Postcards
What kind of animals do you see in a week?
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What kind of animals do you see in a week?
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Home Sweet Home (2012) Enrica Colussa
Mostly pigeons,
the odd fly
perhaps a late season wasp
Not every week - but occasionally geese land on the beech garden pond…
walking to work sometimes a dog being walked…
NOT MUCH ELSE
No cats around here
oh yes - squirrels in the car park
Adam J. London, UK
Dogs, the black and white neighbourhood cat, many different kinds of birds (wood pigeons, a big flock of fieldfares, seagulls, treecreeper, blackbirds, ducks, common tern), squirrels, bumblebees, dragonflies, various insects, worms. If I'm lucky I might see a hedgehog, or perhaps a moose in the forest that we live next to.
Jiska. Oslo, Norway.
A few smaller dogs in the block, perhaps, and a random cat. But I don’t care that much about animals. I care about people.
I see my neighbour’s dog a few times a week. The birds flying across the sky. Sometimes I also find a spider, a bee, or a ladybird in a plant at the balcony, which makes me happy because I feel like I have helped the biodiversity in the city. I also sometimes see a cat in the apartment window across the street.
Stine. Copenhagen, Denmark.
My neighbour’s old golden retriever – when it is taken out for a walk.
Steffen. Oslo, Norway
There are lots of cats around my block. Sometimes, we get foxes that come to steal the food we leave for the cats. All good until you wake up hungover and find then on your sofa staring at you.
Andrei. London, United Kingdom
A beautiful, black cat called Vega, a little grey boy called Stormy. Then there are two crows who visit daily, and air on the balcony railing. Their names are Peter and Paul.
Natalia. San Francisco, USA.
Hi, I often see a cat that lives in our staircase. We are not allowed to keep animals in the block, so I think there might be a woman at the third floor who feeds it. I see many magpies and seagulls. Other birds too, but I do not know what kind. Some people in the area have a dog they walk. Best Linda.
Linda. Halden, Norway
We have just adopted a Papillon dog, cows, horses, goats and sheep + other dogs.
Anne. Tongeren, Belgium.
We mainly see dogs, cats, pigeons and seagulls here in the city. I wish we also could see hedgehogs and squirrels.
Randi, Oslo, Norway
Dogs, cats
Elena. Bucharest, Romania.
We see a lot of different birds - a wood pigeon visits everyday and we get visits from blackbirds. Outside our flat we see lots of feral pigeons, house sparrows and magpies. The only mammals we see are dogs, cats, squirrels but do hear foxes. Recently we saw the police horses with their riders.
Fred & Jo. London, UK
My cat and birds outside the window. A lot of people seem to have got themselves a dog. It’s puppies everywhere.
Birgitte. Oslo, Norway.
Here I can cheat as I spend at least one morning a week working in the Barbican wildlife garden. I also live in a flat looking across the main Barbican lake. This is a short list but by no means exhaustive:
- Frogs - a fox (a young vixen) - a kestrel - peregrine falcons - herring gulls - black headed gulls - feral pigeons - wood pigeons - mallard ducks - coots - moorhen - sparrows - blue tits - great tits - long-tailed tits - wrens - dunnocks - greenfinches - goldfinches - blackbirds - carrion crows - magpies - grey wagtail tits - occasionally herons and cormorants - pet dogs and one or two cats.
Frank. London, UK
Pigeons, crows, sparrows, seagulls, dogs, cats, and sometimes - rarely – a rat (alive or dead) insects.
Manuela. Bucharest, Romania.
Cats, dogs, horses.
Birds. Bees. Spiders
Houseflies, Ants. These are some of the animals aside from humans that I would normally see in the course of a week.
Joy. London, United Kingdom
My cat! My cat is one year old, Margot. I see her regularly everyday. I see lots of dogs when I go for my walks. Lots of dogs. Everyone has a dog or dogs around here.
Sara. Melbourne, Australia.
Mostly I see cats. During spring and summer there is a hedgehog walking around.
Adina. Deva, Romania.
When I walk with my dog or when I look through the window, I may encounter pheasants walking through my street or crossing through the meadow. I can hear and occasionally see birds like jays, robins or snowbirds. This year we also observe an invasion of giant slugs. They come in brown and black. They come onto our terrace leaving mucus traces, climbing my dog’s bowl. Since my window is overlooking the street, I also see other people walking their dogs. I see cats roaming freely. Thanks to my lavish lavender, I also encounter many insects.
An. Lublin, Poland.
I see ducks, moorhens and water boatmen on the Barbican pond - there is carp in the water. Occasionally I see a heron. The symbolic meanings of herons is autonomy, introspection, observation - patience, solitude and virtue. The heron is my mascot for lockdown!
Julia. London, United Kingdom
In the streets: Cats, dogs; pigeons, ducks, etc. urban birds. Bees, flies, ants. Pudgies. Teddy bears and other animal toys in the windows.
At the nearby park that has an animal farm and ponds: swans, various types of pigeons, chickens, hens, butterflies, flies, bees, various insects, donkeys, horses, guinea fowls, turkeys, turtles and carps at the pond - you name it. Rat. Dogs.
Riitta. Brussels, Belgium (and Helsinki, Finland).
Hi Inge,
This lockdown has been the best thing for nature in general because their virus is “us” (humans). I can see more squirrels, foxes, robins, pigeons, ravens, seagulls and many other birds.
Take care Teresa x (p.s. and more insects too)
Teresa. London, United Kingdom
Dogs, cats, birds (pigeons, little sparrows, seagulls, tits, blackbirds, crows) but I hear more birds (sometimes I hear small owls). When I go to my garden (I have an urban garden, as part of a plot of land managed by an NGO) I can also see plenty of insects (brown stink bugs, mosquitos, flies, bees, hornets…)
Ana. Bucharest, Romania.
Hi Inge,
From the flat we mostly see birds - I’ve mentioned that before, I think. This week included a hawk which is brought monthly to neighbouring private apartments, to scare the seagulls. On the streets, mostly dogs, mostly small. At the back of the block at night - rats.
Then out for walks - squirrels in the parks, pelicans in St James’ Park…and lions, goats, sheep, camels, monkeys. In Regents Park, of course - you can see them from the path around the edge of the park!
Andrew. London, UK
parrots, gats, ants
Ingrid. Milan, Italy.
Quite a lot of birds – little flocks of goldfinches chattering about (they've turned up here in the last couple of years I think), always wood pigeons and feral pigeons in ones and twos, peregrines – mainly playing high up in the sky at dusk but on occasion on my balcony, gulls (various) in the distance especially when it looks as if it might be stormy along the river, always blackbirds, the odd solitary wren or blue tit scratching about in the balcony planters. I don't think I've seen a robin for a while.. In the gardens sometimes wagtails, along with squirrels, foxes and the occasional cat. Fish in the lake (I assume they're carp).
On the streets dogs being walked and police horses being exercised. I once saw a rat down in the car park by the bins.
Ellie. London, UK
On a daily basis, I almost only see dogs, many different breeds. A cat every now and then. There are plenty of seagulls, pigeons and sparrows.
I see cows, horses and sheep on my way to the beach in the summer. I have also met several elks in Nordmarka, but not on a weekly basis.
Eivind. Oslo, Norway
I see all kinds of animals in a week because we live in the country side.
we ourself have a cat it's a she and every morning at the time I get up for work she is already sitting outside on our terasse waiting for her meal.
Lin. Lauw (Tongeren), Belgium.
My cat, other cats, large and small dogs.
Kirsten. Oslo, Norway
There is a fox that sometimes at night cross the square down the street. In the square below is a construction site for a new Metro line. I like to think that the fox goes to play on the hills of sand on the construction site.
Gaia Cara. Brussels, Belgium.
Magpies and pigeons. Every now and then, a dog.
Ida. Halden, Norway
I see dogs as they are walked through the estate. I see squirrels daily as I walk through the gardens. Over the years I have seen foxes in the garden. I also regularly see the police horses.
Pauline. London, UK
Cats, dogs, hedgehogs, woodpeckers, all sorts of city birds; as I go out of the city at least one time/week, I also see pheasants, deer, cows, sheep.
Nicoleta. Bucharest, Romania.
Pet dogs. Feral squirrels (running along balcony road 5 storeys above ground) Birds.
Jane. London, UK
- My two cats
- Lots of pigeons
- Lots of squirrels
- Crows, sometimes robins and bluetits
- Sometimes a peregrine falcon
- Dogs
Eszter. London, UK
Birds mainly. Dogs being taken for walks by their owners. The odd feral fox.
Sandra. London, UK.
On a daily basis, I almost only see dogs, many different breeds. A cat every now and then. There are plenty of seagulls, pigeons and sparrows.
I see cows, horses and sheep on my way to the beach in the summer. I have also met several elks in Nordmarka, but not on a weekly basis.
Eivind. Oslo, Norway
I see many birds: sparrows, pigeons, ringdoves, blackbirds/ mockingbirds, scop owls, woodpeckers, seagulls, starlings, jays, swallows, ducks, swans, coots; dogs, cats, horses…
Rodica. Bucharest, Romania.
Almost everyday, we look out of our window, across the neighbouring blocks of flats, for a small white fluffy cat that we call “Biggles” - he/she likes to sun him/herself on the balcony. There is also a pair of ducks that ‘live’ on the estate – a male + a female. Sometimes (to be exact, I’ve only witnessed once) they make a trip to the local Waitrose. Last week, we also saw a heron (we think he/she was visiting the ducks). When we walk to Hackney farm, we see: geese, ducks, donkeys, goats and very FAT squirrels.
Ben & Charlotte. London, UK
Pigeons and dogs with owners.
Pop. Timisoara, Romania.