding is caused by rivers not streams. They cause flooding locally albeit in farmers fields and probably minor.
What's your problem with riverside saplings. I like sampling some become trees some fall over and go into my wood burner.