Gone potty? Plants gardens and lawns .
- Thread starter Harpy
- Start date
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2020
- Messages
- 3,161
- Reason
- DX FIBRO
- Diagnosis
- 02/2020
- Country
- DE
Hehe, sound as if you are a problem to the galahs too.... Do you repair the galahs
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2020
- Messages
- 3,161
- Reason
- DX FIBRO
- Diagnosis
- 02/2020
- Country
- DE
So they're silly birds? Ah, yes youtube shows how playful they are. That'd be like tame jackdaws too.Yep definitely a real bird, though I am often called a galah
johnsalmon
Senior member
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2022
- Messages
- 352
- Reason
- DX FIBRO
- Diagnosis
- 00/0000
- Country
- AU
- State
- NS
some manage to fly away but the antenna can generate very high voltage which although they are not touching ground can ruffle their feathers somewhat . I only transmit at 100 watts but I know others that turn up to 1000 watts if they have birds on the wire. My magnetic loop antenna puts out 5000volts at 100 watts and if you hold a fluorescent tube just a bare tube it will light up as bright as anything - I never have any trouble with this antenna with the birds. galahs are a problem bird to farmers due to their numbers in the flock they can land on a wheat crop and bare it within an hour or less - they are like the wombat - two species that have no real use on earth except to destroy things.
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2020
- Messages
- 3,161
- Reason
- DX FIBRO
- Diagnosis
- 02/2020
- Country
- DE
Maybe time to take up this thread again, that'd be great! I switched this one over from the Bad Day thread.
).
Important with plants is to check if they don't just attract them, but also nourish them, and their caterpillars.
Like buddleia, "the butterfly bush", is a real cheat and killer!
:
Apart from being invasive in Europe (means it suppresses good native plants),
the scent does attract butterflies, but only half of the blossoms have nectar, only a tiny amount very deep down, so the butterflies go mad and lose all energy trying to get at it. And it has nothing at all to nourish caterpillars. It's a full blown vamp(ire) narcissist.
So native plants are best, and to check in detail if they are nourishing, not if they attract.
There was a lot in my small garden already when I took over last year, incl. fairly big trees. So most of what I've done is turn the "weeds" mentally into "wild plants", use any cuttings, moss etc. from neighbours, occasionally myself, and piled up dead wood in all the corners, etc.
Squirrels are great! Your grey ones are invasive in the UK, not in Germany yet, but fine where you are. Neighbours just asked me what to do about squirrels in their loft, I researched a bit and said: squirrels sleep at night, so they decided it's only a mouse making a lot of noise (like my cute bank vole, when wants toThat's a great idea and one that I've already thought of. Some of the flowers that I am choosing are well known to attract butterflies and hummingbirds, and I also plan to have a bird bath and a bird feeder. I already have lots of squirrels living in the oak trees, and they all seem very happy and have made their home here.
).Important with plants is to check if they don't just attract them, but also nourish them, and their caterpillars.
Like buddleia, "the butterfly bush", is a real cheat and killer!
:Apart from being invasive in Europe (means it suppresses good native plants),
the scent does attract butterflies, but only half of the blossoms have nectar, only a tiny amount very deep down, so the butterflies go mad and lose all energy trying to get at it. And it has nothing at all to nourish caterpillars. It's a full blown vamp(ire) narcissist.
So native plants are best, and to check in detail if they are nourishing, not if they attract.
There was a lot in my small garden already when I took over last year, incl. fairly big trees. So most of what I've done is turn the "weeds" mentally into "wild plants", use any cuttings, moss etc. from neighbours, occasionally myself, and piled up dead wood in all the corners, etc.
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2020
- Messages
- 3,161
- Reason
- DX FIBRO
- Diagnosis
- 02/2020
- Country
- DE
Maybe we can continue that here, too?!
Yeah, blackcaps and swifts we're waiting for too, just another month or so to go.What excites me is here in the UK we are yet to get some of the birds on your list, they can be summer visitors for us. some warblers are here alreay . --... I often wonder if some of the actual birds you see may take the long flight across the water and we could then see them here? First swallows should arrive soon. Always save off our migrating birds then welcome them back and wish them well.
Just heard a new one, really cute, but wasn't a warbler, don't think we have any here (yet?).
On eurobirdportal.org it's possible to see how they come from southern Europe up to the north and GB, that's really cool.
I've got 4 nesting boxes for swifts up, 2 still need to be finished off. 2 for GreatTits, 1 for BlueTits, 1 for bats.
Oh I am going to enjoyable thread. Nice bit of " housekeeping" @JayCS moving posts to a more relevant thread.
We have had a chiifchaff in the garden ( you get those?) but that was our first summer visitor. I love the sound of seeing the routes these amazing creatures take. I know many raptors in particular are tagged to follow their progress.
We too have bird boxes up and an empty bat box but we live in hope. I am strangely fond of bats.
I am.proud to say some parts of the UK do still have thriving colonies of red squirrels, and near to us a genetic mutation (?) of black squirrels.
Oh you have started something with this thread, I could waffle on for hours. I love hearing about the wild life in other countries. I'll shut up now or I'll never stop and heaven knows my posts go on and on enough anyway!
Hope everyone is having the best day they can
We have had a chiifchaff in the garden ( you get those?) but that was our first summer visitor. I love the sound of seeing the routes these amazing creatures take. I know many raptors in particular are tagged to follow their progress.
We too have bird boxes up and an empty bat box but we live in hope. I am strangely fond of bats.
I am.proud to say some parts of the UK do still have thriving colonies of red squirrels, and near to us a genetic mutation (?) of black squirrels.
Oh you have started something with this thread, I could waffle on for hours. I love hearing about the wild life in other countries. I'll shut up now or I'll never stop and heaven knows my posts go on and on enough anyway!
Hope everyone is having the best day they can
Harpy
Very helpful member
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2022
- Messages
- 535
- Reason
- DX FIBRO
- Diagnosis
- 11/2004
- Country
- AU
- State
- WA
G’day everyone.All this is making me wonder where harpy is (harpy liked the garden)edit I just realised it's her thread! Where is she? , HARPY WHERE ARE YOU!!!
Hi Auriel
Here I am in full bloom lol. Well this time of year I am starting to lose my
Been an overwhelming few months and my mental health is much better. Back to being potty
Hope everyone is as good as you can be.
Oh boy I have been busy . Just potting, getting a good collection of plants.
Got two elk horns last week, there in pots, has anyone managed to pot some on a board from a pot?? Might need to google how to do it right.
Good to be back to the forum .
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2020
- Messages
- 3,161
- Reason
- DX FIBRO
- Diagnosis
- 02/2020
- Country
- DE
Veeeery nice!
I heard one a day or two ago, not in our garden yet.
I'm not firm yet on what's visiting and what was just pausing song, so just had a look:
Robin might well be visiting from the North, wouldn't have thought that!
And blackcap can be resident, partly migratory or short-distance or long-distance - still to come here.
Cranes have finished migrating, and still geese (mainly white-fronted).
Storks and cormorants are back in town, and chaffinch regularly back in the garden.
Our occasionally buzzards and frequent sparrowhawks are likely resident. Got flown at by one!
Didn't know the word raptor, sounds like a dinosaur, but handier than bird of prey.
It's gone quiet, a blackbird is calling "enemy from above", maybe a raven I just ?saw.
Zilpzalp we call it here,
I heard one a day or two ago, not in our garden yet.I'm not firm yet on what's visiting and what was just pausing song, so just had a look:
Robin might well be visiting from the North, wouldn't have thought that!
And blackcap can be resident, partly migratory or short-distance or long-distance - still to come here.
Cranes have finished migrating, and still geese (mainly white-fronted).
Storks and cormorants are back in town, and chaffinch regularly back in the garden.
Didn't realise that! Our peregrines now back 1km away, but covered 1000s to get here,
Our occasionally buzzards and frequent sparrowhawks are likely resident. Got flown at by one!
Didn't know the word raptor, sounds like a dinosaur, but handier than bird of prey.
Yeah, we've had 3 bats the past years, but I thought they might want to grow.
Great! Yeah, that mutation is getting fairly normal. Since distinguishing colours I could count >10 different squirrels here in the past month. A red one has built a drey next-door.
You're in good companyI'll shut up now or I'll never stop and heaven knows my posts go on and on enough anyway!
It's gone quiet, a blackbird is calling "enemy from above", maybe a raven I just ?saw.
johnsalmon
Senior member
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2022
- Messages
- 352
- Reason
- DX FIBRO
- Diagnosis
- 00/0000
- Country
- AU
- State
- NS
we have many types of bats mostly very small but flying foxes are a real problem down here - they set up colonies in town completely destroy their nesting trees and foul up the ground around the colony - basically they are protected down here but as they destroy the area most councils try their hardest within the law to get the colonies to move on - year ago these flying foxes would come down from queensland following the fruit harvest and then return back but over time they stop going back - they carry the Hendra virus which can affect horses and then humans and they can carry Australian Bat Lyssavirus (ABLV) which can kill humans so flying foxes although they are important to the native vegetation are generally hated down here. Bats are different I used to have a verify small bat shelter in a tin can I would place over the exhaust pipe on the tractor I would have to remember to remove the tin and shoo the bat off before starting the tractor - generally the small bats we have one would never see even thro one may be roosting on the back veranda.
