Recent sightings

No photos unfortunately but I have now definitely seen a Red Kite overhead. There has been one about 2 miles South West for a couple of years but now one has been circling here. I thought I saw one a couple of times but couldn't get the binos on it to confirm, then last week some builders working at the top of the street got some video of one and then two days ago I saw one just outside the village at closer quarters. I also had a close encounter with a Weasel yesterday, right be the new dry stone wall that I thought might be attractive to them. I heard a rustle and saw some movement in a small nettle patch by the wall and kept still. A few seconds later this head popped out of the nettles and eyed me up from about six feet away. After a little while it dived back into the undergrowth.

New Species - Roe Deer

A female deer caught my eye the other day as it didn't look quite right for the usual Fallow Deer we see on site. I wasn't sure as the Fallow Deer do vary a lot in colouration but close examination of the photos shows that it was indeed a new species - the Roe Deer. In particular the rear shot shows the distinctive all white rump and tiny white tail. This is the front view shot.

New Species - Marmalade Fly (Episyrphus balteatus)

I am reasonably confident of this ID although the lack of eyes and antennae made it a a little more difficult. I found it in the house in a state of decay but the markings of this particular hoverfly are distinctive according to my excellent Hoverfly Guide (Ball and Morris). The photo is about 25x magnification. The wings were less than 1cm long.

New habitat - dry stone wall

There are plenty of dry stone walls around the place or rather there is a mixture of ex-dry stone walls and some garden stone walls. We have seen wildlife using the walls, notably bank voles and their predators weasels, but nothing recently. However we have started the process of restoring some of these long-gone field barriers by getting an expert to build a short section of proper dry stone wall where there are remnants of a previous wall. It's looking good so far and I'll commission a longer adjoining stretch next year.

Early Spring Flowers

The usual array of early spring flowers are out and the list includes the ubiquitous Lesser Celandine, the widespread Slender Speedwell, a smattering of dandelions and the well distributed Common Dog Violets. In addition we have the earliest Cowslips, Bluebells and Cuckoo Flowers just showing some colour. In the wooded areas there are plentiful Wood Anemones, some of which have spread out into the fields. In the garden areas but also in some fields are significant patches of Barren Strawberry. Among the probably planted species are Lungwort and the now disappeared Snowdrops as well as the Wild Daffodils that I introduced a few years back. And then we have one delightful patch of Primroses that have made a home on one steep grassy bank and seem to be spreading slowly at that location