Monday 9th January 2012 Dramatic
Tuesday 10th January 2012 Undramatic
Piglets still growing, hens still popping out plenty of eggs, trees still waiting to be planted. Limited time on the farm due to work commitments. Got to earn money somehow and the smallholding still consumes considerably more than it earns, although monetary value isn't everything by any means. The pay packet will cover the new rotavator I plan to buy in the next couple of weeks.
Herd of Swans?
On the way home from work I often take a slight detour along the small road which runs through the back fields and crosses South Holland Main Drain.Last year a herd of swans wintered here. The familiar Mute Swans (same as the ones you might see on your local lake or river) were joined by northern wild swans, Whoopers and the occasional Bewick's. These elegant birds lounged and fed in the same fields every day, announcing their early morning arriving with honking and trumpeting and their wings whooshing them away at sunset. I guess they roosted with the wild swans at Welney WWT. http://www.wwt.org.uk/visit-us/welney
On one occasion they were joined by a Black Swan, an antipodean escape from someone's exotic collection.
This year there are 32 Mute Swans in the fields, though they have moved their favourite field to the other side of the river. Back in December they were joined one morning by 62 Whooper Swans (a sizeable flock in this country), presumably fresh in from their long migration - amazing to think that these birds migrate at 30000 feet. Unfortunately they quickly dispersed and I'm hoping for their return if the winter ever bites hard.
Another Owl Surprise
As I drove along the back road, a large bird flew up from the dyke into an isolated bush. I raised by binoculars to see, there not more than 20 feet away, a stunning Short-eared Owl staring straight at me. It then proceeded to hunt along the dyke, floating right next to the car. Towards the end of last Autumn there was a major influx of these owls into Britain over the North Sea from their Scandanavian breeding grounds. So it is that this winter has provided us birdy people with the best chance ever of encountering one of these masked hunters. This was my third one so far this winter, but I'll never tire of watching owls.
MEGA
On Tuesday night something happened which meant that all farm work was abandoned for Wednesday...
Piglets still growing, hens still popping out plenty of eggs, trees still waiting to be planted. Limited time on the farm due to work commitments. Got to earn money somehow and the smallholding still consumes considerably more than it earns, although monetary value isn't everything by any means. The pay packet will cover the new rotavator I plan to buy in the next couple of weeks.
Herd of Swans?
On the way home from work I often take a slight detour along the small road which runs through the back fields and crosses South Holland Main Drain.Last year a herd of swans wintered here. The familiar Mute Swans (same as the ones you might see on your local lake or river) were joined by northern wild swans, Whoopers and the occasional Bewick's. These elegant birds lounged and fed in the same fields every day, announcing their early morning arriving with honking and trumpeting and their wings whooshing them away at sunset. I guess they roosted with the wild swans at Welney WWT. http://www.wwt.org.uk/visit-us/welney
On one occasion they were joined by a Black Swan, an antipodean escape from someone's exotic collection.
This year there are 32 Mute Swans in the fields, though they have moved their favourite field to the other side of the river. Back in December they were joined one morning by 62 Whooper Swans (a sizeable flock in this country), presumably fresh in from their long migration - amazing to think that these birds migrate at 30000 feet. Unfortunately they quickly dispersed and I'm hoping for their return if the winter ever bites hard.
Another Owl Surprise
As I drove along the back road, a large bird flew up from the dyke into an isolated bush. I raised by binoculars to see, there not more than 20 feet away, a stunning Short-eared Owl staring straight at me. It then proceeded to hunt along the dyke, floating right next to the car. Towards the end of last Autumn there was a major influx of these owls into Britain over the North Sea from their Scandanavian breeding grounds. So it is that this winter has provided us birdy people with the best chance ever of encountering one of these masked hunters. This was my third one so far this winter, but I'll never tire of watching owls.
MEGA
On Tuesday night something happened which meant that all farm work was abandoned for Wednesday...
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