Our local mammal fauna

People that live in Bristol share the city with an impressive array of mammals, some of these only found in a few other cities. Even luckier are those who live in Henbury as alongside urban wildlife, we enjoy plenty of open spaces where animals can be spotted. Blaise Castle Estate and Henbury in general, host many popular native British mammals such as badgers, several bat species, foxes, hedgehogs, moles, rabbits, roe deer, several rodent species, shrews, weasels and also some non-native ones, such as the grey squirrel. Although many of these animals are found throughout Britain, some of these (such as deer and badgers) are rare in urbanized environments so this makes Henbury quite a special place in which to live. Henbury also hosts several important bat roosts.

At the time of writing, spring is well on its way particularly because of the mild winter we have had. Spring is a really special time for mammals. Hedgehogs come out of hibernation and so do bats, though with global warming, milder winters sometime mean that these species can occasionally be seen during winter. Most species have their young at this time of the year so that the youngsters can grow when food is plentiful. As spring gives way to summer, it is possible to see fox cubs playing, rabbits straying away from their warrens and at night, badgers and hedgehogs in their excursions in search of food. At dusk it is easy to see bats flying to catch their meal and to spot some more elusive neighbours such as roe deer, mice and voles. Some other animals we might rarely or never see but nonetheless they are there include weasels, moles and deer fawns, who are the trickiest to catch a glimpse of.

In summary, in Bristol and in Henbury in particular, we share our neighbourhood with an impressive number of British mammals and there are many opportunities to see them all year round. Of course, there are also amphibians, birds, reptiles and invertebrates but thats another story!
Graziella Iossa