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What a privilege! Unusual things in our gardens.

(111 Posts)
nanna8 Tue 25-Feb-25 12:22:38

Tonight I saw an eastern barred bandicoot in the garden at our holiday house. They were declared extinct on the mainland a few years back but were re introduced on fox free Philip Island and have bred up. I was so excited to see the little thing just hopping around under a tea tree.
Anyone else seen anything unusual in their gardens?

Delila Tue 25-Feb-25 23:22:00

Yes, Nanthewiser, my daughter in SW London has crowds of them in her garden too, but they’re not a common sight in this part of Dorset. There are some of the larger red parrots in parts of Bournemouth, further east.

So I still claim an unusual sighting on my sister’s behalf.

kittylester Wed 26-Feb-25 07:43:14

Not in the garden but on the road outside our house - a magnificent stag, nonchalantly wandering along.

We live in the middle of a large, busy village.

Astitchintime Wed 26-Feb-25 07:56:08

We have a pair of blue tits setting up home in our nesting box for the third year running.

JamesandJon33 Wed 26-Feb-25 11:04:09

3 pairs of rooks now. Stealing twigs from each others nests

Indigo8 Wed 26-Feb-25 11:23:33

I once found a large friendly pig in my garden, I lived near several farms at the time.

Quizzer Wed 26-Feb-25 13:16:07

Delila

Does my sister’s unusual sighting count? This morning she saw a green parakeet in her garden on the Dorset coast.

When we lived in Essex green parakeets were common and breeding profusely!

Gogo84 Wed 26-Feb-25 13:21:12

About 40 years ago I saw a pair of turtle doves in the oak tree in our garden. But only once. We were living in the countryside at the time. Also a pied flycatcher. We live by a canal in the middle of a city now so just Canada geese, ducks, cormorants and the occasional heron

Mojack26 Wed 26-Feb-25 13:31:19

Helps if weknow which part of the world you are in???? Australia?

kibera10 Wed 26-Feb-25 13:35:36

Interesting nature sightings for me are usually at our allotment site and include a badger (last May about 7,30pm), we'd thought we had badgers visiting but this was the first sighting and a wildlife camera subsequently set up revealed several visited. A Camberwell Beauty butterfly - a Jersey Tiger moth - caterpillars of the Toadflax moth and of the Mullen moth. A 'wasp spider'. We have Foxes here and regularly see them day times.

SiobhanSharpe Wed 26-Feb-25 13:39:08

We’ve had muntjac deer in our garden, much to DH’s disgust (they destroyed our sweetcorn crop) plus green woodpeckers, redwings and fieldfares.
Oh, and a friendly black lab that had escaped from the nearby farm. I think he was after food, he forced his way through the thick hedge despite an electronic collar that was meant to keep him in and was eyebrows deep in the outside compost bin when we found him🤢.

Gwyllt Wed 26-Feb-25 13:55:13

We used to have hares but not seen them in quite a while. Now snowed under with rabbits When we moved in one of our builders said he saw a goshawks. But I never saw it so who knows

AliG123 Wed 26-Feb-25 13:57:56

smile

granto3 Wed 26-Feb-25 13:58:08

I don't think parakeets are unusual these days. In London there is quite a colony of them (I know it is probably a flock) Anyway, if you look it up, they have overtaken the cockney sparrow

Casdon Wed 26-Feb-25 13:58:53

We had a buzzard land by the pond when there was snow on the ground a few years ago. They are quite large close up.

ViceVersa Wed 26-Feb-25 13:59:58

kittylester

Not in the garden but on the road outside our house - a magnificent stag, nonchalantly wandering along.

We live in the middle of a large, busy village.

I met one along our back lane once when I was walking the dog - we just stood and stared at one another for ages before he nonchalantly strolled off.

Milest0ne Wed 26-Feb-25 14:04:43

Did you hear about the footballer’s wife who called the police in the night to report a polar bear in her garden. It turned out to be a neighbour’s very large white pig.?

pably15 Wed 26-Feb-25 14:07:44

we had several cows in our front garden a few years ago..the farmer had left the gate open...they called at every house in our street..

Rula Wed 26-Feb-25 14:08:31

Milest0ne

Did you hear about the footballer’s wife who called the police in the night to report a polar bear in her garden. It turned out to be a neighbour’s very large white pig.?

Oh my! Feeling a tad gloomy today but that made me burst out laughing!

Thank you 😊

creakingandchronic Wed 26-Feb-25 14:27:52

lots of parakeets in our area Worcs too. not much in our garden just our cat but just behind we daily have badgers foxes deer rabbits and more cats!

Oreo Wed 26-Feb-25 14:39:03

Enjoying this thread, what a varied lot of wildlife in your gardens.We only have a tiny front garden and a backyard, which I keep pots in, so nothing much to see other than a few pigeons and sparrows.
I particularly like the comment about finding a large friendly 🐷😁

GrauntyHelen Wed 26-Feb-25 15:03:25

Foxes deer badgers squirrels owls and a woodpecker have all been in our garden in the last year

kittylester Wed 26-Feb-25 15:09:44

We have had a buzzard, a heron and woodpeckers and nut hatches. I spend far too much money feeding the birds and far too much time watching them.

Feelingmyage55 Wed 26-Feb-25 15:10:52

Three back packers. The campsite is closed. Directed them to a local spot having given them a cup of coffee and filled their water bottles while DH chatted to them. Asked them back for breakfast. Same age as our own DC.

pascal30 Wed 26-Feb-25 15:16:45

I have a fox which visits most evenings..

Oreo Wed 26-Feb-25 15:21:40

Feelingmyage55

Three back packers. The campsite is closed. Directed them to a local spot having given them a cup of coffee and filled their water bottles while DH chatted to them. Asked them back for breakfast. Same age as our own DC.

3 back packers 🤣