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.

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.

Species of birds seen on or above the allotment site include:
Blackbird, Blackheaded Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Chaffinch, Collared Dove,Common Gull, Corn Bunting, Crow, Cuckoo, Dunnock,Fieldfare, Green Finch,Green Woodpecker, Gold Finch, Great Blackbacked Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Herring Gull, Heron, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Pheasant, Red Legged Partrige, Robin, Sparrow Hawk, Song Thrush,Starling, Swallow, Swift, Wheatear, Wood Pigeon and Yellowhammer.

May 2007 there were frequent sightings of a pair of quale on the allotments and in the field.

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.