Frugal Living
Wildlife in the Frugaldom Garden

Floodwater stream next to the garden

The new garden was begun In November 2008 as soon as we moved house. being on a farm means plenty of opportunities for seeing wildlife but it doesn't always mean that the camera is on hand. To date we have seen roe deer, red squirrels, rabbits and foxes. There are plenty signs of badgers in the vicinity plus we have our own graden residents, namely a hedgehog and a weasel! The hedgehog is great, as it will help solve any slug problems, but the weasel has meant added expense of double wiring the housing for the ducks, hens and quail. There are too many species of birds to mention but most noteworthy for their regular visits are heron, mallards, pheasant, wrens, robins, sandpipers, curlews and fieldfares. There's also a fairly large flock of long tailed tits that seem to live on the edge of the woodland.

Bird table and bird feeders Hedgehog
Bird corner attracts mainly blue tits, great tits, coal tits, chaffinches, dunnocks and robins. Christmas morning 2008 saw a waking moment from the garden's resident hedgehog.
Heron Roe deer print
The heron often sits in the marsh opposite the house. That's where the sandpipers, curlews and mallard ducks visit, too. Prints made by Roe deer. The deer come out onto the driveway but I haven't had my camera with me anytime they've been there.
Badger footprint Pheasant
Not the best photograph, but it just about shows all 5 toes of the badger who left this print. Even the pheasant pops in for a quick, sneaky snack from the front garden.
Hedgehog
Is this the same hog? 09/03/09 sees this one feeding from the bowl in the front garden. 10/03/09 - This cheeky chappie decided to investigate our other hedgehog!
27/03/09 - This is the first time I have seen any of the hares as close to the house. I took this photo from the livingroom window. 10/04/09 - I think this may be the entrance into the hedgehog's nest. It's next to bird corner, built underneath the Pampas Grass.
27/04/09 - Bright, sunny evening around 8pm in the forest, Barn Owls are already gliding and swooping 29/04/09 - Just spotteda toad in the mini-pond that's been put in the duck enclosure! Mr Red Eye?
31/05/09 - An early evening stroll with camera in hand means we actually managed to catch a deer. 31/05/09 - Not the best of photographs, but there's not much time to aim, focus and film.
31/05/09 - The hares are quite brave, even venturing into the gardens when given the chance. 31/05/09 - Plenty of fungi growing in the surrounding woodlands, just not sure what's edible.