Animal-life in our gardens and surrounds 2018

[Gerdk]

Every year I plant a camphor basil hybrid for watching bees and bumblebees -
these insects have a special preference for the flowers

Gerd

[fermi de Sousa]

Sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) in the garden...and then up in a tree.
Unfortunately they can be very destructive at times, ripping daffodils to shreds, taking out trees' top growth and flower-buds and demolishing fruit crops.
cheers
fermi

[ruweiss]

Such beautiful birds, but I can imagine, that they can do a lot of harm
to your precious plants.

[cohan]

Sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) in the garden...and then up in a tree.
Unfortunately they can be very destructive at times, ripping daffodils to shreds, taking out trees' top growth and flower-buds and demolishing fruit crops.
cheers
fermi

Beauties! Hope they keep a little distance from the garden...lol

[cohan]

Every year I plant a camphor basil hybrid for watching bees and bumblebees -
these insects have a special preference for the flowers

Gerd

Nice! Vegetable Brassicaceae are also great for pollinators, lots of butterflies!

[cohan]

Anaxyrus boreas/ Western Toad/Boreal Toad; There are always a few of these around the house/gardens; they like the rock gardens since they sometimes bask. This is a smallish individual for this sp, roughly around 3 inches, usually a little bigger. This was during a few warm dry weeks in August, so when this one was moving away from where I was weeding in the Xeric/ Native Beds toward where I had a sprinkler I was using off and on to give some water for insects etc, I turned it on very low, and the toad moved toward it-- in the last couple of shots it was sitting where a very light spray bathed it from drops hitting a rock .... August 14, 2018
some other visitors here:
https://urbanehillbillycanada.blogspot.com/2018/08/gardening-companions-wildlife-in-yard.html

[Gerdk]

Cohan,
You must be so lucky to have these wonderful amphibians around there -
where I live in our immediate neighbourhood they are long gone.
Only a few came during their spawning period to a gardenpond nearby before it was filled up.

Gerd

[cohan]

Cohan,
You must be so lucky to have these wonderful amphibians around there -
where I live in our immediate neighbourhood they are long gone.
Only a few came during their spawning period to a gardenpond nearby before it was filled up.

Gerd

Yes, I love seeing the toads-- we have had them here since we moved to this property in the 70's ( I was gone for many of those years)-- and they were probably here before that... there are wetlands in several directions, and I have learned these toads travel quite far, both daily and annually. We also have lots of frogs Rana sylvatica and Pseudacris maculata-- this last one I only realised this year, as they look similar to small wood frogs. It was a surprise, since we hear them in the sloughs singing in the spring, and I didn't realise they leave there in summer-- I have seen them on the rock gardens! Last week I saw three in the same bed within  a short time, and each was a different colour/pattern...

[Roma]

A few unrelated wildlife pictures

A baby toad I disturbed when weeding



A common blue butterfly in the garden yesterday.  I rarely see them nowadays.  It didn't stay still long enough for me to capture the beautiful blue of its open wings.



I found this beside the drive this morning.  I believe it is a Common Shrew.  I have seen pygmy shrews before but do not remember seeing a common one.  I had seen a local cat a couple of weeks ago catch and eat what I thought was a very dark coloured mouse but too far away to see properly'

[ian mcdonald]

Roma, could your shrew be a water shrew?

[Roma]

Roma, could your shrew be a water shrew?

Possibly, Ian though the one I saw the cat catch was in the wood at the back of the house well away from any water.  I am not familiar with either species.  The pygmy shrew is the only one I have seen before.

[Paul Cumbleton]

Could someone identify this insect for us? I guess it is some form of cricket? It was in our garden here in Somerset. Didn't measure it the size but it was large - several centimetres long.

Thanks
Paul

[Steve Garvie]

I think it might be a female Great Green Bush Cricket (Tettigonia viridissima) Paul.

[Karaba]

Ok with Steve, no problem.

[Paul Cumbleton]

Thanks Steve & Karaba; having looked up what you said I'm sure you are right. Was an impressive insect!

Cheers
Paul