06.06.17
I’ve been bad at keeping up to date with this blog, partly because I don’t want to repeat what I’ve written for the past few years. When you’re logging wildlife and its wonderful happenings things can become somewhat repetitive – in a good way that is. So, at the risk of boring you (and, really, who could be bored with wildlife?!), I’ll give you a little update…
The swifts and swallows are back, not in huge numbers but they’re here. We’re a bit mystified by the house martins who appear regularly in the yard but have not nested yet – it seems highly unlikely that they will now. Steve is thinking of amending the arrangement he put up to encourage them to nest (as detailed on page 11 of the latest RSPB Nature’s Home magazine). Fingers crossed we get them back – I miss their reassuring, gossipy chatter. There are dozens of baby tree sparrows twittering about, flapping greedily at their harassed parents, and just now a juvenile yellowhammer appeared outside the kitchen window. We spotted a pied flycatcher in the trees at the top of the drive and are really hoping it’s nesting up there.
In our field we have a mass of yellow rattle and buttercups with some welcome newcomers peeping through the lovely long grasses. I’ve spotted stitchwort, campion, wild marjoram, alkanet, knapweed, viper’s bugloss and birds foot trefoil amongst other beauties. Now I have to be patient and see what else appears through the Summer. The veg plot is starting to look quite interesting too and the pond is teeming with tadpoles, whirligigs and the occasional damsel fly. The bees have gone away to be re-queened, having become a little too feisty for our liking. They’ll be back when they’ve learned to behave better!
Two deer have just trotted elegantly through the long grass in the farmer’s field. I also watched a pair of hares earlier on and Steve has been seeing the barn owl on the cameras fairly regularly again – these are repetitions I’d be happy to see endlessly and I hope you’ll allow me to share my sightings.
Finally, Steve has just said that when he left early this morning for work he carefully followed a beautiful little leveret down the lane until it ran off through a gateway – a stunning shade of gingery red.
