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Sheffields Flora and Fauna


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Inspired by Bayleafs excellent photo's.

I'm sure that loads of people on here love wildlife and wild flowers, i know i do.

I'll kick off with these, taken in my soon to be landscaped back garden in March 06.

Reynard snaffles a squirrel that was earlier bothering him from above!!!!

Then the next day here he is with the snow all gone and having a scratch!

Our little area of Firth Park is full of urban 'Reynards', woke up one night to a terrible howling, ( again ), looked out the window and there were 5 of em'! outside my bedroom window!!

We see them all the time, sunbathing on neighbours sheds, walking through the gardens etc, etc, wouldn't be without them.

Dean.

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Inspired by Bayleafs excellent photo's.

I'm sure that loads of people on here love wildlife and wild flowers, i know i do.

I'll kick off with these, taken in my soon to be landscaped back garden in March 06.

Reynard snaffles a squirrel that was earlier bothering him from above!!!!

Then the next day here he is with the snow all gone and having a scratch!

Our little area of Firth Park is full of urban 'Reynards', woke up one night to a terrible howling, ( again ), looked out the window and there were 5 of em'! outside my bedroom window!!

We see them all the time, sunbathing on neighbours sheds, walking through the gardens etc, etc, wouldn't be without them.

Dean.

In our area of Sheffield, Intake S12 we regularly see foxes at night while walking the dog. The foxes seem to have a set route. Interestingly many of the roads in the area are called Foxwood something or other (road / street / drive etc) and are named after the areas former name before the estate was built in the 1930's. My wife has an allotment on the Sharrard Road plots and there is one that lives down there, doesn't seem to bother anyone, even those allotment holders that have chickens! The attached photo is of the fox on the allotments.

As you say "I'm sure that loads of people on here love wildlife and wild flowers, I know I do." My wife certainly does.

I know that on "that other site" which members here seem reluctant to name (OK it's Sheffield Forum) they have a section on "Sheffield Allotments" where allotment owners from sites across the City can join in discussions and share experiences and tips on growing plants and vegetables. I have told my wife about this but although she is computer literate she is reluctant to sign up and join in.

Perhaps your idea of a "Sheffield Flora & Fauna" thread would be just what is needed to get her interest in what I seem to spend a fair bit of my time doing (posting on Sheffield History) and I am sure many other members would see this as a welcome addition to the site.

Great idea deansgirl.

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In our area of Sheffield, Intake S12 we regularly see foxes at night while walking the dog. The foxes seem to have a set route. Interestingly many of the roads in the area are called Foxwood something or other (road / street / drive etc) and are named after the areas former name before the estate was built in the 1930's. My wife has an allotment on the Sharrard Road plots and there is one that lives down there, doesn't seem to bother anyone, even those allotment holders that have chickens! The attached photo is of the fox on the allotments.

As you say "I'm sure that loads of people on here love wildlife and wild flowers, I know I do." My wife certainly does.

I know that on "that other site" which members here seem reluctant to name (OK it's Sheffield Forum) they have a section on "Sheffield Allotments" where allotment owners from sites across the City can join in discussions and share experiences and tips on growing plants and vegetables. I have told my wife about this but although she is computer literate she is reluctant to sign up and join in.

Perhaps your idea of a "Sheffield Flora & Fauna" thread would be just what is needed to get her interest in what I seem to spend a fair bit of my time doing (posting on Sheffield History) and I am sure many other members would see this as a welcome addition to the site.

Great idea deansgirl.

nice pile of wood lol

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nice pile of wood lol

Actually it's not my wifes allotment its the one next to it.

At the time the picture was taken, last July she had only just got her allotment so hers looked a lot worse and had nothing growing in it worth eating. looks a lot better now though and we are hoping for a good harvest later this year.

My wife does have a similar looking pile of wood which is actually a home made composter, - shove all your cuttings and trimmings under that loose wooden structure and leave it to rot down into compost. very "green" and environmentally friendly, less pollution than burning and makes good use of an otherwise waste product.

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Sheffield was once a City thriving on industry spanning from the Town center towards its outskirts,

but as the industry expanded there came with it pollution,

our rivers and some of our green areas all paid the toll.

Many years ago Salmon stopped running up the river Don due to industrial discharges,

other wildlife also suffered and two of its main tributary's the Sheaf and Porter, became heavily polluted in the lower reaches,

all wild life including water plants and insects became non existent and the whole ecosystem of our local rivers was damaged to a great extent.

As our local industry started to decline the rivers slowly started to recover,

I remember catching my first fish from the river Don in 1966,

but that was in the upper reaches near Thurgoland,

later as our rivers became cleaner due to local river authorities making big changes governing pollution,

I was later catching fish from the river Don at Neepsend (Club Mill Lane) in 1973.

And as the Don got cleaner so did our canal, as it's fed by waters pumped from the river.

Now days it's not an unusual sight to see Kingfishers, Herons, and Dragonflies near to our rivers

& canal right in the City center.

I also have first hand reports from people sighting Mink, Dippers and believe it or not 'Otters'

on the river Don in the town center.

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Guest Gramps

At the time the picture was taken, last July she had only just got her allotment so hers looked a lot worse and had nothing growing in it worth eating. looks a lot better now though and we are hoping for a good harvest later this year.

Dandelion leaves are excellent in salads ;-)

Out here in the countryside we rarely see, or hear, foxes. I suspect they've all migrated to suburbia for the easier pickings. This is not such a bad thing though as fewer foxes means ground-nesting birds have a greater chance of breeding successfully.

We have Curlews, Plover and Skylarks nesting in the nearby fields, - just wish the farmers would go back to hay-making instead of silage cropping.

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Dandelion leaves are excellent in salads ;-)

Out here in the countryside we rarely see, or hear, foxes. I suspect they've all migrated to suburbia for the easier pickings. This is not such a bad thing though as fewer foxes means ground-nesting birds have a greater chance of breeding successfully.

We have Curlews, Plover and Skylarks nesting in the nearby fields, - just wish the farmers would go back to hay-making instead of silage cropping.

As we also keep pet birds (mainly lovebirds) at home we also encourage wild birds into the garden with a bird table, fedders, water and other RSPB recommendations. We get quite a variety of wild birds visiting on a regular basis, some of them staying all year round.

Main threat to them in the garden though is not foxes but neighbours cats, although our dog usually dioscourages them.

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Dandelion leaves are excellent in salads ;-)

I nearly missed that bit Gramps,

Never tried Dandelion leaves but it really annoys me down at the supermarket or in the greengrocers how much edible stuff gets wasted just for the sake of presentation on the shelves.

If you buy a cauliflower you only get the "flower" head, the leaves are always shopped off and thrown away yet when cooked up they can rival cabbage as a leaf vegetable in their own right. They are chopped off and discarded because the flower is what most people want and the leaves soon go limp after the plant is harvested (unlike cabbage leaves0 and this limpness doesn't look good.

It's the same with Broccolli, you rarely see the more subtle flavoured purple sprouting variety because it goes limp so quickly compared with the usual green variety.

Even the leaves of many root vegetables, particularly turnip, are excellent cooked. Not only do these go limp quickly they are quite prickly on the underside before they are cooked so again in the shops you just can't get them.

So what a great thing gardening and keeping an allotment can be, providing not only cheap food but these little "extras" as well, and even varieties of vegetable which are easy to grow but hardly ever available in the shops such as Kale, Chard and kohl Rabi.

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Guest Trefcon

All parts of 'Taraxicum Officinale' are edible, though i dont think i could eat the flower when it's turned into a 'Clock' ! Spplluttt!!

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All parts of 'Taraxicum Officinale' are edible, though i dont think i could eat the flower when it's turned into a 'Clock' ! Spplluttt!!

Presumably we are drinking an extract of it, along with another well known plant, in the soft drink "Dandelion & Burdock"

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Guest Gramps

@ DaveH, I've seen rabbits and hamsters turn their noses up at lettuce - but they always wolf down dandelion leaves. For a salad they need to be young and freshly picked.

I had a moan to a green-grocer in the markets a few months ago about the lack of leaves on the cauliflowers. He said it was done in the fields and nothing to be done about it. Some of the 'organic' green-grocers sell them un-cut...but you'll pay through the nose ;-)

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Was in Town yesterday morning (04.01.009) at 1100 Hrs,

this fox came limping past me and then decided to sit down right in the middle of

the road looking right at me,

it was obvious the animal was distressed :(

'Sods law' that when I took my camera out,

it decided to run for cover the best it could,

sorry for the poor quality shot.

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Was in Town yesterday morning (04.01.009) at 1100 Hrs,

this fox came limping past me and then decided to sit down right in the middle of

the road looking right at me,

it was obvious the animal was distressed :(

'Sods law' that when I took my camera out,

it decided to run for cover the best it could,

sorry for the poor quality shot.

Many wild animals which have suffered being hunted by humans seem to have developed this instict that if a human points something at them, even something as harmless as a camera, then they think they are going to be shot at and take defensive action by running off.

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Kingfisher on the River Don next to Norfolk Bridge.

As fish now thrive in our rivers and Canal,

so do the birds that rely on them for food.

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Sorby Natural History Society, Sheffield, founded 1918.

Covers a full range of natural history interests in Sheffield and the surrounding area,

providing for both interested beginners and specialists.

Current groups are:

Limb Valley Study Group

Sorby Amphibian and Reptile Group

Sorby Botanical Group

Sorby Breck Ringing Group

Sorby Fungus Group

Sorby Geology Group

Sorby Invertebrate Group

Sorby Mammal and Bat Group

Sorby Microscopical Group

Sorby Ornithological Group

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Sorby Natural History Society, Sheffield, founded 1918.

Covers a full range of natural history interests in Sheffield and the surrounding area,

providing for both interested beginners and specialists.

Current groups are:

Limb Valley Study Group

Sorby Amphibian and Reptile Group

Sorby Botanical Group

Sorby Breck Ringing Group

Sorby Fungus Group

Sorby Geology Group

Sorby Invertebrate Group

Sorby Mammal and Bat Group

Sorby Microscopical Group

Sorby Ornithological Group

Nice link to a local society covering all aspects of flora and fauna in this area.

However, as this thread has attracted quite a few posts since deansgirl started it less than a month ago and as many of the posts have members pictures of wild animals seen locally there is still a place on Sheffield History for this sort of thing as the interest is there in our own membership. How about making this a thread in one of the main topics, eg "Sheffield History Chat" rather than leave it here in "site suggestions" as this seems to have been a suggestion which is getting some interest and is starting to take off as a thread in its own right.

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Nice link to a local society covering all aspects of flora and fauna in this area.

However, as this thread has attracted quite a few posts since deansgirl started it less than a month ago and as many of the posts have members pictures of wild animals seen locally there is still a place on Sheffield History for this sort of thing as the interest is there in our own membership. How about making this a thread in one of the main topics, eg "Sheffield History Chat" rather than leave it here in "site suggestions" as this seems to have been a suggestion which is getting some interest and is starting to take off as a thread in its own right.

Moved this topic upto Sheffield History Chat to make more prominent

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Moved this topic upto Sheffield History Chat to make more prominent

Having suggested in post #17 over a month ago that this topic was getting some interest and postings as soon as it has been moved to a main section the posts seem to have stopped.

I suppose this is not really suprising as we are in the winter and have been through a fairly cold spell with a fair bit of snow. Now that spring is getting a bit closer and plants start to grow and animals appear from hibernation and migration things may pick up.

This morning we noticed that a pair of chaffinches, frequent visitors last year, had returned to our bird feeder. the feeder they are both feeding from contains a wild bird food called niger seed. this is a special seed which chaffinches love and go for but other birds all seem to ignore so it is guaranteed to attract a good sighting of these birds.

We also have another filled with something else (forgot its name) which only robins go for. We have robins as well which seem to stay all year round (not just in winter) and for a small bird they seem very territorial especially where their "special seed" is concerned and will attempt to see off much bigger birds.

The chaffinches also seemed very interested in one of our lavendar bushes, even though it is not in flower and does not have its characteristic scent yet (but in summer, ....aaaaah!)

Sorry for poor quality of pictures, taken through a double glazed window to avoid disturbing the birds with first camera that came to hand.

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Having suggested in post #17 over a month ago that this topic was getting some interest and postings as soon as it has been moved to a main section the posts seem to have stopped.

I suppose this is not really suprising as we are in the winter and have been through a fairly cold spell with a fair bit of snow. Now that spring is getting a bit closer and plants start to grow and animals appear from hibernation and migration things may pick up.

This morning we noticed that a pair of chaffinches, frequent visitors last year, had returned to our bird feeder. the feeder they are both feeding from contains a wild bird food called niger seed. this is a special seed which chaffinches love and go for but other birds all seem to ignore so it is guaranteed to attract a good sighting of these birds.

We also have another filled with something else (forgot its name) which only robins go for. We have robins as well which seem to stay all year round (not just in winter) and for a small bird they seem very territorial especially where their "special seed" is concerned and will attempt to see off much bigger birds.

The chaffinches also seemed very interested in one of our lavendar bushes, even though it is not in flower and does not have its characteristic scent yet (but in summer, ....aaaaah!)

Sorry for poor quality of pictures, taken through a double glazed window to avoid disturbing the birds with first camera that came to hand.

Hi Dave, those are goldfinches, really colourful compared with most of our birds, and they would be after the seedheads on the lavender! We occasionally get them, but not every year.

As to wildlife, does this count, spotted in the Botanical Gardens? About 4ft long!

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Hi Dave, those are goldfinches, really colourful compared with most of our birds, and they would be after the seedheads on the lavender! We occasionally get them, but not every year.

As to wildlife, does this count, spotted in the Botanical Gardens? About 4ft long!

Looks like something I was looking at in the Millenium Galleries about a fortnight ago in a display on insects, bugs and creepie - crawlies, Unlike the V&A exhibition at the same time (in the next run) the insects one WAS free!

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Hi Dave, those are goldfinches, really colourful compared with most of our birds, and they would be after the seedheads on the lavender! We occasionally get them, but not every year.

Very colourful yes, but birds are something of a passion with us. I have already posted a picture of our lovebirds looking like a scene from an Alfred Hitchcock film in skeets's "avitar" thread, but here is another picture of some of our birds, resting on the curtain rail while out of their cages for cleaning and exercise.

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A heron takes a rest in a conifer in our neighbours garden.

A big bird to perch on top of the tree.

Fortunately we don't have fish in an outside pond!

Amazingly the bird was "seen off" by a flock of sparrows who objected to him being their on "their patch". He flew off in the direction of Arbourthorne pond, so their fish stock levels make get lowered a bit.

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A heron takes a rest in a conifer in our neighbours garden.

A big bird to perch on top of the tree.

Fortunately we don't have fish in an outside pond!

Amazingly the bird was "seen off" by a flock of sparrows who objected to him being their on "their patch". He flew off in the direction of Arbourthorne pond, so their fish stock levels make get lowered a bit.

OK so a heron on the top of a tree 2 gardens away isn't that clear, although it is definately a heron from its distinctive appearance.

However, here is another picture of a heron taken a couple of years ago on the ponds at Graves Park which it shares with a variety of ducks and geese.

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