Wild life in the garden, or around!

I have the same moral dilemma sometimes. I kill as little as I can and rescue as many as I can, but the hornets nest falling inside the house is a real conundrum, too difficult to re-locate where they will follow so little else to do other than what you did.

The spider with the wasp, oh dear, that would give me a real problem, wasps are people too ( :roll_eyes:) and think of all their babies. I do have a rule which I normally enforce, and that is not to intervene with nature which does not harm me or mine. This meant that the snake which had a frogā€™s leg completely in its mouth some years ago had to be left alone, but I did cheer when the frog jerked himself free without any outside help.

BTW a very good use for matchsticks, these modern so-called safety ones are no bloody good for actually producing fire. :rage:

But the spider killing wasp had given up the spider and had gone away, probably to hunt somewhere else.

I intervene when itā€™s going on in my patch.

Wasnā€™t it Armand Denis, of Armand & Michaela Denis, whoā€™d rescue animals in distress while filming in Africa? I saw Armand Denis dragging wildebeest from drowning, caught up in dead tree branches on the edge of a fast flowing river.

I would intervene under certain circumstances. I donā€™t consider some compassion now and again as interfering much with mother nature. I wouldnā€™t, couldnā€™t, rescue a buffalo being throttled by a lion, but Iā€™d put a lion out of its misery suffering a long agonising death from disease. Itā€™s carcass would quickly be found by hyenas and vultures.

Oh myā€¦ thatā€™s brought back some memories. We used to be enthralled by their programmes.

ohā€¦ and Hans and Lotte Hassā€¦

Magical, absolutely magical.

Yes, that is exactly what I mean, showing compassion and giving assistance to the Wildebeeste in your example is certainly what I would approve of, but rescuing a Buffalo from a Lion is interfering, no matter how distressing it might be to the observer. But I choose not to watch such things if I know they are going to happen.
I cannot excuse myself from eating meat though, because, unlike the Lion, I am an omnivore and can choose not to. If I had to kill it myself except in dire circumstances, I would not do it. I donā€™t eat a lot of meat and, with my wife eating less and less, though not from conviction, maybe one day I will give it up altogether. Just got to learn how to cook sustainably without it. Biggest problem is, I hate cooking. :roll_eyes: :rofl:

This little one was flying around the kitchen last night. Windows and doors wide open, but still veering away at the last moment! I think he finally left, we shall know tonight :pray:
Bad photo.

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I chatted with our usual family of bats (including at least one baby), tucked snugly behind our bedroom shutters yesterday morningā€¦
But I think last nightā€™s storms must have sent them seeking shelter elsewhere.
The crashing thunder had me diving under the bedclothesā€¦

No sign of the bats this morningā€¦ but theyā€™ll be backā€¦ they come and go as they please, but they always come back in the autumn, if only to say goodbye before heading elsewhere for the winter.

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I do too!

Bird ID.

This little bird appeared at 6.15 am on the 18th of May. Two days later on the 20th of May, it turned up at 6.15 am in the exact same spot. Remarkable timekeeping.

I think itā€™s a juvenile Dunnock.

Couldnā€™t resist adding big boy ā€“ or big girl - lumbering into the picture 45 minutes later, hogging the camera.

Edit - the little bird is a baby Robin!

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Whatā€™s going on? Three times now Iā€™ve gone into the kitchen recently over several days, heard a rustle, looked around and thereā€™s a female blackbird perched up on a wall cupbā€™d. Open window and away it goes, seemingly OK.

A Robin too on a previous day.

Outside in the garden, I heard a rustle, looked up and saw a female blackbird trying to get in through my bedroom window, positioned over the kitchen window. Couldnā€™t because it was closed ā€“ but try, it did.

The only way into the house would be through the cat flap, permanently open - needs replacing. Not a likely route.

Cats sometimes bring wildlife into the house alive and well and leave them there. This morning I found a fieldmouse in a trap Iā€™d set 5 days ago, as Iā€™d seen it skirting around the living room on two or three occasions. Released alive and well this morning.

Curious about the female blackbird. Maybe itā€™s an omen.

Not a photo, of course, but I thought this might be a useful reminder of ā€œwhatā€™s what in the buzzing fraternityā€ ā€¦ in the garden and possibly in the house tooā€¦

image

A few quiet, private and peaceful moments, as a wood pigeon preensā€¦.

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Lovely. I have missed some moments in the bottom pond in the last few days simply by not having the camera near enough and unable to get it for fear of alerting the subject. Even if I had it the door would have to be already open to avoid filming through the glass ( deliberately less than pristine clean to reduce collisions). I could set up the trail camera but it has its limitations. The seconds between activation and filming often misses the best bits. I could extend the video length from 1 minute to say 2 but you can bet your boots that even then the action will be interrupted.

Our bottom pond is more like a boggy marsh at the moment due to lack of rain and evaporation but the advantage is that the green weeds from the bottom provide a platform for even Blackbirds to stand on to drink and wash themselves. The other day the Coulevre skimmed across the surface after he noticed me watching him. Half a metre long and identical to the one in the swimming pond the other day I donā€™t know if it is the same one or if we have at least 2.

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Just caught on film a robin feeding its young in the birdbath !

Itā€™s quick, so donā€™t blink. Iā€™ve also slowed the video down for a second look.

Parents are so devoted and work so hard for their youngā€¦!

Iā€™m assuming thatā€™s a juvenile in the birdbath - could it be a mate?

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anyone else got these ??

image

Not got any of thoseā€¦

I used to have what I think were called mining bees ā€“ tiny little furry bees which dug little nests underground. Grew quite fond of them.

Their nests were raised little pyramids of fine soil with a hole in the top. I think they put pollen, foraged from my lavender plants, down in the nest on which to lay their eggs.

Sadly, long goneā€¦ā€¦donā€™t know what happened to them.

Found a video of them, although these may be a different species, but very similar.

Google Photos

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What sort is that?

Common European Viper, it was extremely docile when I moved it somewhere a bit safer

Looked up snails and slugs ā€˜under waterā€™, and yes, they can survive, but only for about 40 minutes or so.

While googling snails, came across a childrenā€™s book which attempts to explain to a child why his or her heart was born on the right side ā€“ a unique event - rather than the left, and that itā€™s not such a bad thing, and may indeed be ā€˜wondrousā€™.

One thing leads to anotherā€¦ā€¦a drowning snail to a childrenā€™s book about a snail called Jeremy, named after Jeremy Corbyn, as you will see!

Longish Word excerpt attachedā€¦.donā€™t think itā€™s entirely off-threadā€¦

a long time ago.docx (16.2 KB)

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A rather murky photo as didnā€™t get phone out of my pocket in timeā€¦but highly surprised by a mole sauntering across our feet as we went for a walk this morning. Dog was so surprised he didnā€™t eat it. Which he would have done if it were a faster moving vole.

Thatā€™s never happened before.

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