Wildlife Corner

[Stanley]

I note that on careful inspection I can see tiny two leaved seedlings hiding in the shelter of the clods in the front garden. I think my wild meadow might be fighting to become reality! (I thought this was more wildlife than gardening!)

[Tizer]

Our Mahonia bushes had a lovely show of yellow flowers over the winter months and now they're hanging with juicy black berries which the blackbirds love. They're great for wildlife and are evergreen with glossy, prickly leaves so look good all year round. Small birds come to the flowers to sip the nectar - when we lived in the Levels blackcaps came to our garden for the nectar.

[Stanley]

I consider myself lucky if I see a Robin these days! Barlick town centre is an avian dead zone!

[PanBiker]

But you don't have anything in your front garden to attract them! No reason to visit. Maybe try a feeder and bugger the cats, they cant fly!

[Tizer]

And buy a seed feeder on a pole, not a peanut one, then fill it with sunflower hearts (dehulled sunflower seeds) which the small birds find irresistible! (Peanut feeders are made of wire mesh, seed feeders are plastic tubes with individual holes and perches for the birds). If you don't want tall shrubs to look after put in a few prostrate varieties e.g. prostrate rosemary, cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty'.

[Tripps]

then fill it with sunflower hearts

I suppose they come from Ukraine as well as the oil. In that case best panic buy today as just as in Aldi on Saturday night, the shelves will be empty tomorrow.

[Tizer]

Good thinking, that man!

[Stanley]

I'll wait and see if my wildflower meadow attracts them.

[Cathy]

Yesterday I watched , for a good 5-10 minutes, 4 Magpies having a conversation. It was all very calmly and quietly done. Fascinating.

Wish I knew what they were discussing!

[Stanley]

Could have been you Cathy.....

[Tizer]

This Spring has been good for buttercups here in Taunton. This is in a small local park. Many of the roadside grass verges have been covered in them. One verge in the town, near a main road, has Lady's Smock (Cardamine pratensis) growing in parts of the grass verge this year, the first time we've seen it there. It's a plant of wet places and is probably a relic from when this low lying area was farmer's fields. Sometimes plants lay dormant for a long time until there's a change in conditions then come up to surprise us. We once saw a grass road verge in Oxfordshire covered in common orchid flowers although people couldn't remember seeing them there before. The council had dug over the verge surface and sown more grass but it also wakened up the dormant orchid bulbs!

[Wendyf]

I know Lady's Smock as Milkmaid, some people call it Cuckoo Flower, we have quite a lot popping up in the unkempt parts of the garden. I noticed some tiny blue violets the other day as well and Water Avens. It's surprising what turns up!

[Stanley]

I remember having a conversation with a vicar in Rochdale about orchids. I found out later that he was a well known authority on them and was always 'traipsing about in a dirty raincoat'! He told me that over 80% of the known British orchid species could be found round Rochdale. I was surprised as I had always associated orchids with a warmer, drier climate but he assured me that wasn't the case.

[Tizer]

Have a look at the sites in this link and you'll be surprised by some of them! LINK

[Stanley]

The vicar was right, orchids are hardy little plants!

[Stanley]

Just when you thought it was safe to go out! Have a look at THIS and start worrying about agressive worms that can jump a foot in the air!

[Tripps]

Hope they haven't seen the film Tremors

[Cathy]

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Does anyone know what this is? It opens the part on it’s back and it makes a sound like a machine-gun

[Stanley]

Bloody Hell Cathy! Is that your hand? It looks like the biggest grasshopper in the world!

[Cathy]

No not my hand.
Apparently it’s a Malaysian Carnivorous Giant Grasshopper.
Gosh! Quite harmless, just very noisy.
Look it up, to hear it.

[Stanley]

Good name for it!

[Tripps]

Fascinating- thanks. A Katydid- - Not to be confused with What Katy Did

Good camouflage - love the way its tail turns brown just like a real leaf.

[Stanley]

I still can't get over the size of it!

[MickBrett]

Tomato Hornworm caterpillar.

This guy will (and in my case, did) destroy a tomato plant in a day.
I wouldn't like one nesting in my earhole



And this fine fellow came visiting.
It's a Rhinoceros Bug and apparently it's the strongest creature on the planet relative to it's size. It can lift 850 times it's own weight. I gave him to my mate and he let him go in his small orchard.

[Stanley]

Two fearsome beasts Mick! That's a D11 caterpillar.