THE HIDE – HOT , HOT , HOT !

The Hide – hot , hot , hot

I hope i’m not totally fixated with the weather , living in the Uk you never know what you are going to get , so with this being a long Bank holiday weekend ( public holiday )its bound to rain isn’t it ? Nope , summer is here and we are having a heatwave ! The hide has a lovely position sheltered by some pretty mature trees but there is no air movement at all today and not a cloud in the sky. The result , it’s 34c in the hide and it feels even hotter in the shade.

All the ponds needed topping up with around fifty litres of water from our harvested rainwater reserve, which is now only about a third full so if the wether carries on like this we are going to have to carry in a lot of water. At least the hide does have a small electric fan powered by a battery pack which provides a little relief .

The weather has also had a drastic effect on the number of visitors with almost all the action confined to the three small ponds , water really is so important for both the birds and small mammals that call the meadow home. So in no particular order we have the furries with the Rat Pack , Squirrel gang , Field mice and a single young looking Rabbit.

Then we have the feathers , Robin’s , Great tits , Blue Tits , Dunnock , Wren and Blackbird. The a rather hot looking Jay , mouth wide open gasping for air who had a long , long drink.add in a couple of Pheasants , one of which took flight from the long grass on the way into the hide and gave me a right fright and a few Wood Pigeons.

A little reminder for those in the uk , Springwatch starts a new series tonight on BBC2 , it returns for three weeks of seasonal splendour, live from the brand new location of National Trust Crom in Northern Ireland and the Knepp Estate in Sussex. The first episode is tonight at 8pm.