Birds and Wildlife in your garden | Page 3 | Vital Football

Birds and Wildlife in your garden

NottyImp

NottyImp

Vital Football Legend
#42
#42
I know butterflies *reasonably* well. I can also identify the commoner garden/field birds and wildflowers. Insects and spiders - no idea!
 
Chesterimp

Chesterimp

Vital 1st Team Regular
#43
#43
Rob the Imp said:
Weirdly, there are a load of eucalyptus trees growing there too...
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Coincidentally, there's piece in today's Times about this, planting of eucalyptus has increased from 12 acres in 2013 to 370 acres this year and 620 acres planned next year. They can now survive the UK climate, are fast growing and absorb carbon, though they have to be planted carefully as they can deprive other trees and plants of water.

So they are becoming a more common sight. But if you see a koala in one.....
 
stokeimp

stokeimp

Vital Squad Member
#44
#44
We had one in our back garden for years - it grew well, and got big enough for the grandchildren to climb. But we allowed ivy to grow up it as well, which looked very attractive at first, but eventually killed the tree, so we had to take it down two or three years ago
 
Imprest 1

Imprest 1

Vital 1st Team Regular
#45
#45
Rob the Imp said:
We had a walk in Stapleford Woods recently and saw a couple of White Admirals, which are, confusingly, mostly black. I had never heard of them before either!
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These things are hard to miss, some as big as your hand, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Quite common here along with Monarchs. Planted some Butterfly bushes, which just about survive the cold winters.
Easterntiger.jpg
 
Red Wimp

Red Wimp

Vital Football Hero
#46
#46
NottyImp said:
I know butterflies *reasonably* well. I can also identify the commoner garden/field birds and wildflowers. Insects and spiders - no idea!
Click to expand...
I downloaded an app that will try to identify any living thing including plants. The odd thing it comes up with a daft suggestion ( eg Australian Magpie) but generally is pretty amazing
 
Rob the Imp

Rob the Imp

Vital Football Hero
#47
#47
Chesterimp said:
Coincidentally, there's piece in today's Times about this, planting of eucalyptus has increased from 12 acres in 2013 to 370 acres this year and 620 acres planned next year. They can now survive the UK climate, are fast growing and absorb carbon, though they have to be planted carefully as they can deprive other trees and plants of water.

So they are becoming a more common sight. But if you see a koala in one.....
Click to expand...
Ah, interesting! Thanks for the information. Definitely need to watch out for any uninvited visitors on them. Imagine wild koalas in Lincolnshire/Nottinghamshire!

Also, if you haven't seen the video of a noise a koala makes, have a look. It's unlikely to be what you imagine!
 
B

berksimps

Vital 1st Team Regular
#49
#49
Chesterimp said:
Coincidentally, there's piece in today's Times about this, planting of eucalyptus has increased from 12 acres in 2013 to 370 acres this year and 620 acres planned next year. They can now survive the UK climate, are fast growing and absorb carbon, though they have to be planted carefully as they can deprive other trees and plants of water.

So they are becoming a more common sight. But if you see a koala in one.....
Click to expand...
Be careful of planting them in your garden as their roots are nearly as invasive as those of Willows. They have been grown in vast plantations in Spain for many years for paper production, but utterly destroy the ground they are planted in, by all accounts.

If far enough away from your house and drains large examples can be cut right back to head height and will sprout from the trunk.
 
B

Bazzzer

Vital Squad Member
#58
#58
I heard a noisy gull this morning as I was getting up. It was "mobbing" a larger bird which was in fact a heron. Perhaps the latter was carrying food which the gull wanted it to drop. A second heron arrived and the gull departed.
 
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