After hearing tales of deer in Finsbury Park over the weekend and then spending a magic five minutes watching a greater spotted woodpecker feeding in my garden barely 10 feet from my kitchen window, I was fascinated to read this Guardian article on the previously 'exotic' wildlife of country places taking up residence in our parks and gardens. Insects, birds and mammals that once were hard to spot are now thriving in urban environments but its not all good news. Some non-native species are causing problems in British waterways and the boldness of some larger mammals like foxes are causing a bit of a headache for local authorities.
Still, it was a wonderful thing to see a woodpecker, previously only glimpsed through binoculars in tree tops, sitting as bold as brass on my bird feeder. Finding hard to complain about that.
Read more: Urban Wildlife Invaders
I am guessing it was a great spotted woodpecker, they come, on and off, to my peanut feeder. If you have large garden green woodpeckers may be seen on the grass hunting for ants etc..
Yes. This one was on the fat balls after working his way around my pear tree. I only have a small garden and its the first time I've seen a woodpecker. Last year I had a family of goldfinches take up residence and some greenfinches dropped in. With it being a bad year for autumn/winter food sources, we may see more 'unusual' birds visiting our back gardens I guess.
I take it that this tweeter doesn't live in Harringay? :) I would probably faint with pleasure if there were otters in my garden. They are one of my favourite animals.
...and these days you have to paddle out in a canoe on the Shannon to see those purply-black hooligans the starlings.
(Although I did get a noisy bunch of squabbling starlings visit me for a while last year)
Have you let Countryfile know - I think they need to do a Haringay Special.
I have seen a Jay a couple of times in our garden which I got very over excited about, children came running into the kitchen to have a look and it got startled and flew off ...
I put out niger seed which has always attracted goldfinches, but over the last 3 years it has attracted redpolls in the Winter
No problems attracting hoards of squabbly starlings if you have a fig tree, every year on queue just as they are ripe and ready to eat. (The figs that is!). Also breeding toads and frogs, tits and finches and the usual suspects.
All this wind in the willows stuff is alright for some but if the bloody badgers show their noses I'll have to get out of the cattle business up here. Wightman Rd Stores at No.7, old Woollven the Butcher and several other victuallers at this end will have to close. Think on't.
I think that the new wildlife thing is worldwide, I live in Edmonton Alberta, this year we have had Bluejays move into the neighbourhood, squirels, and this summer even humming birds, I have never ever seen any of these species before. We still have the large jack rabbits ( hares ) living in the comunity, they are now starting to turn white for the winter season. We had our first few inches of snow this last weekend, so winter draws on Mrs Murphy.
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