I think we may be approaching some state of readiness for the coming cold and damp. Actually it’s pretty cool and wet this morning but clearly only the very first hint of autumn is upon us so far. Our readiness amounts to having the cattle shed clear, grass cutting pretty much done, hay and straw safely in […]
Whilst making a hurdle in the barn yesterday, I became aware of the wonderful screeching of swifts; a sound I’ve been waiting to hear for a fortnight or so and probably missing since their disappearance last August. Sticking my head into the brilliant sunshine and looking straight up, there, at around 100 feet, were a gang of thirty swirling, […]
Through September I was watching out for swallows, Hirundo rustica, passing through, on their way south. Most seem to be going north but I suppose that must be my imagination. The summer brought lots of swifts, Apus apus, as usual, but we seemed to be poorly supplied with swallows and House martins, Delichon urbicum, something that is a bit worrying […]