I knew when I started to think about the design for my garden that making it wildlife friendly would be a key focus, but I never imagined that I would get so many garden visitors. I have a pair of blue tits nesting in the roof just by my patio doors for the sixth year in a row. The last time that my parents were able to visit me coincided with the young fledging and we spent a lovely time watching them leave the nest and investigate my garden.
A couple of years ago, a female pheasant decided to raise her young in my garden – this was very stressful, especially seeing one of the young being taken by a sparrowhawk. The pheasant ended up with one chick raised successfully into an adult male who I was able to recognise by his markings. Just within the last month a pair of mallards seemed to have moved in with me.
Regular visitors to the garden are:
| Blackbird | Blackcap | Blue Tit | Bullfinch | Buzzard | Chaffinch |
| Coal Tit | Collared Dove | Crow | Cuckoo# | Dunnock | Goldfinch |
| Great Tit | Great spotted woodpecker | Greenfinch | Green Woodpecker | Grey Wagtail | Heron |
| Jackdaw | Jay | Kestrel | Long-Tailed Tit | Magpie | Mallard |
| Nuthatch | Pheasant | Pied Wagtail | Robin | Rook | Siskin |
| Sparrow | Sparrowhawk | Starling | Stock Dove | Swallow | Thrush |
| Wood Pigeon | Wren | ||||
| # heard only | |||||
As well as squirrels, muntjac deer, mice, evidence of moles, and unfortunately a couple of local cats. There are also lots of frogs, toads, insects, butterflies, moths, bees and wasps, dragonflies and damselflies, and one or two ants!
I have also seen:
| Barn Owl | Fieldfare | Goldcrest | Kingfisher | Moorhen |
| Redwing | Red legged Partridge * | Willow Warbler | Yellowhammer | Yellow Wagtail |
| * they used to be regular visitors but I haven’t seen any for a couple of years | ||||
As well as rabbits, foxes, shrews, badgers, and a grass snake sunbathing on top of one of my compost heaps.
I did have fish in the pond. However whilst I was on holiday in New Zealand over the last winter, the local herons decided that they were very tasty.
