Your day's wildlife

[Mike_P]

I quite often find slug's and snails in the same area as where we leave the hedgehog food and this morning was no exception

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Put some copper strip around it. Will keep the snails off at least. A ring of it around my potted Hosta keeps it from being munched to death.

 

[Windle]

An unusual visitor to the bird table.

 

[slowmotion]

Mrs Slowmotion has an app on her phone that identifies a bird if you record its song. We were sitting outside in the dark tonight and heard a short repetitive low whistle that I assumed was a toad or frog. Apparently is was a Eurasian Scops Owl. They are really small, only about 200mm tall, and like to eat grasshoppers. Here one is.....


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzeQIejKBhM

 

[potsy]

Not sure what type this is but it gave me a bit of a shock whilst I was tidying up the borders...

 

[Gillstay]

By a cycle path near Brugge.

 

[Proto]

Plenty of dragonflies around at the moment. This beauty landed on my wife's laptop whilst she was working.

Golden Ringed dragonfly?

 

[Profpointy]

Heard a commotion as if someone had come in the house, then saw this through the landing skylight

Someone else was extremely interested and making her hunting chirrup noises but had no way to get at the bird

 

[matticus]

Heard a commotion as if someone had come in the house, then saw this through the landing skylight

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Someone else was extremely interested and making her hunting chirrup noises but had no way to get at the bird

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It looks like a raptor - a fat Kestrel maybe - with webbed feet. I'm intrigued!

 

[Willd]

An immature Seagull of some sort?

 

[Profpointy]

It looks like a raptor - a fat Kestrel maybe - with webbed feet. I'm intrigued!

Juvenile seagull, pretty much full sized but not got his adult white coat yet

 

[Profpointy]

An immature Seagull of some sort?

View attachment 698345

Yep, that's the fella

As an aside, a year or two back there was a commotion in our front yard, which is a floor below street level. Another juvenile but full sized gull had got trapped and couldn't flap his wings enough to fly out. I guess he'd come off our roof where his nest likely was. Managed to grab him and bring him upstairs through the house and let him free at street level. He flapped away, so could just about take off if not in small area. Hopefully he made it, but I don't think he could yet fly properly. In retrospect I regret not feeding him for a week or two

 

[All uphill]

When we moved here 11 years ago neighbours told us they hadn't seen a hedgehog in the gardens since the early 2000's.

Since then several of us have changed our gardening to be more wildlife friendly. Gaps in fences and hedges to allow access, reduced or eliminated pesticides, compost heaps and general messiness.

Yesterday Ms AU heard and then saw two hogs in the garden at around 1am.

We see slowworms frequently and the slugs and snails seem to be controlled by increased birds.

Fantastic!

 

[Dave 123]

3 prominent moths for you-

Pebble prominent

Pale prominent

Swallow prominent

Interesting that they were all attracted to the trap, but not enough to get into it.

 

[gbb]

For some reason we don seem to have Craneflies. I saw 1 a month ago . I would have thought we would be plagued with them as there is a green in front of our house .

I noted the other day...when a butterfly fluttered past, it occurred to me I've seen very few, same with dragonflies which are / were very common round here.

 

[Dave 123]

I noted the other day...when a butterfly fluttered past, it occurred to me I've seen very few, same with dragonflies which are / were very common round here.

The general consensus is that it’s something to do with last years drought.
it’s the same for moths.