Wildlife in nature and in the garden 2019

[fermi de Sousa]

Arachnophobe warning!  Arachnophobe warning!   Arachnophobe warning! Do Not Click on the Thumbnails if spiders give you the heebie geebies!

Not a nice surprise to find while moving a tray of plants 
A Huntsman Spider which had taken up residence in between the pots!
cheers
fermi

[Gail]

Is that a 7cm pot or a 27cm Fermi (ie should we be afraid or very afraid??)

[fermi de Sousa]

Is that a 7cm pot or a 27cm Fermi (ie should we be afraid or very afraid??)

Fortunately just a 7cm pot 
cheers
fermi

[ian mcdonald]

When I first saw this fungus in the garden I thought it was honey fungus. Now it is more open it looks like one of the Parasol mushrooms. Edible but tasteless.

[Gerdk]

A brimstone butterfly on Allium

Gerd

[Roma]

I got a surprise when I opened the garage door this afternoon.  I wondered what I was seeing.  It looked like a clod of earth but was a toad.  The garage door is a tight fit so there is no way it could have got in with the door closed.  I was out last night when it was raining but the door was only open a few minutes when I took the car out and again when I came home.  The last time the door was open for any length of time was when I left it open while I went to a shop in the village on Wednesday afternoon but it was warm and dry and a toad was unlikely to be out in the open.

[ian mcdonald]

What do you call a male and female toad?

[sokol]

Few animals from the garden. I am not quite sure whether the beetle's names are correct.

Argiope bruennichi



Cantharis pallida



Cantharis fusca

[Gerdk]

Perfect images!

Gerd

[Maggi Young]

What do you call a male and female toad?

I've  never  heard  of  gender  specific names  for toads  or  frogs. Have you, Ian?

[Gabriela]

Very nice pictures Stefan!

One hummingbird left behind, probably not strong enough; all others left about two weeks ago. It stayed around the feeder every day last week.


They have good memory so I hope he will return next year.

[ian mcdonald]

Maggi, in this area they are called toad lad and toad lass.

[fermi de Sousa]

Nest now occupied!

The eggs have hatched!
cheers
fermi

[bainbridges]

Can you help spoon-billed sandpiper conservation please?

The spoon-billed sandpiper is one of the rarest waders in the world, and has been the subject of a wide range of conservation efforts since its population was estimated to be as low as 100 birds a few years ago.  These include special research and conservation activities on the breeding grounds in Arctic Kamchatka, on migration in China and on the wintering grounds in south-east Asia.   Lots more information and wonderful pictures of these unique birds at
https://www.saving-spoon-billed-sandpiper.com/
As part of the work, birds have been reared at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge in Gloucestershire, and efforts are now being made to encourage them to breed successfully  (see the ‘captive population’ section of the website).  Research has suggested that they use dwarf willow leaves to line the base of their nests, and they don’t have those at Slimbridge, so  we therefore have a special request to all rock gardeners who grow Salix x boydii. 
Salix x boydii leaves are judged to be the most similar to the leaves they use in the Arctic, so this request is to ask rock gardeners to save leaves as they fall this autumn, and send them please, to Ian Bainbridge, Luckie Harg’s, Anwoth, Gatehouse of Fleet, Dumfries and Galloway DG7 2EF.  We are looking to collect 2-3 litres of leaves if we can, and if you can help, an e-mail to bainbridi@aol.com would be very much appreciated!
Ian Bainbridge

[fermi de Sousa]

Salix x boydii leaves are judged to be the most similar to the leaves they use in the Arctic, so this request is to ask rock gardeners to save leaves as they fall this autumn, and send them please, to Ian Bainbridge, Luckie Harg’s, Anwoth, Gatehouse of Fleet, Dumfries and Galloway DG7 2EF....

What a wonderful way for rock gardeners to contribute! I hope you get so many leaves donated that you end up having to make compost with the excess
The nestlings in the shade-house are growing apace! Can you count the beaks?
cheers
fermi