Grandads Garden Wildlife - The 2015 Season

[Horus]

Braised Rabbit and Carrots, Mmm lovely eh RS

[Ruby Slippers]

Or baked, or pie, or casseroled, or.............! I really don't mind!

[Grandad]

Grandad, that is a criminal waste! I love rabbit in all forms, but the prices are exorbitant! Next time he shoots some, think of me - not the foxes, please?

I DO agree RS but few people have a taste for rabbit these days. One of the sites owned by my SiL's employers is over run with rabbits and, as he is an outdoor type who likes country pursuits, they asked him to do a cull. A few get eaten but most get left for the foxes on the site. If you lived nearer to me you would be welcome to an occasional rabbit or two.

This is his current weapon. It is an air rifle but very powerful and accurate.


LLL, they all seem to run and grab then quickly off. The big dog fox doesn't stop and picks up his 'kill' as he runs past and is gone before any chance of a snap.

[Horus]

can't tell too well from the picture Grandad, is it spring powered or one of the newer gas types? my mate has one of those and they are really powerful, he recharges it from a scuber divers cylinder that he has filled at the sports shop.

[LovelyLadyLux]

There are areas here that are getting over run with rabbits i.e. the local University. Any given day or time you can drive past and see multi rabbits eating the grass off the lawns. Most people here oppose any type of kills or culls but rabbits can be extremely damaging to the landscape.

I'd be trapping them if I notice them here and if there was meat on their bones I would hesitate to be eating them as I find rabbit particularly delicious too. Not too sure I'd be a good enough marksman to actually shoot one and hit and kill it so I think I'd opt for a trap.

[Ruby Slippers]

My son goes shooting and is always promising to bring me home a rabbit but - I think the rabbits sit and laugh at him! Grandad, how close do I need to be? I'm not a million miles from you now! Just checked and I'm 44 - 50 miles away, depending on the route taken.

[Grandad]

can't tell too well from the picture Grandad, is it spring powered or one of the newer gas types?

It is a PCP (Pre Charged Pneumatic) similar to your friends. He has a pump and recharges his cylinders to about 190atm (3000psi) and that gives him 40 - 50 shots. He has a 6 pellet magazine fitted and goes with all the camouflage gear including face net. Looks a proper 'narna'. As you probably know, there is no recoil with PCP's and they are quieter than the old lever spring type. His son has a similar weapon and they are awaiting two ferrets......much to my daughters displeasure

To answer RS, he can kill instantly from about 40 metres but with all his gear on he tries to get to about 25metres, and always gets them stone dead in the head.

I know this all sounds a bit gruesome but rabbits can become a nuisance and the occasional cull reduces their numbers until they become a nuisance again.........That would be about a fortnight then

[Horus]

Sounds like the same thing Grandad

[Grandad]

Well it has been a disappointing season so far......I made 4 new nest boxes, two had temporary residents, bluetits and great tits, but they decided the rent was too high and move elsewhere to other accommodation.

I have seen three fox vixens and one big old grey dog fox. They all call regularly, mostly to my neighbour who has access to some catering waste. However our little lady stays loyal and gets her regular jam sarnies plus any other scraps. The occasional rabbit and today some out of date bacon. She is lovely and has no fear if I am around. But, and this is very unusual, we have only had a fleeting glance of one cub when by around mid June we usually see the whole families.

Anyhow; for your amusement I have put together a few clips from the last few days of some of my garden friends. FB friends will have seen some of this already.

phpBB [video]

BTW At the middle of the vid she is foraging for peanuts that I had scattered for the squirrels.

[Horus]

Cracking job there Grandad, she looks so relaxed sitting in the shade and resting and lots of lovely bird song to accompany the video
Do you want me to put the video into your post?

[Grandad]

Do you want me to put the video into your post?

If you wouldn't mind H, Thank You

[Horus]

No sooner said than done

[LovelyLadyLux]

Here we had a record breaking wet winter with days and days of rain and not a glimmer or sunshine. Then a very unusual and incredibly hot dry spring that turned into summer with huge forest fires popping up everywhere and now the past few days of cold and rain showers passing through.

I have yet to see the quail this summer, the hummers are here but in less numbers than I actually had during the winter and while I'm not really sure on numbers cause it is my first summer here it seems there are fewer and fewer ducks in the marsh.

I planted blueberry bushes that have some blue berries on them and they still HAVE blue berries on them. I've been busy so haven't put netting out and I so far I have no need to do this as nobody (bird-wise) is even approaching my garden to eat the berries. I've been trying to create a back yard area that will attract birds and instead they seem to be disappearing however the weather has been anything but normal.

On my drives up and down north I did see 1 elk (which is really odd as they're always in herds) but have seen lots of deer eating by the side of the roads so I'm a bit with you Grandad in that I haven't really seen LOTS of wildlife to photograph.

Good video though on the fox. Interesting you've seen only one cub. I wonder if she is getting to be an older Momma with decreased litter size? Maybe she only had one or one survivor. 'Course with the haute cuisine she gets regularly I'd think she be in tip top health and condition to whelp a bunch of babies.

[Horus]

Our weather has been a bit weird this year, we have had some really good weather at times, but also some long periods of wet weather. My garden has done very well plant wise and everything has grown really big with loads of flowers, what I have noticed though is the lack of many insects such as Bees and Ladybirds. The Butterfly's in particular seem to be very scarce and saying as my Budhlia bushes are in full flower I have hardly seen any which is very unusual.

[Kiya]

Lovely video Grandad, lovely to see her lye & so relaxed in your presence

[Grandad]

On Friday evening I even turned the heating on, it was so cold.

Yesterday was SO miserable, cold and wet BUT, I did get first real sight of the solitary cub. We usually see them mid June so this is about 6 weeks later than normal. Not sure what it is, couldn't see its undercarriage, but it is bigger than its mother.
Here it is, 4/5 months old and very wet and bedraggled last evening.

[Horus]

He/She looks in real good condition Grandad, its all them jam sandwiches that does it

[LovelyLadyLux]

Definitely a good looking young fox. Nice coat too. Maybe if mom only raised one this year she'll be up for a bitter bunch next year!

He has his nose buried in your sandwiches yet his ears are still 'looking' for any untoward sound.

I do wonder why the birds moved into your houses and then opted to leave. Do you think it might have been the LACK of sent in the houses? In other words new wood and so no smells or scents that made them comfortable enough to want to stay? (Just my theory) Cause otherwise I can't think of a reason they'd start to nest and then just up and move to another location.

I haven't seen too many butterflies or bees around this year at all either however I have nothing really flowering or blooming out there that would attract anything.

We've suddenly got wet and cold but today the sun it out. We've never had such a suddenly hot spring + drought that lasted this long and then when the fires started it was really worry time. Thankfully we returned to our usual wet weather here (some fires unfortunately still burning in other areas of Canada) but the interesting aspect is that NOW is when we're usually going dry. This is what made the fires so serious they started when we should be going into drought.

All the lawns here (I don't have lawn at all anywhere) are brown (with the exception of a very rare few who continued to selfishly stupidly water their lawn during what could have been a very serious shortage of water). The rains these past few days have definitely spurred the weeds to start to sprout. A veritable sea of little yellow heads poking up. The neighbours lawns do have a sheen of light green starting so am sure the grass IS getting greener over there!

[Jayway]

Hey LLL, saw on TV a great new business ... this guy goes around PAINTING LAWNS GREEN- I was laughing till I realised what a money spinner in California this is . .

[Horus]

I have a mate who has just spent a few thousand Pounds having artificial grass put down at the front of his house, I have to admit that it is most realistic to look at and it was put down very professionally with a base that would do credit to laying a drive for a car. It will be interesting to see how well it stands up over a few years, I am now on the look out for some plastic worms that I can sprinkle on his new lawn