garden visitors

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JTh

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garden visitors
« on: May 03, 2019, 09:23:56 PM »
When we arrived here in Greece three weeks ago, we discovered we had a visor we didn’t especially want in our garden, but after all, it could have been worse. We wondered at first who had made all these holes in the ground, more than 20, some of them more than 10 cm in diameter and equally deep, but after a while we understood it must have been a badger. None of the holes disturbed anything important and the digging can’t have lasted very long.

The next visitor this year was more than welcome, the tortoise moved so slowly that it was possible to get some photos of it; the hare that jumped out of a bush the other day near a small vegetable patch did not stop long enough for a portrait.

We weren’t prepared with a camera for the last visitor either; we woke up around five in the morning when we heard a rather deep, but loud hooting, my husband managed to  get out of bed quickly enough to see the  eagle owl (Bubo bubo) sitting on our roof, just before it lifted and disappeared. I hope it comes back; we have seen it before in the forest behind us.


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by Jorun Tharaldsen, on Flickr


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by Jorun Tharaldsen, on Flickr
Retired veterinary surgeon by training with a PhD in parasitology,  but worked as a virologist since 1992.
Member of the MGS  since 2004. Gardening in Oslo and to a limited extent in Halkidiki, Greece.

Umbrian

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Re: garden visitors
« Reply #1 on: May 04, 2019, 07:26:17 AM »
Lovely post Jorun - although frustrating at times to share ones garden with the local wildlife, they are after all just going about their lives in their natural habitat. When we moved from our house in the country I was pleased to no longer have marauding Porcupines, wild Boar etc but feared I would see little of interest in my much smaller garden. My visitors are now more welcome ones however,  many different species of birds including a Little Owl that I hear most nights but have yet to see, bats that leave the adjacent church buildings at dusk and circle the garden plus of course lizards galore. Bees and other insects flock in to enjoy my flowers- one is never alone in a garden making it such a  rewarding passion.
MGS member living and gardening in Umbria, Italy for past 19 years. Recently moved from my original house and now planning and planting a new small garden.