Here are some of the tell-tale signs that let you know there are critters about. How many can you spot?
Watch out for:
- Paw prints - check out soft ground for any paw imprints.
- Broken snail shells - Song thrushes use stones like a blacksmith's anvil to smash snail shells.
- Fox pooh - has a twisted, pointy end
- Feathers - lost or moulted by a bird
- Nuts - you can tell which animal has been nibbling away by the marks on the shell eg. a hazelnut split in two halves would have most likely been eaten by a squirrel. Bank voles take off the top, while wood mice bite a large round hole in the top half. A great tit pecks a hole in the side of the nutshell.
- Pellets - owls spit out indigestible material such as the bones and fur of their prey.
- Galls - gall wasps, which look like small ants with wings, lay eggs in the twig or leaf of a tree.
- Bracket Fungi - shows a tree is infected
- Molehill - moles live underground so look out for signs of tunneling going on beneath the surface.
- Runs - common routes taken by an animal
- Lichen - indicates good air quality and lack of pollution
