Hi Everyone,
The big news this month has been the sighting of a pair of red kites at Hembury Fort. Brian and Janice tell me that the pair stayed overnight, and for a while hovered over their chicken run, causing some consternation. About a hundred years ago, red kites were almost extinct in Britain, but these days they have made a great recovery in several counties, partly due to re-introduction programmes. We don’t see many of them in the South-West, so lets hope this is the start of them colonising Devon and Cornwall.
Biddie tells me she has a pair of collared doves nesting in the eaves of her house. She has also got young great spotted woodpeckers in her garden. Yesterday, there were two chaffinches, two collared doves and a hen pheasant all drinking from the bird bath, at the same time.
There don’t seem to be a great number of swallows and martins about Payhembury yet. However, if you want to see a lot of house martins, go to Broadhembury village, where they are nesting in the eaves of the thatched roofed houses. You might also see dippers and grey wagtails in the river there.
Jon tells me that a heron comes every day to the river Tale down at Tuckmill. I must keep my eyes skinned next time I’m down there.
Alan Jones (841671)