The Wildlife (and Gardening for Wildlife) thread

[6Foot2]

Link: 'We've got a two-legged fox on the lawn' - BBC News

 

 

A family were stunned to find a fox with just two legs in their garden.

 

Phil and Jane Carter, from Ilkeston in Derbyshire, often get visited by foxes and this one stayed for about 45 minutes.

 

Mr Carter said: "My wife shouted, 'quick, grab your phone, we've got a two-legged fox on the lawn'.

 

"We had about five minutes of it going around the lawn smelling and picking up some meat and then off it went like a rocket."

 

A spokesperson for Derbyshire Wildlife Trust said: "We've never seen anything like this in the wild before but the animal looks relatively healthy and appears to have adapted to life on two legs."

[elsiegee40]

With much talk about bird flu on the news, this video shows good examples of infected birds’ behaviour. They get very wobbly, unable to stand or fly, and it’s quick to kill. Typically they die within 24 hours of this happening.

 

At the moment it is mostly affecting seabirds, waterfowl, waders and those that predate or scavenge them (corvids and birds of prey). Foxes and otters that scavenge or predate the infected birds are now also being reported. Sadly, I fear it’s only a matter of time before badgers and cats are also found to be infected.

 

[6Foot2]

Link: Hedgehog Friendly Campus awards 2022-2023

 

Hedgehog Friendly Campus is a national award scheme designed to protect hedgehogs, enhance their habitat and create awareness, funded by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. Teams consist of students and staff members who work towards making impactful changes for hedgehogs and other wildlife around their university, college, or primary school.

 

We want to say a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to those of you that have achieved Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum accreditations for 2022-2023. Well done to everyone who has taken part this year, you have all done your bit to help hedgehogs and our prickly friends will thank you!

 

Our key milestones 2022-2023

 

This year has been one of our most successful years so far, it has been truly remarkable to see all of you progress to make your university, college or primary school a place where hedgehogs and other wildlife can thrive!

 

An incredible 92 institutions submitted an application to be a Hedgehog Friendly Campus. Over 1,300 hedgehog-friendly actions were taken over the course of the year.

 

Our key milestones for 2022-2023:

 

• Over 3,500 trees have been planted
  
• Over 100 hedgehog houses placed on site
  
• Over £4,500 was raised for the British Hedgehog Preservation Society
  
• Almost 60 hedgehog crossing signs
  
• Over 1000 staff and student volunteers
  
• 262 litter picks
  
• Nearly 1,500 bags of litter collected
  
• Over 550 positive signs of hedgehogs were found across 36 universities, colleges and schools...

[elsiegee40]

Link: Hedgehog Friendly Campus awards 2022-2023

 

It would be great if more schools took part. I think the word campus probably doesn’t make them realise they’re included

[E_G_R2]

Love the school holidays as I can setup my trail cam in different spots in the school grounds. Were not rural, but just outside of the town centre. We had one of these on site in the summer but was glad to see it paying us a visit in half term.

 

[elsiegee40]

I’m using A Ring Stick Up security camera as a trail camera. Last night a toad triggered it. It was walking in the opposite direction from my pond so perhaps going to breed elsewhere.

[Dos_Box]

First bee of the year. My ex told me she'd seen the same on the crocuses in her garden. We usually get bumble bees out first, not honey bees.

 

[elsiegee40]

First bee of the year. My ex told me she'd seen the same on the crocuses in her garden. We usually get bumble bees out first, not honey bees.

 

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I had both a honey bee and a Buff Tailed Bumblebee in the garden for the first time this year on Sunday [emoji4]

[Ditto]

Mowed the lawn over the weekend. I had left it longer than planned going in to winter, but it must a first for me doing so in February!

[elsiegee40]

Yesterday I went on a walk led by a guide from Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory in a woodland nature reserve near Canterbury.

 

The SBBO offices are having a new heating system installed so half the staff turned up on the walk as they couldn’t get into the office. Their bird hearing and spotting skills were amazing. We wouldn’t have seen two of the least common species in the country without them.

 

Star of the show for me would be the Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. They’re tiny, not much bigger than sparrows, and I had only seen two ever before yesterday. We were treated to 3 squabbling up the top of a tree!

 

And then we saw a couple of Firecrests, the UK’s smallest bird. They’re amazing little birds.

 

Photo credits for the woodpecker go to SBBO warden Greg who kindly emailed them to all of us. My camera wasn’t up to even trying to photograph them.

Angry wing spreading

[HarryMonkey]

Having finally got a garden, with a bird feeder and a table, both with food, it would be rather nice if the birds stopped by now and again!

[JJonas]

It takes time for them to learn that there is a new source of food. Put some out at the same time each day and change it for fresh food if it does not get eaten.

[hardtailstar]

It takes time for them to learn that there is a new source of food. Put some out at the same time each day and change it for fresh food if it does not get eaten.

Also put bird feed higher up if you can as well as on the the table. They are more likely to go to it higher up first and then slowly move to the table.

[maark]

Can anyone recommend a trail camera? Not too expensive as I want to leave it out at different country parks in the city.

I do environmental volunteering and want to see what animals are out and about especially at night.

Thanks

[E_G_R2]

I've got myself one of these. Can't complain for the price.

 

https://uk.govicture.com/collections/trail-camera-1

[elsiegee40]

Can anyone recommend a trail camera? Not too expensive as I want to leave it out at different country parks in the city.

I do environmental volunteering and want to see what animals are out and about especially at night.

Thanks

 

I have three trail cameras:

- Maginon = relatively cheap, conventional flash which startles wildlife, but does the job

- Browning = A ‘dark flash’ camera which doesn’t startle wildlife, but more expensive.

- Bushnell = Also ‘dark flash’, expensive, best quality images of the 3, but so fussy about which batteries it likes.

 

Our most recent acquisitions are a couple of Ring Stick Up security cameras. I unscrewed them from the base and have them on a camera spike in the garden. They connect to our wifi and stream direct to a phone or iPad when triggered. Videos are stored in the cloud if you pay the subscription. The picture quality is amazing; much better than the trail cameras and they’re a fraction of the price of the better trail cameras.

 

You have to tweak the settings as the recommended settings are done to avoid triggering by small mammals [emoji3]

 

Ring camera watching my hedgehog feed station.

 

Still from video taken by said camera

 

I know people using Blink security cameras who swear by them.

Edited February 28, 2023 by elsiegee40

[E_G_R2]

Yes I also have some Blink camera's and they do a good job around the house.

[HarryMonkey]

Our most recent acquisitions are a couple of Ring Stick Up security cameras. I unscrewed them from the base and have them on a camera spike in the garden. They connect to our wifi and stream direct to a phone or iPad when triggered. Videos are stored in the cloud if you pay the subscription. The picture quality is amazing; much better than the trail cameras and they’re a fraction of the price of the better trail cameras.

 

You have to tweak the settings as the recommended settings are done to avoid triggering by small mammals [emoji3]

 

 

Thanks for this, I just looked these up, might have to invest once we get all settled in and sorted. (maybe with the solar panel if funds permit).

[maark]

Thanks for recommendations will have a look

[LeMarchand]

Some amazing "murmuration" footage linked to/on this page: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-lancashire-64391203

[southhamster]

Probably the saddest daffodil in the world. I saw this on my walk while waiting for my MOT. To be fair it is high tide.

[Ditto]

Another recent lonely daffodil picture, not far from were I live, courtesy of BBC Weather watchers.

 

Daffodil lonely hearts club anyone ?

[6Foot2]

No photo, I'm afraid (my camera wasn't handy and wouldn't have given a particularly satisfactory result anyway) 5Foot2 and I saw a shrew in our back garden this afternoon.

[elsiegee40]

I was starting to wonder if we’d get frogspawn this year. Better late than never!

[stevejp]

I was starting to wonder if we’d get frogspawn this year. Better late than never!

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Quick! Roll call…