9. Wildlife – Hillside Garden

On sunny days, we have a wide variety of insect visitors; most fairly common such as Cabbage White butterflies, Brimstones and Meadow Browns. We also have Solitary Bees and Honey Bees, not to mention the many Bumble Bees who nest in cavities in the drystone walls.

A Tortoiseshell enjoying the wildflowers

After spotting evidence of what we thought was Badger activity at the top of the field, we set up a night vision camera and this is what we found. Unfortunately, since the arrival of the Badger, we no longer see Hedgehogs in our garden.

Our most frequent visitors to the bird feeders are Goldfinches and Coal Tits, but we also see plenty of Blue Tits, Great Tits, Chaffinches, Bramblings and Robins. There’s a pair of Collared Doves who drop in from time to time, plus the odd Magpie and a Crow or two. We usually have a pair of Blackbirds rearing their broods in the shrubs and trees as well as Sparrows, some of which nest in the shrubs while several pairs raise broods under the eaves at the back of the house. As both the field and garden are inhabited by Field Mice, Shrews and Voles as well as an occasional Stoat, we often spot Sparrow Hawks and Owls on the hunt. We are often serenaded on summer evenings by the emotive cry of Curlews, but nothing signals the passing of the seasons like the coming and going of the Swallows.

We quite often see Woodpeckers visiting our birdfeeders, but Bullfinches are very infrequent visitors.

Not strictly “wildlife”, but a frequent visitor was a feral cockerel, probably an escapee from a local farm; he lived in the wild, roaming freely throughout the neighbourhood for several years.

Imagine my surprise when, moving a large plant pot with crocks inside, I came across a Lizard…. the first and only one I’ve ever seen in the Peak District, though you can be sure it isn’t alone…. there must be several more Lizards not too far away from this one.

I often find Frogs and the occasional Toad, and even the odd Newt hiding beneath heavy stone slabs.

In order to increase the slug-eating reptile population, I am planning a pond. However, on ground that is largely rock beneath a thin layer of soil, it will need to be a shallow pond.