wildlife

[fermi de Sousa]

How marvelous for you, Gordon!
I always loved otters after reading Gavin Maxwell's "Ring of Bright Water" and his other books - one of the first authors I "binge-read"
cheers
fermi

[Tristan_He]

That's fabulous Gordon (and nice pond by the way). Is it a young one do you think? It's hard to tell from the video but it doesn't look quite full size to me.

Otters tend to poo in conspicuous locations to mark their territory, so you may see that one regularly.

[GordonT]

Thanks, Fermi and Tristan. Martin and I think it is a youngster. I have more than a few doubts that it will be a long term resident, the first being the presence of our two Shetland Sheepdogs. Apart from that, I've been able to assess the amount of fish in the pond,now that the ice is gone, and it looks as if the otter cleared out all the adult goldfish we had in there, even more than we lose to annual visits from herons,mergansers, and cormorants. The fish will bounce back... we'd rather have native fish in the pond, but the amount of aeration and fluctuating water level/quality,make it unsuitable for what we'd love to have (trout).

[Yann]

For those understanding german or french

https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/069769-005-A/les-secrets-des-fleurs-sauvages

https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/069769-004-A/les-secrets-des-fleurs-sauvages/ (if you like Cypripedium)

[Maggi Young]

For those understanding german or french

https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/069769-005-A/les-secrets-des-fleurs-sauvages

https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/069769-004-A/les-secrets-des-fleurs-sauvages/ (if you like Cypripedium)

A marvelous series of films- a real joy to watch - thanks for the tip, Yann!

[Gerdk]

French/German tv-channel Arte is my favorite tv sender.
Always with programmes worth watching!
Gerd

[Tristan_He]

My new rockery area looks a bit bare for wildlife, not even anything flowering...



...but a closer look reveals that these solitary bees are making their nests here, apparently the warm loose soil is an ideal habitat! You can just about see the bee peeping out of her burrow.

[fermi de Sousa]

A frequent garden visitor - a reason we don't usually need to cut down the ornamental grasses!
The Eastern Grey Kangaroo - Macropus giganteus
cheers
fermi

[Tristan_He]

Goodness Fermi! That's a bit more of a challenge than rabbits or deer. Quite a special visitor though. Do they do much damage?

He/she looks very at home there anyway - kind of like it's enquiring when you are going to bring it drinks, and whether it could get a side order of olives.

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Tristan,
fortunately roos tend to only eat grass whereas wallabies are more destructive.
Thank goodness we don't have deer around here - yet!
Yes, he looks very laid back and ready for a G&T!
cheers
fermi 

[cohan]

A frequent garden visitor - a reason we don't usually need to cut down the ornamental grasses!
The Eastern Grey Kangaroo - Macropus giganteus
cheers
fermi

Cool!

Tristan- nice to see- I think I have one or several sorts of solitary bees in the rock garden too.. and more kinds of pollinators than I ever knew existed in the gardens overall- plant it and they will come!

[Lesley Cox]

Kangaroos lie down in such a way that one might expect someone like Marlene Dietrich or Greta Garbo, to relax and yes, the G and T is on its way. 

[Yann]

French/German tv-channel Arte is my favorite tv sender.
Always with programmes worth watching!
Gerd

Indeed, the only chanel i watch....

[ArnoldT]

OK I'll bite.

What is G and T?

[Tristan_He]

Here, it's Gin and Tonic Arnold (so I'm told - I'm not the biggest gin fan and when I do drink it, I don't pollute it with tonic). But it's possible that it's something quite different in NZ - over to Lesley!