To tell you I can hear an owl hooting and it's weirdly thrilling?

[MistressoftheDarkSide]

Just that really. I'm in a relatively urban area but not commercial, and there's a fair amount of greenery, and it's the first time in the 18 months I've lived here that I've heard an owl hooting.

For some reason it's really pleased me, even though last night would have been perfect being Halloween and all.

Just felt like sharing 😚

I stayed near Ambleside once with a friend. We were walking back to our hotel after an evening out, on a path that ran alongside a drystone wall. No lights, but there was a bright moon. Suddenly we heard a kind of snarling, yapping and when we looked over the wall we saw two badger cubs playing. A wonderful experience!

OP There is an app, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, download it to your phone and it will identify the birds from their son / hoot / noise.

We live semi-rurally and hear owls every so often. When we go for a walk or drive I love seeing pheasants and rabbits. Have seen a badger a number of times in real life. Occasionally we see a deer, two dashed out in front of me as I was driving last year. My children saw one as they were walking to school with their childcare once as well.

I love nature (hence my name!)

Wonder if that’s a mating thing or just chatting

Lovely thread 🙂

These contacts with wildlife are very precious.

I saw a badger last night 🦡

Lovely thread 🙂

These contacts with wildlife are very precious.

I saw a badger last night 🦡

Just to rub it in, as well as the resident barn + tawny owls we also have: kestrels, buzzards, sparrowhawk, red kite, curlews, lapwing, woodpeckers, deer, foxes, hedgehogs, barnacle geese, numerous swan species, otters, kingfishers and a cuckoo........

It hugely helps living less than 1 mile away from a nature reserve and 500 metres from a river 😆

Are there many hedgehogs about? I live semi rurally, but haven't seen one for years in our garden. We dug access holes under the fences and provided a hedgehog house for hibernation, but nothing!

How weird - I've lived in my home for over 20 years and never heard an owl. This morning - I heard one - very exciting.

I live in a suburb quite close to the edge of a city with a fair bit of woodland around. One day a couple of years ago I came home and was just putting my key in the door when it filtered through to my brain that I could hear a woodpecker! I thought I was hallucinating but then I heard it again. That stopped me in my tracks I can tell you. I hadn't even realised we have them in the UK until then.

This is a lovely thread but it has reminded me of this story

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/twit-two-woo-over-the-garden-fence-1252339.html

Oh that's sweet! I was afraid people were messing with him!

I confess to being mildly afraid of owls ever since Twin Peaks

I'm very pleased to have been of assistance @DrPrunesqualer 😊 My daughter studied zoology too - my kids grew up poking around rock pools, identifying animal poo, gardening (because these were my favourite pursuits not because I'm a cool Earth mother).

Probably a Tawny Owl, I’ve heard them in South London area (Croydon)

Which borough?

We are quite rural but near a main road and I can sometimes hear owls. It's brilliant. We have a lot of geese flying in v formation and it's so funny because they go wherever they're going at 10 am and fly back over about 4 pm. Sometimes there's about 6 and others there'smore than 20.

Did you know owls don't mate when it's raining?

It's Too Wet To Woo. 😁

I’m in London and I hear owls a lot! Also have foxes, squirrels, birds galore. My back garden is like a menagerie

Try Google, I’ve heard that can help

Is that sarcasm 🤣🤣

I live in the middle of a large council estate. But I see Squirrels, hedgehogs, various birds and foxes.

@Peachbubble try putting food out at the same time each night. A couple of years ago I had 6-7 regular visitors, all visiting at their own time.

Yesterday morning from my back garden i spotted a flock of goldfinches, a red kite, loads of blackbirds pecking the ground , a black and white woodpecker ( lesser or greater?), and to top it all a green woodpecker. I was very happy!

I hear them when our window’s open - it’s a lovely sound.