Introduction:

Besides being an excellent source of organic (dependent up on your horticultural methods) vegetables, an outlet for pent up agression (for those of us who are still working and/or bringing up families and we have a lot more allotment holders in these latter categories these days) and a (gentle?!) form of exercise, the allotment site is also a good place for observing wildlife. Of course some of the wildlife can be a nuisance but with a little care in the protection of crops we can enjoy the presence of our wild companions.

Birds:

There is a large number of bird species to be seen on the allotments. The most common being Wood Pigeon and Jackdaw. There is a large jackdaw flock in the area. Blackbirds, Mistle thrush, Sparrow are readily spotted. Some of the more common and well known species of bird can become very trusting especially in the spring months when there are hungry little beaks to be filled. Blackbirds and Robins especially become very bold in the late Winter and the Spring months when they have chicks.

Other Species of birds seen on or above the allotment site include:
Blackheaded Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Chaffinch, Collared Dove,Common Gull, Corn Bunting, Crow, Cuckoo not for two years, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Green Finch, Green Woodpecker, Gold Finch, Great Blackbacked Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Herring Gull, Heron, Kestrel, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Pheasant, Red Legged Partrige, Sparrow Hawk,quale, Song Thrush,Starling, Swallow, Swift, Wheatear, and Yellowhammer. We have also had two sightings of Red kite.

Once when the grass was being cut in the orchard a Red Legged Partridge nest full of eggs was discovered. Sadly, following the disturbance, the parent birds abandonned it.

Other Animals:

Other kinds of animals include:
Fox, Mole, Rabbit, Grey Squirrel, Woodmouse and Hedgehogs. There are Frogs and Toads around. A grass snake was once found in a compost heap and another got caught up in some fruit netting until released by the allotmenter (Aug 2006 - see the picture). All very useful for helping rid us of pests.