What wildlife have you seen?

[ardcarp]

Well, over-tidy gardens really are bad for wildlife. Ivy on walls for instance is a hiding place (even a nesting place) for birds, And when it grows tall, the flowers, even though they look rather ordinary, are a mecca for bees. A few patches of nettles are great for certain insect larvae too. So, on the whole, despair at letting things get out of hand is easily offset by a certain commitment to ecology.

[Bryn]

Well, over-tidy gardens really are bad for wildlife. Ivy on walls for instance is a hiding place (even a nesting place) for birds, And when it grows tall, the flowers, even though they look rather ordinary, are a mecca for bees. A few patches of nettles are great for certain insect larvae too. So, on the whole, despair at letting things get out of hand is easily offset by a certain commitment to ecology.

That's my excuse, too. I will have to attack the brambles, though, and my next-door neighbour reckons the big hooly tree is blocking out the sunlight for his harden in the afternoons. I will have to dig out, maintain and put to use the chain-saw. A bit late to burn the results for bonfire night, this year. I will just have to build a log pile for hibernating wildlife and burn the logs next year.

[vinteuil]

... my next-door neighbour reckons the big hooly tree is blocking out the sunlight for his harden in the afternoons.

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...ooooh missus




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[Richard Tarleton]

Zooming about the garden yesterday between showers, and settling briefly on the hebe, was an end-of-season male Southern Hawker Aeshna cyanea (to mid-October, it says here...) - we've been seeing them since mid-July. These dragonflies like to patrol hedges, paths and lanes, and have a distinctive habit of repeatedly flying up to you to take a closer look. This is one I took in September.

[ardcarp]

Lovely pic, Richard. How far away from the pond/lake (or whatever) which the larvae inhabit do adult dragonflies roam? I've often wondered.

[Richard Tarleton]

Lovely pic, Richard. How far away from the pond/lake (or whatever) which the larvae inhabit do adult dragonflies roam? I've often wondered.

Sorry, been away for the weekend A fair distance - in the case of some of the larger ones, Golden-ringed and Emperor, they can turn up seemingly miles from water. Females further than males - the males tend to hang around their patch of water seeing off rival males and hoping a female turns up. Even the damselflies can roam several hundred metres.

Here's a female Emperor that I caught egg-laying in August - I got lucky with the reflection!

[Serial_Apologist]

Astonishing photos, Richard, for which many thanks. I don't know how you do it - you must have a "way" with wild creatures, because whenever I attempt to approach dragonflies for a closer look they always scarper before I can get anywhere close!

Interesting what you say about how far dragonflies are prepared to travel from water, because I have seen them in our garden, and having done an aerial Google Earth scan (pretending to be a drone), I am unaware of any garden ponds in the vicinity.

[Richard Tarleton]

Astonishing photos, Richard, for which many thanks. I don't know how you do it - you must have a "way" with wild creatures, because whenever I attempt to approach dragonflies for a closer look they always scarper before I can get anywhere close!

Interesting what you say about how far dragonflies are prepared to travel from water, because I have seen them in our garden, and having done an aerial Google Earth scan (pretending to be a drone), I am unaware of any garden ponds in the vicinity.

Thanks S_A . Fieldcraft, and learning the behaviour of individual species - several species (for example) tend to return to the same perch by the pond even when zooming about - watching them for a while to understand where this is, then settling down unobtrusively to wait, helps. Species which perch on the ground (darters, skimmers), tend to move a bit further along the path as you approach....everything has its "critical distance", within which you can't approach....don't let your shadow fall across them....and a zoom lens helps

[Joseph K]

Spotted a fox on my walk. Surprised how big its ears were - viewing it from the side, it almost looked like a miniature deer.

[Joseph K]

Spotted a fox on my walk. Surprised how big its ears were - viewing it from the side, it almost looked like a miniature deer.

Saw another one today, in a different place but not that far from the other. Was closer up but I still think this one was bigger, and I got to appreciate its russet (I think that's the correct term) coat more...

I do like foxes.

[Serial_Apologist]

Saw another one today, in a different place but not that far from the other. Was closer up but I still think this one was bigger, and I got to appreciate its russet (I think that's the correct term) coat more...

I do like foxes.

They seem to come in quite a wide colour range - many around these parts are a sort of greyish beige, similar to squirrels, which are even more plentiful hereabouts.

[Joseph K]

I saw a fox on tuesday I think it was - kept forgetting to say so on this here forum. It was almost exactly where I last saw it along the bus route.

[gradus]

A Muntjac narrowly avoiding a car whilst crossing a main road into Colchester.