RedKite

The bullfinch

Bullfinches are particularly pretty, but are a pest to fruit growers and growers are allowed to shoot bullfinches on their crops.

They eat the fruit buds on the trees and can eat half a tree of new buds.  This ruins the crops and any future sales of fruit for these farmers.

They live mainly in the UK in parks, gardens, woodlands and farmlands. They like eating seeds that they find in plants also the ones they discover scattered on the ground, they may eat a bit of fruit and some insects.

Bullfinches have shiny black heads a chunky beak, a soft red breast and grey back with a black tail.  They are pretty even though they are a nuisance. 

They have two broods of young a year laying about 4 eggs and the babies are able to fly from the nest in about two weeks which is amazing.

The Ladybird

Ladybirds are the best loved insect in the UK.  They are all red with black spots.  The spots mean poison in the animal kingdom and ward off predators.

They actually are poisonous to eat especially for small creatures. There is one type that does not have spots but you do not see them very often.  The most common ones have black spots ranging from 2 to 24. 

Ladybirds love to eat mildew and aphids, gardeners love these creatures because they eat the bugs on their newly budded roses.

Ladybirds are lovely to have around and I remember playing games with them in the garden when we were children.  Also it’s great to know a few of them are living in your garden and helping your latest blossoms to thrive in a new season.  

The beaver

Beavers are fascinating mainly because of the complex homes they build on the rivers. 

They build dams and float wood and food in the canals so that they don’t have to carry it with them.  There are several entrances to the lodge and a food store that is filled up before the winter.

 In winter the river freezes and turns the water cold so the clever beavers have their own refrigerator at the bottom of their home.  The food is secure and they can go there anytime and nibble on some food.

They find a mate and usually stay with them for life.  Live in families with the young staying with them until they are about 2 years old.

Beavers are well loved because they look cute and because they are active, mainly at dusk, so they are interesting to watch and see what they are up to.  They are very easy to locate because you can see their homes on top of the rivers.

They have held the public’s interest because they are usually busy foraging for food or building bits to their house which is interesting to observe.

Dragonfly

Dragonflies are imbedded in most cultures around the world.  Revered for their beauty, there are dragonfly tattoos, jewellery and pictures.

The babies are born as larvae, which are attached to plants in the water of rivers.  They stay in the water for several years until they reach a stage where they are able to take flight.

There a many pictures of a dragonfly on a person’s finger, just resting there.  They have two sets of separate wings that are a beautiful shape and there are many species that have evolved into a variety of colours.

Gardeners and anyone who has a home near water encourage the breeding of dragonflies because they are beautiful to have around and they eat the smaller pest insects in a garden.  Although, they have been known to fly to the hills a few miles away from their original river.   

 

Arctic terns

Arctic terns had a problem finding food a few years ago because the local fishermen were taking most of their fish.

They like eating sand eels and small fish that they find close to the coast.  Their numbers started to drop because it was harder to find food.  They did not seem able to adapt and find new sources of food.  Many other animals and birds in that situation find alternative foods.

Charities did a survey of the birds and noticed the decline in numbers.  They managed to temporarily stop the fishermen from fishing in that area and the number of terns increased.  So it was a success story.

I wonder if the terns had been left to find a natural solution whether they would just have eventually found a new territory or decided to eat something else.  But the good news is that their numbers did increase.

African birds - white-necked picathartes

White-necked  picathartes have been an endangered species in Africa.  Much has been done by charities to save them

They favour dark caves to live in and so are easily captured and sold on the markets and to zoos.  But they usually die in captivity so it is difficult to rebuild their numbers  and reintroduce the to the wild.

They eat beetles, cockroaches, grasshoppers and ants.  They never go hungry because there are literally thousands of these insects.  There are so many insects in Africa that scientist don’t even know what all of them are.

They are very unusual because  they build two nests that they dwell in for different things.  One nest is solely kept for breeding and the other nest is only used for sitting or sleeping on.  So they have a bedroom/sitting room and a nursery.

Charities are trying to find ways to protect the forests so that they have a better chance of survival so even though they are not protected by law they are getting help.

 

Pallas's cat

A Central Asian cat that lives in the snow and ice of the region.  Has tiny ears  and a very thick coat to insulate it from the cold.

It can live happily  at heights of 4000m and has adapted to this climate quite well.  It finds caves and gaps between huge rocks to make its quite comfortable den.  In the den its has its kittens and has as many as 6 at a time.

Pallas’s cat hunts mainly at night and will catch any small animals it can find and also likes to look for small birds that inhabit the area.

These cats are very pretty and I am sure some people would like them for pets but you would have to live close to their hunting area and I don’t know if they can be tamed.

 

The badger

Badgers are found in most parts of the UK even big cities like London have badgers living there.  They are pretty with their striped heads and grey fur but unpopular with farmers.

Farmers don’t like them because they spread tuberculosis to cattle and have tried to cull badgers but it has not been very effective.

Badgers are family oriented and live in well constructed burrows with toilet facilities.  The young are born blind and often leave to find their own territory once they are confident enough.

They like eating worms and fruit in the summer but will also break open a beehive if they find one and eat the contents. 

These are lovely creatures but difficult to observe because they mainly come out at night but there are plenty of them in most parts of Britain so you may get a glimpse of one of them.  I expect that one of the animal rights groups are tackling their health problems.  It seems a shame to just kill them without tackling why they are getting ill.

Anteaters

Anteaters are specially equipped to eat ants and termites.  They have long thin snouts and a long tongue that is sticky and they are unusual in other ways.

Anteaters live in the tropical rain forests where there is an abundance of ants and termites.  They are strong and have large claws which can break  open an ant nest without much difficulty and then they can feast on the contents, such as eggs and larvae .

They rests and sleep for about 12 hours of the day.  They often hunt at night and sometimes during the day.  It depends whether they have had enough rest  and how hot the day has been. 

Anteaters are unusual  because they keep to themselves and rarely mix except if it is time to mate.  In addition the never make a home for themselves, they just find a spot to rest close to where they have been hunting  but it is rarely attacked because it is a formidable fighter.

Females usually only have one baby that stays with its mother for a year, when it is young it rides on her back.

 

 

Sloths

Sloths are interesting and never forgotten because they are probably the slowest, most lethargic animals on the planet. 

They have sweet faces, long furry arms , legs and body and spend most of their time asleep hanging upside down from trees by their claws.  If they fall to the ground they are unable to walk because of their claws.  They just have to crawl and wriggle to the nearest tree.  They are very vulnerable in this situation and have to rely on their fur coats for camouflage.

The sloth has another quite interesting way of camouflaging itself.  During the rainy season the sloths fur stays wet and never really dries out because of this algae starts to grow in its fur and it turns the fur green, which blends in perfectly with the trees it sleeps in. 

In addition, small moths  use its thick fur as a nest.  This is good for the sloth because when they are asleep and most a risk, which is most of the time, they can be mistaken for a moths nest hanging in a tree rather than an animal and this can deter predators. 

Sloths are amazing creatures and despite their extremely slow ways nature has found ways to protect these gentle animals.