wildlife

[Maggi Young]

Michael, if we ever had 17 Goldfinches in the garden we'd faint clean away with delight.

On the other hand, we are very fortunate to be able to enjoy the "peeping" and busy hunting and flitting of Goldcrests every day.  We get closest to them though glass - just a pity all the windows here are so filthy!

[David King]

This green Woodpecker is a visitor to our garden several times a year.  They are very shy but we do have rather a lot of ants in the lawn and that is what they like.  This was taken last week.

[Anthony Darby]

Amazing experience David. We get flocks of goldfinches feeding on the seeding grass on the football pitches near us. Don't get as close as you Michael, except when they sit in ones and twos on the wire fence.

[David King]

This male great spotted Woodpecker is a regular visitor particularly when the pair have young to feed.  We see both the male and female and sometimes both at the same time and they stay for a considerable amount of time.

[TC]

Over the years the bird life in our garden has changed.  The  year we moved in was 1971. The rows of houses had just been built on what was farmland.  We had Curlews, Oystercatchers, Skylarks puzzled as to where the fields had gone.  Our residents were House Sparrows, Blackbirds and Starlings.  In Autumn, we had Tawny Owls calling from the roofs and Vixens calling in the evenings and Grey Partridges about 200 yards away.  We even had a few Red Squirrels.

Goldfinches are an everyday regular now along with Tree Sparrows-four appeared some weeks ago for the first time.  Our House Sparrows have made a come-back and number about 15.  The Starlings seem to be increasing also  For the 44 years we have been here, our regulars have been Robins, Great,Blue and Coal Tits,Wrens, Goldcrests, Dunnocks, Blackbirds and Song Thrush - sadly now only occasionally .

Newcomers include Redpolls, Siskins,Blackcaps  (in Winter) Yellowhammers, Magpies, Wood Pigeons, Rooks,Jackdaws and Carrion Crows.  The latter are now fearless.  They refuse to fly off when I come out the back door.  Nuthatches breed within two miles of me and I half expect one to turn up soon.
I even had an Alpine Swift hawking over my garden several years backm an Osprey being mobbed as it flew north and a White Tailed Eagle high in the sky heading for Arran.

I wonder what the scene will be in another 40 odd years.

Some pictures of a Black Redstart and Green Winged Teal which are overwintering and a disturbing picture of a horse licking a dead chicken
  Vampire tendencies ?

[chasw]

Had this bad boy in the garden this morning,and he /she was very approachable,we went out for about 10 minutes and when we arrived home it had a magpie............feathers everwhere

[Steve Garvie]

One for Sorrow....

It's a she.
With raptors, as in human society, the males are the weaker sex! 

[Carolyn]

Red squirrel enjoying the peanuts in the birdfeeder, then having a drink from a puddle.  It has built a drey in our Korean spruce, about 10m from our living room window.

[mark smyth]

Michael, if we ever had 17 Goldfinches in the garden we'd faint clean away with delight.

On a good day I get up to 200

[Maggi Young]

Carolyn - I do hope your squirrel raises a great family in your garden.

Mark  - that must be why the goldfinches are so scarce here - they're all in Ireland!

[johnstephen29]

Carolyn you are so lucky to have red squirrels in your garden, the only time I have seed one was in the highland wildlife park years ago.

[Roma]

I was tidying up my gentians in pots today and disturbed this little grasshopper.

[mark smyth]

Never seen one like that Roma

[mark smyth]

What a day today. 8c but very warm. Loads of white-tailed and buff-tailed bumble bees working the crocus in the garden. Lots of droneflies too and a lone small tortoiseshell. It was supposed to be a day of weeding but it soon stopped. Topped up the tan instead

[Karaba]

I was tidying up my gentians in pots today and disturbed this little grasshopper.

It should be Tetrix undulata, the only Tetrix in Scotland : http://www.orthoptera.org.uk/species/account.aspx?ID=31
This is a young one (larva).