Local Wildlife

[Eve]

Was just in the back yard watching a bat flying about. See them quite often and was wondering what other local wildlife people have around them.

Not loads here as I'm in Manchester in quite an urban area but I see bats a lot and there is at least one fox I've seen running about at night.

I'm right near a large park with a boating lake and apart from the usual ducks there is a resident heron and apparantly parakeets which have escaped from somewhere - never managed to see them though.

Apart from that it's mostly magpies, pigeons etc... though have seen a robin quite a few times lately.

Even some in the city centre as we've had peregrine falcons nesting for a while now and they are gorgeous to see (can usually hear them first). I've also seen news articles of sightings of an otter and, if I remember right, a badger in the city centre too! I've seen a fox running down a tram stop in daylight too.

[Zacs-Master]

Squirrels, herons, bats, owls, wabbits, kingfishers, to name but a few.

[Eve]

Ah yes, forgot squirrels :) Ooh owls and kingfishers, I'm very jealous!

[Zacs-Master]

Well, truth be told I've only ever seen 2 kingfishers round these ere parts, but lots of barn owls!

[paddywak]

Within a very short walking distance I've encountered both roe and muntjac deer and though I've never seen them the local forestry commission ranger assures me there are at least two families of badgers living nearby.Loads of different birds and if walked Max late at night I would often see a fox crossing the road and my niece who lives on the same street as me but on the other side with a garden backing onto the old railway line has had a family of foxes living at the bottom of her garden for the last couple of years

[cupid04]

I'd love to see a kingfisher. You were very lucky, they don't hang about by all
accounts!

In my garden we have pigeons, collared doves, sparrows, starlings, blue tits,
wagtails, gulls, magpies. The best thing we ever had in our garden was a family
of quails. They were gorgeous. They didn't hang around to have their photos
taken. We also get hedgehogs,rats [but the foxes keep them down thank goodness.] And frogs and toads,but not so many as people started filling in their ponds. I live not far from the Thames estuary so in the winter mr. cupid
and i like to watch the brent geese!

[Mamyalynne]

I overlook water and see Kingfishers quite regularly, obviously we have ducks, geese,herons etc too - and the resident foxes, water voles etc..

Was sad a few years ago when the 'Ninja Turtles' were a fad a few got dumped in the water and would never survive the low temps.

[Ratty2E]

In my garden I have seen various foxes, the odd squirrel, frogs, newts, bats, robins, wrens, various tits, blackbirds who currently have a nest in the bush by my bedroom window. We also get visited by greenfinches, magpies, crows, sparrows, dunnocks, starlings amongst others and of course pigeons. I often see buzzards circling very high looking for lunch. I live near a river which has otters and birds such as herons and swans. I did see a badger a couple of weeks ago crossing the road to the golf course which was amazing as I've never seen one in the fur.

[rowanwitch]

In a tower block so a bit limited to flybys and immediate vicinity

Foxes, Grey Squirrels and the odd rat
Herring gulls, black headed gulls, lesser and greater black back gulls
Feral pigeons, wood pigeons, collared doves
Blackbirds, song thrush
starlings, blue,great, and long tailed tits, green and chaffinches
pied and grey wagtails
magpies crows rooks jay
goldcrest nuthatch

Mallard, canada geese
cormorants

regular fly bys Buzzard,
rare but now and then kestrel, raven, short eared owl and one hen harrier and heard Curlew and cuckoo

on reservoir behind us tufted duck, coot, great crested grebe, golden eye. arctic terns, moorhen pochard and wigeon seen by others grey phalarope and osprey this spring

Park at end of road greater spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker, treecreeper, bullfinch willow warbler, ,chiffchaff and pipistrelle bats heard but not seen tawny owl



recent sightings by others grey phalarope and osprey