Wildlife Diary

On the 2nd the Swallows were on 3 eggs in the Top Field Shelter, the female was incubating. Broad Bodied Chasers (m & f) mating at the Swallow Pond. 20 Swallows were hawking over David’s Oak with 2 House Martins. A male Kestrel was hunting over the crop. 3...

A Moth trap on the 1st caught 32 individuals, 15 species, including a Fox Moth that laid eggs in the trap and a Black Burying Beetle. All the Moths were released after identification; Fox Moth, Great Prominent, Hebrew Character,Brindled Beauty, Muslin, Treble...

On a Dawn Chorus Walk on the 1st April our 7 visitors saw Blackbird, Mandarin Duck, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Tawny Owl (before most people arrived), Herring Gull,Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Linnet, Goldcrest, Nuthatch, Jay, Red Kite and Buzzard. They also heard Great...

March arrived with beautiful blue skies and sunshine. However cold and frosty nights meant that shady areas stayed frozen until lunchtime.  Primroses and Celandines were enjoying the sun in North Park and the Daffodils in the Orchard had begun flowering. A Sparrowhawk...

More Bluebell leaves were appearing in Corner Wood on the 1st and 2nd. The Snowdrops around some of the Apple trees at the top of Forde Orchard were blooming. The cattle were due to be removed on the 3rd however, we recorded another first for the LLP when Harry, on...

The year began with a mean temperature of 7.8°C and rain. The 2nd was dry with a beautiful sunny morning and frost in the shade, the mean temperature dropped to 2.8°C. Song Thrush, Robin, Dunnock and Great Tits were loud in song. Nuthatch calling near Field Shelter in...

On the 2nd December Josh and Harry started work on repairing the stream bed between the two ponds. They worked on it for three days and by the end of the week the stream was flowing beautifully, long may it continue.  On the 3rd we had a dry day with unusually, a blue...

  The start of the month was mild, cloudy and overcast. The goats escaped from the Main Field and were collected from a neighbour on the 2nd, they were shut in Kiln Close whilst we tried to discover how they got out. There was a Barn Owl in the Kestrel provision...

  A pair of very steady Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) appeared on the Flo Pond on the 1st and were around for much of the day. Parasol mushrooms (Macrolepiota procera) emerged in the grass on the edge of the long path during the first week of the month. Heavy...