What we enjoy about wildlife gardening is that even in a small area, there is an incredible amount to observe. You really don’t need to drive to the countryside to get your wildlife fix, although its not a bad idea to get out and about.
For example in just 18 months we have uploaded over 100 video shorts and clips to our YouTube channel for the sole purposes of sharing on this site. We could probably double this number with the ones we haven’t had time to work on. Likewise photographs of unusual behaviour and interesting species fill up a hard drive we own.
Below are some more of the things we had yet to organise and upload to Wildlifegarden.org during 2022.
Female Spotted Wolf Spiders don’t just lug their egg sack around with them. Once hatched the diligent mother also carriers the newly born young around for a period of time for extra protection. A formidable form of protection against any arthropod after a small snack.
Viruses. With the advent of home Covid tests, we questioned whether we should, after having contracted the disease and coughed repeatedly in the garden, add Covid 19 to our species list (remembering the objective of this project is to list all species we find in one small garden). This opens up the debate on whether viruses can be considered life at all. For now we will steer clear of that minefield and leave viruses off the list. But clearly plants and animals suffer from a wide array of viruses, whether they are considered life or not, they do have an impact on wildlife that we probably don’t fully appreciate.
As most gardeners can attest, there are a few species of bird that, provided you spend enough time in the garden, do eventually become accustomed to having a human about and will forage and explore around you with little concern. Just don’t make any sudden movements or noise. Two such common species are the Robin and Blackbird, shown in the video below looking for a wriggly snack following a little bit of soil preparation we undertook.
Often you get to save an insect from a pond/bucket of water and for a short period, as it dries itself, you get the chance to take a close look at the little fella. In this case a honeybee found itself in a spot of bother and using an old branch we managed to get her safely to dry land but not before she gave her proboscis a good clean. We’d never appreciate what a substantial organ the proboscis was, and clearly it needs to be kept in good condition.
Obviously the more wildlife friendly you can make your garden the more there will be to see. So keep your gardens a little untidy, reduce disturbance whilst at the same time creating better and more diverse habitats and you will be amazed what turns up. Beats watching the TV any day.
If we have time we will continue to add more photos and videos from 2022 until spring comes along and it all starts again.
DC: 18/01/2023
Wildlife Garden 