Wildlife Corner

He is fine so far, but I think being at the end of his life, he must be 13 or so years old, and always had a respected relationship with the foxes around us, he is still doing well. He never was a house cat. He has lived outside all his life.

Thank you Lizzie I'm glad you think it looks good. When I look underneath that wooden part on the left without concrete, there are snails under there so it looks like there is possibly something blocking underneath, I will try poking, and I'll try having a little look over the fence tomorrow too.

That's an excellent idea Jiffy. I would love to set up a camera in the future too then I could really get to know their habits. So true Philippa! I have put out food just in a bowl outside before but it's no good because I am feeding the neighbourhood cats most likely

When I stayed in Bed and Breakfasts in Sri Lanka many years ago the families had geckos in the house keeping down the mosquitos and so on. They were very domesticated little things and paid for their accommodation far more usefully than I did.

@Tidemark possibly, but my visitor didn't have red legs. It looked like a weevily version of false widow spider ( we have several fws but if they stay on the outside of the window panes, we get along) Maybe they've become friendly.

Wow! shot of a lifetime for that photographer.

Happy huntingI'm off tomorrow for more mushrooms and picked a lot of sloes the other day

Thanks everyone. I’ve gone down a massive rabbit hole about these now. Definitely going to do a DIY one, although am still in the designing stages.

Thank you @Tidemark and @Thevictorian !I have done quite a bit of googling and some Rouen duck somewhere in the family tree looks likely- the body shape is indeed quite heavy towards the tail and the colouring and size match.The protective behaviour with the ducklings has been interesting...

@pete , sounds like The Birds……

My husband's birthday is coming up and I'd like to surprise him with a bird feeders with camera and solar. There is a bewildering array, from the affordable to the ridiculous. Anyone got any advice on what to look for, when choosing one, please?

I am seeing plenty - not so many indoors but that's normal for the time of year. In the autumn the giant males will come out looking for the females. Outdoors all my plants are covered with webs - I found a poor grasshopper caught at the weekend, too late to save it. Luckily I have plenty of...

Lots of adults here which are left alone, i've never seen a young one before so now i know

O-V. As I said it was a short article which stated - Find gaps in borders or containers that are near paths, doors or patios, where you can enjoy the scent as you pass. The fragrance is at its strongest in the evening and lingers best in a sheltered spot where the air is still. Water the plant...

Shortly after getting into bed last night, all windows open, breeze blowing gently, quiet and still, I heard an extraordinary sound, quite close to the house, several times. Not a cluck, next doors chickens, nor a bark, one of their dogs out on a late night toilet break. I think it may have...

My greenhouse has alpine grit at either side and an old stone glazed sink under benching. Yesterday evening I found a sand lizard in the sink under a aubergine plant which I had stood in and sprayed with soapy water to get rid of aphids.With the hot weather I left it in the sink and added...

I think some are false widows but they're outside so we leave each other alone. I recently saw a couple having a heated discussion about a wrapped up lunch. By the time I returned, the lunch and the spiders were gone. I'm hoping, whatever they are, they'll do the decent thing and see to...

Not a great year for purple toadflax here. Usually plenty of brocade moths and enough flowers for all of us. It was only when I had to rescue a lone caterpillar that there was hardly anywhere to put it, that I realised there isn't a lot of it about and no other caterpillars. I usually snip off...

On cleaning our windows i found a wasp nest!! under the tiles which they didn't like me moving about, being that the nest is just above the front door i had to do something about it, i didn't have any chem spray to sort them out so i took to youtube for a natural way, lots were saying washing up...

We see a lot of Red Kites here in the Highlands, quite a few Buzzards too.