April - Part 2

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.

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.

More next time...

February 2017 - Part 3

Spring is sprung, the grass is riz

 

I wonder where the winter is?

This has to be one of the best times of year with the Snowdrops, Crocuses and Daffodils coming into bloom.  We are fortunate enough to have an abundance of all of these scattered around the cottage and gardens.  The good work of previous occupants has paid off handsomely.

The air temperature is getting slightly warmer and it's time now for a wake up call for some of our hibernating species.

While we were at the allotment recently, in my rush to tidy up some debris I unearthed the rare sight of two juvenile grass snakes who had been sheltering up over the winter beneath some rotting wood.  Needless to say I covered them over again and let them continue their sleep. They were still there at the end of the cold snap, but now the weather is a little brighter they have moved on.  Hopefully we'll come across them again some time. (Note: Take a camera next time!)

Toad Patrol

Just about 2 miles from the cottage is the main pond, which sits just outside of Brabourne Lees, and every year about now it is a Mecca for breeding toads.  As this was something we never witnessed in London, we signed up  to assist the migratory toads in getting across the roads to the pond.  Now, the roads here are not particularly busy, however, the amount of toads and frogs trying to get across is quite extraordinary and invariably there are many casualties.  But, with the assistance of the good folk of the town in recent years the numbers have increased with the aid of the 'Toad Patrol'.

Toads usually return to their traditional breeding grounds, and tend to make the arduous journey in late February/early March when the temperature is above 5 degrees and preferably it's raining and the ground is wet.  There are several routes to the pond in Brabourne, and it requires some organization to get round to each crossing, and that's where the bikes come in handy.

Unfortunately, most motorists will have no idea of what's happening so it's really a question of just asking them to stop for while the road is cleared enough for them to continue.  You have to bear in mind that the Toads have other things on their minds while they are crossing these roads.

We will take a head count of all the males and females we encounter that make it successfully as well as those who don't.

Hedgehogs

We have not seen any evidence so far of any Hedgehogs, however, it may well be that they are still asleep.  We previously spoke to our neighbour Hester, who thinks there may be one or two asleep under her compost heap, so we have put a camera nearby for a week, to see if anybody stirs.  If they do, we'll put a footprint trap down.  

Watch this space. 

The Fight!

Last week was National Nest Box week, a time to put up the nest boxes and offer them for inspection from any interested parties.  We've had ours up for a few weeks already so that we can test the cameras and lighting inside, and all is going well.  This year I also positioned a camera on the entrance hole at the front so that it is covered from three aspects, inside top, inside side and outside entrance.

While we have had a few interested parties, two birds in particular came to blows over future ownership of this nest box.  This is what happened.  I have slowed some of the motion down so that you can see a bit more detail.

 

I'm pleased to say neither bird was hurt in this altercation, only a bit of wounded pride.

The Blue Tits have been visiting regularly and we hope that in the next three or four weeks when the weather gets a bit warmer, they will start constructing the nest.  The female will probably do most of the gathering of materials which will include, moss, feathers and dry grass and we've even saved some of the cat's fur from their brush which will make excellent bedding for the eggs, and the male will provide her with food.

Fledging is usually the last week in May dependant on the weather.  Once the building starts I'll turn all three cameras on and provide a link.

Badgers and Foxes

It has been relatively quiet from both the Badgers and Foxes lately.  The cameras reveal that they are all still active, but we are now in breeding season and so I wonder if that's what keeping them in a little more.  Hopefully we'll know soon enough. 

New arrivals

We're getting ready for the arrival on Tuesday 28th of Martha, Pixie, Bunty and Sally.  Now that the Avian Flu ban is lifted the hens will be ready for collection this week.

More about them next time... 

 

February 2017

Well! Where did January go?

It's been a cold, frosty and foggy time down here in Kent, with the fog rolling off the fields next door early in the morning, being replaced mostly by rain.  The early part of January gave us some snow and kept the birds huddled around the feeding stations, not to mention our two house guests, Mim and Motty, who secured a bed for pretty well most nights.  I suppose it's not surprising seeing as both of them are into their old age and taking any scrap of comfort where they can find it.

Foxes

We have been successful in identifying who's who in the adult fox world.  I won't go into detail but by a bit of detective work on the videos we have now established for sure which one is Jenny and which one is Johnny.  

If you look closely at Johnny's tail you will see that's it's a lot shorter than Jenny's.  Whether he's had some sort of accident or not we're not sure, but it's considerably shorter than Jenny's which has a white tip at the end of it.  Identifying them both and their movements will be easier.

Both are in excellent condition at the moment which serves them well as we're now into breeding season.  We've witnessed lots of barking from Jenny while she has been in the paddock during the day, which is a sign that she's calling for attention from other dog foxes.  Johnny will have to make sure he's in peak condition if other males are around. 

New Arrivals.

The hen house is secured and in place in the field next door.  Pauline, our neighbor has let us use part of her poultry field. As you can see from the picture we've gone to great lengths to secure the house, making sure that nobody can dig underneath the house, or jump on top of it.  We've used welded mesh around the perimeter of the house, as the fox or badger will always dig as close as it can to get in.  We also added an extra run at the end to give the hens more room to move about.

The hens are due to arrive on February 28th when the current ban on poultry movement is lifted, so we're hoping that there are no more outbreaks of Avian flu to push that date back.   The hens are Bovans Neras, a docile breed which lay dark brown eggs.

Hedgehogs.   

We haven't seen any Hedgehogs in the vicinity which is probably due to the Badgers and Foxes being in residence, however, one of our neighbors, Hester, has seen them in her fields and we think there are some hibernating in an old pile of leaves she has near her compost heap.

It's that time of year now when the Hedgehogs might just be waking up to top up their fat reserves, and so we've put a 'footprint trap' near to where they are nesting, in the hope that we can capture them either on camera, or their footprints when they feed.

This is a standard footprint trap for small mammals which we'll be using. It's made out of corrugated plastic, with two sheets of A4 paper at either end, some food in the middle as bait, and some inked masking tape which the animals walk through.  The ink is eco friendly, a mixture of charcoal powder and vegetable oil and will not harm the animals.  We'll be borrowing some of Mim and Motty's chicken flavoured cat food for the bait, as apparently the Hedgehogs are partial to that.

The plan is, the animals will walk through the tunnel, across the inked tape and take the food. Which ever way they leave, we should get some prints. We'll put this down in an appropriate place and leave a camera at one end and see who visits.  Watch this space.

Owls.

Some of you may have seen the video on Facebook of the Tawny Owl near the nest box.  It wasn't a good quality video so I won't load it here, but suffice to say Hooty was in the vicinity of the nest box early one morning this week, and hopefully she's spotted it with a view to using it.  I'll keep the camera on it for a few more weeks.

The Pond.

The pond is now complete with some oxygenating plants, and hessian around the sides to assist anything that falls in unexpectedly, to climb out.  There is also a ramp and a bird bath in the middle.  The roofing tiles to the left allow the frogs and toads to crawl underneath for shelter.  There has been no activity so far around the pond and it's only slightly frozen over once so far.

Badgers.

Bella and her family are still very active and keeping their sett(s) clean and tidy. 

I've done some research on the structure of the Badgers' setts and it could well be that the underground tunnel system is spread over the whole of the paddock which is little under an acre in size.  Here's a picture of the area and who is sleeping where, but for obvious reasons I won't say exactly where it is.

1 and 2 are the Foxes dens, while 3,4 and 5 are the Badgers' setts.  It appears that there is a maze of connecting tunnels between all five entrance sites as we've seen both species using the same entrances at different times. Entrance 1 seems to be the central point.  It doesn't look that 4 and 5 are linked, but there is a link between  1 and 4, and 2 and 3.  It's mainly here at entrances 2 and 3 where the Badgers and Foxes bump into each other.

So far there is no evidence of any squabbling, as it seems to be the badgers who are getting their own way especially when it comes to housing. There are probably enough resources to go round for both sets of families, but spring should be interesting if we see more cubs arriving.

More later with hopefully an update on the Hedgehogs......

January 2017

Allotment.

 

Quite unexpectedly, we managed to put in half day's work on the allotment in the second week of January. The weather was beautiful so we decided to go there to plant the spring bulbs and generally tidy the area up.

The local donkey sanctuary is very generous in supplying the allotment with manure from their stables, and fortunately a delivery had taken place. So after we had finished preparing the flower bed and planting the bulbs, we gave the bean trough a digging over and dug in a healthy supply of compost. Hopefully over the next month or two this will rot down and create a fertile bed for the runner beans this year.

We have several other vegetable beds on the allotment, and these will be prepared over the coming months, along with the grassed area for sitting and enjoying the magnificent views. We also have some resident moles who through their digging activity provide a good supply of top soil.

The allotment

Bird-boxes.

Charlie the Blue Tit, is still visiting the nest box for an overnight roost, however, as it turned a little warmer overnight he didn't visit as often. When it finally snowed he was back in the box keeping himself snug and warm.

No takers for the Owl box so far, and I think it may be too late for the next breeding season. We will give it another couple of weeks and then do some more research as to whether it's in the right position.

The snow did arrive on Thursday 12th January, and we got our first experience of being a little cut off. The roads around here do not see the gritter lorries, so most of Thursday and Friday meant it was too treacherous to take the car out. We did manage to walk across the footpaths and fields to the shops about 2 miles away.

Snow time is also very good for giving away the animal tracks, and there were plenty of badger and fox tracks to be found in and around the paddock. Fortunately, the dens and setts are positioned well beneath the trees and are comfortable and warm away from the weather.

The Paddock

The Street

Frog and Toad abode.

The amphibian area is taking shape nicely. We dug out all the muck and gave it a clean up, and put some stones and rocks in the old bath, and filled it with rain water. We've purposely put a ramp covered with some Hessian to the edge of the tub so that anything which goes in can get back out again. We plan to put some oxygenating plants and a few small lilies to decorate the pond. We're hoping that the wildlife will come across this naturally rather then transport any frog spawn, newts or dragonflies.

Frog and Toad abode.

Live Cameras.

We've got four cameras working at the moment, two in the nest box, one monitoring the owl box and one monitoring the bird feeder. I will try and leave the bird feeder camera running, but the others will be turned on and off depending on what's happening.

To view them go to:

http://birdwatch.ddns.net

You may have to make some adjustment to the Java settings on your device, just follow the instructions on the screen.

Viewing instructions for cameras.

New Arrivals in February.

At the end of February we are taking charge of four hens. The chicken house has arrived and is now in the field next door at Parsonage Farm. We've added another extension run to it so that the hens have plenty of space to stretch their wings and move about. We've also secured the surrounding area outside the house and run with 18inches of chicken wire on the ground to stop the foxes or badgers digging their way in.

The hens are Bovans Neras, which are extremely docile and produce a nice dark brown egg. Between four of them, once they are settled, we expect about 21-24 eggs per week. This will more than enough for us, even after paying the farmer some rent with half a dozen or so.

Bovans Nera

Chicken House

Housing crisis in the paddock.

We mentioned last time that there was a lot of activity around the Badger's sett and the Foxes dens.

We got some interesting video footage over the Christmas period which seems to suggest that there is some 'sharing' of housing taking place.

Have look at this video which is self explanatory and see for yourself. I think the term 'home of multiple occupancy' is quite relevant.

That's all for now, we'll bring you any updates in the next couple of weeks or so, especially if Jenny the fox is expecting pups.

N.B. Unfortunately we have found that the videos do not run on some Ipad's due to the nature of the software.  We are only able to produce the videos that work on PC's and Android devices.

December 2016 - Part 2

We have seen some of the first frosts of winter here in Brabourne which has completely changed the landscape, along with the early morning fog it has made for some glorious sunrises over the fields of frost. For the first time, the birds water bowl has frozen over, winter is well and truly here.

The bird stations are still very busy, especially the fat-balls where the birds are stocking up their reserves for the cold weather. There have been no new visitors to the stations, so far over the last couple of weeks, in fact the only new comer has been a Mistle Thrush visiting outside one of the Badger setts.

The '2017 Birdwatch' nestbox is now up and tested, and all seems be working well. In fact, it already has the seal of approval from one of the resident Blue Tits, who has been spending some time in there roosting overnight. We've called him Charlie and here's a little glimpse of him in the box.

He usually arrives just before sunset around 4.15pm and stays until about 6.15am the next morning. It's still dark when he leaves, so we're hoping he doesn't bump into Hooty, the Tawny Owl who is usually just on his way back from a night's foraging about this time. So far their paths haven't crossed.

I mentioned in the my last posting that Johnny the Fox has moved his den into the middle of the Paddock, and that Bella had moved into the lane next to the cottage. Well, I have to say I'm not quite sure of what's happening here.

The Paddock is just under one acre in size which will not really cope with two resident foxes in the same territory. Have a look at this video we filmed at Johnny's original den at the end of the paddock.

It quite clearly shows a dog and vixen fox entering the den. So who is occupying the den in the middle of the paddock? Unless I can come up with some way of identifying the individuals it would appear that they have two dens on the go, which are about 25 metres apart.

Bella the badger on the other hand is extending her territory. Badgers usually live in family structures of about six individuals, so it's really no surprise that their territory is spread across the paddock. Here's a video of one of them surfacing from a fresh sett in the lane, which is about 75 metres from the original sett. 

This badger appears quite nervous and is very wary when leaving the sett. The field opposite is a gathering place for the fox family, and other members of the badger sett. This sett could be linked to the other one via underground tunnels, as the badgers are very good diggers, thanks to their powerful front claws.

Meanwhile, back to Johnny and his partner, we're going to call her Jenny. It's that time of year for foxes, so we will keep an eye, and a camera on the den in the hope that we see some cubs in the fullness of time. It's usually about February/March if she is to produce any. It could be anything from 2 to 12 pups!

2017 Projects.

As the foliage disappeared from the garden, we discovered this buried in between the boundary of the two cottages. We had wondered where the toads were coming from and this appears to be the answer.

We intend to give this area a good tidy up and provide what we call ' A frog and toad abode', I think the name has some cockney connotation in it somewhere. We'll get some stones and pond plants in the old bath once it's had a good clean out, and provide some shelter for the frogs and toads, and try and encourage the amphibious wildlife into the area.

There are always plenty of Damsel flies hovering about in the summer, so perhaps this will be a good place for them to lay their eggs next year. 

We'll provide a ledge and safe ramp where the birds and other wildlife can get in for a drink or a bath, and so that they can get out safely too.

More later...

Happy New Year.

December

November has come and gone and the frosts are well and truly upon us now which has caused an upsurge in the visits to the bird stations round the garden.  We invested in a new one at the Village Christmas Fayre last week and this has gone down very well, especially with the squirrel.  It's situated right outside the kitchen window attached to the shed so it's very easy for him to leap onto it. 

In November we saw the SuperMoon when the moon was at its nearest to the Earth which produced some spectacular pictures.  It also made for very bright nights for a while, which makes stargazing a little difficult.  There is little or no light pollution down this way, so stargazing is quite easy providing there is no cloud.  

 

Venus was also very distinctive over the past week or so, and was easy to pick out early in the evening, showing just below the early evening moon.

We left a camera down by the badger sett in the paddock and this time attached it to a tree which gave us a downward view of all the activity which went on for nearly 48 hours.  It was really interesting to see the different mammals and birds which frequented the area at different times.   Bella the badger must have a problem sleeping sometimes with all the comings and goings on her doorstep. 

It is looking as if either Bella, or another badger has made another sett in the paddock, this time it's more in the open and there is plenty of evidence of the long grass being torn up for bedding, and a distinctive trail to the entrance to the sett.  As it's in quite close proximity to the other sett, I suspect Bella may have moved into her winter residence. I have left a camera down there to see what's going on.

Update on above....

It's Johnny the Fox who has moved home.  He appears to have abandoned the old Badger sett at the bottom of the paddock, and moved house across the way, which is a bit nearer the cottage.  You can just see him here.

 

 

We discovered another home down the lane on the farmer's land this week.  This might just be a new home for Bella as it has all the trappings of a Badger sett, with plenty of dried bedding being thrown out to make way for clean, dry bedding.

We've left a camera there for a few days and we'll see who emerges.

The feeding stations just outside the kitchen window are proving very popular, and have to be filled twice a day.  Most of the smaller birds can cope with the feeders, however, the larger birds are mopping up the spillage down below, so not much is going to waste.

Here's a couple of female pheasants enjoying breakfast this morning. (Taken through the kitchen window).

We've had some pretty spectacular sunrises and sunsets over the fields in the past couple of weeks, and hopefully that will continue throughout December.  Here's a couple of pictures we took last week.

 

That's all for this year.  So, Merry Christmas everyone, and we'll be back with more in January.