RedKite

Grass snakes

The grass snake  is a member of the British snakes and is one of the harmless ones, so if you see it in your garden there is no need to worry.  It likes water, ponds and rivers and  feeds on  pond life such as frogs.  The snakes do not have to eat a lot of food, one good meal can keep them full for over a week.

Snakes lay eggs, usually in a warm place and then the baby snakes soon hatch in August, over a hundred eggs may be laid, so there should be a good survival rate for the grass snakes.  They eat as much as they can in the summer and then find nooks and crannies to hide in the winter when they start to hibernate.

There are several animals that will kill and eat snakes,  certain birds will swoop down and take them, hedgehogs and badgers like to eat them.  If grass snakes manage to escape their predators then they can live for about nine years in the wild.

 

Mongooses

There are a few different types of mongoose but the bushy-tailed mongoose is quite rare.  It likes rocky territory that are close to rivers.  This is because it has a source of nourishment  always available from the river and can roam through the rocks and hunt, play or sleep with a certain amount of protection and escape routes surrounding the mongoose.  These locations suit its personality, as a solitary creature, that is quite secretive.  Therefore, it is happiest and thrives in this kind of terrain.

Because of its nature and where the mongoose lives and because it is quite rare, very little research has been done on its activities.  We do know that it eats  reptiles, spiders, mice and will even capture a scorpion and have it as a meal.  

 

Assessing soil

The soil in your garden or on your farm determines what kind of plants you may be able to grow successfully.  The rock that makes up the soil determines the quality and usability.

If you dig a big hole in the soil and go right down the very bottom you will notice that the soil is made up of layers.  There are usually five layers of earth starting with organic debris and moving through the layers until at the bottom you will find bedrock, clay or waterlogged subsoil.

Depending on what kind of nutrients are in the soil affects what will grow there.  Some plants can thrive in lime chalk such as the pasque flower, other plants can cope with an excess of water.

And of course what kind of plants grow on this land determines what kind of animals and birds and insects will dwell in the area.

 

 

Great crested grebe

The Great created grebes are found in South West England and are special in many ways.  They have an elaborate courting ritual that is well documented and birdwatchers come out specially to witness it. You can Google it and read up more about it if interested.

Then they build a large nest and lay several white eggs, both parents care for the young.  When the eggs are hatched they dispose of the shell far away from the nest so that predators are not alerted.  The young are fed individually and the scene that all photographers try to capture is the one where the chicks are riding on their Mothers back gliding down the lake.  They are often seen eating feathers and feathers are given to the chicks as well and this seems to aid digestion in some way. They stay with their parents for about 11-12 weeks where they are quite spoilt, the favourites may stay longer but eventually they fly off and seek a mate.

They are beautiful unusual birds and they are British.  There are many beautifully captured photos of the grebes on the internet and it is not difficult to find them in April when their courtship begins and observe these amazing birds.