I'll start - ivy mining bees. Thousands of 'em!
Here in Kent, my house has a south facing, sandy soil front garden with a slight slope - every year, mid-august onwards the lawn becomes alive with these bees. They're harmless, you can even cut the grass with them there (not needed this year, obviously) and they're not bothered. They have a sting but rarely use it, and it's not even strong enough to penetrate the skin, apparently. I've definitely trapped one under my hand or foot more than once and never been stung.
This video probably shows the sheer amount of them better.
I also have a fox den at the bottom of the back garden, plus tens of squirrels - but that's pretty common really. Oh and red admiral butterflies.
What have you got?
Salamanquesas, which are a type of gecko. They come out late in the afternoon / evening, on the warm walls and hunt moths etc drawn to the house lights.
The strawberry patch slug warrior
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If I can work out how to post the photo from my phone I'll show you the huge male stag beetle from earlier this summer. Last year I had a few of the females. Endangered, but South London is the strong hold.
No pic, but I saw a hummingbird hawk moth investigating some of the flowers in our front garden about a week ago.
I considered trying to get a pic but it moved quite fast and wasn't sure how skittish they are so I wanted to just watch it. Never seen one before.
No pic, but I saw a hummingbird hawk moth investigating some of the flowers in our front garden about a week ago.
I considered trying to get a pic but it moved quite fast and wasn’t sure how skittish they are so I wanted to just watch it. Never seen one before.
Same here. Had a pair on the flowers yesterday. Can't say I've seen one before. Quite fascinating watching it draw pollen with its proboscis. Again no chance of getting a pic.
Not sure if this will work. Video on Flickr.
Taken today while I was out riding. The hedge has masses of sparrows in it.
Here are a few from our house in Tobermory - it probably does help that we live next to a nature reserve. We have a herd of 15 red deer that view our garden as part of their ‘territory’, see our plants as their dinner and come by for carrots and apples in winter.
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Buzzards roost in the trees - sparrowhawks are regular visitors and I’ve spotted hen harriers and while tailed eagles overhead. A pair of ravens nest in the big pine tree across the field and rigorously defend their patch.
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Small birds we have house sparrow, dunnock, chaffinch, chiffchaff greenfinch, siskin, great tit, coal tit, blue tit, goldfinch, blackbirds, song thrush, robins, wrens and great spotted woodpeckers - there are usually over 50 birds at the bird feeders in the morning. I’m hoping that as the garden gets more established we’ll draw in long-tailed tits, stonechats and bullfinches from nearby.
We have at least 3 hedgehogs that visit nightly for food and bats that flit around at night and the other day caught a pine marten with an egg in it’s mouth on the security camera. There are no foxes or badgers on the island but otters are known to raid chicken coops.
I live in a tenement in Glasgow city centre. I was as surprised as anyone to see a Peregrine falcon swoop down and wipe out a pigeon in my shared back garden!
On further research, it seems there are a few that have taken up residence in some high towers across the city.
Red Kites for us in Carmarthenshire, edge of the Beacons. Not at all unusual.
If only photos were easy to do. Had hummingbird hawk moth, Burnet moth and some really funky, punk looking caterpillars yesterday which become vapourer moth apparently.
We get stag beetles in the New Forest area
I'm fairly sure that the reason they're dying out is because they're thick as pigshit. Most commonly found crawling up our house's brick walls but quite often wriggling around on their backs on the patio - no idea how; maybe they fall off the wall and can't sort their wings out in time ?
Possibly same as mogrim I give you Gordon.
They move crazy fast as well.
Haven’t had any scorpions for yonks but they are kinda weird when you see them scampering around the patio.
I have tonnes of photos from my place - lizards, roos, wallabies, moths, insects, etc. It's basically a private rainforest conservation block which our local council support with rate relief. The previous owners propagated and shared widely the seedlings for a specific vine for a threatened butterfly species - The Richmond Birdwing butterfly. They did a lot in the region for increasing knowledge and protection and there's probably more butterflies around now than for decades. It's a stunning butterfly - the male is smaller but has an iridescent green wing that's stunning as it flies across the forest.
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Here's a few other faves
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The total list of species mapped on our place is rather long... i can't claim to have seen all nine snakes!
This is just some of the less common:
Mammals
Echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus
Golden-tipped bat Kerivoula papuensis
Grey-headed Flying Fox Pteropus poliocephalus
Koala Phascolarctos cinereus
Birds
Grey Goshawk Accipiter novaehollandiae
Powerful Owl Ninox strenua
Sooty owl Tyto tenebricosa
Glossy Black Cockatoo Calyptorhnchus lathami
Reptiles
Elf Skink Eroticoscincus graciloides
Rose-shaded Skink Saproscincus roseii
Death adder Acanthophis antarticus
A legless lizard Ophioscincus truncatus
Amphibians
Tusked frog Adelotus brevis
Possibly same as mogrim I give you Gordon.
That's the one. Cool looking but hard to photo!
Currently we have a hare visiting, deer amble through the yard and we now have a barn owl in residence. All very hard to photograph! Having seen some nearby hunting for lizards here now.
There’s a few farm cats calling and bats - two separate lots. Unfortunately one lot are in the loft. The others should be below
hairyscary
Full Member
Not sure if this will work. Video on Flickr.
Taken today while I was out riding. The hedge has masses of sparrows in it.
The video disappeared, if it was ever there 🙄
It is of a Sparrowhawk jumping up and down on the hedge trying to get at the sparrows inside.
I can’t get Flickr vids to work here
Better bat photos
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Cute
Not in the garden, but I have a little colony of False Black Widow spiders in my garage.
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We have a couple of hedgehogs that regularly patrol through the garden. Noisy buggers when they are mating!
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Nice to see a few reports of hummingbird hawk moths. We had one in our garden this year too. Went to Verona a few years ago and there were hundreds on the flowers round a restaurant veranda we were sitting in. Lovely.
Also, a hedgehog in out garden this year. Quite surprising because we're tightly fenced due to pets and dogs, us and the neighbours.
We have a couple of hedgehogs that regularly patrol through the garden. Noisy buggers when they are mating!
Q. How do hedgehogs mate?
A. CAREFULLY!
🤣
every year, mid-august onwards the lawn becomes alive with these bees.
I was up in Gairloch a couple of weeks back and the whole headland beside Mellon Udrigal beach was alive with those bees - acres of them- a little hole every 3 or 4 inches and a bee fastidiously tending to it.
I have digger wasps busying away just outside my living room window
and occasionally its my turn to look after the forum's Baby Robin
