The wildlife at my window
By Viv Digby, Stonewater customer
Having lived here for about 13 years, I’m fortunate to watch various types of wildlife and have become immersed in their welfare and behaviour, and really enjoy this activity.
Living at a scheme where there are many trees in close proximity, has allowed wildlife to flourish. I have witnessed generations of badgers, foxes, sparrow hawks, bats and hedgehogs who have made their home here and have settled enough to raise their young.
Some residents and ex-residents join in and enjoy a late-night safari session where we watch our wildlife and develop an interest in learning more.
A pair of badgers are expecting a litter around February their mother “Rembrandt” so called, because her tail looks like it has been dipped into a pot of white paint and her father Rocky, the older male badger, named after the Stallone character due to his hardy attitude and ‘no nonsense’ approach are parents several times over. Rembrandt appears to be a great mother and seems to tolerate the youngsters playing around when it's 4 am and time to return to the sett.
We have seen many foxes, some of which come and go, yet Salt and Pepper have chosen to remain and our resident foxes have stayed for 3 years so far. They too are expecting cubs in the New Year. Despite many of the foxes who return being made welcome, Cocoa, a darker brown fox, is not met with the same friendly treatment from the badgers as he is a male and is met with resistance by both badgers and other foxes who like to keep their territory sacred.
Our resident magpie is great at mimicking noises including phone ringtones and children’s laughter and he recognises the name we have given to him of “My Boy”. He is friendly with a feral cat “Midnight” and they are often seen around together. Midnight gets on very well with our Badgers and Foxes too, yet from experience, they know when to stay away from the sharp end of Midnight’s claws.
In the tall trees, we have a large fruit bat colony that fly regularly in the evenings, to feast on mosquitos and daddy long legs. Along with the Bats, we often see our Sparrow Hawks, and owls, on the lookout for their diet of mice and insects.
More recently a flock of about 20 green parakeets have arrived spending time in the trees, along with red and green woodpeckers and the return of jay birds.
Of course, supporting wildlife, means we are responsible to support their welfare and we collaborate regularly with several local wildlife rescue centres who provide support and guidance. The local Scout Group has become involved as well in providing compost for our hedgehogs to live in a safe dry place.
At times, animals become unwell and we have received support from local wildlife charities. To support our hedgehog population, the local Hedgehog Hospital microchips, and provides support to keep our hedgehogs healthy. If the wildlife become unwell we have organisations who take them for treatment and then return to scheme if appropriate.
As you can see from the photographs, we are lucky to have so many types of wildlife thriving at scheme, we enjoy getting involved and doing so provides regular enjoyment and learning for residents and me. The photos show our wildlife residents living their best life!
