I have put five new photographs on the Photo Page, starting from the first photograph. The First three are from Jacqui and the fourth and fifth are from Elsie. There are a few that have been sent in that will put on over the next few days.
One of the large flock of Parquets that fly around the area called in for a snack. Not sure what species of bat this was but it was emerging from the roof of our holiday cottage last August in Devon. My two dogs Sisco (the cocker spaniel) and Ally (the lab named because he was found abandoned in an ally only 3 months old in early January!) Regards, Jacqui
Max was a little devil when he was a puppy and was into mischief all the time. He fell in the pond on may occasions. Also an interesting Robin story from a Newspaper. Elsie.
I don’t know about you, but I definitely ate and drunk to much over the past three days. I would have liked to have sat down for a bit longer, although we had less work to do with the Horses this year than any other, being able to have them turned out. The main Badger camera decided to stop working, so a lot of yesterday and today was spent changing the camera over. The rain got into the camera on Christmas eve. With the new tower it as easy to get it dry and it worked fine. Yesterday when I was controlling it suddenly wouldn’t move. Last week I talked a Tree Surgeon who was pruning some trees under the power cables, to take the old camera down from the telegraph pole that we used before we got the new tower. When he was up the thirty foot pole he did say that he didn’t feel very safe up it. I put the old camera up, but I didn’t have a bracket for it, so I needed to do major alterations to get the camera up. After seeing the picture I am pleased I did. The camera I took down was a different type than I usually use, and I wasn’t best pleased with it.
Every year about this time the Buzzards start to mark out their territory in this area. For the past few days we have seen three pairs flying above the farm seeing who can make the most noise. As the weeks pass we usually see many more pairs. I remember one year there were fourteen pairs flying above the Farm. That was the year when one of the pairs kept landing in Smugglers field. I thought it strange at the time. One of the pair was very small and it looked weak. One morning when I walked around the lake I found the Buzzard in a shallow part of the water. We dried it off and away it flew off. The next morning it was in the same place but wasn’t able to fly. We took it to West Hatch RSPCA, where they have a wildlife hospital. If it had survived they would have released back at Denbury, but it never did return.
It was good to see the Deer in the valley this evening. There is always a chance that they will be shot this time of year. For the past two days there has been continuous shooting in the area, and it will carry on until New Years day. The pair of Deer have been coming and going for most of the year. It is a Roe Doe and her Kid. There was a good chance that they went up to the Badger feeding area last night that Camera Two was on, as I saw Deer foot prints leading up to the area this morning when I filled the Bird feeders. I don’t like leaving that camera on because of the Rats, but I will tonight as there is a good chance that the Deer found the Badger food, and they may well return tonight on the chance that there may be more food.