Going on a garden bug hunt

Going on a Garden Bug Hunt

 

How many minibeasts do you think to live in your garden?
We often see ants, little flies, bees, and slugs, but what else might we find and where should we look for them? Well, creepy crawlies often like to find somewhere a little bit hidden so that they don’t get munched up by birds, so we could start looking for hiding places underneath things. What have you got in your garden to look underneath?
Any pieces of wood lying about, or logs? They make great insect hunting grounds! What about stones, or bricks, or plant pots? Can you find anything under there? Take a soft paintbrush and an empty jam jar with you so that you can gently place any creature you want to have a good long look at in the jar, but remember not to leave it in there too long, and always remember to place it back very carefully just where you found it.

Keep a pad of paper and a pencil with you, and maybe you could draw or record what creatures you find. If you aren’t sure what they are, could an adult help you? A magnifying glass would be really useful if you have one. Always remember to leave the creatures you find in the place where they were, nobody wants to find the best caterpillar ever, and then have it get eaten by a bird!

Please let us know what you find!

Thank you for the photo Matthew Jones www.dmjnature.co.uk

Jerry the stable cat

Jerry is now approaching 16 years old and has been with us for 9 years.
He came to us from Monkey Island he was a fighting Tom causing mayhem in the area.
He was in poor condition, underweight with an active infection, and was covered in scabs and scars.
He was neutered and vaccinated and it was hoped he would integrate into our older colony, but after trying for 10 days it was realized this would not be possible.
Jerry absolutely detests other cats.

We had to consider the welfare of other cats and it was decided that he should be moved to our horse field which is about 2 miles from the sanctuary. Here he’s the only cat and he has complete freedom and all his needs are met. As he is an outdoor cat a house with a catio would severely distress him. He hates to be restricted and used to bite. After 6 years he realized that any restrictions are temporary and no longer bites.

Jerry is very happy at his kingdom down the horse field and will reign there for the rest of his life.

Wildchild

She’s called WildChild for a reason even Lyz can’t catch her !!
Wild Child is now 4 years old and arrived as a very feral kitten. Her siblings were all quickly tamed and rehomed but not Wild Child.
She roamed freely around her foster home until one day she climbed into a crate to have a rock in her hammock.
That was it! After a bit of kitten wrestling, she was into a cat carrier and off to the vets to be neutered.
During the operation, it was found that she had growths on her uterus. They would have killed her in the future so spaying saved her life.
To this day she is still untouchable. She loves other cats and is fascinated by kittens.
She will come to Shona’s lap for treats and every night she will sleep on Shona’s blanket beside her, but even then she can’t be touched. Flea drops have to be administered by squirting from a syringe.
For obvious reasons this lovely girl will never be rehomed but will have a forever home with Shona.

Snail – A rescue story

This is one of my favorite stories from Hallswood and it took place when Keith was still with us.
His kindness and spirit are what defines Hallwood to this day.

The little girl was clearly upset as she walked up to Keith.
“I broke it,” she said. “Can you make him well again?”
With her eyes full of tears she looked at Keith.
Her mother shook her head and said “I am so sorry for bothering you like this but she insisted”.
“No worries at all. Give us here” he said. “I need to get it to surgery”
He walked over to a nearby building and disappeared inside.

The snail had a pretty damaged shell and between me and you, it didn’t look very good. Keith however realized just what an important moment this was for this little girl and was determined to make this moment right.
After a few minutes, he came back out with a little box in his hand.
“I have put the shell back together and he now needs time to heal,” he said and continued “put it back in the darkest and safest spot in your garden and I am sure that he will make a full recovery.”

Whether the little snail actually did make it the story does not tell but what did happen that day was nothing less than magic. A little girl was shown that feeling compassion for other living beings, be they great or small, loved by all or just a few, is an amazing thing.
As much as any gardener will swear over these little snails and dare I mention slugs they too have a very important part in the big picture. The balance of nature is a beautiful and magical thing and the loss of even the smallest group of creatures creates unbalance.

Photo by the very talented Matthew Jones; A welsh photographer with a passion for wildlife. https://www.dmjnature.co.uk/

Baby deer – A Rescue story

This story really highlights the importance of always contacting a rescue center or a vet first when you find an animal you think might be in need of help. As much as you might mean very well; if you get it wrong it can lead to that animal never being able to be released back where they belong or even the death of the said animal.

It is a story about a very well-meaning lady that found what she thought was an abandoned baby row deer. As she was not sure what to do she went online to google it and was advised to observe till it got dark to see if the mother deer was around. The advice was, in theory, good but sadly she got it wrong and she kept walking right up to the baby every 30 minutes. Once it got dark she decided it was too dangerous for it to be left on its own so she brought it home. (If you see a baby deer KEEP YOUR DISTANCE and we mean to stay far away, not 10 meters away. If the parent sees or smells you it will not approach the baby, afraid to give its location up!)

Without the right knowledge the lady tried to hand rear it but ended up using the wrong equipment and the outcome was devastating;
dehydration, pneumonia, and malnutrition.
The baby deer also had injuries to his leg joints as the lady thought he might need exercise.

When you are a caring person it is so easy to think that you can do it all and with the internet being right there, with what seems to be the answers to all and everything, many will think “I can do this”.
Please don’t try based just on advice from google.
ALWAYS contact a local rescue for advice and make that your first call of action.
Even advice here or from other animal rescues can be wrong if they are interpreted differently from what was intended to, so call, ask! That is what we are here for!

Otter – A rescue story

A young couple was driving through the fenlands when they saw a large mammal by the road.
They stopped the car and walked over to it to see if it was still alive and if it needed help.
They couldn’t figure out what it was but soon realized that it was still alive but hurt.
Quickly they wrapped it in a blanket and put it in the back of the car and started to drive towards their vets in Norwich.
About halfway there they started to hear noises from the back as the mammal started to wake up. It seemed as he did not approve of being in a car at all!

They made it all the way to the vets without too much problem but by then the mammal, now identified as an otter by the vets, was fully awake!

Not quite sure what to do they called Lyz and she started to make her way to them.
By the time Lyz arrived the otter had made the car his new home and had marked his new kingdom in more ways than one....

It took about 45 minutes and 5 people to get him out without injuring them or him!
Try to restrain an “all muscle and no shoulders” being who does not understand that we only wanted to help him.
I can tell you one thing: That car will never smell the same again!

Moorhen – A rescue story

Lyz received a phone call from a lady who needed help rescuing some Moorhen chicks.
Told that they were left to fend for themselves after their parents got killed, Lyz brought her welly boots and took off.
At her arrival, she soon realized that what was described to her as a “pond” was more of a lake to us common people and the chicks were stuck in a nest on the island in the middle!
Lyz asked if there was a boat she could borrow but the lady assured her that her husband walked out to that island all the time and that the “pond” was not that deep at all. After testing the depth with a stick Lyz started to wade. The first few steps were ok but then it suddenly went from shallow to very deep and guess who fell in! Now swimming she reached the island, secured the babies, and started to make her way back, and let's just leave it to our imagination what she was muttering to herself.

It turned out that you could walk out to the island if you knew where the hidden walkway was and this was how the husband managed to get back and forth keeping dry wearing wellies!
Now you know why Lyz always keeps a spare set of clothes in the back of her van! 😀

Jackdaw – A rescue story

It was just another rescue Lyz thought as she jumped in to her car and made her way to the Victorian house situated in the idyllic Norfolk country side. She had received the call a few minutes earlier and had been told there was a bird stuck inside a chimney. The owner of the house had first contacted a large animal rescue only to be told to leave the baby bird for 36 hours to see if it would make its own way out!
Not happy with that answer, she called Hallswood.

Arriving at the property Lyz found not only a very long chimney but it was also bricked up and was told by the lady of the house to simply break part of it down; she would not have a baby die in her house.

Doing as she was told (that’s a first 😀 ) she started to chisel away and what happened then was just like a cartoon...
First nothing, then nothing and then BOOOOOOM; an avalanche of black soot, sticks and two beautiful little baby jackdaws. Suddenly the all white bedroom with white carpet was no longer white!

We know that there are a lot of different views when it comes to corvids but what is important to remember is that for the balance of nature to work, we need them all.

It is the balance that make nature wonderful and beautiful.