Blue Tit update.
Great news from the nestbox. Gina and Gino have finished building the nest and Gina has produced 8 eggs which she is now incubating. Gino is turning out to be a great partner and bringing her a supply of meal worms as she sits on the eggs.
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| Gina's eggs. |
The incubation period is 14 days which started on 21st April, so we expect to see the first chick hatching about the 5th May, with a further 21 days in the nest before fledging. So be sure to check the nestbox on http://birdwatch.ddns.net around this time.
I will post updates on Facebook from time to time.
The Bats are back.
Not only the flying kind, but those made of Willow too!
Two of the most endearing features of countryside living, is without doubt the wildlife and the local customs. Where would this country be without the village cricket team?
The first cricket bats are being raised in anger down at Stowting CC today as they take on Betteshanger in a friendly at home. They have a full Saturday and Sunday fixture list throughout the season, with some mid-week and T20 games thrown in for good measure.
The ground is as a picturesque village cricket ground as you will ever see in the country, and we are certainly looking forward to spending a lazy, sunny afternoon watching the cricket, with a beer or two.
The Flying kind.
The local bat population is also out of hibernation after a relatively mild hibernation over winter. We have recorded at least three different species flying around at dusk picking off the insects.
We use a heterodyne bat detector which translates their echo location sound into something audible for humans. Each species has their own frequency and the most common, the Pipistrelle is about 45Khz. Quite often there is a clash around this frequency with other species of bats going about their feeding. They detect their prey by using echo location through the air, and any which bounces back usually indicates something edible which they then home into. Contrary to popular belief, bats can see, quite well in fact, but when light fades the echolocation kicks in and is a valuable aid to food detection.
We will try and identify the other species of bat flying around by their echo location frequency.
Chickens
Martha, Pixie, Bunty and Sally are all doing very well down at the egg production hut, with an average of 3 eggs per day between the four of them. One is producing double yolks every time she lays, however, it's difficult to identify who it is, as they have already laid their eggs by the time we get there.
They are all developing their own individual characters, with Bunty at the top of the pecking order and first to the door every time we open it with food and drink. They have all become partial to a few meal worms as an evening treat.
Bella and cubs.
Those of you on Facebook will have seen Bella with her four cubs spending some time with a family bonding session. I'm aware that the videos do not run on all platforms, but if you're using a PC or Android this should work. (If it doesn't there's a still shot below).
This video was taken when the cubs were about 2/3 weeks old, and still not quite steady on their feet. It was the last video we got with the cubs and we think Bella has moved them to another part of the paddock. We will move the cameras around and try and find them. We still hear them at night so they are not far away.
Foxes
Johnny and Jenny are still active in the paddock but as yet no sign of any cubs on camera, which doesn't mean to say there aren't any. It may be some time before they venture out of the den with them. Watch this space!
Allotment
The
allotment is taking shape with Onions, Radishes, and other salad plants
growing well. We desperately need some rain to keep them on track.
The runner bean canes are going in next week, along with some more Sweet
Peas in Mia and Halle's little plot.
There will be a beehive situated not far from our plot, so pollenation shouldn't be a problem for anybody this year.
Mim and Motty
Due to a sad set of circumstances Mim and Motty are now with us permanently, after the passing of their owner who was also our landlord, Mike Marshall. Mike was a captain in the Gurkha regiment in WWII and one of the last surviving veterans who served in Burma, and gave a great deal for his country. He will be sadly missed no doubt by these two, and everyone who knew him.
As you can see the cats are settling in well.
