Animals in your garden

[redback]

It's okay, wouldn't know, we don't get them, but there are now thousands of ring necked paraquets in London, a few pets escaped and found it suited them, and the flocks are spreading.

Everyone here is trying to grow as many indigenous plants as they can. Native birds here are probably more noteworthy than the native plants.
We have a blue-banded bee and lots of tiny bees as small as mosquitoes. Trying to identify everything is as interesting as being a gardener.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Trying to identify everything is as interesting as being a gardener.

Indeed, I am not terrific on birds, but when I was a boy Dad used to play a game of 'pick one each of as many wild flowers as you can.' Then he would take us through the flora identifying them. In later life I saw him play it with unsuspecting guests who would maybe find more than 30 flowers. Then he would say, "Okay, if you give me a penny for every one I know I'll give you half a crown for those I don't" (That was 30 pennies). He would give them the flora to check him, never saw him make a loss.

 

[redback]

The Galah (pron. gar-la) is iconic, wicked, delightful, comedic, adored and weird. It rests upside down on a tree branch or telephone wire. Groups of five or six fly past doing aerobatics as they fly. It squawks like a dinosaur in pain and yet will chatter away to itself. It is incredibly gregarious and mobs of a hundred will just gather on the chicken shed roof (and surrounding trees) for a bit of a chat

.

 

[redback]

The Sulphur Crested Cockatoo is the biggest of the parrots here. It's probably the noisiest as well. It's so heavy that when it jumps off this branch to take flight its body will drop 2' or 3' before its wings begin to elevate it.

 

[redback]

You're probably not interested in this one because you've got plenty of magpies yourselves. It did pose nicely.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

The Sulphur Crested Cockatoo is the biggest of the parrots here. It's probably the noisiest as well. It's so heavy that when it jumps off this branch to take flight its body will drop 2' or 3' before its wings begin to elevate it.
View attachment 102247

How does it take off from the ground? Does it have to run?

 

[redback]

Does it land on the ground - yes but not often. I'll have to watch next time I see one land. I think its wings are powerful enough to elevate vertically from a standing start. Not sure.

 

[Deblee]

Last year was my 3rd year with raccoon kits.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Deer prints in the snow on our front lawn the other day. In the back garden found fox (Straight line) prints and badger (Large claws) investigating around the bird table. Put out a bit of the wet cat food our kitten won't touch for them, don't want them hungry enough to snack on kitten, though she was a year old the other day and wouldn't be a push over.

 

[gary350]

Birds, moles, squirrels, mice, cat and 20 lb. loud barking dog are the only animals in my garden. Animals are no problem.

We have, deer, raccoons, rabbits, bobcat, skunks, possums, that are no problem.

Birds are my friend I have 14 bird houses my garden has no bugs.

Gray Squirrels, skinks, possums, birds, do not eat vegetables.

Deer can jump over fence easy but small loud barking dog scares them away.

Moles and mice eat new potatoes I grow 350 lbs. so moles get 50 lbs. and I get 300 lbs.

Dog kills rabbits and snakes..

Raccoons only eat ripe corn for 1 day then corn is gone and raccoons are gone also.

When we have 100° F and no rain for 4 months I put out 10 containers of water for birds to drink so birds do not eat tomatoes. Sometimes I put a net over the tomato plants.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Squirrels, skinks, possums, birds, do not eat vegetables.

We don't have skinks (Skunk?) or possums. We don't have native red squirrels, but North American grey squirrels will dig things up, and sometimes eat larger seeds, they also damage trees biting off new foliage. Pigeons are a total pest, they love brassicas and will shred them to nothing.

 

[pepper2.0]

My neighbor had a strange animal frolicking in their garden the other night.. but they told me to get out.

 

[Deblee]

My neighbor had a strange animal frolicking in their garden the other night.. but they told me to get out.

Lol!

 

[Deblee]

You're probably not interested in this one because you've got plenty of magpies yourselves. It did pose nicely.View attachment 102248

That's a pretty bird. We don't get them in Missouri.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

I would never feed/encourage racoons.