Wildlife in the garden - at any time of year

[RichardG]

I never knew my garden was so busy! Last night I recorded a stray cat popping round to eat the food I put out for my own cat; my cat showing off and then eating a field mouse; and the hedgehog squeezing under the side gate and eating some plants. But they all came in separately, they don't share the space together.


The trail camera is like a whole new hobby with loads of surprises, I don't have clue what to expect when I look at the footage in the morning. The hedgehog is visiting two or three times a night, and eating plants if the cat food has gone.

 

[Brian Daniels]

Found this Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillar in the undergrowth whilst weeding.

 

[Rob Pulham]

A couple of weeks ago while watching a hedgehog one night from our balcony, I noticed movement and glanced up to see a Polecat scampering along the far rail like it was a major highway.

We hadn't realised until sometime later that the trail camera had picked it up. - You need to watch carefully at the very upper edge of the screen. It's probably better viewed on Youtube as a bigger image.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and it visited again but this time the camera caught it in daylight. Looking at where it went I wonder if it has taken up residence in one of the many rabbit holes in the far side of the embankment.

 

[Rob Pulham]

Given how fast the Polecat is moving I trimmed the last video and slowed it down. - Still better viewed on a bigger screen if you can

 

[Jon Nazareth]

I set up a trail camera last night and answered both questions - yes, and all of it. Now I know how the feeding bowl is getting moved and why the water bowl is empty some mornings. The cat did not get a look in all night.

Just like North American institutions there are unexplained gaps in the footage, but I've posted the whole lot onto my YouTube channel in case people would like to skip through:

Do you ever get rats coming in for a feed?

 

[Rob Pulham]

I had a fiddle and slowed down the first polecat video, I also managed to lighten it a little with the limited video editing tools that I have it isn't great quality but still nice to see.

 

[paulc]

Does it ever stop to take a breath or is it too busy inhaling the cat food .

 

[RichardG]

Do you ever get rats coming in for a feed?

Not for food.

Some years ago I had a couple of rats using the garden as a route from a neighbour's garden out to the driveway, and I dispatched them with poisoned bait. But since Harry cat arrived nine years ago, I haven't seen even one.

Sadly hedgehogs will eat rat poison and it kills them. This happened to Marion's local hedgehog earlier this year

 

[Rob Pulham]

We had a couple more visits from the Polecat last night. The warm weather must be making him/her thirsty.

 

[Crab and Winkle]

I found this quite large echidna in our front garden tonight. It is only the 3rd one we have had in 13 years at our current house.

 

[RonnieS]

Not for food.

Some years ago I had a couple of rats using the garden as a route from a neighbour's garden out to the driveway, and I dispatched them with poisoned bait. But since Harry cat arrived nine years ago, I haven't seen even one.

Sadly hedgehogs will eat rat poison and it kills them. This happened to Marion's local hedgehog earlier this year

Our local seagull chicks are not doing at all well I saw another one splattered in the road today. Next door every year an adult pair arrive and nest on the roof. And every year the chicks fall off and become a tasty snack for Mr Fox.
This year I thought they might do better as my neighbour had spent a fortune on bird spikes in a vain attempt to deter the doves. To a nesting seagull an asset as it is somewhere to wrap nesting materials around. I thought the spikes on the roof ridge might contain the chicks in a safe area. First one chick disappeared and one day there were none and much squawking.
This is the day before.

 

[Brian Daniels]

Got a healthy flock of young Sparrows being fed at the moment and then trying synchronised flying to help their selves from the feeder.

 

[simond]

Excellent photos!

 

[steve50]

Great photo's, I love the Sparrows, we get a lot where I live and they always entertain!

 

[Crab and Winkle]

Koalas are fairly common visitors to our garden. It is currently breeding season and this big male has been roaring territorially for the last couple of nights.

 

[simond]

You don’t see many of them in Kent!

 

[Crab and Winkle]

You don’t see many of them in Kent!

My cousin lives in Kent and she took me to see some badgers when I was there last. You don't see many of those in Adelaide.

 

[simond]

One of our neighbours feeds the badgers, so we see them most evenings. Despite the fact that nobody chases them, they always run away when a car comes down the road, they don’t seem to learn that staying in his driveway would be safer!

I think badgers are also responsible for converting what was our lawn into something with more craters than the Sea of Tranquility…

this is doubly annoying. Whatever is digging holes makes them about tennis ball sized, which traps the castor on the back of our robot mower. The mower is very good, but it ain’t smart, so it simply keeps trying to go, despite being stuck. This means that the drive wheels dig up the grass even more.

 

[Crab and Winkle]

While we don't get badgers a couple of places I work at get Southern hairy-nose wombats. These guys will dig through calcrete limestone and even road surfaces. Not easy to get photos though as they are usually nocturnal.

 

[James Spooner]

One of our neighbours feeds the badgers, so we see them most evenings. Despite the fact that nobody chases them, they always run away when a car comes down the road, they don’t seem to learn that staying in his driveway would be safer!

I think badgers are also responsible for converting what was our lawn into something with more craters than the Sea of Tranquility…

this is doubly annoying. Whatever is digging holes makes them about tennis ball sized, which traps the castor on the back of our robot mower. The mower is very good, but it ain’t smart, so it simply keeps trying to go, despite being stuck. This means that the drive wheels dig up the grass even more.

We have had occasional visits from badgers, with a similar outcome to you. A wildlife expert told me that they don’t like the scent of human male urine and I can confirm that is correct…

Nigel