• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Naturefile

We appear to have a new resident in the garden... a moorhen! She regularly visits our koi pond throughout the day, hoovering up any stray pellets of fish food by walking across the top of the netting, then checks out the garden to see if there are any suet pellets or birdseed available, and then takes a leisurely stroll back into the wildlife part of the garden (which has a small wild pond and plenty of undergrowth for cover). I've been watching her for four days now and she always follows exactly the same route. I wonder if she has a nest down by the wildlife pond...? That would be fun!
 
She heard about Debra's deli for delightful ducks she certainly looks at home in your garden Debra
 
13lizanne said:
She heard about Debra's deli for delightful ducks she certainly looks at home in your garden Debra
Click to expand...
Our garden backs onto our neighbour's and as it's quite some way from his house we rarely ever see him down there. Since I posted about the moorhen, though, a mini-JCB has appeared at the bottom of his garden, about 10 feet away from where I think she may be nesting, and he's dragging up goodness-knows-what with it and has now also lit a huge bonfire.
I think it's highly likely that the moorhen will decide to move to pastures more peaceful...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
13lizanne said:
Awww bellocks! She might find a quiet corner of your garden?
Click to expand...
Astonishingly, she seems completely unfazed by it all! I saw her again this afternoon, patrolling her usual route, all calm and unhurried. The digger was digging away behind the fence and she didn't even give him a second glance. Respect to that moorhen!
I've taken some juicy sultanas, peanut nibs and suet pellets down there for her this afternoon and scattered them in the long grass along her route up to the koi pond. I hope the pigeons, magpies, etc. leave a few for her!
 
We have several White Ibis scavenging for food at the units we live at, commonly called Dump Chooks or Bin Chickens.

They are a filthy pest and are not encouraged to stay around, the regional council have started a campaign to legally get rid of them by taking every third egg from the nest to reduce the population.

 
Really interesting vid @Tipetoo wonderful how they adapted when man built cities on what was once their habitat
 
I'm sitting in the garden this morning, enjoying a cup of coffee in the early morning sunshine, and watching some of my visitors getting on with their day.

It's nice to see the squirrels using their nut boxes - I hope that means they'll leave the birds' eggs alone. And I had no idea that moorhens could climb hedges and trees! How on earth do they do it with those enormous feet?







 
Clivethedrive said:
Thankyou...nicely observed pic's , looks so peaceful
Click to expand...
Yes it is, very peaceful and we had the beach to ourselves most of the time being pre-season. We've been going on holiday there since the 1970s!

Gorgeous photos Debra and you still have your moorhen - yay! @debrasue
 
13lizanne said:
Yes it is, very peaceful and we had the beach to ourselves most of the time being pre-season. We've been going on holiday there since the 1970s!

Gorgeous photos Debra and you still have your moorhen - yay! @debrasue
Click to expand...
Yes - I'm so happy! She obviously decided to give us another chance (as you thought).
Fingers crossed for some little black bundles of fluff in a few weeks' time, maybe...?
 
Look who showed up in our bird feeding cage thingy, we have this to protect the littler birds from the Sparrowhawk who frequents out garden. This wee harvest mouse popped in from the woods and fields behind our house
 
Sorry about the hugeness of the photos - they were supposed to be thumbnail A
 
We have a new resident Chez Debrasue... It may be that Dasher the Moorhen became lunch for Fergie the Fox, as she seems to have been replaced by Peter Rabbit, (and the TTs insist on using his full name at all times!)

I've also attached pictures of a couple of our old faithfuls, Bryan the Pigeon (also named by the TTs) and Cyril Squirrel.

(TTs = the Tiny Terrorists, for those not familiar with the acronym. My gorgeous grandchildren, now aged 3, 4 and 5)

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I saw a moorhen family ON THE ROUNDABOUT on the way back from Carlisle

The youngsters were in peril as it almost brought the traffic to a standstill as drivers were inching their way round, the poor parent birds were making a right squawk up

We passed safely I just hope they get off there safely with no casualties
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…