October 2016 - Part 3

As with all village life, one of the central aspects of it is the pub and Brabourne is no exception.  Just 200 metres down the road from the cottage is the Five Bells which takes its name from the original belfry in St. Mary's at the time when it had just five bells.

 

The pub is a gastro pub which does a mean menu, and is always good for a cup of tea and cake in the afternoon.  It's fair to say it's not really a local's pub any more and most of the trade are folk on an evening out. 

Locals tend to use the Black Horse, in nearby Monk's Horton which we have yet to sample!

Last Sunday we visited nearby Mersham Hatch, an old established country estate which now has a Deer Park which is open to the public.  There is a herd of Fallow Deer roaming the grounds, some of whom were taking it easy under the tree far away from the footpaths which criss-cross the park.

 

There is also a Heron Pond in the park but we appeared to take a wrong turning somewhere, so perhaps next time we'll get some pictures of that.  

Is it a dog or a badger? 

While we were walking through the park we came across this strange creature.  At first, we thought it was a badger in the distance, but as we got closer it didn't move.  It wasn't until we got right up close that we discovered it was the work of mother nature.  Take a look at the detail, it's incredible!

Nestboxes

All next seasons nest boxes are now up, with the exception of one Wren box and one owl box for Hooty, our resident Tawny Owl.

 

These boxes have been distributed around the paddock today. 

We have also had some very unusual activity in two of the Blue Tit boxes.  The one which faces north appears to have a new nest in it, entirely unheard of for this time of year.   You can just see the nesting hanging from the drainage holes at the base of the box.  Strangely though, we haven't seen any activity at the nest hole. 

However, earlier today I was looking to move one of the boxes from the front garden to make way for an owl box, and as I moved the box a Blue Tit flew out!  Quite what is going on nobody is sure.  Needless to say I've left it where it is, and I'll find a new position for the Owl box.

Hooty has been keeping us awake at night with his constant calling.  It's that time of year when he's looking for a partner, and once has found one he'll be looking for a love nest.  So now's the time to put the box up.  I have found a good spot which gives them clear access to the nest hole, and a nearby branch will support a night camera to monitor their visits.  Once it's all in place I will turn the camera on.  This is not Hooty, but it's a good lookalike.

Visitors to the garden.

Neville the Pheasant finally introduced us to one of his lady friends this week, who came round for a good feed and then settled down in the tree in the back garden.

 

Fortunately for her, her timing was impeccable as shortly after we had visit from Min, one of the cats who lives in the main house just down the lane. 

Min likes a bit of fuss, but is keen to let you know when she's had enough by nipping your hand. Bless!

The Robins are still feeding on demand; they seem to have their own clocks as within 30 seconds of the curtains going back in the morning, they are on the lid of feeder demanding it is taken off so they can get to the meal-worms.   The Wren has also learned that the meal-worms are a tasty meal, and now out of reach of the Magpie.

The Badgers and Foxes are still wandering around in the Paddock with plenty of new bedding material being scattered around outside their dens.  I have set up two cameras there hopefully to catch some more video.

I hope to get the Tawny Owl box up within the next week or so, I'll put some pictures up when I have.

More later....

October 2016 - Part 2

As the Autumn leaves continue to fall and the nights draw in, life in and around the village is preparing for the dark nights and colder weather.  The annual Harvest Supper took place last Friday and a great evening it was.  Everyone brought a dish of their own choice, and fortunately we didn't end up with 40 Pizzas and a lemon meringue pie between 75 people. The variety of dishes was amazing, and the company very entertaining.

As with most village communities most of the activities are centered around the church, and here is no exception.  St. Mary the Blessed Virgin was built in the 12th century and through the years has seen more than its fair share of changes.  It has an original oak staircase leading up to the belfry and one of the oldest stained glass windows of any church in the country. 

St. Mary the Blessed Virgin.  

The church boasts an enthusiastic and very competent team of bell ringers, who practice each Friday night and again before Sunday services.  It's an extremely pleasant experience to sit in the garden and listen to the peels. Who knows, we may even give it a go one day.  The picture below will give you some idea how close we are to the church.

Walking through the churchyard I came across an interesting headstone, that of Squadron Leader Kenyon Bowen-Bravery. As you can see from the picture he was the pilot of the first Lancaster bomber over the French coast on D-Day in 1944.  He was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross and also the Croix De Guerre. 

The Church and surrounding areas also played a large part in the Napoleonic wars where one of the neighboring fields was set up as a field hospital, and is still known to this day as Hospital Field.  

Bird Update

A week or so back we spotted a Goldfinch coming to investigate the feeder outside the conservatory window.  We're pleased to say he's returned and brought his partner with him and they have been spending the mornings contenting themselves with Niger seed. 

We're also hearing a Woodpecker in the paddock but have not had a good sighting of him yet.

We've taken possession of the new allotment, and it looks as if we have our work cut out over the next few weeks in getting it organized, but the weather has been kind to us for the last week or so and we managed to start getting to grips with the long grass with the aid of a petrol strimmer and mower.

We've also been told that there is ample wildlife roaming around the site, and we have seen plenty of evidence of Moles, Badgers and Foxes so far. If they want to join in the digging they are more than welcome. 

Wildlife Update

We've seen plenty of activity from Bella the Badger scurrying through the hedgerow into the neighboring farmer's fields. (Check out the video on Facebook).  You can see from the edge of the field the run she has made to get to the other side, so we assume that food and drink as more plentiful in that direction.   Johnny the Fox and his partner are still evident in the paddock and making sure we are aware of this at 4am in the morning. Bless!

Neville the Pheasant introduced us to one of his harem late last week, and we just caught sight of her scurrying down the lane towards the paddock.  He's now regularly in the garden after polishing off some of the Robin's meal worms recently.

P.S. Unfortunately the video page doesn't work on all platforms, so I'll post the videos on Facebook each time I update the blog.  

More later..... 

 

October 2016

Thursday 6th October.

The nights are now drawing in and the weather is turning a little colder, which is becoming noticeable by the visits to the bird feeding stations we have in the garden. The Robins are regular visitors now that we have introduced 'free' meal worms. They have reached the stage now where 'on demand feeding' is the norm. Unfortunately the ground feeding station we were using for them has been hijacked by the Magpie and Neville the Pheasant, so I decided to introduce a new station for them.
 
  Rather than buy a fancy bird table from the stores, I have used a discarded tree branch I found laying about in the paddock, as I thought that would be a bit more in keeping with the garden.  I trimmed it up and left a little landing stage so the Robin could perch there before tucking in, as you can see.

This should solve the problem of Neville and the Magpie clearing the bowl each time.  That's what I thought anyway, have a look at this picture.

The Magpie is somewhat cautious coming into the garden, so I reckon he won't be taking too much from the Robins, but  Neville will have to forage under the seed feeders a bit more for his meals.

Hooty the Tawny Owl has been very active over the past week or so, emerging at dusk and calling out through the trees.  His silent flight is a joy to watch as he goes from tree to tree.  The leaves are falling rapidly now so we're getting a better view of him each evening. 

His calls are being answered by a Barn Owl, which we think, lives in the Cattle Shed just behind the cottage.  He'll be getting some company soon when the farmer brings the cows in for the winter.  Hooty usually returns early, just before Charlie the Cockerel greets the new day at sunrise.

Bird update.

One new species so far this week, a Goldfinch.  We have had the Niger seed feeder in place for a few weeks, but no takers so far.  The Goldfinch arrived early this morning and eyed up the feeder.  He will be back I'm sure now that it's getting colder.  

Badgers and Foxes.

The Badgers are still active in the sett at the end of the paddock, as are Johnny the Fox and his pal. We're not sure if this is Johnny's Vixen or another dog fox.  I caught these shots on video last week, and as you can clearly see the foxes tails are significantly different.  Both were captured on film within an hour, so whether they share the territory or it was near chance encounter we're yet to find out. 

 

    
 

Bella the Badger has been very active around the paddock, and even venturing up the lane towards the cottage.  Check the video page for the latest film, where we filmed her coming through one of the animal runs from the paddock into the farmers field next door. I am pleased to say everybody is very tolerant of the Badgers and Foxes here.

We found another Badger Sett across the field just off of the public footpath with evidence nearby of both badgers and foxes.   Here's a somewhat startled Badger who has realized a camera has suddenly appeared by the tree.  

I'm running out of names for all these creatures, so I may be asking for suggestions.

Their sense of smell and apprehension to danger is remarkable, and they have all spotted the cameras so far, and no doubt any scent which I left behind.

Other stuff.

We've signed up for an allotment which is handily situated behind The Plough pub in the village and have chosen our allocated space.  The pub, I have to point out is a Shepherd Neame pub, and the allotment site is owned by the brewery and leased to the local council.  Perhaps we should try growing some hops!

So, looking forward to some homegrown vegetables in due course, that's providing the Badgers don't get there first.

More later...