Storm Henk wreaked damage dumping massive amounts of rain on already swamped ground and bringing down a Payhembury landmark. We have lost the dead tree which was in our bog garden. It was there before we moved in over 8 years ago and we have no idea what species it was. Many people have asked over the years why I did not simply cut it down but I loved that tree. It was a perch for owls and woodpeckers but has now been sawn up and left to rot further to become home to many more beetles.
New additions to the parish database of flora and fauna …
[Read more...]
Paul’s Nature Notes December 2023 to January 2024
Paul’s nature notes November-December 2023
Andrew & Cherry at Mousehole were told recently of a sighting of a Harris Hawk near Spence's Cross, doubtless an escapee. It reminded me of a wonderful hawking experience day the family arranged for my 65th birthday at Leeds Castle in Kent where I enjoyed hunting with one in the afternoon. What a great experience that was!
They also told me that their holly berries have now been almost stripped bare by flocks of blackbirds and fieldfares which have now turned their attention to the apples. Then they had the joy of watching a stoat …
[Read more...]
Paul’s Nature Notes October-November 2023
It’s that time of the year again when buzzards gather together in the fields. They seem to choose a different field every year. Last year it was one adjoining the back lane to Upton, the year before that they were over at Colestocks and this year they are in the field leading along the lane to the pig farms.
I have enjoyed photographing them mixed in amongst all those herring gulls and pigeons. Silhouetted along the edge of the ridge they appear huge and once again there is a very white individual amongst them. At first glance it is very easy …
[Read more...]
Yellingham Farm – November
You are not going to believe this……. yet again a need to involve my non-country guests to help on the farm and sort out some very boisterous bullocks. The term bullocks” made the ladies blush. No girls, not what you think.
My beautiful cow, named Princess was due to calve – her 4th calf and never before had she caused me any problems. Due date was 15th of the month, and she was a couple of days overdue, so I was not nervous, but just a little tense. I was up my polytunnel at 6pm as usual watering, enjoying picking Alpine strawberries …
[Read more...]
Paul’s Nature Notes September-October 2023
It is certainly a time of change with daffodil shoots pushing through on 9 October and - goodness me - there really have been a lot of hornets around this autumn and from all corners of the parish! Most reports tell us that they are over an inch long and suggest that despite appearances they are rarely aggressive, unlike the common wasp. Note the word rarely, because in my experience entering the garden after dark wearing a head torch is likely to induce some really unnerving behaviour – certainly enough to make me turn tail and run and even …
[Read more...]
Yellingham Farm – October 2023
I opened the e-mail and immediately thought this is a scam:
“Dear Mr and Mrs East, we are delighted to announce that you have been awarded the prestigious VisitEngland Rose Award in Recognition Of Service Excellence”. Just to check that my intuition was correct, I speedily e mailed the VisitEngland Assessor who carried out our annual Assessment earlier in the Year. At the back of my mind was also the thought that for most Tourism Awards, you have to enter yourself and go through a rigorous process competing with amazing hospitality …
[Read more...]
Yellingham Farm – September 2023
“The grass is always Greener on the other side”. Whoever wrote that must have had my Black Welsh Mountain sheep in mind. The phrase dates back to the Greek poet Ovid, who lived in the first century B.C. The original saying was, “The harvest is always richer in another man's field.” Whichever phrase you choose, my Black sheep know the meaning and act on it.
So, last week a very kind gentleman pulled up outside the farm gate and alerted us to the fact that a Black sheep was on the lane heading towards Crowders Cross… given I don’t know of any …
[Read more...]
Paul’s Nature Notes July-August 2023
We have suffered two setbacks this year. Our house martins did not reappear this year and my earlier account triggered similar reports from several friends. This has set me wondering if there was a problem in the wintering quarters or along the migration route. I do know that this species, as with so many others, is in decline.
All, however, is not lost, as non-breeding birds were seen building nests in preparation for next year. They had a hard time of it though as there was not much wet mud around at the time, but a seepage from adjoining …
[Read more...]
Paul’s Nature Notes May-June 2023
There are times when I despair of our politicians. Years ago Boris, when mayor of London, wanted to build an airport in the Thames estuary, an area of international importance for over-wintering wildfowl and more recently I read the disparaging comments from a Cornish MP about “the Attenborough effect” – clearly he is not a fan. Now it has been suggested that the Environment Secretary may be blaming wild birds for the poor water quality in a Suffolk creek. Local people want to swim in an area that dries out to mudflats at low tide and where …
[Read more...]
Paul’s Nature Notes March-April 2023
For those of us interested in wildlife and the environment these are depressing times. There are worrying declines in so many once common species. It is happening right around the world but the UK’s track record is not a good one and I suspect little will change unless there is the political will to do so. On the other hand it is easy to overlook some heart-warming developments.
Beavers became extinct in the 16c but recent re-introduction programmes have seen them re-establishing in parts of Devon. I saw them on the River Otter pre-covid and …
[Read more...]