JM and I have been surprised by the amount of wild life which has been attracted to our garden since we acquired the hens. In addition to the number of cats who come to stare at our chickens (and dream of an alternate universe in which it is actually possible for a cat to capture and eat such a large bird), there are certain member of the bird and rodent family who are enjoying almost unlimited access to the chickens' food.
JM has always described squirrels as being nothing more than rats with good PR. This may be true, but living in Peckham we did not flatter ourselves that we would attract a
nything as posh as a red squirrel. We are visited daily by a pair of grey squirrels* who have figured out how to open the bags of bird seed we have stashed in the garden shed. Many a time, I have walked into entrance of the garden shed, to have something grey and furry fly past my face, land in branches of the oak tree and scamper away to safety. Many a time I have found what I thought were well secured, sealed bags of bird seed, with large gaping holes in the side and a neat pile of empty sunflower seed shells laying on the counter.
One morning, after the hens had escaped into our garden (again!), I went out to clean the chicken coop. I was greeted by the visage of a very large grey rat who was helping himself to a mid-morning breakfast of layers' pellets. I looked at him and he looked at me. Since I was standing by the only exit, he spent a few seconds shuffling from one side of the coop to the other looking for an alternative escape route. Then he looked at me again and appeared to shrug its shoulders as if to say 'Look, I'm a rat. Cadging free meals is what I do. Nothing personal. Now do you please mind stepping aside so I can get out of here?' I stepped aside to let him pass and he waddled out into the garden and disappeared under the fence. We are very careful at making sure there aren't too many layers pellets or grain laying scattered around the coop and in the shed because we know this can attract rats. But we are realistic that there will be a certain amount of rodent foraging.
Blackbirds* and wood pigeons* are among a few of the 
different types of birds who visit our garden, hoping to sample some of the chickens' food. They are not as dexterous as the squirrels at getting into the bags, but they do okay at picking up any left over mixed corn seed that's been scattered in the garden.JM and I are not the only ones to notice all the wild life visiting our garden for an easy meal. The hens appear to be getting fed up with all the freeloaders and will chase them away if they are spotted near their food dispenser. In spite of their best efforts, the local wild life appears to be flourishing with all the extra feeding. The squirrels and rats look sleek and well fed and the birds look fat with glossy feathers. We're glad to be doing our bit to support the local wild life.
Of course I have left one creature off the list of our local visitors, but we feel he deserves his own blog spot. So stay tuned.
* Images:
grey squirrel - photo taken by DAVID ILIFF
black bird - licensed by Creative Commons
wood pigeon - licensed by Creative Commons
