ED Nature Watch

[Sue]

And they've put in plastic grass

 

😭😭😭

[dazeykat]

Just seen swifts first time this year.  So beautiful.

[Han92-ED]

14 hours ago, dazeykat said:

Just seen swifts first time this year.  So beautiful.

This news brings me so much joy! I love seeing them in the early evening darting about the skies 🪶

[Sue]

Just seen a Red Admiral butterfly in the garden ❤️

 

First I've seen this year! 

[Lynne]

Great tits nesting in the guttering

[RichH]

This has been my alarm clock for the last few weeks:

Unfortunately it doesn't have a Snooze Button!

But at least it's not as raucous as that other medium-sized green bird that frequents these parts 🙂

[heartblock]

Blue and yellow butterflies in the garden 🙂

[malumbu]

Great spotted woodpecker has now decided to feed on the goldfinch feeder.  Not really sure it was designed for them - this is sunflower seeds, doubt if it would feed on niger seeds.

All my tadpoles gone, I've never had success.  They may have been eaten but don't think algae or other elements of water quality were the reason.

 

[exdulwicher]

Is it just me or are there more goldfinches around than usual? There's always a few but there seem to be more/bigger flocks of them this year. They seem to move quite rapidly through an area, demolish a bird feeder between them then disappear off again.

[malumbu]

From my understanding gold finches have benefited in recent times from garden feeders, with increased numbers as other species decline.  We've a flock both in the front and back gardens, but not yet reached earlier year's peaks. 

https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/goldfinch

Edited May 20, 2023 by malumbu

[sunbob]

Does anyone know why someone might hang a dead jay by a noose (head covered with a little hood) from the roof of their house? We were pretty disturbed by seeing it on a local house this morning. By this evening we could just see that it was resting up in the guttering. Could there be a sane reason for this?

[Mabaker]

Do you feel brave enough to knock on the door and see what the occupier has to say about it? You could point out that there is a jay on the guttering and work out from their answer if they happen to have anything to do with this poor creature's demise

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Could it be a "keeper's gibbet"?  Farmers/country folk believe it deters other birds.

[malumbu]

We've got a family of woodpeckers visiting the bird feeders which is lovely.  And a jay hangs around, not sure what it is feeding on.  And for the first time a couple of starlings.

How much this is related to habitat destruction, climate change and the like I don't know.  Woodpeckers natural food is not bird feeders.  And the nearest starling I have seen have been in car parks a good mile away (their numbers have been absolutely decimated).

Pond flora has gone crazy and the wildlife meadow doing well - yellow rattle is the first thing to plant which then self seeds and reduces grass growth

[RichH]

33 minutes ago, malumbu said:

How much this is related to habitat destruction, climate change and the like I don't know. 

Nothing.  If you provide an abundant supply of free food, they'll feed on it, even in preference to their "natural" food.

As to the "hanging" Jay in a previous post (by sunbob), I'd suggest that (without having actually seen it myself), short of a local witches' coven, the poor bird probably just spotted what it believed to be a tasty morsel on the roof, was unfortunately caught up in some random debris and fluttered about trying to get free before ending up in the roof guttering.  Sad, but also completely natural.

Edited June 3, 2023 by RichH

[malumbu]

The jay in our garden has worked out how to use the feeder.  Apparently that is not common.

[Sue]

On 03/06/2023 at 14:04, malumbu said:

We've got a family of woodpeckers visiting the bird feeders which is lovely.  And a jay hangs around, not sure what it is feeding on.  And for the first time a couple of starlings.

How much this is related to habitat destruction, climate change and the like I don't know.  Woodpeckers natural food is not bird feeders.  And the nearest starling I have seen have been in car parks a good mile away (their numbers have been absolutely decimated).

Pond flora has gone crazy and the wildlife meadow doing well - yellow rattle is the first thing to plant which then self seeds and reduces grass growth

When I lived out of London I had a family of woodpeckers visit the bird feeders, even though the house backed onto a wooded area where presumably they had access to more "natural" food.

I used to have loads of starlings come to my present garden. However after one was carried off in great distress by a bird of prey, I never saw another starling. Weird.

[Nigello]

A jay came back to a suet ball feeds after a year’s absence last night. 

[Sue]

On 06/06/2023 at 10:50, Nigello said:

A jay came back to a suet ball feeds after a year’s absence last night. 

How do you know it was the same jay? 😀

[Mabaker]

I saw a stag beetle in my garden yesterday. This is very good news because stags are now classed as endangered and in decline. Please consider putting a wood pile in your garden if you have the space. You can register your woodpile, complete with photo of your creation  on the People's Trust for Endangered Species website. You can also record and photograph any stags you come across under their Great British Stag Hunt category. Happy hunting!

[vladi]

Went out this morning to se why my miniature water fountain was not operating. It has been popular with the birds since we have had all this dry weather.

Turns out our local fox had chomped clean through the cable from the solar panel.

[Sue]

9 hours ago, vladi said:

Went out this morning to se why my miniature water fountain was not operating. It has been popular with the birds since we have had all this dry weather.

Turns out our local fox had chomped clean through the cable from the solar panel.

Might not have been a fox. Could have been a gang of snails 😂

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Just found Box Moth on my fig tree.

Should I kill it?

[milk_over_spoons]

Injured duck at Peckham Rye pond. Struggles walking and seems to have hurt it’s leg so just sits in the same spot every day.

What to do? 

Edited June 30, 2023 by milk_over_spoons

[Nigello]

There are mobile numbers and email addresses for park officers on the information boards in the park. There is also the office near the Japanese garden/back of toilets. Did you phone any local bird or animal welfare group?