Latest Wildlink News

from Church Farm

BBC Autumnwatch coming live from us to a screen near you

NEW 'DEVON LIFE' magazine July feature

Wildlife Photography with Andrew Cooper

click here for devon.greatbritishlife.co.uk/out-and-about/wildlife/

NEW Photographic Courses - Wildlife and Landscape - Devon

click here for further details of courses

New talk available on the remarkable history and nature of Church Farm

'WILD DAYS † MEDIEVAL KNIGHTS'

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Virtual tour of the farm with stunning video clips of wildlife

Part funded by the Countryside Stewardship Scheme

click here for a wild virtual tour of Church Farm

September 2009 highlight - Osprey with fish and a jackdaw over Church Farm

Whatever next .........

Last year ended with a real treat - a hobby chasing bats in August and the following month an osprey flying over the house with its supper on five consecutive evenings! After that birding bonanza I could never have guessed the delights this spring would bring.

2010 At the end of April an RSPB group visit to the farm was just getting ready to start our walk when a member of the party suddenly pointed skyward. A large bird of prey leisurely flew over the farm. But this was no common buzzard it was a magnificent Red Kite! Even more remarkable, this was the first record of red kite on our farm.

A few weeks later when I was beginning to think that nothing would ever surprise me again, I was rendered speechless one evening as the light began to fade. Our nesting kestrels seemed unduly agitated. Stepping outside I could hear what I thought was a peregrine calling close by, when to my utter amazement a massive white falcon took off from a grassy bank near the kestrel barn. With pure white underparts and dark grey speckling on its back it looked for all the world like a gyr falcon but it also had black 'moustache' streaks more like a saker or peregrine falcon. Obviously some falconer had lost a very valuable bird.

After the coldest winter for over 40 years, followed by a cold dry spring and the sweltering heat of early summer, this has been a year of extremes. But it obviously suited our wild flowers. Although late, the primroses produced a stunning display and combined with a carpet of bluebells in the woods and masses of wild cherry blossom there was plenty for our early farm visitors to enjoy.The good weather continued into July then became very chageable.

The rain that dampened the end of summer was welcome at first. It greened the grass and spruced up the flowers but after a few weeks I would have been happy for the tap to be turned off again. In the meantime our kestrels successfully raised two youngsters which are now flying around the farm. The barn owls did even better by successfully rearing three young and for the next couple of months they could be seen most afternoons peeking out from the barn before venturing out in the gathering dusk.

Even better, almost every swallow nest produced two if not three broods this year numbering over 60 young birds in total. It was wonderful to watch their excitement every morning as they careered around the courtyard. We wish they well on their long journey south across Spain and the Sahara to southern Africa, and look forward to their exuberant return next spring.

BADGERS LATEST: August 2011

Wild badger cubs still being seen most evenings feasting on peanuts or playing underground.

The cubs are getting quite boistrous and very fast. The impression that badgers just amble around is misleading, they can run remarkably fast when they want to. Watching them race across the field on the way to their evening meal is literally quite breathtaking!

Our badgers are very active in spring. After the birth of their young, the big boars mate with any of the sows they can find and although fights are rare we do occasionally here noisy quarrels. The arrival of warmer weather should mean a reduction in the amount of bedding they take underground and that means a better view for us. Badgers do not hibernate but do sleep a lot during winter, especially when temperatures drop below freezing. Occasionally the underground cameras are obscured by bedding as the badgers rearrange their bedrooms but eventually they will clear it away. We usually catch our first glimpse of cubs from April onwards so we are waiting for our first sightings both inside their sett and later when they follow their parents to their nightly peanut supper.

 

  Wildlife photography keeps me busy year round. While Spring and Summer is definitely the

best and most pleasant time to enjoy the great outdoors, Autumn and Winter often produce

some of the best lighting opportunities.

Read the story of the restoration of Church Farm's medieval mill pond..

Click here to see next wildlife photography courses and wildlife television training courses

Click here to find out more about Andrew Cooper's illustrated talks