Wild Wanderings
Diary Entry 26 July 2018
My first entry for a couple of weeks. The heatwave continues and is probably heading to be the longest on record and maybe the hottest. We’ve seen temperatures hit the low 30’sC for the last seven days.
Yesterday it was a lot cooler in the morning than it has been in a week or so at 23C, so I decided to have a walk and generally get about to see how things were coping.
The Paddock is parched and looks a bit like a desert scene with the long grass islands I have created reminding me of sand dunes. The young trees Holly and Mountain Ash are beginning to struggle so I’m watering them with a Watering Can of water each day, but I think I will lose a couple.
The Apple and fruit trees seem to be doing OK though and the Apples are being eaten by the Parakeets who are also ravaging the young Damsons. The Buddleia are also Ok and are bringing in the Butterflies which have made a dramatic comeback over the last week or so. I counted fifty individuals yesterday. Small Torts, Peacocks, Comma, Gatekeeper, Speckled Wood, Small Skipper. Red Admiral Large and Small Whites and two enigmatic Painted Ladies. So, I am very happy about that.
I sat for an hour or so in the Paddock yesterday and the only birds to visit were mainly young ones a couple of Robins and a few Great Tits. The Blackbirds are still scuttling in and out of the hedgerows and the Pheasant wanders in about the same time every morning for his seeds but is starting to look a bit worse for wear.
I have not been to the river for about a week, so the time was right for a stroll. The Wheat fields are looking bleached white with the sun and the crop has been stunted in its growth by the heat. The track is very dusty, and my feet crunch along in the rough gravel so giving my presence away to all and sundry. On approaching the first field gate I slow my pace a little and try to walk on the grassy verge as I know Hares are sometimes feeding in the field and sure enough there they were. There was three of them all youngsters. They seemed to be unaware of me, so I froze where I was and slowly raised the camera. One Hare seemed to do a bit of show boating and galloped across my line of vision starting and stopping backwards and forwards. I got a few snaps but could not get as close as I would have liked as the gate was a big obstacle and to climb over would certainly have given the game away. I always like watching Hares they are such dignified creatures. They eventually moved away into the distance. But I was satisfied I hadn’t startled them in anyway which is always a good thing for future encounters.
The grass fields are looking odd with Thistles and Ragwort forming islands with the parched yellow grass. Thistle seed are forming great fluffy collections like pillows of feathers.
On the river there was a flock of approx. 30 Greylags who as usual took off on my arrival. The Quarry has been pumping water into the river for the last week or so and the water level is the lowest I can remember. Apart from a couple of Cormorant it was devoid of any birdlife.
The walk back was uneventful apart from coming across two Pea-hens sitting under a hedge in the shade. I would guess they were the partners of the Pea-cock who visited a couple of weeks ago. They are from a local estate and have obviously got the urge to roam. I understand they can be wanderers and I don’t mind seeing them in all their exotic splendour. Maybe they will decide to stay?
'Till Tomorrow
