Animals in your garden

[zigs]

Well that poor creature doesn`t look very happy - can`t you cheer him up?

Lucky is on to it

 

[marlingardener]

Put some gin in that bucket, and he'll be as happy as a pig in clover!

 

[Sean Regan]

'arry's "here there and everywhere," now. He spent quite a bit of time on the patio next to the French windows around 11.00 pm last night. He visited his feeder three times between 10.30 pm and 1.00am. But still inspects the back end of the garden during the night several times too.

I've been getting quite a few "blank" photos and videos. Last night I saw the reason, there was just a flash of something flying away from the birdbath. I'm pretty sure it was a bat. We always got bats in our garden when we had the koi pool. If we had the lights on in the garden at night, you could see them flying over the pool chasing insects.

 

[UrbanWild]

I miss hedgehogs.
We do have these though...(poor shot - cell phone camera lens is scratched up)...
ruby-throated hummingbird, male

 

[Logan]

We don't have hummingbirds but would love them.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

'arry's "here there and everywhere," now. He spent quite a bit of time on the patio next to the French windows around 11.00 pm last night. He visited his feeder three times between 10.30 pm and 1.00am. But still inspects the back end of the garden during the night several times too.


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I've been getting quite a few "blank" photos and videos. Last night I saw the reason, there was just a flash of something flying away from the birdbath. I'm pretty sure it was a bat. We always got bats in our garden when we had the koi pool. If we had the lights on in the garden at night, you could see them flying over the pool chasing insects.

We have a bat flies up under the covered way by the back door and switches on the security light. Never sure if he knows what he is doing because the light attracts insects, or if it was just a happy coincidence that has got him coming back without realising he is the agent that switches it on.

 

[Logan]

The hedgehog/s had been here last night.
I put the bricks there to stop them from moving the station but it doesn't work well. If they get at the back of the bowl they just try and jump over it or if there's more than one in there.

 

[Sean Regan]

Suspicions confirmed!
'arry lives under the tea-house.
I temporarily attached the camera to the corner post. The camera comes with a sturdy long strap so you can attach it to quite a big tree if you choose.

Here he is emerging from under the side "skirt" of the tea-house. He regularly sets off the little PIR security light on the side of the building, which I put there last year to catch a fox or a cat coming over the back fence, in the vain hope it wouild put them off coming into our garden.

The ugly black pipe is the downspout from the guttering I put on the back of the tea-house roof to stop rainwater draining off the roof dripping down the fence. The other "pipe," is the conduit for the low voltage feeds to the spotlight behind the pagoda and the two lanterns.


Walking along the low wall.

Several photos and videos of him going backwards and forwards to his home during the night.

In one of the videos you see him crouching down to get back under the floor.

His toilet habits have improved, he hasn't pooed in his feeding station or on the patio for three days now.

Do you think I could get a refund on the hedgehog house my wife made me buy?

It's going to be hot today, so I've opened both tea-house doors. I don't want the heat frying the components in my jukeboxes' amplifiers, (or 'arry!).

The third door is secured by two bolts at the top and at the bottom corners, so if I choose, I can swing it open either way, or remove it completely.

 

[Sean Regan]

'arry seems to have settled down now.
At first he came for his food, when it got dark and stayed until he'd eaten it all.
Now he realises he doesn't have to do this. He's coming easlier and earlier, tonight it was still quite light when he came.
Now he doesn't eat it all at once. He eats half of it then goes "off on his rounds" and comes back at around 5.00 a.m. to eat the rest as his "breakfast." He's getting wise to the PIR lights and tries to avoid them when he can, but he can't avoid the camera as it doesn't need light to record him.

 

[Sean Regan]

Last night he ate all his dinner at 9.00pm then came back just after midnight. (we know when he visits at night as he sets off the security light). As no more food had "magically appeared," he turned round and trotted off. There were still some pellets in a dish if he were really hungry. I guess he must have pretty much cleared our garden now of snails, slugs etc. He does spend quite a bit of time on this little patio, he may be eating the ants that must have a nest under one of the paving slabs.

He's definitely getting bigger.

 

[Sean Regan]

Can you identify the bird in the feeder?
A clue is its tail hanging down out of the back of it.

A tap on the window got a reaction.

I've put a wire across the mouth of this peanut butter feeder. It's really frustrating the mob of starlings as only the small birds can get in to feed.

 

[Sean Regan]

I spent a fair bit of time on Sunday doing some gardening, as usual I selected a couple of dozen 45s on my jukeboxes in the tea-house and let them play through whilst I was working.

I can only conclude that 'arry is sick of Motown, as I checked today and he's moved out from under the tea-house and into the hedgehog house we bought him which is under the azaleas against the side fence near the patio. Up 'til now he'd been ignoring it.

 

[Logan]

They don't stay in the same place all the time. Yesterday had one in the feeding station in the day, this time of year they get pregnant or got babies and that's why they're seen in the day.

 

[plumberroy]

For the most part birds don't damage my garden . I have an electric fence around it to keep bigger critters out it work some what for rabbits. As long as the critters stay out of my garden we get along fine (I put out bird seed regularly) they start damaging my veggies then we have a problem and I will remove them

 

[Sean Regan]

'arry is growing.

Here he is on "ant patrol" at ten-thirty last night after eating half his dinner.

 

[Sean Regan]

We're thinking of renaming 'arry as "Porky."

 

[Sean Regan]

I don't think I mentioned it before.
'arry's feeding station has a lid. This makes an excellent base for the food as obviously the lid fits just as well upside down.
I removed part of the lips in the lid that retain the lid in the normal fashion, so there was a smooth threshold for him under the entrance. I also tremoved the handles.
If he poos or wees in there, it's easy enough to hold the lid over a drain and wash it all off with a hose and a brush every day.
I had to reinforce with tape the bit above where the little block of wood and the hook attaches to a hole in the rim of the feeding bowl to stop him moving it, or tipping it over by standing on the lip. and rim of the other corner of the box which split when I dropped it.

 

[Logan]

Since this dry weather the hedgehogs have been eating all the food.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

One of my frogs.

Hummingbirds.

 

[Logan]

Now that the weather has turned wetter the hedgehogs aren't eating all of the food or there's just one now.