Kitchen Garden Forum

A large Red Damselfly on our garden Wildlife pond

We went for a visit to a local loch, no Ospreys but we did see the Marsh Harriers in the distance hunting.
Marsh Harrier female by tigerburnie, on Flickr

Taken at the beginning of the year in our local forest.
Red in the forest by tigerburnie, on Flickr

Are the red squirrels holding their own up there?
They seem to have been driven out by the greys in most of England.

Primrose wrote:Are the red squirrels holding their own up there?
They seem to have been driven out by the greys in most of England.

There are areas where the Greys have taken over, I'm part of an initiative to report on the populations of squirrels and trapping is taking place, but to be honest, the Greys are not going to go away and the pockets of Reds are getting fewer round here. There are two forests that are isolated and the Reds do dominate, there also seems to be a healthy population of Pine Martins around that eat the Greys, which helps.

Tree Sparrows often visit our garden feeders in early Autumn and through the winter.
Tree Sparrow by tigerburnie, on Flickr

In our garden the other night
Mrs Tiggy Winkle has an itch. by tigerburnie, on Flickr

A Tiger moth from a while back, it looks a bit bedraggled.
Tiger moth by tigerburnie, on Flickr

Moths do come in some beautiful colours, shapes and sizes….

I've made a home made trap, but since I made it the wind hasn't stopped blowing I might try putting it out tonight to see what we have in the garden.

For the last week or so a Red Kite has been soaring on the thermals above the houses in our area.Not into photography like Tigerburnie so no photo of it:but a magnificent bird.

A Red Kite from a couple of years back just before covid kicked in
Red Kite by tigerburnie, on Flickr

Someone mentioned snakes, this female Adder was taken a while ago now.
Adder2 by tigerburnie, on Flickr

A cock Chaffinch finding some shade in the local forest.

Why some people think British birds are dull, is beyond me!