SE23 Forum

Anybody come across any rare an exotic wildlife this spring. Saw a Spotted Woodpecker this morning in Tyson Road. Not that rare I grant you but cheered me up a bit on the way to work

I have blue tits (fnar fnar!)

For the past 4 springs, I've had blue tits nesting in my kitchen wall. When I had an old boiler removed, a pipe left a small hole to the outside that's way too high up for me to fill it unless we've got scaffolding up so it was left. And a bluetit family have moved in each spring.

I have blocked off the hole from the next back into the house with a piece of clear plastic so that I can peer through and see the chicks occasionally.

Not very exotic but there's a fox and 4 cubs who have set up home in the compost heap next door to us. The cubs are just past the cute fluffy stage and run riot play-fighting around the gardens at dusk.

I was surprised how active they were in the day as well - they sit bold as brass on top on the heap during the day (I guess it's warm from all the decomposing).

I've got Great Tits!!!

And the woodpecker is a regular visitor. We have a regular fox visitor (named Samantha by my husband!) who was seen yesterday with one of those big rooks in her mouth, being mobbed by another rook. Also ring-necked parakeets, frogs, squirrels, all the usual.

For some pix, especially of Samantha, see zx9's site on flickr.

I had a visit from a fantastic red dragon fly in my garden in Westwood Park last week. I wonder where they are breeding - I was thinking perhaps the pond on the old railway wildlife area, next to Langton Rise.

At the end of our Garden in Kemble Road there is a family of foxes, 6 and ever increasing amounts green parakeets, a pair of nesting magpies, a woodpecker, several pars of blue tits and a rather scrawny strange looking bird thats visits that i have not been able to identify, and we had stag beetles last year.

great pictures!