Heavy snow where we live today, yesterday in the area of the garden where I put the old chip pan lard with nuts in out, we had 3 old pomegranates, which we cut up into pieces and put out "just in case" the birds would like it.

Blackbirds went straight for the old lard with nuts in it (a breeding couple we have back in our area after they disappeared for years) but the starlings loved the pomegranate!
They tore it to shreds, especially the young birds, it looks like an old carcass lying in the snow, red everywhere, but they keep coming back for more.
Always good to see not only the local wildlife thriving but a food source I didn't think the birds would take to.

Don't forget, when putting out food for birds, positioning is key. Leave food out in the middle of the garden so the birds have a fighting chance should a neighbourhood cat come along, less cover = more time for the birds to eat safely!

One of the most common pests in the garden, is the slug.
Slugs are very effective at surviving, yet we know so little about them apart from putting blue slug pellets down will kill them but damage the wildlife that feeds on them.

What we know:

• they hate gravel, sand, etc. course substances that get into their slime, they avoid
• you cannot drown a slug. I tried once, after ten minutes underwater, they had climbed out of the small pond we have and were back on their way to chomp on our veggies again
• they dislike the sun, heat, dryness

What I don't know about:

• how do they know the difference between vegetables and weeds?
• no matter how far away you throw them, they keep coming back
• apart from hedgehogs, who are their predators?
• Digging your soil over in winter, helps the frost kill their eggs, laid just under the top of the soil

As the old addage goes, "know your enemy" - any tips/information you can post will be gratefully received.

Standing on the doorstep (having a smoke outside because of our new baby) as I have done so often during the four sleepless weeks we have had here, I never realised how much wildlife is right here in front of me.

We have more than 50 starlings, drifting from each TV aerial, waiting for the neighbourhood cats to vanish so they can swoop down on the new bird table, set up in the garden directly opposite our house.
Watching them are a pair of black headed gulls? that are not interested in the bread and nuts put out, but watching for where the food is being taken so they can raid the nest and eat the young of the starlings.

To the back of our house stands the last remains of an old cotton mill, with its huge mill chimney (still in working order) where pigeons like to hang out, it is not uncommon for a kestrel or hawk to swoop to feed on the young birds, who appear totally oblivious to the dangers around them.
During my nightly cigarettes, I have witnessed a female hedgehog and her young pass my gate and wonder down the street. The few resident garages, on a small plot, which are about 6 doors down from our house, often has a young fox snooping around and casually walking up the street towards the main road running parallel to our street.

In the back garden we have seen a yellow wagtail (which is quite rare I am told?) this summer and regularly have finches, blue tits and the good old robin visiting us throughout the year.
In late summer evenings, we have a family of bats swooping to feed on the midgies that are everywhere. They used to live in the old mill to the back of us, it was thought that the new housing development built around the old mill in the last couple of years, which took away trees and a stream that was there would damage the local wildlife, but as more and more people on our street plant trees, shrubs and flowers, the local wildlife hasn't decreased, but increased!

Our local wildlife has evolved and found new ways to increase their numbers and feed, mother nature is a powerful thing ;)

What is the fascination with these?

They make noise all night long in the breeze, yet the people who put them in their gardens, normally have double glazing, so they cannot hear them?
Are they used for scaring off vermin or the local cats?
What is their purpose?

Don't buy a new greenhouse, recycle one!
I waited 3 months for this one to turn up, total cost £50 and an hour to take it down. (Yes I also took cuttings from the grape vine as well ;) )