Starting from number one there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.
The Towers Cleveleys, large gardens of a mansion long gone, that has been turned into a secret haven for locals to enjoy. As a bonus it is just a minutes walk away from us, so armed with a packed lunch is a great place to spend an hour or two. Pam, Cleveleys.
Although it looks as if we are in for a cold spell for part of this week, spring is well on its way at Denbury.
On a walk around the Lake this afternoon I could see that the Flag Iris’s and Marsh Marigold are starting to show them selves above the ground and a few of the Tree are starting to bud. We are also seeing some rough grass starting to show through. The way that that a pair of Blackbirds are darting about instead of waiting around the animal feed bins I am sure that a pair of Blackbirds are building a nest. I will try to see where it is. If I am right and find it I will put a camera up.
Well Ladies and Gentlemen it is about time I told you about the so called Otter that you have been seeing. We do have Otters at Denbury as Karen and some of you saw in the Valley last year. But they are not Otters coming to feed at the Badgers feeding area. They are are or were rats. I have poisoned two areas to get rid of them and by the amount that I have seen over the past few nights most have gone.
Otters are much larger than what some have believed you have seen. The Otter in the Valley last year was very big. A rough guide to the size would be a large Cat plus the strong tail. With the amount of water around Denbury the Otters would be hunting Eels and Fish. If for any reason they were to be about the Badgers feeding area, they would have made a meal of the rats, as would Stoats and Weasels that we also see at Denbury quite often.
There are still a few rats about. I will need to find their holes in the bank that the Badgers Sett is in, to put the bait in. We have been baiting the areas for a long time, probably over a month if not more. We changed the bait we used from a product called Slaymore (just in case any of you have a vermin problem) to our normally excellent Farm Supplies own brand. Although the two bait was based around the same grain the rats would not take it. As soon as we changed back to Slaymore the bait started to be taken. For sure the rats had been to the bait as we put a plastic petrol can with holes at either end, this we put inside a cage. This is to stop Birds from getting to eat the bait. The rats ate half of the can and left the bait.