The sun has brought the Swallow fledglings out flying about a break neck speed, darting, weaving in and out of the barns. They are strengthening themselves for their migration to Africa to follow their food source of flying insects, their main food. Depending on the weather than can stay in this country as late as October, as the flying insects start to get less over farmland and water they will go into barns where there is livestock and feed on the insect that bother the cattle. It amazes me how such a small bird has the strength to fly as far as they do. I should think that once they cross the channel most of their flight is over land, where they can easily stop off. How Geese manage to go as far as they do on a single flight on their to migration to Iceland and Greenland on their way further north beggars belief. WWT tracked Geese on last years migration with fitted transmitters and Satellite Tracking. A few didn’t make it to their final destination. It must be a hard journey.
I spoke to the contractor this evening who is going to make our hay or haylage. He has been out mowing today and found that he was churning the ground up as he was mowing the grass. He was telling me that a lot of farmers have had to use the silage that they made just before the rain for the coming winter, as they have had to keep their cattle in as the ground is so wet. Any one who had made hay in the good spell just before the rain, are selling it for nearly twice the price that that would normally get for it.
After me telling that I had not seen any Deer for a while, one of our viewers, Elaine has sent me a capture shot of a two Deer on the 23rd of July at 22.47pm very close to where the Badgers feed. It looks like the three that have been around the farm for most of the year. We can normally see the Deer on the valley camera, but with the grass being so long I haven’t had the camera on for a while as I did not believe that if we would see them very well, if at all. I will look on my monitor tonight. If I see any I will put them on the Dog web cam.
Jade has been very poorly all day. She hasn’t been able to keep any of her feed down , and is finding it difficult to move about. We will get the Veterinary to look at her in the morning, to see if we can give her any medication.